What are you feeding your dog?

andrewire

I have a jack russell and a westie. They eat very well but I'm considering changing their food to something of a higher quality. I give them Royal Canin for small dogs. I keep reading bad stuff about Royal Canin and how they use controversial fillers in their food range. Anyone?

TooManyDogs

I do a raw food diet, mine love it and are really healthy on it. I changed because I didn't like the amount of processing that can go into dry food.

andreac

I feed my rottweiler CLINIVET and he does really well on it.


http://www.clinivet.com/

kylith

I use the budget Salmon and Potato from Brenda's Pets. It's €37 for a 15kg (i think) bag. Anything else I tried (JWB, Orijen, Eukanuba, Arden Grange) went straight through one of mine, and Eukanuba bunged the other up completely. They're both a good weight, have tons of energy and are as shiny-coated as wire-haired dogs get.

easyeason3

My pooch eats pedigree chum nuts, eggs, cheese, beef, ham, chicken & he loves toast.
It's not unheard of to put on a some chicken or steak just for him.

andreac

easyeason3 wrote: »

My pooch eats pedigree chum nuts, eggs, cheese, beef, ham, chicken & he loves toast.
It's not unheard of to put on a some chicken or steak just for him.

I wouldnt feed your dog cheese as dogs are actually lactose intolerant and shouldnt be fed dairy so its not very good for them at all.

Cherry Blossom

Anything with beetpulp in it will stain your Westies beard as I'm finding out with Hills, was going hyper on Royal Cainin though so it's a better result than that. Try and find something around 20% protein with no beet or red dyes in it and see how they do on that.

easyeason3

andreac wrote: »

I wouldnt feed your dog cheese as dogs are actually lactose intolerant and shouldnt be fed dairy so its not very good for them at all.

Ah yes but when I'm trying to coax him into doing something a corner off some cheese works wonders for him

Cherry Blossom

easyeason3 wrote: »

Ah yes but when I'm trying to coax him into doing something a corner off some cheese works wonders for him

:eek: Wonders never cease!

toadfly

andrewire wrote: »

I keep reading bad stuff about Royal Canin and how they use controversial fillers in their food range.

I thought RC was good? I feed that to my 2 Yorkies, Tilly gets the light version as she ballooned after she was spayed and Ozzie is on the normal adult for small dogs. He seems to be doing good on it.

Was thinking of changing them both to Burns? Any thoughts? Would it be "light" enough for Tilly?

Cherry Blossom

TillyGirl wrote: »

I thought RC was good? I feed that to my 2 Yorkies, Tilly gets the light version as she ballooned after she was spayed and Ozzie is on the normal adult for small dogs. He seems to be doing good on it.

Was thinking of changing them both to Burns? Any thoughts? Would it be "light" enough for Tilly?

Royal Cainin mini has 32% protein (if I remember correctly), the highest you'll find. Not sure about the light stuff it'll have it on the bag. Burns mini-bites is 21% protein

toadfly

Might try Burns so, my mam feeds that to her dogs and my sister has just changed over as well for her two.

They are a bit wired lately come to think of it! Though it was just the terrier coming out!

adser53

I use Burns too and can't recommend it enough. my lot were on red mills leader supreme and I thought it was good enough until I tried burns which is far superior

Noopti

Was feeding Hills - but going to give James Wellbeloved a try.

toadfly

Noopti wrote: »

Was feeding Hills - but going to give James Wellbeloved a try.

Didnt find Hills good, what came out wasnt a good colour and very soft :eek:

Just rang Burns they are sending me samples of mini bites and a measuring cup!

paultf

adser53 wrote: »

I use Burns too and can't recommend it enough. my lot were on red mills leader supreme and I thought it was good enough until I tried burns which is far superior

adser, I have done the opposite!:) I had mine on Burns but my 3 cockers lost alot of weight. The older one, Darby, went from 14kg to 11.5kg. Then he got sick - problem with his anal glands, then jaundice and liver infection.

I got on to Burns. I got an email (indirectly) from John Burns They told me that overfeeding can sometimes cause problems with anal glands and even a liver infection. I was feeding 130g/day (10g/kg) - Burns told me to drop it down to 100g. (The Burns nutritionist I spoke to told me she had a 12kg springer that got 4 hours exercise a day and was only fed 65g/day and no treats!!!)

Anyways I changed my mind about Burns. I got onto the Red Mills pet nutritionist and he told me they changed the ingredients for Leader and improved them. On their website they now list the ingredients rather than just ingredient categories. So at the moment I have my 3 on Leader - hopefully it'll work out OK.

adser53

hopefully it works out for you paul. mine were on red mills for at least a year and they were in great condition on it BUT they were pooing rings around themselves by the end of it. Loki especially. I used to let him out to poop in the garden before our walk but you were guaranteed at least another 2 poops while you were out, each getting, eh...., "softer" (sorry a bit too much info there ) until you literally couldn't pick it up. on burns now and they're still in great nick, one poop a day and they're like bullets I'm half expecting a puff of dust to come out when they're going. oh and they're not as farty anymore either.

Jesus the things I post about on here

boomerang

Right now my guys get Robbies from Land Of Holistic Pets in the morning (same company that makes Luath) and Orijen in the evening.

toadfly

boomerang wrote: »

Right now my guys get Robbies from Land Of Holistic Pets in the morning (same company that makes Luath) and Orijen in the evening.

Is it a good idea to do this? (not saying boomerang it isnt, just asking!)

One of our vets (we use two different ones depending if we are in Galway or Mayo) said it was fine to do, we are giving our two a few dental ones (Hills Vet Essentials) as well as RC every feed. We didnt want to use all Hills as I dont really like it (and because Tilly needs a light food) but they need something for their teeth. Literally 6 or 7 pieces through their RC.

Not sure if we should be doing it though?

boomerang

'Tis of course, Tilly Girl.

I do it because my girls have been on Robbies for a good while now and it's good practice to change the feed once in a while so they're not getting too much of any one ingredient or supplement, or developing a deficiency in another. Of course all the dog foods are nutritionally balanced but every producer tends to add their own extras, such as herbs, different veg, different health supplements like glucosamine, etc.

It's also a good idea if (as in my case) your feed is only available online - in case there is a delay in delivery with the Robbies, I can feed them Orijen at both meals, and vice-versa. If I was only feeding them one brand of food and ran out of it, I'd have to give them a brand they're not used to as a stop-gap and that'd upset their tums. (Feeding a novel food without slowly phasing it in can lead to tummy upset.)

I don't like Hills either - the ingredients are really, really poor quality and I think it's WAY overpriced for what you actually get. There's other ways to keep your dogs teeth clean - mine get a fresh marrowbone each from the butcher about once a week and even though they are 7 and 8 respectively, their teeth are pretty much pearly-white! The raw bones are much more effective than the special dry foods for oral care. (And yes, it's safe to feed raw bones, as long as they're the right size for your dog. I freeze mine to zap any bacteria plus it gives the dogs an extra challenge! Loads of info and advice on feeding raw at www.topdog.ie).

Another idea you could try is Plaque Off - that's a seaweed powder that you sprinkle on their food. Takes a good few weeks for it to take effect but it's natural and has no side-effects. I used to give it to my guys until I started giving them the occasional bone. You can get it in most petshops, costs about €16 for a tub that lasts a few months.

Or you could get some Logic pet toothpaste from your vet and just massage a blob over your dogs' teeth and gums on a regular basis - I used that too and it does work, plus the dogs don't mind the taste. I think a tube of Logic is €15-€20.

Sigma Force

That's interesting Boomerang the switching of the food something I never thought of.

My prob. seems to be with rice which a lot of the posher dog foods have and the pork and potato Burns is the only one that agrees with our middle pooch.
All the dogs love the taste but I was looking at the Robbies food and couldn't find any that didn't contain rice must have another check to see if they do a potato one.

At the end of the day op each dog is different and foods will effect them differently it's just a matter of finding one that suits yours.

I rekon if I could get potato based Robbish my dogs would go nuts for it.

Burns still works out 12 ish quid a week for 3 dogs which isn't bad would be nice to be able to reduce the cost further though but no luck so far.

I must check out that salmon and potato on brendas pets it's cheaper than the Burns.

Kya1976

Mine are on James Wellbeloved, they love it and it agrees with all of my dogs.
I'd love to try a raw diet(BARF), but I just feel I'd need a spare freezer/fridge as my dogs are so big.....

tk123

Burns for our guy - no more sensitive tummy.

sligopark

http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/dogs/1423018

seen this stuff whilst surfing dogs for sale - any thoughts?

Cherry Blossom

sligopark wrote: »

http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/dogs/1423018

seen this stuff whilst surfing dogs for sale - any thoughts?

Pity he didn't list the ingredients, just wonder if it's legal to just invent your own dog food and sell it. I'd wonder if its regulated/tested in any way . . . . hmmmm

Knine

I'm feeding burns chicken and rice but still get sloppy poo at times, anyone recommend any of the others in the burns range, cleaning up can be a nightmare at times.

toadfly

I dont think I will go for Burns was looking at the ingrediants, its mainly just rice but then it has 21% protein, any other suggestions? Think I will have to get another bag each of RC until I decide what to change to.

ISDW

Guineapigrescue wrote: »

That's interesting Boomerang the switching of the food something I never thought of.

My prob. seems to be with rice which a lot of the posher dog foods have and the pork and potato Burns is the only one that agrees with our middle pooch.
All the dogs love the taste but I was looking at the Robbies food and couldn't find any that didn't contain rice must have another check to see if they do a potato one.

At the end of the day op each dog is different and foods will effect them differently it's just a matter of finding one that suits yours.

I rekon if I could get potato based Robbish my dogs would go nuts for it.

Burns still works out 12 ish quid a week for 3 dogs which isn't bad would be nice to be able to reduce the cost further though but no luck so far.

I must check out that salmon and potato on brendas pets it's cheaper than the Burns.

I don't know if you ever go up north, but Pets at Home do their own brand, Wainwrights and they do a salmon and potato, I got a bag when I was in the UK with the dogs for a week, and they loved it. Huskies can have very strange stomachs, but the straight switch (cos I forgot to bring their normal food!) made no difference, their stools very good and solid.

I'm in the process of switching all of my dogs, my own and the rescues onto Best for my dog, I've had a few bags of it and all the dogs have loved it and its produced very good results in the poo department:D

lorebringer

Knine wrote: »

I'm feeding burns chicken and rice but still get sloppy poo at times, anyone recommend any of the others in the burns range, cleaning up can be a nightmare at times.

I found this was the case with some of mine on Burns - switched to James Wellbeloved and no sloppy poos anymore! I'm not saying they all had dodgy poos all the time they were on Burns, but every so often if would be very unpleasent for a while. Have never had a problem with JWB - brilliant stuff.

sligopark

my family use royal canine and swear by it

imokyrok

I've been wondering about what food to try for a new rescue dog I've taken on. He has a dodgy tummy which makes cleaning up his poop very difficult. I've been trying him on versele-laga and the diet version of the same for my other dog but they just don't seem keen.

A lot of people seem to think the RC is overpriced for what it is and that Red Mills is just as good. I've also read rave reviews about Orijen but crikey it's very expensive!