Burns dog food

happilymarried2013

Hi all,

We have had the privilege of welcoming a little sausage dog into our home.
She's been eating Pedigree (not the best I know) and I'm thinking about putting her onto Burns dog food. Is it worth it - 2kg for £8 is alot.

How many other dog owners on here feed their puppies that? I'm thinking of weaning my cats onto the cat versions too for those who've read my other posts on here.

TIA

missbiggles1

I switched to Burns some months ago and all my dogs have been very happy with it - I haven't found it to be expensive. I get it from Zooplus where the puppy food costs around £3 per kilo.

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/esearch.htm#q%3Dburns

krlyr

Check out https://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk

Cost of dog food isn't just about the price of a bag, though. You generally use less of a good quality food, so a bag lasts longer. So whilst it might be £8 a bag, it might last you twice as long as a £4 bag, and then it's just as economical (and better quality)

Katiehound

Not exactly an answer to your question!
Some years ago we had a talk from John Burns about the origins of his dog food and why he started making it. Very interesting, and I won a bag of dog food too!
As I recall he was particularly trying to solve a problem with dogs presenting at the surgery with allergies, itchy skin etc and owners wanted a quick fix pill, ointment etc whereas he suggested the problem may be diet related.

Rev

I was never a fan of burns. The majority of their foods are 70% rice. Not only is it mostly rice it also contains oats. So you're spending £40 on meat flavoured rice. Rice and oats are fillers. All they'll do is come out the other end.

For £40 I'd want a much higher meat content than 20% (I'm looking at the chicken and rice & lamb and rice).

Yes, there's no nasties in it. But there's not much in it besides rice.

Check out millies wolf heart. It's grain free and isn't just meat flavoured rice.

Zoo plus stock a lot of good grain free foods all much better value than burns. Taste of the wild. Orijen. Acana etc etc. I mentioned Millies as its UK based and Customer service is great (I don't feed kibble I feed raw but have family who uses millies and rate it).

takethatfan1978

When I was researching food for our puppy I used www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk
Its a great site with advice/reviews for many foods. I use Millies Wolfheart which is a very highly rated food, grain free, lots of good quality ingredients. My 10 month old pup is thriving on it. As for cost, only you can decide if its worth it or not, all foods have different feeding guides. You may find buying a decent food works out to be better value than a poor rated one due to portion sizes as you may find you feed less than recommended amount.

If you are thinking of changing and your dog is just a wee pup, don't try lots of different foods but stick to one if possible.

*zippy*

We used to feed burns years ago, but the choice of quality dog food has improved since then and I think looking at all about dog food you'll get a better food for your money.

sangie595

Rev wrote: »

For £40 I'd want a much higher meat content than 20% (I'm looking at the chicken and rice & lamb and rice).
.

You might want it and your dog will love it - until it's diet kills it. For the average domestic dog 20% meat protein is considered the maximum for a healthy dog. Even working dogs, it's still only about 25%. Living with humans has significantly changed the canine dietary requirements and they are no longer carnivores. Too much meat has the same effect on dogs as it does in humans - clogged arteries and heart problems. It can also damage bone growth and cause kidney and/or liver problems.

The issue is not the amount of meat protein in the diet - it is the quality of the meat protein used. Manufacturers such as Burns use human quality meat as the basis of their food. Not all manufacturers do. That said, there's a debate to be had about whether dogs need such a high quality of meat - they are scavengers and most dog owners know that "human quality" isn't a factor in the dog palate. In fact many manufacturers produce very good quality dog food - these days few can get away with utter rubbish, and the price and looks of the food will allow you to spot it straight away. But knowing the quality of the origin makes some people feel better in that they know they are making good choices. And more often than not, it is the human palate that pet food companies are appealing to. After all, I doubt any dog really feels that it's life is incomplete without game casserole with country vegetables!

PS - and never be conned by "vets recommend it". In relation to pet food it is a meaningless marketing ply. Manufacturers take free samples to a few vets practices and the vets give it to customers. That's classed as a recommendation. It has nothing at all to do with quality or appropriateness of the food. It might as well say your granny recommends it.

Erik_V_EyeKing

Our experience FWIW.

Puppy started off on Hills kibbles. Was somewhat of a fussy eater. Any bones from butcher would result in rock hard nº 2s.

Moved onto raw food aged 10 months, Natural Instinct. He's 10kg (ideal weight for size) & we feed him 140g raw food + 130g steamed veg once a day plus treats/biscuits/half a dental chew morning/lunchtime & alternate chicken foot/carrot & fishpaste in a kong ball when we have out evening meal. A butches bone one or twice a week in addition (depending upon size of bone - all fat cut off as far as poss).

We've had an epileptic rescue dog for 18 months who's only known the same diet. Bones have same effect & the extract bonemeal in the raw food is countered by the veg.

The medication for the epilepsy has a double-whammy on his weight though, a slower metabolism plus huge increase in appetite so the veg/raw ration is higher for him. He's 2kg over his ideal size (also 10kg) & has been higher.

The cost between is £2.80-£3.20 for a 1kg pack (different recipes), delivered by the local distributor/dog walker chap.

We buy 6 packs at a time & keep them in the freezer until needed.

happysaz133

I tried Burns a couple of years ago but it gave my dogs the runs. It's also got a LOT of rice in it for the price.

Arden Grange is a decent mid-range food, its £28 for 12kg so the smaller bags will be a lot cheaper. It also scored 3.7/5 compared to Burns 3.5/5 on the allaboutdog food site, and its a lot cheaper! Autarky is another one that scores 3.5, the ingredients are very similar to Arden Grange, but its only around £20 for 15kg because its aimed at working dogs and VAT free.

splishsplash

We had a westie for many years who had very bad skin problems at around two years of age. During and after treatment for her skin (took about six months), we switched to Burns and kept her on it right up to the very end. She was always very happy on it and her skin stayed clear forever after.