Food for new rescue dog

jtkpenguin

So we’ve had our new rescue dog for 2 weeks now & he’s really settled in extremely well, he’s a 15/16 mth old collie X & very playful.

we give him a 45min run each morning where he runs & plays with his frisbee & other dogs. Then he’s got the run of the house & garden to play with his toys, I also do clicker training with him during the afternoon then he gets a walk in the evening.

He’s been fed twice a day. the rescue centre had him on a mix of Gain Elite kibble (which he doesn’t really like), RC puppy mini kibble (which he loves) & they also gave him a dish of mashed potato & ham which we’ve weaned him off of!

we want to give him a good quality kibble & our budget is about €1.00-€1.50 per day.

please give me some recommendations, TIA

jtkpenguin

Please can someone help me out, thank you

sdp

Sorry not much help, as I don't feed dry food, But you will want to buy the best one you can afford. With the first ingredient been protein.

Hard to say how much you will need to spent , as a lot depends on he's weight, and how much you will be feeding. maybe have a look at Zooplus for dry food, and a look at All about dog food site.( it will give you reviews on dog's Food)

Best of look with your boy.

Tabnabs

Our rescue did very well on Barking Heads kibble. We get a big bag delivered FOC from Pet Food Depot.

anewme

Sounds like he is settling in well.

The allaboutdogfood site, while not perfect, is a good guide.

I would also say look at Zooplus....I was looking at either Markus Muhle Natural or Lukullus, which would be within your budget.

I settled on Acana, he also likes Canagen, these might be outside your Budget, its fine for me as my fella is small. (These are available in Petstop). You can buy 500g bags of Canagen (I think) if you wanted to try him on it. Petstop have a card from Acana, buy 7 bags of dog food and get the 8th free, you get your card stamped when you buy a pack in store.

You might prefer something from Zooplus as Acana and Canagen are expensive.

My lad was on Gain Elite when I got him, its just ok OP, probably better than RC, but there are better choices out there.

Good Luck with your new dog.

Phil.x

Can't go wrong with leader food, great value, good ingredients and it's made in Ireland.

https://www.redmillspet.ie/

jtkpenguin

Thank you all for your replies

I went to a local, independent pet store & had a long chat with the assistant Who seemed to know her stuff.

she recommended that I try him on Carnilove & see how he goes but On the allaboutdogfood site it doesn’t give it that high a rating which concerns me.

I am happy to increase the budget slightly

the zooplus site is brilliant, used it before so I’ve no problem ordering from them once I know what to get

anewme

That is an excellent dog food OP.

It's rated 89%, which is very high.

I think some of the zooplus brands may be better value OP, but if Carnilove is within your budget and he takes to it, happy days.

jtkpenguin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119065327#Comment_119065327

Glad to hear that, I’m mixing it in with his existing RC mini puppy kibble, introducing a little more each day & he seems to prefer that to the RC stuff his poop seems to be ok so far.

+1 for Barking heads- I use James Beloved these days- regular as clockwork solid stools and good energy levels displayed with the dog - I wouldn’t change now. Often there are special offers available which can help keep costs down a little - for an extra few cents or a euro you might well be saving a lot more on vet bills so worth investing in good food.

My cocker spaniel did very well on James Wellbeloved for 15 years so I would second that recommendation, and there are often special offers, buy 2 bags get 1 free, etc. In fact the manager of the local maxizoo used to ring me and let me know when it would be going on offer, and also they often have it on offer in The Range stores.

I dont have a dog now but am currently weaning my two 11 month old kittens onto James Wellbeloved for cats as part of a mixed wet/dry diet.

Furze99

Our dog will eat practically any dry food, that's the trick. Don't encourage a diet of just one make/ brand. Often mix in a bit of our food, cats food left over, loves a scrape of canned fish mixed it. Keep it varied.

anewme

James Wellbeloved does not score that high on the Allaboutdogfood site. I know its not a "holy grail" but its a fairly decent benchmark and I'd look for something over 80-85%.

The Carnilove that the OP is now feeding as recommended in the pet shop, is significantly higher.

Do people actually mix foods for their dogs to vary it, for example the Canagen (dry) comes in different flavours, but I stick to the same one?

hamburgham

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119055727#Comment_119055727

Why don’t you give him proper food? Cook up a mince and veg mix, mix in a bit of bread. Chicken breast, tinned fish, mash potato, they can eat it all. It’s great to see them really enjoy their food rather than just pick at it which is all I have ever seen a dog fed dry processed nuts do.

Minimo62

I don't feed dry food apart from the odd "emergency" but when I do I use Essential: https://essentialfoods.ie/collections/all

There is a distributor in Wexford who is very helpful and very speedy delivery and food is high quality - 91% on allaboutdogfood.

Only issue is that you can only get small size kibble in the small bags and large pieces of kibble in the big bags.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119095006#Comment_119095006

James Wellloved adult small breed is free from all added artificial additives etc so classed as “natural” - I supplement my doggies diet with a bit of human quality chicken and fish throughout the week anyway so he gets all the nutrients he needs.

The Carnilove has a very high meat content- our vet advised not to go too strong on meat content as we need to keep the dogs weight down - so the percentage ratings on this site are one thing but your own dogs needs also need to be taken into account - I reckon if my dog was much younger and fitter I’d be going for the Carnilove

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119095006#Comment_119095006

It's not just about the scores, its about the dog as well.

As I said, my cocker did really well on it. When I first got her, (a rescue) I tried her on royal canin (breed specific) and it literally destroyed her coat and skin. Switched her to James Wellbeloved on vet recommendation and never had an issue after that with either her stomach or skin, and her silky coat came back and was beautiful. Her stools were small, consistently firm and non-offensive.

Thats good enough for me to recommend it! Its certainly not the cheapest option either.

anewme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119109393#Comment_119109393

As I said, its not the holy grail, but is a good bookmark.

I'd try to get a 75 -80% from that site and then you know its decent enough.

My Mam had her dogs on Bakers/Pedi8gree/Lidl etc and they lived to 16/18 so do not underestimate love, care and attention.

delly

Speaking of Pedigree Chum, I've been on the puppy kibble for my now 6 months old. He did start with Gain, but never really loved it, so switched to Pedigree Chum and he's loved it since. Looking back, it was probably the fact that he was new to the house and not eating much, rathar than Gain itself, as he has since eaten the bags I have left over.

Based on the comments here, I think I will now look for better quality, although I have had no bad affects from Pedigree Chum. One tip which may be obvious to other dry food feeders, is to let the kibble sit in warm water for a bit before you let doggo eat it. Reason being is that as the food goes through the system very quickly, it doesn't have much time to release it's nutrients before going out the other end. Warm water kick starts the breaking down of the kibble, so cuts a corner by the time it gets to the dogs stomach.

anewme

Heads up that there are some great deals on dog food on the Equipet website at the moment. Most of their stores are being taken over by Maxi Zoo(Shame) and they are clearing all the brands that maxi zoo don’t carry.

some great offers on Origen, Acana, Canagen, James Well beloved, burns, royal canin, Carnilove, leader, go native etc. .

delly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119166913#Comment_119166913

Great shout, cheers. The bag I usually get in Tesco is €10.35. With the 10% first order signup, it's €4.05 on Equipet. I ordered 5, so that's an extra €30 in the pocket.

laoisman11

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119095057#Comment_119095057

Maybe because they want to make sure their rescue dog is receiving the full nutritional profile that he needs (vitamins and minerals included)?

anewme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119167128#Comment_119167128

delighted someone else got a bargain!

Very much when it’s gone, it’s gone. The Acana is now out of stock, so I got some Canagen instead. Great deals on treats etc as well.

think sale finishes tomorrow, raging I only copped it today

steamsey

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119166913#Comment_119166913

Nice one. Just got some half price 12kg bags of go native puppy food. 43 eur instead of 86. Paid 89 for a bag of it in Carrickmines recently so will be happy once all arrives ok.

Faith

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119166913#Comment_119166913

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119167128#Comment_119167128

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119167300#Comment_119167300

Has anyone actually received their order yet? I ordered last Tuesday and it's still saying "Processing". I know they said to expect 3-5 days for delivery, but I would have expected it to be shipped by now.

Edit: just after posting this, it was shipped!

anewme

I havent got mine yet. I had placed two orders. One for me and the second for rescue.

Because they had not got 1 item off my order the system cancelled the whole thing on me. So nothing for my fella, after me telling everyone else, lol. The rescue order was confirmed, not arrived as yet.

A friend who I also gave the details to, received his order last Friday, so I think it depends where they are coming from.

Faith

I just got an email to say half the items I bought, and they told me had been dispatched, are actually out of stock and won't be coming. It sounded too good to be true and it seems like it was!

delly

Just got my DPD dispatch notice via email.