Dog food recommendations.

bubbles o hara · 22-09-2020 3:10pm #1

Hi all.

I'm just looking for some advice regarding changing our fellas diet. He's a 9 year old JR and has been on Bakers chicken & rice for small dogs for about 2 years now, but even though his stools are nice and solid, he seems to suffer from a lot of flatulence, and is inclined to eat grass a lot.

Our vet said Bakers is fine for him, but we're not so sure.

He's perfectly fine in all other ways, full of energy, happy, like a rocket on his walks. :pac:

Price isn't an issue, but we just want to find him the best possible food for his tummy. Any and all advice would be appreciated.

Thank you.

pinktoe · 22-09-2020 11:53pm

Does he eat his food really fast? You can buy special bowls that would slow him down.

Have a look at https://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/ for nutritional value.

Barking heads and Acana score quiet high and can be found in pet shops. There are lots of decent dog food for all budgets but Bakers usually perform bad with reviews.

I would avoid Royal Canin. They have pictures of each breed on the bag, but usually doesn't score great on reviews compared to similar or cheaper priced foods.

Cherry Blossom · 23-09-2020 12:33am

Bakers is really at the bottom of the list of foods I would consider. It has virtually no meat content at all. I feed barking heads lamb flavour. Before that I fed Acana. Acana has high levels of legumes as a grain free food which has been linked in one study to heart issues in dogs. That’s why I changed. I had fed barking heads before and was happy with it. I’ve also fed eukanuba, hills, burns, wainwrights which is pets at home’s own brand and Lukullus. Eukanuba caused loose stools, hills caused hotspots, my dogs were a little underweight on burns and better foods came along. Wainrights was fine but it wasn’t always in stock when I wanted it and I had to go to NI for it. I prefer to buy online now. I don’t remember why I stopped feeding Lukullus I think I just had been feeding it a while and fancied a change or maybe it had a shorter date being cold pressed.

Be aware that whatever you change to you will need to do it gradually over a few weeks to avoid stomach upset.

Cherry Blossom · 23-09-2020 12:37am

Sorry I did try Royal cannin with my first dog too but it made her constipated and the stools were very very hard and the poor dog was straining for ages trying to go to the toilet. It’s also very overpriced for its ingredients.

allthedoyles · 23-09-2020 12:39am

Tailored dry food for adult Jack Russell Terriers over the age of 10 months, with an ideal kibble including calcium binder, along with adapted levels of protein combined with borage oil and fish oil. The Jack Russell Terrier is known as a lively, adventurous and intelligent dog, starting off as a hunting dog and now one of the most popular family pets. Its strengths include courage, temperament and stamina, but all of this can only be achieved with a suitable diet such as Royal Canin Jack Russell Terrier Adult.

Cherry Blossom · 23-09-2020 12:52am

What are calcium binders and borage oil and why are they important for JRTs? Also Royal Canin called, they want their marketing spiel back.

Antares35 · 23-09-2020 1:06am

allthedoyles wrote: »

Tailored dry food for adult Jack Russell Terriers over the age of 10 months, with an ideal kibble including calcium binder, along with adapted levels of protein combined with borage oil and fish oil. The Jack Russell Terrier is known as a lively, adventurous and intelligent dog, starting off as a hunting dog and now one of the most popular family pets. Its strengths include courage, temperament and stamina, but all of this can only be achieved with a suitable diet such as Royal Canin Jack Russell Terrier Adult.

We had ours on this and found it great. We switched to RC hypoallergenic because she has colitis but generally found RC very good.

She will have salmon/ chicken breast/ diced beef / sardines 3-4 times a week, and her dried food every evening.

bubbles o hara · 25-09-2020 2:53pm

Thank you all so much for the advice. I really do appreciate it. Hopefully we'll now find something suitable for the small man.

29-09-2020 3:57pm

Cherry Blossom wrote: »

Sorry I did try Royal cannin with my first dog too but it made her constipated and the stools were very very hard and the poor dog was straining for ages trying to go to the toilet. It’s also very overpriced for its ingredients.

I just switched to RC at the weekend and I’m starting to notice this - I’ll keep an eye out over coming days but I may have to go looking elsewhere again - how do you find barking heads and what stockists have it ?

Cherry Blossom · 29-09-2020 4:01pm

I’ve had no problems at all on Barking heads. I feed the green one which is lamb. I buy it online from zooplus.

29-09-2020 4:16pm

Cherry Blossom wrote: »

I’ve had no problems at all on Barking heads. I feed the green one which is lamb. I buy it online from zooplus.

Just read ingredients - looks like the right balance- protein at 20% not too high as my dog not overly active (vets advice) - and fibre at 4.5% is good too. Many thanks for mentioning this - will give it a try next.

Agree with you on the grain free- I’m reluctant to go that route- for those interested I found McAdam online - looks very good but expensive.

https://mcadamspetfoods.com/shop/dog-food/scottish-salmon-small-breed-dogs/

kg703 · 30-09-2020 10:45am

I feed my allergy ridden bulldog Canagan, Highland Feast. It is pricy AF but no wet poops and a lot less itching. She loves it. Then again she'd eat anything and thinks green beans are treats

mobby · 30-09-2020 3:04pm

I have used this Markus Mühle Natural Dog Food for my 3 year old Cavalier. doing good on it, and his weight is spot which is important for his breed.

30-09-2020 8:20pm

Deleted User wrote: »

Just read ingredients - looks like the right balance- protein at 20% not too high as my dog not overly active (vets advice) - and fibre at 4.5% is good too. Many thanks for mentioning this - will give it a try next.

Agree with you on the grain free- I’m reluctant to go that route- for those interested I found McAdam online - looks very good but expensive.

https://mcadamspetfoods.com/shop/dog-food/scottish-salmon-small-breed-dogs/

Sorry don't ask me where I got those %'s from but I don't think it was barking heads Lamb - i think it was Barking Heads Fat Dog slim
https://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dry_dog_food/barking_heads/580671

However, this is interesting-ish:

Normal Lamb BH is:

Analytical Constituents (%): Crude Protein 23%, Crude Fat 17%, Crude Fibres 3.5%, Crude Ash 9%, Omega-6 2.1%, Omega-3 1.2%

BH Lamb SMALL DOG BREED:

Analytical Constituents (%): Crude Protein 22%, Crude Fat 14%, Crude Fibres 3%, Crude Ash 9%, Omega-6 1.8%, Omega-3 1.2%

But in addition, depending on what website you look at, the above %'s change a little over the protein fat and fibre - just an observation. Also currently looking to see if buying direct from barking heads v's amazon v's zooplus makes a difference in price.

30-09-2020 8:23pm

kg703 wrote: »

I feed my allergy ridden bulldog Canagan, Highland Feast. It is pricy AF but no wet poops and a lot less itching. She loves it. Then again she'd eat anything and thinks green beans are treats

How does the "itching" manifest- is it the odd scratch or constant licking or obvious irritation in the dog or what? Just trying to learn what to watch out for myself in my own dog as I try and settle on a long-term food source. (I"m a new dog owner of an old small rescue dog)- thanks

Cherry Blossom · 30-09-2020 11:51pm

What you have posted is not the ingredients but the nutritional values. I don’t pay much attention to this information. It is much more important what the actual ingredients are and the sources this nutrition comes from. The first ingredient should be meat. Ingredients to avoid include meat/animal derivatives, cereal derivatives, wheat, maize to name a few. The percentages mean very little and are similar within a few percent for all foods. These are not normally important unless as in some cases the dog has a medical problem such as kidney failure, liver failure, pancreatitis etc. where the food should be examined more thoroughly.

01-10-2020 7:12pm

Cherry Blossom wrote: »

What you have posted is not the ingredients but the nutritional values. I don’t pay much attention to this information. It is much more important what the actual ingredients are and the sources this nutrition comes from. The first ingredient should be meat. Ingredients to avoid include meat/animal derivatives, cereal derivatives, wheat, maize to name a few. The percentages mean very little and are similar within a few percent for all foods. These are not normally important unless as in some cases the dog has a medical problem such as kidney failure, liver failure, pancreatitis etc. where the food should be examined more thoroughly.

Ah yeah I know- I start with good brands first, and only then compare the % components-

F34 · 01-10-2020 7:16pm

We use wellness core ocean for our two labs one with a stupid amount of allergies but they are both thriving on it. I get it on Amazon

v638sg7k1a92bx · 02-10-2020 2:04am

Red mills racer. Can’t go wrong. Dogs love it.

Rubberchikken · 02-10-2020 2:10am

We go between Naturo or canagans for our westie.
She'll technically eat anything but we want to feed her well. She eats a mix of wet and dry, three small meals well spread out over the day. Her tummy isn't capable of taking large amounts (though she would disagree with me guaranteed:)

scudzilla · 02-10-2020 2:13am

i make my own food for the dogs now, 2 boxers, 1 aged 11, the idiot is 6

They've not been this happy in a long time with their food and the bonus is i know exactly what is going in it, and it's cheaper than buying dog food.

Here's the ingredients

1kg of 18% fat mince from Lidl
1 cup of basmati rice
1 cup of small pasta pieces
1 stick cube and an oxo
Some homemade carrot/parnsip mash
3/4 cup of oats

Fry the mince and drain off excess fat, add some mixed herbs/oregano
Mix the stock and oxo with 1 pint of hot water till disolved and add to mince
Add in the mash, pasta and oats, stir well
Add in the cooked rice and mix it all up
If it looks a bit dry add in some more water

This will do my dogs for 5 meals, so 2 1/2 days

When they go into kennels i make up a batch and freeze it

cocker5 · 02-10-2020 7:23am

scudzilla wrote: »

i make my own food for the dogs now, 2 boxers, 1 aged 11, the idiot is 6

They've not been this happy in a long time with their food and the bonus is i know exactly what is going in it, and it's cheaper than buying dog food.

Here's the ingredients

1kg of 18% fat mince from Lidl
1 cup of basmati rice
1 cup of small pasta pieces
1 stick cube and an oxo
Some homemade carrot/parnsip mash
3/4 cup of oats

Fry the mince and drain off excess fat, add some mixed herbs/oregano
Mix the stock and oxo with 1 pint of hot water till disolved and add to mince
Add in the mash, pasta and oats, stir well
Add in the cooked rice and mix it all up
If it looks a bit dry add in some more water

This will do my dogs for 5 meals, so 2 1/2 days

When they go into kennels i make up a batch and freeze it

Sorry not to sound negative at all .. but while with the best intentions it’s more than likely not a complete meal .. personally I would add fish oil, bone broth and a multi vitamin to make sure they are getting all they need! But it does sound tasty!

scudzilla · 02-10-2020 8:33am

cocker5 wrote: »

Sorry not to sound negative at all .. but while with the best intentions it’s more than likely not a complete meal .. personally I would add fish oil, bone broth and a multi vitamin to make sure they are getting all they need! But it does sound tasty!

Good idea, I'll get some fish oil (cod liver oil??) and chuck it in. What sort of multi vitamins, can ya get it in powder and is it people stuff?

tk123 · 02-10-2020 9:43am

What have you named your imaginary brand of dog food scudzilla?

You're missing calcium and offal which would be important to a balanced diet. For calcium you can use ground eggshells (either diy or you can get tubs of them) or I've also used Now Foods calcium powder. For offal you can add eg some liver and kidney to your mix. The benefits of bone broth are anecdotal - I do make it the odd time but more as a tasty treat to heat and pour of Bailey's raw. For fish oil - I use healthy hounds omega wild

If you take a look on dogaware.com - they have LOADS of info on different home prepared diets - they give portions for both raw and cooked so really handy to have it in one place. As well as the values they have sample diets you can use as a guide too. I used it a lot when Lucy was sick and I found other articles were kind of a summary of the info you'll get here. I did join a FB group for home cooking at one stage - it was quite preachy and a bit of a dictatorship so I would NOT recommend it lol! :rolleyes:
http://dogaware.com/articles/wdjhomemade3.html

Back on topic I'm currently feeding a mix of mostly raw with a small amount of wet food - either gastro brands from zooplus - rinti/rocco/interga or nature diet senior. What I will say about the zooplus brands - some are pretty identical but prices can really differ so take a good look at ingredients.

cocker5 · 02-10-2020 11:16am

scudzilla wrote: »

Good idea, I'll get some fish oil (cod liver oil??) and chuck it in. What sort of multi vitamins, can ya get it in powder and is it people stuff?

Here’s a good one :

https://www.happytails.ie/collections/dog-care/products/natural-dog-company-multivitamin-supplement

Also I’d go with salmon oil - there a varying opinions as to whether olive oil is good for them .. most pet shops sell a version of salmon oil.

Also once a week I’d add the following to the food:

Whisked Raw egg
Small amount of liver (cooked if u prefer)
Tinned mackerel
Tinned pink / red salmon

Not all together just rotate the added extras - Just add some different proteins to their diet

irishlady29 · 03-10-2020 9:21am

Look up Orijen.

Two years ago, we changed our dogs from Burns to Orijen. Cannot believe the difference. One of the dogs has very sensitive skin and a dodgy gut. We have been rarely to the vet since we changed her onto Orijen. Her skin, cost and over all energy has changed hugely.

While it might be a bit more pricey, we are saving huge on vet bills and its a joy to see her thrive.

Can get it cheaper online or Pet Stop pet shop stock it, 11.4kg comes in at around é88.00 but bag lasts our two for 6 weeks. Worth every penny

03-10-2020 6:18pm

Heres my update on purchasing Barking Heads:

I purchased 7 KG's - 3 varieties, of the "small breed" version directly from the Barking Heads website.

4 KG's of this alone on pet world.ie is EUR40

I spent 50 euro after conversion and 7KGs are on the way to me. I would have saved a lot more had I both purchased the standard version and created a repeat order for 1 months time.

I availed of first purchase discount and free shipping.

Barking Heads don't recognise ROI addresses so i used Parcel Motel- packages have arrived in depot (note, I think Parcel motel has a less than 10KG weight restriction)- so i should get them some time next week.

If barking heads works out, I'd be interested to know if posters are using the standard Barking Heads (as opposed to the small breed version)- with their dog who's a small breed- and what's the difference- are the size of the kibbles much bigger? the standard version is much cheaper and I don't have to jump through the above hoops but i do like the idea of the mix formulated for small breeds.

I'll let you know how he gets on with this compared to the Royal Canin in the next 2 weeks.

03-10-2020 6:21pm

irishlady29 wrote: »

Look up Orijen.

Two years ago, we changed our dogs from Burns to Orijen. Cannot believe the difference. One of the dogs has very sensitive skin and a dodgy gut. We have been rarely to the vet since we changed her onto Orijen. Her skin, cost and over all energy has changed hugely.

While it might be a bit more pricey, we are saving huge on vet bills and its a joy to see her thrive.

Can get it cheaper online or Pet Stop pet shop stock it, 11.4kg comes in at around é88.00 but bag lasts our two for 6 weeks. Worth every penny

Thanks will keep in mind- diet does have a huge affect on little doggies so it's worth spending the time doing the research- great that you've found something that works for your dog.

05-10-2020 7:20pm

What are peoples thoughts to adding water to kibble? (dry food)

Tilikum17 · 05-10-2020 7:24pm

[Deleted User] wrote: »

What are peoples thoughts to adding water to kibble? (dry food)

No probs with that, softens it up and is easier to chew for older dogs. I used to add bisto from time to time if I found the dog wasn’t eating much. Om nom nom.....they love it. But just the odd time.

We’ve recently changed to James welbeloved. The two dogs love it.

05-10-2020 7:32pm

Tilikum17 wrote: »

No probs with that, softens it up and is easier to chew for older dogs. I used to add bisto from time to time if I found the dog wasn’t eating much. Om nom nom.....they love it. But just the odd time.

We’ve recently changed to James welbeloved. The two dogs love it.

Thanks- I have my dog on Royal Canin (small dog breed)- but awaiting delivery of Barking Heads (small dog). I noticed on RC, that he's labouring his poos a bit more than when he was on a combo of dry and wet food (moved him to dry recently with RC).

I've read up quite a lot on interweb and doesn't seem to be an issue putting warm water into the kibble and letting it soak in for 5 mins or so- it seems to help reduce "wet poo" syndrome so hopefully it will work.
He laps it all up and he's getting some of his daily water requirement which I'm still trying to get used to as I only have him for the last month or so, and worry he doesn't drink enough when on totally dry kibble.

PS- "James" also on my radar but if Barking Heads works out, I think I'll stick with that for a while.

Dog food recommendations.

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