food for lurcher

Woody76

Hi

Was wanting to pick your brains if I may

I have recently got a lurcher from dogs trust (more whippet cross than greyhound cross) and we swapped gradually onto pets at home own brand food from arden grange which rescue had her on as was finding it very expensive. She is now having very loose stools and she is also a dog that likes to eat her poo if we are not quick enough :eek:

I wasnt wanting to swap back on to arden grange as very expensive and she had loose stools on that also.

I was wondering what everyones opinion is on breed specific food. Supa dog and beta have greyhound/lurcher specific food which both have good reviews (at pets at home website from pet owners not working dogs) or whether I should stick with a sensitive stomach food or even chappie dried as I remember from my nursing days the vets always seemed to recommend that for sensitive stomachs.

I hate to say that price is an issue as my husband is on sick at present so cannot afford expensive dog food but will get the best we can afford. We tried pets at home own food as this seemed to be getting good reviews and it does seem like good food just obviously not for our dog

any advice apreciated

Woody xx

Merry_Wanderer

I give my greyhound chappie dry at the moment, with titbits on top such as some Butchers, sardines, mince if we are having it etc.

I've had dogs twice from Dogs Trust that came with a bag of Arden Grange, and as much as I tried (I didn't want to waste it) neither of them would take it unless totally soaked and disguised.

Most people on dog forums seem to feed their dogs the more expensive brands I find, but I have met so many dog walkers with healthy older pets who are fed allsorts, so I don't feel guilty as I can't afford to spend more than I do. As long as it suits the dog.

I had an old lurcher cross last year who had some kind of colitis and would do drippy poo all the time, he did really well on chappie dry. The chicken one better than the beef.

I was wondering about trying this too - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Country-Value-Complete-Food-Greyhounds/dp/B003TL29BU/ref=pd_sim_petsupplies_6

Sagz_2

My lurchers eat Arden Grange and do very well on it, it works out at under £1 per day for both dogs (one Saluki xxx 1 Whippet x). They eat under the recommended amount as they also get leftovers from our food.

When money was tight I did try and change to a lesser quality dog food but the amount of 'waste' I having to clear up in the yard was astounding and just went to show I was paying for bulking ingredients and not things the dogs bodies could use.

_Andy_

My two greys I recently changed to Chappie dry (2cups with some water) and 1/4 tin Chappie wet, they're doing really well on it - nice solid poos etc. I order in bulk from Amazon

ETA: My male hound has sensitive stomach and this is only combo that works well for him

zaxdog

We have a whippet/Bedlington terrier cross and he has a pretty delicate tummy. It took us AGES to find food that didn't give him the runs or make him throw up right after dinner.

What we have found to be fantastic for him is Wilson's dry complete food (looks like muesli) mixed with warm water and some of the Chubb rolls. That said if we are having stew, soup, haggis etc for dinner we will mix some of that into his dried food and it goes down a treat too :j

Woody76

thanks for all your replies

its reassuring to know chappie is still a good food as I have not been in practice (vets) for a few years so hoping it hadnt changed.

I was wondering if the greyhound/lurcher food was a gimmick. Will be giving chappie a go as it also comes in smaller bags so less waste if it doesnt suit her.

It is also reassuruing to know that not all caring responsable pet owners are feeding the (IMO) extortionate prices of some of these dog foods

Very interesting

Woody x

Rev

Woody76 wrote: »

thanks for all your replies

its reassuring to know chappie is still a good food as I have not been in practice (vets) for a few years so hoping it hadnt changed.

I was wondering if the greyhound/lurcher food was a gimmick. Will be giving chappie a go as it also comes in smaller bags so less waste if it doesnt suit her.

It is also reassuruing to know that not all caring responsable pet owners are feeding the (IMO) extortionate prices of some of these dog foods

Very interesting



Woody x

Sorry to burst your bubble but chappie isn't by any stretch of the imagination. A good food. Chappie wet works well because its fish based and has high fibre, so can be great for upset tums, but it's still not a 'good' food. And chappie dry is is shockingly awful.

Ingredients - chappie dry

Cereals (min. 4% Whole Wheat), Derivatives of Vegetable Origin, Meat and Animal Derivatives (min. 4% Chicken), Oils and Fats, Minerals.

Ingredients - chappie wet

Fish and Fish Derivatives (Including min. 14% White Fish), Cereals (Including min. 4% Rice), Meat and Animal Derivatives (Including min. 4% Chicken), Oils and Fats, Herbs, Minerals. with Colourants (Permitted EC Additives).

The dry really is appalling.

Dog food is a minefield, and can be very expensive. But there are decent budget foods.

Skinners duck and rice and salmon and rice are about £20 a bag, not great, but no crap in them.

Arden grange is a decent mid/low range food, but the price is a little high for the ngredients, there are places that do good deals though, vetuk, berries woods etc


This web site is great for comparisons and finding something decent for your budget.

http://www.whichdogfood.co.uk/

chou-chou

We've got two retired greyhounds and use the Supadog Complete Dry Dog Food for Greyhounds & Lurchers. We get it off Amazon as part of their subscribe and save promotion so it comes every month (or however often you request) and you get a 10% discount.

All the reading we did before getting them said that Greyhounds particularly need a low protein food (19% or thereabouts) so many mainstream foods (esp wet/tinned/meat based) are not ideal. They yum it up - we just put a bit of warm water on. Once a week they get some sardines mixed in (Sardine Sunday - they get very excited!) but otherwise it's just the dried food so very simple and no nasty smells like wet food. We've got a scoop with the right amount marked on it (gives weights on the bag) as it can be very tempting to just put in a bit extra!!

Not had any tummy troubles but I guess we've not used anything else so don't know what they'd be like on a cheaper food.

PollyOnAMission

I second taking a look at http://www.whichdogfood.co.uk/

A "good" food is one that includes minimal (ideally no) cereals; you want one where the main ingredient is meat. Proper meat, not "derivatives". Anything artificial (colours etc, a la Bakers) should be avoided like the plague.

My two whippets tended to have dodgy tummies quite regularly, but one complete food that agreed with them reasonably well (and they actually enjoyed) was Wainwrights trays. It's a decent price too, but does contain rice which isn't ideal.

Their digestive health and enthusiasm for food has never been better than since I switched them to a raw diet. Absolutely nothing artificial, no additives, no unnecessary fillers such as cereals. Just good raw meat, raw bone, offal, oily fish and occasional veg. Their teeth and coats are gleaming and they are the picture of health. It's not for everyone (you do need a fair amount of freezer space to do it economically, unless you are lucky enough to live near a good butcher and/or raw pet food supplier), but it could be something worth looking into. It's particularly popular in whippet/lurcher circles. I order the bulk of my food online; it costs under £1 per day for me to feed two 17kg dogs.

PollyOnAMission

Just to add: It's worth checking out, with these greyhound/lurcher specific foods, just what they are actaully catering for. A lot of greyhound foods will either be designed for racers (not ideal for a pet dog!) or "maintenance", which is designed for greys resting between races. I guess the latter would be suitable for a pet dog, but a lot that I've seen contain a lot of wheat. This basically means you're paying for a filler that comes straight back out the other end! Better to get a food without the wheat, feed less for the same nutrition, have less waste and have it cost the same or less overall.

_Andy_

PollyOnAMission wrote: »

I second taking a look at http://www.whichdogfood.co.uk/

A "good" food is one that includes minimal (ideally no) cereals; you want one where the main ingredient is meat. Proper meat, not "derivatives". Anything artificial (colours etc, a la Bakers) should be avoided like the plague.

My two whippets tended to have dodgy tummies quite regularly, but one complete food that agreed with them reasonably well (and they actually enjoyed) was Wainwrights trays. It's a decent price too, but does contain rice which isn't ideal.

Their digestive health and enthusiasm for food has never been better than since I switched them to a raw diet. Absolutely nothing artificial, no additives, no unnecessary fillers such as cereals. Just good raw meat, raw bone, offal, oily fish and occasional veg. Their teeth and coats are gleaming and they are the picture of health. It's not for everyone (you do need a fair amount of freezer space to do it economically, unless you are lucky enough to live near a good butcher and/or raw pet food supplier), but it could be something worth looking into. It's particularly popular in whippet/lurcher circles. I order the bulk of my food online; it costs under £1 per day for me to feed two 17kg dogs.

Hey Polly

Interesting reading - how long did it take you to switch over? As in did you phase it in? TBH I'd always assumed it was expensive until I just read your post!
Could you let me know where you order from? Reasonable amount of freezer space here

thanks!