Food advice - kibble

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AFB

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Hi

Can anybody recommend a food for the following?

- 18m old cocker spaniel - neutered male
- Good doer
- Avg energy for breed

Criteria
- Must be kibble - we don't have the storage space for raw (small freezer, no space for a second)
- Ideally a 'proper' brand rather than a tails type food
- No particular budget constraint

Currently on Royal Canin medium adult - we tried neutered adult but he didn't do well on that at all, however medium adult is too high calorie for him (gaining weight on less than the RDA with good exercise levels and minimal extras). Coat is also lacking shine and he's starting to get a tiny bit of plaque building on his teeth.

I've looked at Orijen & Arcana but tbh I'm fairly clueless as had no dog for approx. 5 years before this one and the last one did really well on RC so I'm out of the loop.

What can I do better?

TIA :)
 
Our working cocker is on Millies Wolfheart Obedience Mix and looks fab on it, super shine to her coat and a nice steady attitude. She tends to run up a bit light (but is very active) so I can’t say if it would be perfect for a ‘good doer’.

They do quite a few mixes and are very helpful, so maybe talk to them about which mix will suit your dog best. From memory there is also a form on the website that you fill out that suggests the one for your dog.

We tried Arcana and she looked well on it but, my goodness, she pooed for England….
 
I switched my dogs to grainless kibble and havent looked back.
Some Carb based kibble add oils to induce coat shine but the issues with grains for dogs are numerous, so i ditched grains in wet food and their dry food and theyre doing great….same with the cats.
Carbs put on weight easily, cause dental issues, gastro issues, blood-sugar regulation issues, allergies etc.

I never now feed predominant carnivores carbs.

I order from zooplus - they do a HUGE range of foods and have a great selection of grain-free foods. Mine particularly love ‘wolf of the wilderness’ brand - theyve loads of great flavours and great quality ingredients.

Switch over slowly from your normal feed if you do introduce grain-free - helps their gut bacteria alter slowly.
 
We use Monge for both the st poodle and schnauzer..
We tried arcana and also Origen but both were too rich for the poodle and he was really loose.
 
Mine used to be on Millies and it did all 3 really well, I've got 2 good doers and one who runs light no matter what I do. Only switched as I got a bit expensive for 3.
 
i feed wolfworthy which is raw in a kibble form, its not cheap but as i have 2 tiny terriers i can manage. i use 7.5 kg in 9 weeks roughly but i do add a pouch of natures menu hunter between the 2 of them or tin tuna or sardines or pilchards, they are not at all spoilt !!:)
 
splashgirl45 said:
i feed wolfworthy which is raw in a kibble form, its not cheap but as i have 2 tiny terriers i can manage. i use 7.5 kg in 9 weeks roughly but i do add a pouch of natures menu hunter between the 2 of them or tin tuna or sardines or pilchards, they are not at all spoilt !!:)
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ooh that looks good and isnt too far off the cost of other premium dry food. I think I might try mine with that
 
Annette4 said:
Mine used to be on Millies and it did all 3 really well, I've got 2 good doers and one who runs light no matter what I do. Only switched as I got a bit expensive for 3.
Click to expand...
What did you switch to? I recently put my easy ones on Skinners lamb and rice, nice and cheap and no beet pulp but one has gone itchy and one constantly bottom licking so back on millies. They all do really well on it but 4 labs cost a fortune.
 
cannot fault skinners duck&rice,lamb&rice or salmon&rice.
£30 a sack and lasts my 2 with combined weights of 9stone 6 weeks as they have a tin a day between them too.

on occasion when i have run out,i have purchased a bag of harringtons to tide us over which results in massive poos.
 
Clodagh said:
What did you switch to? I recently put my easy ones on Skinners lamb and rice, nice and cheap and no beet pulp but one has gone itchy and one constantly bottom licking so back on millies. They all do really well on it but 4 labs cost a fortune.
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I've moved them onto CSJ. The girls are doing fab, Dobby has had some crap luck with tummy upsets (from scavenging) and had a really hard workload in September so lost a tiny bit but he holds his weight nicely on it. He needs tripe adding when he's in full competition work no matter what I've fed him as he gets so worked up the weight falls off him.
 
Another Millies Wolfheart user here. They doa good range depending on activity level and have a tool to help you select the right food for your dog.
 
splashgirl45 said:
i feed wolfworthy which is raw in a kibble form, its not cheap but as i have 2 tiny terriers i can manage. i use 7.5 kg in 9 weeks roughly but i do add a pouch of natures menu hunter between the 2 of them or tin tuna or sardines or pilchards, they are not at all spoilt !!:)
Click to expand...
Very interested to know how a raw diet can be in kibble form? I feed a mostly half raw/half kibble diet at the moment which works well for my guys but keep considering a move over to full raw. This kibble might be the answer if it’s not just a gimmick.
 
Moobli said:
Very interested to know how a raw diet can be in kibble form?
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Good marketing bumpf? ;)

Seeing a move away from full raw to "raw based kibble", "raw benefits kibble" etc in client's dogs....trends seem to come and go in waves.
 
Thank you all - a lot of food for thought (excuse the awful pun!)

Sounds like Orijen & Arcana wouldn't be a good choice if they're very rich so I'll have a look at the other suggestions - no doubt I'll be back with further questions...
 
When I go away with my two I take Raw in Kibble form - I use Fresco dog nuggets which is just airdried/dehydrated raw. It is expensive, but they dont need a great deal so it lasts and lasts!
 
Thanks for everyone's advice - just to update I switched to Millies Wolfheart (one of their lower fat options as he was about 500g overweight) in December.

He's trimmed down nicely now so before I order the next bag I'll see what they recommend as a maintenance option.

He's seemingly more attentive which has helped his behaviour vastly (although this could be an age thing), poo's are smaller more solid and I think there's an improvement in his coat.

I also had an issue with a wrong bag being sent to us which they sorted within 24 hours just before Christmas so super impressed with their customer service.
 
AFB said:
Hi

Can anybody recommend a food for the following?

- 18m old cocker spaniel - neutered male
- Good doer
- Avg energy for breed

Criteria
- Must be kibble - we don't have the storage space for raw (small freezer, no space for a second)
- Ideally a 'proper' brand rather than a tails type food
- No particular budget constraint

Currently on Royal Canin medium adult - we tried neutered adult but he didn't do well on that at all, however medium adult is too high calorie for him (gaining weight on less than the RDA with good exercise levels and minimal extras). Coat is also lacking shine and he's starting to get a tiny bit of plaque building on his teeth.

I've looked at Orijen & Arcana but tbh I'm fairly clueless as had no dog for approx. 5 years before this one and the last one did really well on RC so I'm out of the loop.

What can I do better?

TIA :)
Click to expand...


Another vote for Millies Wolfheart - Royal canin is awful stuff with a high price tag! Skinners duck and rice is another popular one for cocker owners too
 
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