Best dry dog food, your thoughts please

bogman

Sister has 2 4 month old pups, a Red Setter and a Springer Spaniel, feeds them Bakers complete, I was thinking Kasco from my experiences years ago, what do ye think, is there really such a thing as "puppy food"
What do ye feed yours? was thinking zooplus as a supplier, maybe local petshop.
Thanks....Charles

barbiegirl

We use James Wellbeloved its hypoallergenic and both dogs are healthy and happy on it :-)

Shanao

Yes there is such a thing as puppy food, puppies need a higher level of protein than adult dog, which is why there are different life stage foods. Bakers and Kasco, to be honest, are relatively cheap for a reason. There are much better dog foods out there and while it seems like they're more expensive, you feed less of them so it'll actually work out to the same cost and your dog will be healthier. James Wellbeloved, Royal Canin, Science Plan, Eukanuba, Burns, Real Nature (a completely natural food and my own preference) are all excellent foods. With one being a setter, I would reccommend a large breed specific puppy food- these contain extra ingredients to help maintain the joints and heart of the heavier breeds (red setters are usually around 30kgs fully grown)

Melion

Jesus, get off the Bakers straight away. Have a read online about it

Meteoric

Mine is on Gain Big Dog Senior, have had him on various Gain foods for years depending on what level of activity/showing/etc he was at at the time. Always suited him.

They do a puppy and adult range as well, is hard to get if not on the east/south coast though. On the Gain active Bon't was gorgeous but coat was a bit too soft but not fluffy (labs coat should be hard to the touch), was great on the Muesli, when they brought out Big Dog range was really good on the Adult, better on Senior which I switched to about 6 months ago (he has only just turned 6)

Asphyxia

Make sure they're fed puppy food. I feed them Royal Canin.

Daisy!

Melion wrote: »

Jesus, get off the Bakers straight away. Have a read online about it

My God, I feed my JRT Bakers Complete (yes I'm stupid now I realise but I was told by a few people that it's a good dog food!) and I just googled reviews on it, the first review I read http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090618060051AAJUEe4

Our dog has major aggression problems when it comes to other dogs. I'll go to the pet shop tomorrow and start him on something better (like one of the names mentioned above) and see if his behaviour is any better after a few weeks on that.

I feel awful now, I thought I was giving him good food I should have looked in to it better.

bogman

Thanks all, ill pass that on to her right away, live & learn, the forums are deadly for queries like this

jessiesmom

we use jameswellbeloved turkey for puppies for our girl and lamb and rice for our other dog, i find its brilliant , they both love it and the poops are great , solid!!!!! i used mollys.ie to order mine and anything over 30 euro is delivered free, we had our older dog on the fish variety in it and she loved this also,

ISDW

I have a 6 month old pup and he's on Best for my dog puppy food and is flying on it. You order it online, but I ordered a bag one day at 3pm and it was delivered by 11am the next day, they are in Meath, I'm in Sligo:D Paul who owns the company is very helpful and willing to take time to talk to owners about the food.

Daisy!

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showcat.php/cat/7/page/16

Question about reviews....Hill's Science only got one star here, I always heard they were one of the top brands?

ISDW

Daisy! wrote: »

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showcat.php/cat/7/page/16

Question about reviews....Hill's Science only got one star here, I always heard they were one of the top brands?

Vets make commission on Hills, so they promote it heavily:D

Shanao

ISDW wrote: »

Vets make commission on Hills, so they promote it heavily:D

Same with Royal Canin and Burns unfortunately. In saying that though, hills is better quality than what the site has given them, i'd feed Hills before I'd feed my guys on Royal canin anyday.
Main thing with dog food is to make sure the first ingredient is a named meat, and if the second or third are as well, then its going to be a fairly high quality food. Best off if it doesn't have any maize and beward products that have maize mentioned two or three times. A lot of low quality food are cereal-based rather than meat-based and while the dog will feel full, it wont be very good for him.

tk123

Daisy! wrote: »

Our dog has major aggression problems when it comes to other dogs. I'll go to the pet shop tomorrow and start him on something better (like one of the names mentioned above) and see if his behaviour is any better after a few weeks on that.

Careful - you have to slowly switch the foods over a couple of weeks - otherwise he may get the runs

My guy is on Luath. Which is pretty much the same as Burns with a few extra veggies/herbs - but he seems to like it better and so do all the begger dogs in the park! :pac: So if you can't get Luath Burns would be my next recommendation. He has nice solid poos, no farts and rarely gets the runs. Also his coat has gotten lovely and shiny on Luath- it wasn't shiny on Burns. It's not full of fillers and the protein content is 18.5% so he's not bouncing off the walls.

Different foods suit different dogs and you may need to try a few brands so whatever you get stick to small bags until you know the food suits the dogs - don't rush out and buy a 15kg bag to save money.

Inexile

I suppose OP you should be asking whats the best dry dog food within a certain price range. Everyone has such different opinions on food.

I have tried Burns and Alden Grange at about €56 per 15 kg bag. Both good foods. Then I switched to Skinners at about €43 for the same bag again a good food but it didnt suit my greyhound.

I have just recently bought Champion Hypo sensitive food, not for the hound, but have yet to try it. Im just waiting to be further down the bags I have before I start switching (gradually) over. Its about €35 per bag but from reading the ingredients I have to admit that its not as good as the skinners but its still better than some other brands.

btw I feed the grey on Wagg a cheap food but for some reason it suits this dog better - go figure.

RubyGirl

Meteoric wrote: »

Mine is on Gain Big Dog Senior, have had him on various Gain foods for years depending on what level of activity/showing/etc he was at at the time. Always suited him.

They do a puppy and adult range as well, is hard to get if not on the east/south coast though. On the Gain active Bon't was gorgeous but coat was a bit too soft but not fluffy (labs coat should be hard to the touch), was great on the Muesli, when they brought out Big Dog range was really good on the Adult, better on Senior which I switched to about 6 months ago (he has only just turned 6)

Same as Meteoric, I feed my lab Gain Big Dog, and my two pups get the big dog puppy. Find it great as my lab had sensitive tummy when younger and this was only food that agreed with him. Pet Mania stock it now aswell.

mymo

I wouldn't trust that dog food analysis site, I checked the ingredients listed for the Royal Canin and another food and they weren't the same as the packets I had here.
They were same foods exactly but the ingredients listed differed, on two different foods.

Last time I checked it recommended certain high protein foods, one brand in particular, so not convinced its unbiased.

toadfly

Hills is pure muck IMO, royal canin had my dogs bouncing off the Walls with the high protein. They're on Burns now but when that's gone am going to try them on Luath on Tk's recommendation!

Cherry Blossom

mymo wrote: »

I wouldn't trust that dog food analysis site, I checked the ingredients listed for the Royal Canin and another food and they weren't the same as the packets I had here.
They were same foods exactly but the ingredients listed differed, on two different foods.

Last time I checked it recommended certain high protein foods, one brand in particular, so not convinced its unbiased.

It's very biased towards very high protein foods, which actually will suit very few dogs, there was a thread on this ages ago.

I have mine on Burns Lamb and Rice, the only thing I have found so far that she hasn't reacted badly to, I'm thinking about trying Luath though just need to get up the courage as I'm almost expecting another change not to go well!

ABajaninCork

Started mine off on Royal Canin puppy food. That was fine. Switched to the Shih Tzu food (again RC). That didn't suit him. Vet advised changing his food to the small dog (RC). THAT didn't suit him either.

The only food I find he likes and will tolerate is Burns. We alternate the Pork and Potato with the Lamb & Rice, put a bit of psyllium husk on top and he's absolutely fine with it. I also give him fish and brown rice, and cook hearts for him a couple of times a week, again sprinkled with psyllium husk.

Bloody expensive, but the bags last a long time, so actually cheaper in the long run.

I've heard good things about Orijen (available from Zooplus), but it's very high in protein, so am a bit wary of trying in case it doesn't agree with my boy.

Cherry Blossom

ABajaninCork wrote: »

Bloody expensive, but the bags last a long time, so actually cheaper in the long run.

Where are you getting it from if you dont mind me asking? It's £7.75 for a 2kg bag in the North where I get mine or €10 in a petshop closer to me (but I won't buy anything from them, I have my reasons ) The 2kg bag lasts my terrier a month.

lorebringer

Some good brands of food are:
- Royal Canin
- James Wellbeloved
- Burns
- Arden Grange
- Orijen
- Best for my dog
- Acana
- Hills Science Plan

Bakers is a low quality food and changing will do the dogs the world of good. When switching over, do it gradually over at least a week (for puppies) increasing the new food and decreasing the old food until they are only on the new food. Some brands don't agree with some dogs - just because you have your dog on X great brand, it doesn't mean it is the best for your individual dog - so if the first food tried does cut it, it may be worth trying another after about a month. At 4 months, they would need to be fed a puppy food, which shouldn't be a problem because most companies do this. Food can be sourced in vet practices, good pet stores and online. It may feel very steep paying around €50/€60 for a bag of dog food but, because portions will be smaller, over time it works out around the same price (and you are feeding your dog the best food you can!). Generally, with dog food, you get what you pay for (obviously there are exceptions but as a rule of thumb this is true) so the extra few euro can make the difference.

Asking "which dog food is the best" is like opening a can of worms. It's all about finding what is right for your dog and your pocket. Doing your research is so important, look up everything you can and try a few foods before you settle onto one (unless you get very lucky and find the best one first time!). If you are happy with the food you are feeding and your dog is healthy and happy then you are probably on the right track!

Good luck!

Tranceypoo

Has anyone tried Barking Heads dog food? I get it in Petworld , going by the ingredients it's a good natural food, brown rice, chicken , potatoe, oats, peas, sunflower oil and some other stuff, nothing I've not heard of, my dog is great on it, solid poops and regular as clockwork and no farts, I feed him the low fat version in the morning and another flavour in the afternoon. However the dog I'm fostering is on it as well and doing 50/% solid poops and 50% runny poops and farting so I guess it's not agreeing with her as much, I'm wondering if I should change her to another food or persevere with it, we've had her nearly 4 weeks now, anyone any advice?

jjmcclure

I use Alpha adult maintenance with my 5 month old lab. 22% protein, chicken and rice. £11 Sterling for a 15kg bag. His coat is in fantastic shape and he loves the food.

ISDW

Tranceypoo wrote: »

Has anyone tried Barking Heads dog food? I get it in Petworld , going by the ingredients it's a good natural food, brown rice, chicken , potatoe, oats, peas, sunflower oil and some other stuff, nothing I've not heard of, my dog is great on it, solid poops and regular as clockwork and no farts, I feed him the low fat version in the morning and another flavour in the afternoon. However the dog I'm fostering is on it as well and doing 50/% solid poops and 50% runny poops and farting so I guess it's not agreeing with her as much, I'm wondering if I should change her to another food or persevere with it, we've had her nearly 4 weeks now, anyone any advice?

Sorry, never heard of it. Do you switch the foster dogs food as well, one flavour in the morning, different in the afternoon? I'd suggest you stay with one food. What breed of dog is it? I know with huskies its very easy to overfeed them, leading to soft poops. If you can, maybe divide her food into 3 or 4 meals, give her time to digest the food, that may help.:D

Cherry Blossom

Tranceypoo wrote: »

Has anyone tried Barking Heads dog food?

Never tried it, but it's one of three stocked by a vet near me, the other 2 being RC and Burns is ordered in for specific customers.

RubyGirl

jjmcclure wrote: »

I use Alpha adult maintenance with my 5 month old lab. 22% protein, chicken and rice. £11 Sterling for a 15kg bag. His coat is in fantastic shape and he loves the food.

Where do you buy it?

jjmcclure

RubyGirl wrote: »

Where do you buy it?

I get it from the North, I'm from Tyrone originally. I have also supplied a couple of neighbours and charged around €16 a bag.

tk123

TillyGirl wrote: »

Hills is pure muck IMO, royal canin had my dogs bouncing off the Walls with the high protein. They're on Burns now but when that's gone am going to try them on Luath on Tk's recommendation!

toadfly

tk123 wrote: »

I just bought a new bag 2 weeks ago, ran outa Burns so couldnt go looking for it but will next time if I organise myself a bit better. Where do you buy it?

Tranceypoo

ISDW wrote: »

Sorry, never heard of it. Do you switch the foster dogs food as well, one flavour in the morning, different in the afternoon? I'd suggest you stay with one food. What breed of dog is it? I know with huskies its very easy to overfeed them, leading to soft poops. If you can, maybe divide her food into 3 or 4 meals, give her time to digest the food, that may help.:D

No, I keep her on the same flavour, chicken & rice and it's meant to be for dogs with sensitive tums for easy digestion.
She is a boxer/collie cross we think, about 18 months/2 years old, recently spayed
I was trying to get some weight on her in the first 3 weeks cos she was a bit skinney but now I have cut it down by a quarter because she's put on a little bit and I think she's the right weight now, however I'm taking her to the vets this weekend to get her weighed and to see what the vet thinks

LucyBliss

Tranceypoo wrote: »

Has anyone tried Barking Heads dog food?

Yes, that's what I feed my dogs. They used to be on Hills until one of them started throwing up, oh about two years ago now, and the vet did a bunch of tests but found nothing. A friend of mine suggested it might be the maize content that was at fault and when I looked at the Hills ingredients and the ingredients on the recovery food the vet prescribed, voilá! Maize seemed to be the primary ingredient. The vet wasn't too convinced that it was the Hills causing the problem but then I found that about them getting commission and what not from them so what else was she going to say?!
I did some research and realised that some problems the other dog was having was allergy related and I put them on Orijen. They loved it but I found it a bit pricey and I felt that maybe it was just a bit too high in protein for the type of dogs they are.

So we switched to Barking Heads and have had no problems. There is nothing like the farts and the poopage that was coming out of them on the Hills! I like that it's natural ingredients with no filler and it's affordable enough.

But my three will eat anything you put in front of them.

Tranceypoo, I'm sorry that your foster dog is having problems. I was looking at the Arden Grange range in Petworld the other day and they seem to have good ingredients in products with no filler. I hope her system finds a food she likes and settles down.

Officer Giggles

I have my Newfoundland on purina pro plan puppy large breed robust and cannot fault it, the breeder recommended it and he has 6 of them, all very healthy

tk123

TillyGirl wrote: »

I just bought a new bag 2 weeks ago, ran outa Burns so couldnt go looking for it but will next time if I organise myself a bit better. Where do you buy it?

We get it from Dog Training Ireland because he goes to daycare there but they deliver too. It swells up nicely if you soak it - previous foods we tried used to turn to dust..anyhoos when when he was on crate rest I'd soak the food and then blend it with the handblender to get a paste to fill his kongs. He loves it so he gets dry for breakfast and a filled kong for his dindins.:pac:

Tranceypoo

LucyBliss wrote: »

Yes, that's what I feed my dogs. They used to be on Hills until one of them started throwing up, oh about two years ago now, and the vet did a bunch of tests but found nothing. A friend of mine suggested it might be the maize content that was at fault and when I looked at the Hills ingredients and the ingredients on the recovery food the vet prescribed, voilá! Maize seemed to be the primary ingredient. The vet wasn't too convinced that it was the Hills causing the problem but then I found that about them getting commission and what not from them so what else was she going to say?!
I did some research and realised that some problems the other dog was having was allergy related and I put them on Orijen. They loved it but I found it a bit pricey and I felt that maybe it was just a bit too high in protein for the type of dogs they are.

So we switched to Barking Heads and have had no problems. There is nothing like the farts and the poopage that was coming out of them on the Hills! I like that it's natural ingredients with no filler and it's affordable enough.

But my three will eat anything you put in front of them.

Tranceypoo, I'm sorry that your foster dog is having problems. I was looking at the Arden Grange range in Petworld the other day and they seem to have good ingredients in products with no filler. I hope her system finds a food she likes and settles down.

Thanks LucyBliss, my dog is great on the Barking Heads but like your 3 he will eat anything and has never had any farting issues!! I will persevere with the foster, I'll be in town Monday so will have a look in Petworld at the Arden Grange ingredients and maybe try that, I think it will be trial and error!!

ABajaninCork

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

Where are you getting it from if you dont mind me asking? It's £7.75 for a 2kg bag in the North where I get mine or €10 in a petshop closer to me (but I won't buy anything from them, I have my reasons ) The 2kg bag lasts my terrier a month.

You can get it from Zooplus.co.uk. Cheaper than the .ie website!;)

Vets also stock it. HTH

Cherry Blossom

ABajaninCork wrote: »

You can get it from Zooplus.co.uk. Cheaper than the .ie website!;)

Vets also stock it. HTH

It's £7.99 on zooplus, no I thought maybe you were paying over the odds for it, as you said it was expensive, I consider €10 a month nothing to feed my dog, it's the equivilant of 2 chocolate bars a week

ABajaninCork

Yes, I know. What perhaps I should have said was "It's bloody expensive if you buy from the vet." The same £7.99 bag costs about E15-16 if you get it from a vet.

So we buy from zooplus.co.uk, buy his toothpaste and bits and pieces, and we get it delivered for free as we spend over a certain amount.

Daisy!

Right I'm off to Woodies later, they have the best selection in my area. The pet store here is very limited. I'd love if anyone could recommend a dog food for my dog. I have a 3 year old male neutered JRT. He's very aggressive with other dogs (some very much so!!) and cats (goes mental!!) if that has anything to do with his food I don't know....up until now I've been feeding him Bakers Complete. To my own ignorance I thought it was a good dog food Obviously from this thread I've learnt that it isn't so could anyone recommend me a good dry dog food for him? I've read what brands are good on this thread but is there any in particular that might be better for my little fella and his aggression or Jack Russell terriers in general? I know it's trial and error but any help would be great thanks.

Gerry Asstrix

Cant go wrong with Madra, fiver a bag and has all the nutrients in it to keep your dog big and strong, throw in abit of wet food, the dog will lap it up

Shanao

No offence, but i'd steer clear of Madra. Like I said before about other foods, there's a reason its cheap, the quantity of meat in Madra is very low, meaning its a cereal based diet. And I would definitely stay away from wet food, 80% water so most of it just comes out the other end.

What foods does the Woodies have? I would get him off Bakers as soon as you can (by gradually adding the new food over about seven days of course) and it should make a difference over a couple of weeks.

miryongee

THE BEST food I think in my humble opinion is Ziwipeak. Its freeze dried meat and it looks like broken up bits of jerky. Its great for my dog who is allergic to EVERYTHING. The only down side is that its pricey but you feed less than other food cuz its all protein so less poo and u use less so its an even pay out.

OwenM

Connollys Red Mills €6.99 for 2.5kg from woodies or petmania.

Her coat is shining and my Vet thinks it's an excellent feed. It's made in Ireland I think and a lot cheaper than some of the feeds mentioned previously.

Daisy!

Shanao wrote: »

What foods does the Woodies have? I would get him off Bakers as soon as you can (by gradually adding the new food over about seven days of course) and it should make a difference over a couple of weeks.

Last time I was there they had a big selection but checking online I can only see Madra, Wagg, Pedigree Chum, Bakers and Red Mills Star but I know there's more than that in my local one. Will go down there tomorrow at some stage.

Is Red Mills Star a good one?

Shanao

Red Mills star, surprisingly enough, is actually worse quality than pedigree chum, and we all know ow good pedigree chum is;) Of all the foods listed there, i really would avoid all of them. Just have a look at the ingredients listed on the bags, you'll see pretty quickly what I'm talking about. I'm pretty sure Star doesn't even mention what kind of meat is in it. Avoid anything with colourings in it, the coloured kibbles are for our benefit, not the dogs.

Let us know what you find in Woodies.

Daisy!

Thanks for that, all of this is confusing lol. If none of the good brands mentioned in this thread are in Woodies tomorrow so I'll just get them on zooplus I think because my local petshop is crazy expensive unfortunately.

Thanks for your help!

andreac

Daisy! wrote: »

Last time I was there they had a big selection but checking online I can only see Madra, Wagg, Pedigree Chum, Bakers and Red Mills Star but I know there's more than that in my local one. Will go down there tomorrow at some stage.

Is Red Mills Star a good one?

Star is the lowest or worst quality Red Mills you can get. The Red Mills Leader or even better the Supreme is the best quality in the Red Mills range.

Woodies dont really stock high or good quality dog foods, only the ones mentioned by Daisy which really arent that great at all. But if you have to go with one i would get the Red Mills Leader or Supreme if you have to get a food in Woodies.

andreac

Gerry Asstrix wrote: »

Cant go wrong with Madra, fiver a bag and has all the nutrients in it to keep your dog big and strong, throw in abit of wet food, the dog will lap it up

Sorry but this food is pure muck with crap ingredients and of course it would be with that price. You get what you pay for so its obviously going to be very poor quality if it only costs a fiver.

ISDW

The Red Mills greyhound range is okay, there is one, Tracker that is only 20% protein, the other ones are for working dogs and are 27% and 32% I think, a bit high for a pet dog. But, they are reasonably cheap because there is lower VAT on them, although they have just put their prices up:(

trio

Just on the subject of the Red Mills Leader - that's what we're feeding ours on at the moment but he farts constantly - real stinkers too! - and his poos are a bit watery (and bizarrely yellow!).

We're going to use up our 15kg bag as there's about 1/3 left, but after that we're switching.

Why are some foods "fartier" than others? What ingredient should I be looking out for to combat that?

And also, is there any ingredient that has an effect on a dog's temperment?

andreac

trio wrote: »

Just on the subject of the Red Mills Leader - that's what we're feeding ours on at the moment but he farts constantly - real stinkers too! - and his poos are a bit watery (and bizarrely yellow!).

We're going to use up our 15kg bag as there's about 1/3 left, but after that we're switching.

Why are some foods "fartier" than others? What ingredient should I be looking out for to combat that?

And also, is there any ingredient that has an effect on a dog's temperment?

To be honest if your dog is like this with the food i would stop it straight away as it obviously doesnt agree with him, hence the farts and watery poo.
All dogs are different and some foods will suit one but not another. It could be just the ingredients that are in it that dont agree with your dog.
Usually the cheaper the food the lower quality it is and can cause problems with their digestive system.

Sometimes high protein can give a dog too much energy and make them hyper, little bit like kids going hyper on sugar.