Dog Food Questions - merged

foreign_correspondent

wuno wrote: »

I'm not knocking that particular food but it's clearly wrong to say that grains are not natural foods for dogs but potatos are. How many wolves grow their own potatos? :rotfl:

What I like to see is an ingredient list that is as short as possible and doesn't contain any of these faddy ingredients that are designed (and cleaverly marketed) to appeal to a certain type of dog owner.

I agree, after all the foods are targeted at the owners sensibilites not the dogs... I tend to go for relatively cheap foods that do not have a lot of crap in them (colours etc, which again are for the owners benefit, not the dog!!) - I feed Wagg working dog as this meets my requirements and the dog is as fit as a fiddle on it (as is my mums) - I wish I was in as good nick as the dogs actually!!, but I think a lot of working dog foods (Wafcol etc) are similar.

Dogs have lived for thousands of years on whatever we chuck or leave, plus scavenged bits and bobs. I think we worry a bit too much about it, the dogs do not, that is for sure. I am ot going to worry abut wheat in the food if it doesnt upset the dog - dogs have doubtless been eating bread scraps and crusts for thousands of years.

I am reading James Herriot (Alf Wight)'s life story, written by his son, in whch he writes about Alf's own dog, a terrier which lived to be seventeen on a diet of pancakes, sugar and milk!!! According to all the dog food companies it should not have lasted a week:rotfl:

Shortie

foreign_correspondent wrote: »

dogs are funny with raw veg - mine comes running at the sound of carrots being peeled, and yesterday ran off with the end slice of a very hard marrow which she chomped up and ate! I think a bit of raw veg helps their teeth stay clean!

Yes, I get this when I'm stringing and slicing my runner beans and shelling peas from the allotment. They don't dare touch teh peas of sliced beans, but they always steal the pods or left over runner bean bits :rolleyes:

iamstacie

Hi,

My lab is on bakers, and has been all her life (6 1/2 years old) I have wanted to change it for a while, but decided against it whilst we've been moving around as I thought it best not to force her through too much upheaval all at once.

Anyway, I would like to change her food now as I'm uncomfortable with Bakers, and Hills Natures Best and Royal Canins Lab Retriever food seems amongst the best dry food, in my budget and available at my local pet shop. I have called both helpdesks and requested information packs and samples which they've said will arrive shortly, but I wondered if anyone else has had an older lab (x weimeraner) on either of these? I really just want her to stop having the 'sugar highs & lows' so much, something thats going to keep her fur as soft as a puppies - we get a lot of comments about it - and will take care of her joints as she grows old not-particularly-gracefully.

I'm leaning more towards Royal Canin as it has meat as the first ingredient, rather than the ground maize of Hills. Of course, if is it the case after trialing different foods, that Bakers is the best for Bam then she will stay on it until our vet tells me otherwise!

TIA

ETA - The samples of both arrived today, and I'm impressed with both, as is Bam. My 'controlled experiment' didn't quite go to plan, and all I learnt was she'd rather have either RC or Hills than Bakers! (3 small bowls, 30g in each, RC & Hills eaten, Bakers ignored. Did it again and moved bowls around, same again. Mixed RC & Hills in with bakers, RC & Hills eaten, Bakers left in bowl) She ate both set of samples in full, which is completely out of character, and she actually had to crunch on them and I cant remember the last time she had 'crunchy' food. So I guess its down to me to choose

ALFlem

Hi all,

My little pup is a little spoilt. He's a rescue and was really mal-nourished when he came home. We tried him on a lot of food and the only one he will eat is IAMS. Our vet thinks this is really good as it's one of the best....only problem is it's comparatively expensive. It's £10 for a 5kg bag I think (which isn't bad I suppse) but compared to Wagg or Beta it's double the price.

I really want him to stay on this as he is really healthy and loves it.....does anyone know where the bast place to get it is...or if there is anywhere that sells a like-for-like product?! Oh and it's small bite as he's a terrier.

Thanks

Aimee

p.s. anyone needs dog training advice, i'll trade for info lol

simpywimpy

try buying through petsupermarket.com. There is usually a 5 or 10% off code around somewhere

foreign_correspondent

compared to Wagg it is actually more than three times the price - there is a dog food thread on here which you may find useful - a lot of discussion re: IAMS on it!

ALFlem

Thanks I'll have a look at both.

foreign_correspondent

here is the link
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=818663

snowman2_2

When you are comparing prices, always look at the cost per day rather than the cost of the bag. Cheaper foods will be less digestible and require more to be fed than the better quality, more digestible foods. When I have worked it out in the past, Hills and Pro Plan work out cheaper per day than Pedigree complete, even though the bags are more expensive per kilo to buy.

suki1964

As snowman says - look at cost per day (or meal) when comparing dog foods. The dog food I buy is 30 quid a 15kg bag but works out to around 30pence a day - a pittance when you are looking at the health and happiness of your best friend