Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2011 2:24 pm Post subject: Beta - Anyone using it?
Hi
I bought a bag of the Purina Beta Salmon & Potato today (only a small bag) as I am looking to change Bella's diet. She is currently on the RC Labrador puppy, but she is producing 3 large not solid poo's a day. They aren't cow pats, but they are a bit soggy (lovely topic for a Saturday afternoon ).
I spent about half an hour in the shop this morning looking at all different sorts (and there are many), but I wanted to specifically try a Salmon & Potato with a large biscuit (and not the really small kibble that most seem to be).
I am going to start the process of changing her over to this slowly and it may well work for her, but I would be interested to hear anyone's opinions on the Beta range of foods.
Beta isn't a particularly good brand but if it suits her then it isn't really a problem, it caused wind with my previous dog who came to us on Beta. Royal Canin is certainly a better quality food, though there are better.
Are you overfeeding her? This can cause loose poo and will happen whatever food you use if you are feeding her too much.
How much are you giving her and how much does she weigh?
It could possibly be that one of the ingredients isn't suiting her but you will only be able to work this out by a process of elimination which really needs several weeks on each new food before you can definitively say whether it suits or not.
Jake came to us on Beta chicken and rice, he was ok on it his coat was really shiny but i swear we had more coming out of the rear end that we actually put in, i fed him less and he still produced a stupid amounts of poo! I now have him on skinners salmon and rice and he is much better.
I have seen Wainwrights salmon (pet at home) and potatoes recommend here lots.
If you are looking to firm up poos and reduced the gassy side effects then I wouldn't waste your time with Beta. Charlie was on it as a pup, and had terrible wind, with Mr. Whippy style poos many times a day.
Look to a brand like Burns, Arden Grange or Skinners. You need one which lists no artificial colours or preservatives, and which does not rely on fillers such as maize, because these ferment in the dog's intestines, going through too fast and causing excess wind.
Thank you all for your replies. I had a feeling that Beta may not be the best one when I got home, as I didn't do my research first doh
She definitely isn't being fed too much as I can comfortably feel her ribs. She is now 24 weeks and 2 weeks ago she weighed 18kg so I suspect she'll be about 20kg now as her weight gain had started to slow to 1kg every 2 weeks.
She had to go on the RC sensitive for a while when being treated first for Campylobacter and then Giardia and by the time she was better her poo's where far more solid and smaller so she definitely has an intolerance to something.
I think I will go back to this while I search for a slightly cheaper alternative.
Does anyone know what the kibble size is for skinners as I don't want something too small
Dylan came to me on Beta but I changed him to Royal Canin which he did really well on. Funny thing was I couldn't get him on the Adult RC as it gave him terrible runs He is now on Orijen and doing well.
You can slow down the hoovering if you soak the food before giving it to her, regardless of the kibble size.
I soak Charlie's food, partly for that reason too - he would bolt it down at the speed of light if I didn't. That can sometimes cause them to take in too much air, and may increase the risk of bloat.
In this warm weather we have been having it also ensures the dogs are getting plenty of fluid, and it stops the dry food from absorbing too much fluid from elsewhere in the body once it has been "hoovered".
You can also buy specially designed bowls from places like Pets at Home which are designed to reduce bolting of food. These usually have uneven bottoms in the shape of stud like things which the dog has to eat around.
We give Penny Arden Grange salmon and rice and she has done really, really well on this, far better than she was on AG lamb and rice. We measure out her daily amount and give it with water in a special dish and she eats this in a 'reasonable' amount of time, not quite the blink and its gone time!
Penny's coat is super shiney with none of the 'dusty' look that she had previously, and was very noticeable as she is black. Kibble is a decent size and poo's are always firm and not masses.
AG crunchy light bites are also good.
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Beta - Anyone using it?
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He is now on Orijen and doing well. 
