Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 11:10 am Post subject: Which food to choose?
Hi,
This is my first post on the forums and have had our pup Phoebe for 7 months; she was originally on Eukanaba when we got her but we had heard bad things about this, was very expensive and she never seemed to really be ok on it so after friends and family reccomendations we tried Wagg - this I think contained too much protein for her needs and ended up with lots of messy poo's
For the last 3 months ish she's been on Burgess Supadog... its ok, Phoebe isnt a fussy eater and will pretty much eat anything, at first we noticed a difference in her stools but now we seem to be getting 6+ per day and they are lets say hard to pick up!
Anyway... we dont have a HUGE budget on dog food and are hoping to find something around the £20 per 15kg bag mark that is of good quality!
I've heard great things about Skinners but I dont want to keep swapping her food... so does anyone have any good suggestions or experience with this?
If you've had issues with sensitivity I have seen good reports on here for Chappie which is also very good value for money and easy to get hold of.
I also know there are some very experienced folk on here using Wainwrights Salmon and Potato or the Skinners Salmon and Potato so those could be worth a try either. Burns is also popular.
Firstly, check the amounts you are feeding her as they vary with different brands. Overfeeding is a big cause of soft and frequent poo.
My next suggestion would be to look at brands that contain as few ingredients as possible, preferably without wheat or maize.
Skinners is probably a good one to try for your price bracket but the better working dog varieties (eg salmon & rice and duck & rice) are quite high in protein.
I use Burns Canine Alert which is probably out of your price range at £36 per sack but I actually find it very economical as I only have to feed 10g per kg of body weight so a sack lasts me 10 weeks which is about 51p per day.
Don't be afraid of contacting a few manufacturers and asking for samples or money off vouchers, most are quite generous. You could ask to speak to the nutritional advisor at Pets at Home and they may give you a free sample of Wainwrights (a lot of people rate their salmon & potato very highly).
We had some problems with our pup's tummy on Pedigree (luminous orange Mr Whippy!!!), so changed him after much searching to Wainwrights Large Breed Puppy. I think it is £33 per 15kg bag, but a lot of people on here point out you end up using less of the better quality foods sometimes.
Max has been good as gold on it. Now 5.5 months and on 420 g divided by 3 meals a day, and he does 3-4 poops a day, usually all well formed.
Our vet said she would recommend either Wainwrights or JWB for sensitive tums, and we picked the cheaper one. A friend of ours has also had Chappie recommended by his vet,
We feed JWB which gives the perfect pick up poo!! Although it appears to be one of the more expensive it actually works out very reasonably priced as you don't need to feed very much. Our dog is fed 225 grams and she weighs about 28kg. Also if you look online, I frequently google JWB offers and there is usually one or two online suppliers giving a discount of some sort. Pets at home have a good offer at the moment and you get an extra 10% discount if you sign up for their free newsletter or are a new customer.
Indi is on JWB too as she has wheat, pork,chicken and beef allergies as we had difficult to pick up poos and after allergy tests found these intolerances and switched her onto JWB and her coat has glossed up amazingly and everyone comments on how good she looks and she also has easy to pick up poo's and less frequent poos now (2 a day with 2 meals a day) before she was on 5 or 6 runny poos a day (Sorry TMI). I buy a 15kg bag which lasts around a month a month an half and costs £40 BUT It outweighs all the health benefits etc! She is on 150g/meal and is 30.5kg at last weigh in and is perfect according to the vet. I buy my food from http://www.petplanet.co.uk as I find they are the cheapest (that will deliver to germany) but you get free delivery to UK over £29. You could possibly find it cheaper if you did research a bit more (im limited as to where i buy it from due to location.) If she has soft poos i would stay clear of Wheat and possibly the above allergens. Try sticking with potato, fish, rice based foods and see if that makes a difference to her poo's and coat! We also give Fish4dog treats as they are pure fish skins and JWB crackerjacks! Like i said Indi has an amazing coat and weight now and everyone always comments on how good she is looking before she was exactly like Phoebe and we couldnt work it out until we found these intolerances. In the long run i feel its worth investing slightly more for a good dog food that will last longer and have better health implications for the dog. Also check the amount she is eating is in the guidelines and then go by eye/touch (she should have a blanket not a duvet when you feel her ribs if that makes any sense.)I Hope you find the right dog food for her and this clears up quickly!
edit - JWB also has the "right" amount of protein for a dog, according to the vets over here who i showed the food analysis to. You should be averaging 20% protein. Indi has the lamb and rice and fish and rice JWB as they are about right and crackerjacks are only 15% protein. Fish4dogs are high in protein at 85% on average but as a one of treat every now and then will not do any harm, if anything i think the F4D treats are one of the reason for Indi's glossy coat!
I had heard good things about Chappie as well... I know you shouldnt judge a book by its cover but it looks cheap and cr*ppy! lol! But will deff consider it, perhaps do some more research.
Will certainly look into JWB and wainrights... I'm not too fussed about the money I just dont want to be spending silly money if I an get just as good food for less, moneys tight as I was made redundant so we are all having to cut back... unfortunatley that includes Phoebe! lol
I can highly recommend Burns, my 4 year old Lab has always been prone to colitis and has recently changed on to Burns Pork and Potato, he is now pooing just once a day and its small and easy to pick up. Reassuring to know the food is obviously easily digested! My 18 week old GSP is on their puppy food and is doing really well.
They are very helpful too if you need assistance. Arden Grange is another worth you looking at, you can get the lamb for a good price.
Mine was on skinners puppy,then crunchy at about 8 months, now at 16 months he is on duck and rice I v had no problems with his diet at all,he is from working stock and although not worked he is very active. I do think it s a matter of finding what suits your dog.
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Which food to choose?
lol! But will deff consider it, perhaps do some more research.
