That old chestnut - what can I feed my dogs?

[SkylarkAscending]

I know, it’s been done to death over and over again - but yet again I’m looking for suggestions, sorry!

For the last 5 years my dog feeding was dictated by George, he had IBS or something similar so everything was governed by what he could tolerate. I ended up feeding him Butchers Tripe (tinned) as he tolerated that well, fully aware it’s not the best diet.

I lost George last December and now have Colin (4 in June) and Flora (3 1/2) - very healthy (touch wood massively!!!!) and active JRTs who tend to run to being plump if I’m not careful (especially Flora!)

I really wanted to feed them a raw diet. Flora point blank refused to eat anything but Natures Menu minced tripe. Clearly not a balanced diet, so I went back to Butchers Tripe with a handful of Skinners Duck and Rice kibble while I used that up.

I’ve now reached the end of the Skinners so I have a blank canvas (other than raw!) My local pet store make their own kibble with natural ingredients and a good balance/high meat mix. I’m tempted to try that.

Otherwise any ideas please I won’t feed Royal Canin and the like as promoted by vets, I don’t like the ingredients. Ditto Millie’s Wolfheart which was all the rage for a while, too much for my dogs who are maniacs already

 

[twiggy2]

I am curious as to why you wont feed millies wolfheart?

 

[SkylarkAscending]

I am curious as to why you wont feed millies wolfheart?

Irrational experience! I know of a rescue greyhound that was fed a MWH mix with far too high a protein content, the owners thought they were feeding “the best” - it turned the greyhound into an idiot who was returned to rescue for being totally unmanageable. A change of diet resulted in a huge change of behaviour, dog was rehomed with no issues.

My two are manic enough as it is without risking that - and yes I am fully aware there are variations of the product to fit activity levels

 

[Jenko109]

All of my dogs love Butternut Box, although they only get it when it's on offer.

They also love Years. Years is my absolute favourite. It smells like cottage pie. Very expensive though.

For dry I like cold pressed. Mine have Markus Muhle Aberdeen Angus.

For wet, I feed the Naturo trays.

 

[pistolpete]

Eden?

 

[ArklePig]

I swear my princess has tried everything on the market, even begun to turn her nose up at Acana which I really wanted to settle her on. she's eventually settled on Barking Heads lamb now, which wouldn't have been my first choice but here we are- I think AADF rates it around 70 percent and it does have a decent but not ridiculous protein content.

 

[druid]

High protein is just excreted via the kidneys, no making them hyper. High fat = instant energy though and it can certainly make them boisterous.

I've got everything from Royal Canin 4800 Endurance (about 600 cal a cup, 34% protein, 30% fat) through to DARF cold pressed (25% protein, 10% fat) here and there's genuinely sod all difference in the dogs fed one or the other. Alongside some raw or Rocco wet.

If you wanted to feed raw but the dogs don't agree maybe look at the gently cooked, freeze dried or air dried options? Rocketoo and Innocent Hound have worked well for us when travelling

 

[MurphysMinder]

My 2 little ones were on Forthglade , although Pickle has recent been diagnosed with stage 2 kidney disease so is on a renal diet .

 

[BallyRoanBaubles]

My dogs are on essentials at the moment, not cheap but my trainer gets a good discount!

My lab was always fussy (I know!) before he was castrated, and the one thing he would eat was Aldi’s own working dog food with some raw mixed in. But since castration he’s less fussy and was getting a bit fat. Hence the swap. He’s looking much better on the essentials.

 

[SkylarkAscending]

My 2 little ones were on Forthglade , although Pickle has recent been diagnosed with stage 2 kidney disease so is on a renal diet .

Ah sorry I forgot Forthgkade - I tried that and they didn’t like that either??!!

Love to Pickle, I hope he is doing well xx

 

[MurphysMinder]

Ah sorry I forgot Forthgkade - I tried that and they didn’t like that either??!!

Love to Pickle, I hope he is doing well

Ah sorry I forgot Forthgkade - I tried that and they didn’t like that either??!!

Love to Pickle, I hope he is doing well xx

Pickle is actually fine, only symptom is that he is drinking quite a lot, which he has done for years but previous urine tests have never shown any issues. It was only picked up as he had pre op bloods before a dental, hopefully the R/d diet will keep him healthy (and me poor !)

 

[Cavalous Christmas]

Has anyone tried Pure Pet Foods? I'd be interested to hear how you found it

 

[Follysmum]

I have tried milles wolfheart, natures best , Forthglade, raw with no luck
Now mine have Canagans with a tin of Naturo and they love it

 

[I'm Dun]

Has anyone tried Pure Pet Foods? I'd be interested to hear how you found it

Yes I have. The dogs werent keen. The texture was weird. Then when I cancelled after the trial they continued to take money from my account. It was only when my bank did a chargeback and got involved that it stopped. I wouldn't recommend them on any level!

 

[ecb89]

All of my dogs love Butternut Box, although they only get it when it's on offer.

They also love Years. Years is my absolute favourite. It smells like cottage pie. Very expensive though.

For dry I like cold pressed. Mine have Markus Muhle Aberdeen Angus.

For wet, I feed the Naturo trays.

My lab loves her butternut box

 

[planete]

Ours have Markus Muhle kibble topped up with some Forthglade Just trays. They are hard to keep weight on, look good on that and their digestion is spot on. Why do you want a change from Skinners? It is not a bad food for dogs who are good doers though my lurchers tended to lose weight on it. I had tried Eden and other high protein feeds on the lurchers and one of them kept having the runs on this if fed enough or would lose weight if I reduced the amount as Eden recommended. I gave up on the most highly rated All about Dod Food brands when I realised their "ideal" criteria did not after all suit all dogs. I find it more important to have the right proportions of fat, protein and roughage for body type and activity level. Not enough roughage can also be bad for some dogs' digestion so 'paying for roughage', while derided by some, can actually be advisable.

 

[Bellaboo18]

Our previous dog loved butternut box.

Current pup is picky so is on Orijen as that's what she'll eat! I'd rather she ate butternut box.

 

[DiNozzo]

Our terrier gets Wainwrights complete dry food... Looks amazing, super shiny, super fit, although he isn't greedy and won't ever be fat.

 

[Splash2310]

We feed Step Up to Naturals from Pets at Home, a mix of the chicken and fix and the beef and sweet potatoe (he gets too lean on purely the fish). Seems to do well on it and it scored ok on the “all about dog food site”

 

[poiuytrewq]

I’m really liking Lakes Heritage food.
Bought for one dog as he does best on fish based food. He loves it (that’s no big thing though, I’m sure he’d eat cornflakes If they were in his bowl) and his skin is great.
My daughters dog is a nightmare to feed though. He gos days without eating and turns his little snout up at everything. He loves this stuff! For the first time ever long term we have had a clean bowl twice a day and he’s excited for dinner.
It smells quite strongly though.

 

[maisie06]

To be honest I used to be very fussy about what I fed my dogs, used to be Eden but the price hiked and I'm sure they messed with the reciepe as one dog kept getting the runs, then I went raw and it bunged him up and I needed a second mortgage!! = now I feed whatever is grain free (cocker cannot tolerate rice, and I'm not faffing with separate bags!) and on a good offer and top with either forthglade, butchers or Aldi's Langhams trays which are basically rebranded Naturo and work out about 85p a tray! they also get tinned sardines and any fresh veg left over from our meals and they look great!

 

[I'm Dun]

To be honest I used to be very fussy about what I fed my dogs, used to be Eden but the price hiked and I'm sure they messed with the reciepe as one dog kept getting the runs, then I went raw and it bunged him up and I needed a second mortgage!! = now I feed whatever is grain free (cocker cannot tolerate rice, and I'm not faffing with separate bags!) and on a good offer and top with either forthglade, butchers or Aldi's Langhams trays which are basically rebranded Naturo and work out about 85p a tray! they also get tinned sardines and any fresh veg left over from our meals and they look great!

Thats what I do currently. The Aldi trays are brilliant value and mine love them.