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.

on your point A) -> food containing that huge amount of water (that you pay for) put definetly under strain the tummy of the dogs (especially a large breed that needs over a kg of wet to supply the body of the necessary nutrients)...a kg of food means at least 70-80% needs to be passed out *and this will cause inflammations given the quantity...
sub a) i never commented against the natural food (if you;d read below you see that i give my dogs natural food (1/2 of their meal is meat and vegetables) to be precise meat is only lightly cocked while vegetables are overcooked to increase the % that can be more easily digested. there will be a loss of vitamins, and that is when the dry food comes into the equation.
using high quality dry food, means that dog's feed mustn't be in huge amount to achieve nutrient requirements. and this brings me to your point B), given that the quantity if high quality dry food is limited , although the nutritional values are high, the expansion (that happens in the bowl for 3/4 and continue for the rest of the 1/4 in the tummy), won't cause any enlargement, hence is gentle on the stomach (i have actually measured these proportion because as a happy owner of two very large dogs - 60kg one and 30kg the other, i have to pay particular attention to avoid any form of upset). regarding vets' suggestions i would follow only in case of recovery (post surgery feeding for spaying and after c-section), the vet with specialisation in nutrition should be consulted in this case - hopefully one that hasn;t got any dog food corporation sponsoring the practice...(their suggestions depend upon the general health of the dogs, the size and the characteristics rather than general considerations of how easy is to feed them...and their bill is not sky high - i think i paid 24 pounds per dogs for the consultation including a check up-. also varying the dogs diet in the short term will cause some discomfort due to habituation of the stomach to old monotonous diet, but as long as you progress gradually, the capability of the digestive system will improve and after a couple of moths of gentle and gradual re-habituation the dog's stomach will be able to process efficiently the food intake.
your sub c), as i said, i'm looking for small independent British companies that have links with veterinary colleges (rather than large multinational food corporations) in order to source feed as good as possible backed by studies that are verified by public organisation like veterinary colleges and universities' labs. having said that, if you know of any of the such, i would like very much to try them out and eventually report my experience with them.
i mentioned sneyd's because i'm using it at the moment and i feel confident in mixing it with the food i prepare... but i am open to try new companies' products as long as they comply with the points i mentioned above...

other than that, i would really recommend to talk to a vet with specialisation in nutrition (they usually "lurk" in universities departments and you;d need to carry out a little research before you can find one, they are usually not sponsored by big companies, as their wages are paid through research grants and public funding of research...and i feel i can trust their suggestions) moreover they are very professional (although sometimes their language can be a bit technical as they are not too use in dealing with the public like high street vets - they mostly deal with specialised breeders, farmers, other vets and technical personnell...but then we need to do our homework as well...to top it up, their bills usually are honest and not as ridiculous as i had to bare in more than one occasion).
hope this explains my standing on the subject and has somehow contributed to the discussion.

We are moving on to Skinners field and trail crunchy from 8months-18months for our two now looks very good, sadly cant afford to feed two on Arden Grange anymore due to oh losing a week worths of wages

Looks very good tho and reviews have been great can get two 15kg bags for £33 delivered

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Cats= Tia and Foxy
Snakes= Bruce banana cali king, Levi and Cookie commen boas and murphy commen boa
and four african land snails

The point i was making is that animals feed on feed that naturally contains 70+% water. Do you have dried beef for Sunday lunch? As it contains more nutritional value you don't feed more and more is digested than a grain based complete feed.

Have you put some kibble in a bowl of water and soaked it overnight - and looked at what its swelled to.

You feed your dog what you like. I think you'd see a big difference in their vitality on natural food.

hi, probably due to the long papyrus i wrote, you haven't had the chance to read it thoroughly, but it appears that we are saying more or less the same things ...



nice photos you posted! when i learn how to post some i will put on my big girl tackling a fresh cow T bone steak!

PLEASE HELP!!! looking for online supplier that is reliable and sells alpha sporting puppy can anyone help plz xx

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one of my many new online adopts

Pet's name: princess

and theres my real life babys,ellie and meisha...
and loads more!!!!

That is the most lovely Saluki cross Jess.

She is a beautiful looking girl [rehome] and a lovely character too [albeit a bit tinkish at times]. Great cuddler in bed. Still a nervous girl but getting better.

I feed my lot on a mixture of Royal Canin and raw. Sidney was getting bored of the Canin, but wasn't going to stop feeding him it, and try something else, as I did this once with one of my other dogs, and it was murder trying to get her to stick with a regular kibble.

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He eats the Lamb and Rice formula (I mix both the canned and dry food .... I think way too much is made out of a food for your dog being the "best"
NinjaGreens Organic Supplements