Quote:
Originally Posted by dimkaz
a] Wet food is 70% - or more - water...to feed a large dog (30+ kilograms) on that you'll need around or more than 1 kg of food per day to supply your dog's needs. this is 1) very expensive, 2) put under stress the tummy and 3) -by consequence- produces excessive amount of smelly poo (with the problem that can cause to the dog to pass it several times a day and whoever picks it up).
b] In my opinion the best way to feed our companions is to vary their diet as much as possible and i use dry food and cook for them (once a week and then freeze the lot). their bowls is usually 1/2 of dry food, and 1/2 of mix of meat, vegetables and rice (I do not use onion obviously) sometimes i add stale bread and some gravy. (fresh and clean water should always be available either with dry or wet food).
c] At the moment and for quite some time, i am buying Sneyd's Wonderdog, the company is based in Doncaster and has a range of very high quality food, without additives. the only draw back is that the BestBefore date is not as long as the high-street brands (that's because Sneyd;s does not contain any additives) so you cannot buy in bulk. however the price is extremely competitive (about £10-£12 pound for 15kg for adult dogs) and a bit more expensive for puppies and juniors.
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a] Most animals are about 80% water including humans and feed on similar. Dry complete is not cheaper depending where you source food from. Your comment 2) is incorrect - on natural food the stomach will not be put under stress, quite the reverse - have you read about raw meaty bone diets or barf. Regarding poo i think you'd find the dog's outgoings would be halved on a wet diet as there isn't so much waste. The higher quality Dry complete seems to produce less indicating that more is used by the body.
b] One should not vary a dog's diet too much. One should not mix Dry complete with Wet as the dry complete is designed to swell and be broken down over a much longer period than a Wet diet. Known cases of intestinal disorders have increased over the last couple of decades. Vets recommend Dry complete a lot of the time because it's easier for the owner... but will the dog live longer? Vet's even now say mix both but they are surgeons and not nutritionists in all fairness.
c] Sneyd do produce what would appear to be quality food at a budget price. Protein 24% is still on the high side for a maintenance diet.