What's the best unbranded dog food?

kezzann

I currently buy pedigree but i wanna know if anyone uses any unbranded stuff that's just as good?

thanks! :j

sangie595

It's always a matter of both personal choice and budget, but personally I wouldn't let my dog have Pedigree because I don't consider it good enough for him - so whether or not unbranded food is "as good" becomes irrelevant. That said, if you are looking for something of the same quality, many supermarket own brands appear to be of a similar quality, although Pedigree probably wouldn't agree with me.

Other than cost, is there a reason why you want to consider changing?

takethatfan1978

www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk

This is a good site which will give you advice about different foods including unbranded.

Pedigree is one of the worst foods out there and I am sure unbranded ones may not be far behind. It would be worth having a look at some of the more premium ones, yes they may look more expensive per bag however food portions generally tend to be smaller with better food so may work out more or less the same price or even cheaper than the not so good foods.

I feed my lab for just less than £1 a day on a very good quality food, that is not a lot at all.

I have been pointing people in the direction of the all about dog food site for a while now and I really surprises me how people will look through and then still decide to feed the poor quality food. It is personal choice and budget however I would not feed my dog the poorest food out there especially if you can buy better for not much more or even less!

Katiehound

Erm... I certainly wouldn't be feeding my dogs Pedigree, but each to his own! (or someone watching expensive pet food adverts might be convinced that is just what to buy!)

Just to say be aware that food branded as 'for working dogs' attracts no VAT so that will help reducing the food costs, therefore better quality at a cheaper price.

sangie595

Katiehound wrote: »

Erm... I certainly wouldn't be feeding my dogs Pedigree, but each to his own! (or someone watching expensive pet food adverts might be convinced that is just what to buy!)

Just to say be aware that food branded as 'for working dogs' attracts no VAT so that will help reducing the food costs, therefore better quality at a cheaper price.

But be aware that food branded for working dogs, if it is indeed for working dogs, is much higher in protein than the majority of domestic dogs require. This may be responsible for long term damage to health and behaviour. If you but such food for a dog that is low energy or doesn't use much energy, you should balance it by adding mixer or vegetables to reduce the protein content.

krlyr

takethatfan1978 wrote: »

www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk

This is a good site which will give you advice about different foods including unbranded.

Pedigree is one of the worst foods out there and I am sure unbranded ones may not be far behind. It would be worth having a look at some of the more premium ones, yes they may look more expensive per bag however food portions generally tend to be smaller with better food so may work out more or less the same price or even cheaper than the not so good foods.

I feed my lab for just less than £1 a day on a very good quality food, that is not a lot at all.

I have been pointing people in the direction of the all about dog food site for a while now and I really surprises me how people will look through and then still decide to feed the poor quality food. It is personal choice and budget however I would not feed my dog the poorest food out there especially if you can buy better for not much more or even less!

I agree with this. Also, when checking out the above site, make sure you check the "cost per day" rather than comparing cost per bag.

For example, you might buy a 15kg of "Generic Dog Food" for £15 - an apparent bargain compared to 15kg "Premium Dog Brand" at £30 - it's half the price, right? However, if the feeding guidelines for the first food is 600g a day, but the "more expensive" food is only 200g due to the better quality proteins and the lack of indigestible filler ingredients (which means you need to feed more by volume for the same nutritional benefits), then the premium food is actually the more economical food to feed, as it'll last you 3 times as long for only double the cost per bag.

And these aren't made up figures - I used to work in petshops and happened to show a customer the cheap food he was feeding vs. one of our more premium brands, and it did work out to the ratios above.

Fosterdog

sangie595 wrote: »

But be aware that food branded for working dogs, if it is indeed for working dogs, is much higher in protein than the majority of domestic dogs require. This may be responsible for long term damage to health and behaviour. If you but such food for a dog that is low energy or doesn't use much energy, you should balance it by adding mixer or vegetables to reduce the protein content.

There is no such thing as too much protein for a dog, a dogs natural diet is raw meat , no carbs, no fillers just good protein filled meat. If you buy a dog food sold as complete it should be just that and no need to add extras to alter the nutritional content as you will put the balance even further out.

snappyfish

Chappie? When they have a sensitive stomach?

snappyfish

I did a lot of research on this site for dog food. I currently use Millie's Wolfheart.

Beckyy

I would avoid pedigree at all costs. If you can afford to buy a half decent complete food then I definitely would, you get what you pay for and dogs aren't designed to process fillers and a lot of the things which are added into cheap dog food.

What breed/age is your dog and are they at their optimal weight?

sangie595

Fosterdog wrote: »

There is no such thing as too much protein for a dog, a dogs natural diet is raw meat , no carbs, no fillers just good protein filled meat. If you buy a dog food sold as complete it should be just that and no need to add extras to alter the nutritional content as you will put the balance even further out.

This is not correct - it is a myth arising from the "dogs are wolves" brigade. Domestic dogs have evolved as omnivores, not carnivores. There are health and behavioural problems associated with too much meat protein in a dogs diet. See, for example, http://web-dvm.net/dogs-are-omnivores-and-should-be-fed-as-such/. Some meats, such as liver, should even be severely restricted - some is good for them, too much causes joint damage. There is a reason why some dog food is sold for working dogs and it is different from that sold for domestic dogs. Otherwise there would be no requirement for food for working dogs.

By the way, although wolves are classed as carnivores, they also supplement their diet with other things.