Purina Proplan

madvixen

Sorry, just need a small vent. We've been feeding our rescue Rottie Oscars pet food since we got him in March and it suits him well. We've recently been handed over to a new franchise owner who neither myself or the OH are especially keen on and so we are now looking for a new dog food supplier.

We were recently given some samples of Purina Proplan and Bru loved it so I decided to get one of their free health checks and look into purchasing their products.

I tried to register for the health check both online and over the phone and neither option works. The online form keeps crashing and no one answers the telephone so I shall not be purchasing from them.

Can anyone recommend a good quality, easily available dry dog food for a rescue Rottie with a weight problem and dandruff ?

Manu Thanks

Kinski

Don't know what your budget is but I used to feed my dogs Orijen, it is more expensive but you feed less of it as there's not a lot of crap in it, it actually worked out cheaper for me to feed them this than it did a cheaper food. The don't have a lot of stockists but there are some, I used to get it delivered and it didn't take long at all http://www.bernpetfoods.co.uk/acatalog/stockists.html. I now feed raw and my dogs are in great condition, it's also a cheap diet to feed.

madvixen

Thank you for that, I will have a look into it. I've never fed my dogs raw and I'm not quite sure how he'd take to it tbh. When he's had meat leftovers (not very often as he's on a strict diet) his poo's are awful so I'm not sure how he'd deal with raw. I will certainly look at Orijen though

Fire_Fox

Going grain/ cereal free and/ or increasing the amount of long chain omega-3s (fish oils) in the diet can help with both weight management and skin problems. Grains are rich in carbohydrates and omega-6 fatty acids both of which are pro inflammatory. You may find it easier to manage weight with a wet or raw diet because the extra water helps to fill the dog up; dry foods are very calorie dense.

You do need to switch from a high grain diet to a high meat diet slowly over a period of weeks to allow the digestive enzymes and gut flora time to adjust - this may well explain the awful poops from one off high animal protein meals. Most raw feeders report smaller, more solid and less smelly poops.

krlyr

Raw food is quite different to cooked meat in how the body deals with it. I have a Rottie cross myself and never managed to find a dry food that suited her, but she has thrived on raw feeding. She can be a little pickier than my GSD on some bits, but there's not much she won't eat. Her weight has been a lot more stable (she was very quick to lose weight previously), her skin in fab condition, her teeth fantastically clean and she enjoys every meal - and it lasts a lot longer than a bowl of biscuits that she used to practically inhale, giving them a bowl or a whole rabbit is a great weekend activity to tire them out and keep them from getting under my feet while I'm cleaning the house!
However, it's not for everyone. Before I switched to raw, they were both on CSJ food which is quite good for a budget food. They do a new food called "No Grainer" or similar which is meant to be good too - it avoids the cereals that can be common causes of tummy upsets and allergy issues. Mine were on their lamb & rice variety.
The thing with dog food is to look at the ingredients. There are lots of posts in the pet section on dog food if you do a search, but this website also sums it up quite well (US based I think but still a lot relevant to UK) - http://www.dogfoodproject.com

One thing to consider if a decent diet doesn't sort the skin and weight issues is a vet check to rule out any underlying issues. Rottweilers can apparently be prone to thyroid issues. When Kiki started gaining weight and not shifting it like she has in the past (given her history of being hard to keep weight on) and having some behavioural issues, we had bloodwork done and she's come back as borderline hypothyroid. We're a few weeks into medicating her and the behaviour has improved but as has her waistline and coat (she was going through a hideous moult which I'd just put down to the weather but it had dragged out quite a long time). Probably nothing to worry about but just something to bear in mind if the new food doesn't sort him out.

Kinski

I couldn't get to grips with getting the right mix of raw for my pair so I buy it ready mixed http://www.naturalinstinct.com/categories/All-Dog-Food/, it means you need a good bit of freezer space but it's costing me about £6 a week to feed a sheltie and a Bichon. They are in good condition and they're toilet is brilliant, small hard pellets and the smell doesn't give me the boak :rotfl:.