# Dog Food- Which do you give your dog?



## Patchworkqueen (Dec 7, 2007)

I thought I would start a new thread on this topic as I highjacked the one about pet insurance.

Following on from the posts on the pet insurance thread.

I have been looking at Orijen, Acana and Canagan.

Canagan is a British food, fairly new to the market, and is very similar to the 2 Canadian foods Orijen and Acana.

I agree about Barkers and some of the other well known brands, I would not use them.

A website worth a look is whichdogfood.co.uk. sorry but I don't know how to make this into a link.

I have been trying to get samples of different foods but it is very difficult.

Chris


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## zulurita (May 9, 2005)

We used Burns food for our old dog Jabulile and also for Lindiwe. It is good for the weight. 

Now though we have switched to Trophy foods as they deliver to the house and Lindiwe we felt wasn't satisfied on the Burns as she is so thin.

Lindiwe seems fine with the Trophy and its good wholesome food.


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## GypsyRose (May 9, 2005)

BURNS now for us..... reasons being that we have 3 yorkies....one had tummy issues...must admit that we had him neutured (he is 5 and a rescue pup but he was too young to be netured when we had him and then was seriously ill...you know how the years go by?)....He now 5 yrs old so as he needed a "dental" as hewas under anaesthetic we decided to neture at the same time)....sorry bit longwinded! 
Anyway result was he no longer had these bad tummies? Then started all 3 on BURNS ....results great!!


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## Rosbotham (May 4, 2008)

OK, I'll be honest and say that I give my dogs Bakers Meaty Meals; I'll await the incoming abuse. I originally had Bakers Complete, but Rudy was adept at spitting out the ones he didn't like.

I get quite fed up at evangelists telling me I'm a bad owner and that Bakers is full of nasty stuff. My vets (multiple within same practise) have said they're fine on it, despite selling their own premium ones that they could have quite easily steered me to. Neither dog has experienced any health issues. I can quite understand that some dogs react badly to certain additives - as do humans - but that's no reason to condemn their usage for all dogs as some do.

As an aside, while Bonnie will eat pretty much anything, Rudy turns his nose up at anything but Bakers. The evangelists would say that if I gave him the "healthy" stuff he'd eventually be super-hungry and change his ways to eat it. Why would I want to put a healthy dog through that?


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## locovan (Oct 17, 2007)

I have a dog that turns his nose up at everything. He will eat tin dog food if i feed it to him. 
He loves cooked meat Chicken, lamb chops, minced beef or lamb, liver raw and cooked, hearts, cooked or raw.
He doesnt like dog biscuits so I have to give him supplements.
He loves apple pie, plums Im sure he thinks he is human.


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## motormouth (Jul 3, 2010)

We feed our border collie on tinned dog meat with gravy from Tesco and a mixer biscuit from Sainsbury's.
She is as fit as a fiddle, has a beautiful coat and doesn't throw up or have dodgy poos.

We never give her scraps from the table but she gets doggie treats as and when she bangs on the cupboard door where they are kept.


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## DTPCHEMICALS (Jul 24, 2006)

Lady p is feeding me rump steak tonight. :roll: 
Husky = Fish4 dogs but they have just changed the formula. Used to be 55% fish now down to 27%.
Shelties and rough collie eat almost anything with no trouble but do like Duck and Rice best.

DAve p


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Fed Shadow on butchers complete mixed with a tin of butchers tripe meat
The vet congratulated us on his teeth and condition

Now he has 2lb of bown rice and 1lb of meat,chicken,beef or pork
Mixed with cottage cheese or yogurt or boiled egg

Sardines 3 times a week

Slowly introducing tinned dog meat

He is doing very well with the help of probiotic powders and is no longer loose
A bit of a pain cooking rice daily when travelling and feeding him twice daily but his weight is good,his coat gleams and he has a denture stick nightly for that pepsodent smile

Aldra


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## Jodi1 (Mar 25, 2010)

Our Golden Retriever would eat anything (and quite often does......yuck). We fed her a cheaper brand, but she seemed very itchy and I began to think she might be allergic to something. Read up on itchy dogs and came to the conclusion that additives could be the cause so swapped to Burns as it seemed to be simple natural ingredients. She is 14 and is still going strong. She's slim and still pretty active given her age and heart problems and she doesn't itch. good stuff


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## taz (Sep 28, 2005)

Our old Goldie and Springer were on Eukanuba for most of their lives until they became super picky - they made over 15 and over 14 so it must have been OK.
New pup started on Skinners but had quite flakey skin. Tried him on Fish4Dogs but he wasn't over keen (although he loves their sea jerky snacks). He is now on Arden Grange puppy - still doesn't rush to eat but does eventually finish every bowl. 
Food seems an absolute minefield - but if you find one that suits your dog I think you should stick with it. Swapping around can just create a fussy dog.


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## 91502 (May 1, 2005)

Hi
We feed our pet dog and always fed the working dogs royal cannin, they do plenty of special mixes if you have a problem dog and you will be amazed how little waste comes out of the other end.
Don't be conned into thinking if its expensive it must be good, ther is some expensive rubbish for sale.
Look at the contents on the bag it gives you a good idea of how goodit is.
JP


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## cheshiregordon (Sep 24, 2011)

Rosbotham said:


> OK, I'll be honest and say that I give my dogs Bakers Meaty Meals; I'll await the incoming abuse. I originally had Bakers Complete, but Rudy was adept at spitting out the ones he didn't like.
> 
> I get quite fed up at evangelists telling me I'm a bad owner and that Bakers is full of nasty stuff. My vets (multiple within same practise) have said they're fine on it, despite selling their own premium ones that they could have quite easily steered me to. Neither dog has experienced any health issues. I can quite understand that some dogs react badly to certain additives - as do humans - but that's no reason to condemn their usage for all dogs as some do.
> 
> As an aside, while Bonnie will eat pretty much anything, Rudy turns his nose up at anything but Bakers. The evangelists would say that if I gave him the "healthy" stuff he'd eventually be super-hungry and change his ways to eat it. Why would I want to put a healthy dog through that?


My Collie has access to both dry (bakers complete) and wet food ( for the canned food I change it regularly rotating through all brands available on the supermarket shelves or she just refuses it) plus Shapes bisc which are her favorite. She also loves to finish off the cats food.
As a Nestle pensioner - it helps protect my pension by support the old firm buying Bakers and Shapes (both of which in times gone by I've made by the thousands of tons)


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## KeithChesterfield (Mar 12, 2010)

From a puppy we fed our Border Collie on Beta Puppy - and then on Beta Adult.

He seemed to enjoy the food put in front of him, nothing was ever left in his bowl, but as he approached his third birthday his motions started to become more and more sloppy, his breath smelt worse and worse and his coat started to lose its soft feel.

The owner of a local pet food business recommended using Sneyd's Wonderdog.

At that time Beta Adult was costing around £22 for a 15 kilo bag and Sneyds was about £13 (it's now £15) for 15 kilo.

Within a month or so the dogs motions became solid, his breath improved considerably and the shine came back to his coat.

Now he's five and since being on Snyed's food - this is starting to sound like a bl**dy advert - he's stayed much, much better than was on the Beta food.

If you want to compare different dog foods (and Sneyd's certainly isn't the top product) have a look at this site -

www.whichdogfood.co.uk/dog-food-directory.php

What works for one dog doesn't necessarily work for another dog but after seeing the improvement in my dog after changing dog foods then I'm going to stick with the food he's on now until someone proves to me it's not good for him.


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## peaky (Jul 15, 2009)

i feed my yorkie wet and dry, was royal canin dry food but she got fed up with that, now on err yuk frolic moist dry food cheap and she loves it (typical) and ceaser for wet food.


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## rtaff (Jul 7, 2012)

Broder was fed on raw until we decided to full time in the van. My choice of dry food would by Taste of the Wild. At the moment he's on Skinners and Arden Grange - I'd say these are mid range quality but we chose them based on believing they are available on the continent.


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## GEMMY (Jun 19, 2006)

Every dog has its foibles, the main thing being, do not feed human food to dogs without a fair few vitamins, the dog will be deficient in numerous ways. :wink: 

tony


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## rtaff (Jul 7, 2012)

GEMMY said:


> Every dog has its foibles, the main thing being, do not feed human food to dogs without a fair few vitamins, the dog will be deficient in numerous ways. :wink:
> 
> tony


Depends what you mean by 'human food'. I consider meat, veg, eggs etc to be human food and I believe it's best for dogs too!


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## GEMMY (Jun 19, 2006)

Really! ask a vet next time you take him in, :roll: :wink:

tony


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## annetony (May 1, 2005)

I changed to Iams on recommendation from my friend..Tizzie is a King Charles..I have noticed that her coat isn't as shiny now as it used to be
so now I am looking to change her to something else...she has an undershot lower jaw..so needs something not too big

we did think of putting her on canned food with biscuits for that very reason but not sure which would be best for her...so I will be following this thread...

Anne


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## Patchworkqueen (Dec 7, 2007)

Iams is made by the same people as Eukanuba which I consider to be mid to low range.

Try one of the natural foods mentioned but make sure it is small kibble.

It is a minefield but I am trying to get samples of Orijen, Acana (both made in Canada by same company), Ganacan (similar to above but made in UK) Arden Grange, James Wellbeloved and Burns.

Chris


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## Rosbotham (May 4, 2008)

cheshiregordon said:


> She also loves to finish off the cats food.


Bonnie does that. And unfortunately she treats the cat litter as a food tray if I'm not quick enough too.... :roll:


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## rayrecrok (Nov 21, 2008)

Hi.

Our Dalmatian has dry dog food, basically anything of any brand, she is not fussy at all she just wolf's it down then sits waiting for her pudding.. A dog chew.. And the reason we feed her dry dog food, it's easier to pick up the crap afterwards.. :wink: 

Oh she is quite adept at running down to see my fishing mates as we come back from fishing, if they have any sandwiches left over she might get one of them :roll: ..

ray.


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## WildThingsKev (Dec 29, 2009)

Another for Royal Canin, it smells good enough to try myself!


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## rtaff (Jul 7, 2012)

For those who are looking for information on food here's what I posted in another thread:

I'd definately recommend having a look on petforums.co.uk as they have a dog's health and nutrition board. Here are some threads that might be of use when researching decent food:

http://www.petforums.co.uk/dog-health-nutrition/255727-updated-dry-dog-food-index.html

http://www.petforums.co.uk/dog-health-nutrition/111437-raw-feeding-everything-you-need-know.html

http://www.petforums.co.uk/dog-health-nutrition/194976-wet-dog-food-index.html

Bakers, Pedigree and supermarkets own should all be avoided in my opinion. Why you'd choose to feed your dog a meat flavoured biscuit is beyond me. As for wet food - 'beef flavoured chunks'... what on earth are the chunks made of?!

http://www.petforums.co.uk/dog-chat/186242-truth-about-bakers-do g-food.html


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## scrinchy (Jul 17, 2007)

very interested in this thread. We have an old cross border collie rescued 4 years ago supposedly then about 10. She was a nervous wreck but once she started to eat ate anything and everything until a about eight months ago. Now it would seem everything upsets her and she has chronic loose stools with bouts of acute diarrhea. It seems that even rice affects her. Vet doesnt want to do any more invasive stuff because shes so old. Survives on white fish and potato. We got Origen and tried to introduce that very slowly. Disastrous!! I've just got Wainwrights Salmon and Potato joint care since it doesnt seem to have rice. Three meals in with tasters no dire results so far!


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## Bill_H (Feb 18, 2011)

Both my dogs have been fed Royal Canin since they were pups, sometimes mixed with a little cooked chicken meat.


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## gogs58 (Jun 23, 2009)

We feed our 2 mini schnauzers on James Wellbeloved Ocean fish and rice dry food after a recommendation from the vet. Used to feed pedigree chum wet food with Bakers and dry biscuits. Although the Wellbeloved is not cheap the dogs do eat it all and genuinely appear to enjoy it (it does stink) so in the end no waste and works out better value.

Gordon


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## Chas17 (May 1, 2005)

Our 11 month old lab gets Jame Wellbeloved junior with half a sachet of wet to make it a bit more palatable. We are trying to change her to the junior large breed but she doesn't like the bigger kibbles.
Takes up quite a bit of space in the camper - especially when we were away for five weeks in Norway!


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## jonse (Nov 2, 2008)

*dog food*

Do you really believe that of all the bagged dog food of which there is to many to count make it all them selves, No its all in the adverts if they say its the best most believe the add, after all its only what is not fit for human consumption so buy cheap or dear only your dog can or cant tell you whether he liks it or not by leaving it ,or just wolffing it down , our two eat any thing from any bag bought, including our left overs, and the occasional meat from the dog shelf in the super market, , seems to me there is a lot of indulged dogs here


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## peaky (Jul 15, 2009)

perhaps its a little dog thing ??? my yorkie starts off on new foods enthusiasticly but refuses the same food more than 4 times in a row !!!keep putting it down and persever the vet said... i did 3 weeks later she still left it iron will that one, would rather starve than eat something she does nt want huh !!!!


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Scrinchy

Try Pro Kolin Enteric powders on line about £20 for 30 sachets

Shadow needed 3 a day for his weight 40kl but we have now reducer it to one daily and it works a treat

He had a large amount of bowel removed which left him with chronic diarrhoea ,now with the powder great

Must admit the vets didn't solve it a member on here did

On the rare occasion we forget it he has loose stools again

Aldra


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## scrinchy (Jul 17, 2007)

Thanks Aldra 
I'll do that- it seems to have been an awfully long time for her on just fish and potato and it would be very good to have her settled. 
I was following Shadows story and if thats helped there I have hopes!!


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## 4maddogs (May 4, 2010)

My springers and goldie are on CSJ dog food. They do lots of different types but they get a basic one (10.75 for 15 kg) as it suits them all well. Made by a woman who has been on One man and his dog...the search and rescue dogs have it and mine all do well on it. 
Ceri is really helpful and does not try to sell you the expensive stuff.

Www.csjk9.com

No connection, just very impressed. They are better on it than on JWB and mine are too thin for Burns.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

You will need to introduce new foods slowly scrinchy

I believe sweet potatoe is good

Yesterday he had pasta bad move, so he has problems with wheat

Feed him yogurt,cottage cheese,eggs, sardines,carrots,green beans to try to balance his meals

Coat gleams, loads of energy still may be missing something

But all in all not bad for a dog that should not have survived

Aldra


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## 91502 (May 1, 2005)

Patchworkqueen said:


> Iams is made by the same people as Eukanuba which I consider to be mid to low range.
> 
> Chris


Mid to low in quality but not in price, as is James Wellbeloved.
It's all about marketing, if it costs a lot some people think it must be good.

JP


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## scrinchy (Jul 17, 2007)

Aldra
we have tried slow and very small additions but in the main we've only given them 3 or 4 days. With the Origen which we thought should have been better for her we persevered a bit longer but had to stop. Takes about 10 days to get her settled down to something near normal on white fish and potato. This time in shes (fingers crossed) at least not exploding!!
However, your list of Shadows food gives me pause for thought. If I could get some of those in her without results I'd feel she was having some sort of balance to her diet! She would always prefer to have what we have so maybe I'll do a psychological approach and serve up sardines and green beans for us too!!! More than a gut (!sorry!) feeling but not with hard evidence I'd say she reacts to rice and chicken- and certainly wheat- like Shadow.
At least Shadow had extraordinary reason for his troubles but she seemed to develop this out of nowhere- except old age ofcourse- and the nvet offers no hypotheses


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## KeithChesterfield (Mar 12, 2010)

A link to a 'What's good - What's bad' Pet food site - www.nocans.com/


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

A big Burns fan here as well.Check out their website. My thirteen year old Lurcher does amazingly well on the Fish and Brown Rice.
The Whippet, on the other hand, is more of a challenge. She eats Burns Fish and Brown Rice but as it is quite low calorie, to suit the Lurcher, she looks like a bag of bones. This is not to say she is not fit and well - she is - just skinny. I have, therefore, broken the rule of a lifetime and mixed two foods together. I did a lot of research first and found that Natures Menu is an excellent quality *complete* wet food. I use this to mix with the Burns so that the whole meal is complete. This has put some some meat on her bones without causing any tummy upsets or other problems. The vet was very complementary about Natures Menu. If I could afford it I would feed it to both dogs.

My other concern is travelling. Natures Menu comes in convenient sachets so is ok in this country. Abroad I know I can get Burns in Spain and I could carry enough to get us there.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Found this on another site and thought I would share 8O 


Why you SHOULD NOT FEED YOUR DOG BAKERS -

E320 - has been found to be tumour -producing when fed to rats. In human studies it has been linked with urticaria, angioedema and asthma.
E321 - BANNED for use in food in Japan, Romania, Sweden, and Australia. The US has BANNED it from being used in infant foods. So bad McNasty's have voluntarily eliminated it from their products.

E310 - BANNED from chi
ldren's foods in the US because it is thought to cause the blood disorder methemoglobinemia

E172 - BANNED in Germany
...
E132 - Can cause skin sensitivity, a rash similar to nettle rash, itching, nausea, high blood pressure and breathing problems. One of the colours that the Hyperactive Children's Support Group recommends be eliminated from the diet of children. PROHIBITED in Norway.
E102 - TARTRAZINE -A trial on 76 children diagnosed as hyperactive, showed that tartrazine provoked abnormal behaviour patterns in 79% of them E110 - Sunset Yellow (E110) has been found to damage kidneys and adrenals when fed to laboratory rats. It has also been found to be carcinogenic when fed to animals
E104 - One of the colours that the Hyperactive Children's Support Group recommends be eliminated from the diet of children.BANNED in Australia, Japan, Norway and the United States.
E171 - BANNED in Germany
E153 -BANNED as a food additive in the United States of America. Suspected as a carcinogenic agent.

And which food contains all these? Bakers Complete
Please share, this IS NOT Widely known knowledge and people need to become aware.


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## madeleine53 (Mar 23, 2008)

Quoting what happens when substances are fed to lab rats is ridiculous. They are fed huge amounts of the substance. The study relating to a mere 76 children is not scientific - the number is too low - and was it a proper randomised controlled double blind trial? Doesn't sound like it as the numbers are too low to be statistically significant.

Remember penicillin - if they had tested it on guinea pigs we wouldn't have it because they die. Also remember that chocolate is poisonous for dogs but NOT poisonous to children. 

Do you honestly think that dog food products are not tested on actual dogs (not children!) or that dog food companies are in the business of killing dogs?

Dogs today are far healthier than they have ever been and live for far longer. A dogs dietary needs may change as they grow older and the diet can be adjusted accordingly. That's why most manufacturers have developed foods for various ages, eg puppy, adult, senior.


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