Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2011 1:49 pm Post subject: Diet change - alternative to Burns ? Help please
My 20 month old black lab is on Burns (has been since a pup) Chicken and Rice - he's in great shape, coat, weight etc but his poos are inconsistent - frequently soft and he is one gassy boy ! Thinking it may be time for a change, My 11 year old goldie is on Natures Menu nuggets with a bit of Burns Hypo-allergenic mixer with his evening meal and thrives on it but it's not a cheap feeding choice. Would anyone be able to recommend any options to Burns that might suit Rufus (the lab) better ? Thanks for any advice !
I feed raw but just had a look at simpsons, it looks good, i like the sound of the sensitive salmon and potato... alfie has allergies so if i ever decide to go down the dry food route i would give that one a try, do you have to feed alot of it Vikki?
Have you tried reducing the amount you feed of the Burns? I've noticed that if I increase Tucker's food by a bit he gets gassy and poops are softer.
My 2 do ok on Skinners Salmon and Rice but get fed no where near as much as it says on the packet to maintain their weights (about 24kg) so a bag of 15kg costing about 23pounds-ish will last almost 2 months for the 2 of them.
I would actually stick with Burns if his overall condition is good but would change flavour and maybe try the lamb or even the pork and potato, it may be just the chicken one that doesn't agree. Mine get soft poo and wind on the Burns chicken or duck but fine with the rest. Amber is on the fish and gets on fine with that, shes also maintaining good weight and condition which she never used to on Burns - I think her metabolism has slowed now shes approaching 3
My two boys have Wafcol salmon and potato as Burns doesn't keep weight on them.
Which Burns chicken and rice are you using? The standard adult one, Active or Alert? I found that Coco didn't do as well on the Active (working dog) one and was a bit looser but I think this contains white rice rather than brown. She is now on Alert, which is almost the same as the standard chicken and rice but with a few supplements thrown in for assistance dogs (and VAT free) and she does fine.
I would check your quantities, you should only be feeding 10g per kg of body weight (eg a 30kg dog should get 300g per day). If you are sure that you are not overfeeding (think about any treats that you give too) then consider changing the variety to a different meat or even to the pork and potato one. The Burns nutritional helpline is very good and will probably send you some samples if you ask.
I've just been comparing the costs of Burns and Simpsons. The link above shows a 15kg sack of Simpsons chicken and rice to be £31.50 compared with my usual 15kg sack of Burns Alert for which I pay £37.00. However, the feeding guidelines say that my 20kg dog should get around 300g per day which is 50% more than Burns (200g), so it works out more expensive in the long run.
I feed less then the recommended amounts of simpsons. Eddie and Melvin should be on more than 450 g per day, but they get about 350 g (I don't ever weigh it out but 2 x 15 kg bags last my 3 just over a month). I originally started using it as a cheaper alternative to burns, but after more than 2 years I can safely say it was a change for the better
I always use Royal canin Labrador junior obviously no good to your dog but they also do the RC Labrador Max has been great on this I did change him to Orijen but he never liked it so we went back it always keeps him in good condition though
I have heard the Simpsons is very good though.
Cheryl
____________
Max my shadow
Luther 1994-2008 I will see you at the bridge sweetie
One life Live it
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum You cannot attach files in this forum You cannot download files in this forum
Diet change - alternative to Burns ? Help please
) a bag should last Alfie a month ish.
