dog food / nutrition

falabo

Hi all

I have been buying a leading brand in supermarkets (Pedigree) however I've heard from many sources it's far from being good for my dogs.

I have been sonsidering switching for when they're adult but ancy brands (Royal canin ect..) are very expensive.

Can anybody have a look at this (works out fairly cheap) and tell me what you think? (ingredients and nutrition wise)

many thanks

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2-x-15kg-COMPLETE-DRY-DOG-FOOD-CHICKEN-RICE-/160303953730?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Dogs

cocker5

falabo wrote: »

Hi all

I have been buying a leading brand in supermarkets (Pedigree) however I've heard from many sources it's far from being good for my dogs.

I have been sonsidering switching for when they're adult but ancy brands (Royal canin ect..) are very expensive.

Can anybody have a look at this (works out fairly cheap) and tell me what you think? (ingredients and nutrition wise)

many thanks

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2-x-15kg-COMPLETE-DRY-DOG-FOOD-CHICKEN-RICE-/160303953730?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Dogs

Personally i wouldnt go near it.... there could be anything in it...

I understand price is an issue... have you tried??

http://www.zooplus.ie/ask?query=burns&num=20

if you buy two 15kg bags its work out at €96... plus 5% off your order plus with free delivery... it would end up being €1.20

This amount of food should last you well over 6 months for a medium size dog... The better quality of food, the less amount you have to give your dog, as it has better ingredients etc.... smaller portion etc...

andreac

How much are you paying for supermarket brands per month?

I know it sounds like a lot with the other better brands, but it really doesnt work out much more tbh and you usually dont have to feed as much as it better quality.

That food you are enquiring about doesnt look great. Firstly theres only about 4% chicken and its all animal derivitives so thats not very good so id stay well clear.

A big bag of a good quality brand ranges from 40-60 euro which depending on your dog, can last from 3-6 weeks so thats only about 10euro or less a week so if you are buying supermarket stuff id imagine it would be around the same if not more so dont think that a big bag sounds so dear when in the long run it could actually be cheaper.

sionnaic

I know I keep harping on about this food (no I'm not getting paid commission I swear!!) but I cannot recommend it enough - my two are doing really really well on it.
"Land of Holistic Pets" - funny name I know - their Robbies range especially, but even their Luath range is very good.

They give a guide to feeding costs based on the size of your dog here:
http://www.landofholisticpets.ie/Dog_feeding_costs.html

It really is worth trying to get the best food you can for your dogs because they'll have less health problems, especially when they're older.

Here's a good reference to check the ingredients of a potential dog food:
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=badingredients

there's other info on that site too if you browse around

Carl Sagan

Anyone know any stores selling Orijen pet food? Wanted to keep my puppy on the same food (Bakers puppy food) the breeder was feeding them when we brought him home.

sionnaic

Carl Sagan wrote: »

Anyone know any stores selling Orijen pet food? Wanted to keep my puppy on the same food (Bakers puppy food) the breeder was feeding them when we brought him home.

I had my two on Orijen Puppy for a while but it didn't agree with them at all.
I think it was just far too high in protein - my vet had concerns about it.
But it does have quality ingredients.
The cheapest place I found to get it was www.zooplus.co.uk (cheaper than the Irish version of the site). Plus it was free delivery to your door.

For your puppy's sake I'd wean him off Bakers onto a better food as soon as possible - it's awful stuff.

cocker5

check out this article on dog food brands and how bad they are etc:

http://www.thedogbowl.com/PPF/category_ID/37/dogbowl.asp

:eek::eek::eek::eek:

anniehoo

Carl Sagan wrote: »

Anyone know any stores selling Orijen pet food? Wanted to keep my puppy on the same food (Bakers puppy food) the breeder was feeding them when we brought him home.

I know a supplier in South County Dublin if interested. Hes on hols at the minute but can PM you his number.

Carl Sagan

sionnaic wrote: »

I had my two on Orijen Puppy for a while but it didn't agree with them at all.
I think it was just far too high in protein - my vet had concerns about it.
But it does have quality ingredients.
The cheapest place I found to get it was www.zooplus.co.uk (cheaper than the Irish version of the site). Plus it was free delivery to your door.

For your puppy's sake I'd wean him off Bakers onto a better food as soon as possible - it's awful stuff.

Thanks - I know Bakers is awful, I just thought the stress of being taken away from the litter/mother and moved would be enough without changing foods. He seems to be alright with eating whatever he can get though. It's pretty hard keeping other food away from him!

I heard that more than 25% protein is too much and Orijen is something like 50%, but it's regarded as the best brand? I would have thought <30% would be too low.

anniehoo wrote: »

I know a supplier in South County Dublin if interested. Hes on hols at the minute but can PM you his number.

I'm in South Dublin too, so that'd be great! Thanks. Could you pm me the price/amount of food too please.

toadfly

I recently changed to burns from RC, our dogs are less than 4kg so they only get 40g/day. The recommended daily allowance for pedigree chum is 100g! 15kg of pedigree costs €40. so cheaper to get the better brands.

crally

Arden Grange is very good. look it up on hte web and take a note of the ingredients and you can compare to others you see. main office of Arden are based in Galway they could always give u a sample!

morganafay

Burns and James wellbeloved are a bit cheaper than royal canin but still meant to be good. Check them out on zooplus.co.uk and get 15kg bags cos they're better value.

secretnoise

just a couple of ideas to put your way.. i know the way things have gone a lot of people have been changing what they have been feeding their dogs , ie/ got rid of the more expensive brands which they simply cannot afford anymore. brands like royal canin , eukanuba. james wellbeloved, depending on the type and age of your dogs, their is a lot of less expensive brands which u can afford and will do no harm and be of any less good for your dog. ie pet master silver, £21.00. kasco complet£19.00. arkwright £19.00.petmaster musli£22.00. there is the beta range from adult to giant breed and light. they are a little more expensive around the £34.00 euro mark. but well worth it, all bags are 15kg. iv tried all my dogs on the above brands, i never feed my dogs the same brand anymore that 2 months.i like to change it around and the dogs love them. if i was to rate the food id have to go for the petmaster silver , and beta. hope this helps.

wopper10

Carl Sagan wrote: »

Thanks - I know Bakers is awful, I just thought the stress of being taken away from the litter/mother and moved would be enough without changing foods. He seems to be alright with eating whatever he can get though. It's pretty hard keeping other food away from him!

I heard that more than 25% protein is too much and Orijen is something like 50%, but it's regarded as the best brand? I would have thought <30% would be too low.



I'm in South Dublin too, so that'd be great! Thanks. Could you pm me the price/amount of food too please.

Also just in regards to the protein content its 40% not 50% high protein has no proven disadvantages its all speculation I read a big article on high protein foods and there effects(which there are none), its nothing to worry about. I feed both my dogs on it and they do great no problems in fact it has curred some problems


Hi Mollys pet boutique(mollys.ie) are based in dun laoghaire and I get my orijen off them

andreac

High protein can have a huge effect on large breeds as if they grow too quickly they can get a thing called Pano, growing pains and can be lame on and off until they are fully grown.
You want dogs to grow steadily and high protein can speed up growth which can cause these problems so you need to be very careful about feeding high protein to.
High protein gives energy too so a high protein food can give a dog far too much energy which can make them hyper, similar with horse feeds, you feed a low protein unless its a racehorse/eventer etc that needs a lot of energy in their feed.

wopper10

andreac wrote: »

High protein can have a huge effect on large breeds as if they grow too quickly they can get a thing called Pano, growing pains and can be lame on and off until they are fully grown.
You want dogs to grow steadily and high protein can speed up growth which can cause these problems so you need to be very careful about feeding high protein to.
High protein gives energy too so a high protein food can give a dog far too much energy which can make them hyper, similar with horse feeds, you feed a low protein unless its a racehorse/eventer etc that needs a lot of energy in their feed.

I have a large breed dog and a medium sized dog and both were/are feed on it although the medium sized one did not get it as a pup where my LB dog did. I know what you are saying about the growing to quickly for their formation but in my opinion if you feed the correct amounts and nothing is added to the food ie mince chicken etc. Then it is fine. I know plenty of people that feed orijen and have feed it to their pups with no problems and a proper, steady and helathy development. The protein content needs to be high to allow for that fast growth. I'm pretty sure as well there is only a 4% difference in the protein content of RC Giant breed puppy and orijen LB puppy which isn't a huge amount, but the quality of ingredients is ten times better.
In regards to the hyper activity, I never noticed it so can't comment, the only thing I can say is as it is a grain free food and there's no carbohydrates the dogs don't feel lethargic ot grubby, they feel happy and energetic the way they should be.

andreac

wopper10 wrote: »

I have a large breed dog and a medium sized dog and both were/are feed on it although the medium sized one did not get it as a pup where my LB dog did. I know what you are saying about the growing to quickly for their formation but in my opinion if you feed the correct amounts and nothing is added to the food ie mince chicken etc. Then it is fine. I know plenty of people that feed orijen and have feed it to their pups with no problems and a proper, steady and helathy development. The protein content needs to be high to allow for that fast growth. I'm pretty sure as well there is only a 4% difference in the protein content of RC Giant breed puppy and orijen LB puppy which isn't a huge amount, but the quality of ingredients is ten times better.
In regards to the hyper activity, I never noticed it so can't comment, the only thing I can say is as it is a grain free food and there's no carbohydrates the dogs don't feel lethargic ot grubby, they feel happy and energetic the way they should be.

But i know several large breed dogs that suffered badly from feeding high protein as a puppy and suffered from Pano so had to be fed a much lower protein.
You dont want a large breed to grow fast as thats where problems arise with joints and bone development, it should be slow and steady to allow bones and joints to grow at a similar rate, its the fast growing that causes problems which can result from feeding high protein.

wopper10

andreac wrote: »

But i know several large breed dogs that suffered badly from feeding high protein as a puppy and suffered from Pano so had to be fed a much lower protein.
You dont want a large breed to grow fast as thats where problems arise with joints and bone development, it should be slow and steady to allow bones and joints to grow at a similar rate, its the fast growing that causes problems which can result from feeding high protein.

Ah sure we can agree to disagree a bit then. It probably depends on the owner exercise and whether they supplement or not???

andreac

wopper10 wrote: »

Ah sure we can agree to disagree a bit then. It probably depends on the owner exercise and whether they supplement or not???

Nope, im afraid not, nothing to do with exercise or supplements, each time was due to high protein foods and each were large breeds, saints, danes etc. Im involved with a lot of experienced dog people of all different breeds and they all recommend to feed a lower protein to large breeds as puppies and restrict exercise too for growing joints.

wopper10

andreac wrote: »

Nope, im afraid not, nothing to do with exercise or supplements, each time was due to high protein foods and each were large breeds, saints, danes etc. Im involved with a lot of experienced dog people of all different breeds and they all recommend to feed a lower protein to large breeds as puppies and restrict exercise too for growing joints.

If your trying to fish for an argument here, It's not going to happen. That is your experience of it but not mine mine and Nor with any of the people I know on it. Mine is a 40kg dog and has been fed on it and has turned out beautifully shown to a great standard proving her conformation is spot on and never had any hyper activity or lamness.

If lower protein foods are ideal for LB dogs then why are all if not majority of quality puppy foods high in protein..... and thats all I'm going to say on this matter.

andreac

wopper10 wrote: »

If your trying to fish for an argument here, It's not going to happen. That is your experience of it but not mine mine and Nor with any of the people I know on it. Mine is a 40kg dog and has been fed on it and has turned out beautifully shown to a great standard proving her conformation is spot on and never had any hyper activity or lamness.

If lower protein foods are ideal for LB dogs then why are all if not majority of quality puppy foods high in protein..... and thats all I'm going to say on this matter.

Im not looking for an argument at all , just saying from my experience and the people i know in dogs, feeding high protein to large breeds is a no no and i wont do it or recommend it either. I have seen the outcome, thats all, where people with giant/large breeds have fed high protein with bad outcomes.