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Dry Dog food whats the best out there ? ................

433K views 916 replies 265 participants last post by  tashi 
G
#1 ·
Whats the best dry dog food out there??? any thoughts?? i am feeding my dog james wellbeloved wich is good but dear to buy:(what do you feed your dog and why !?? and how much is it !?
 
#553 ·
Che: has Dr Johns Silver,

Buster: The lady who i get his dog food from has stopped doing it so now am stuck, i'm using up the last of it now and have to find another food for him. He was allergic to Chicken, but have been mixing in the Dr Johns Silver with the lOHP Robbies and he seems to like it! no signs of allergy.

:cursing::rolleyes:
 
#554 ·
I feed my dog on mainly a BARF diet but I understand it can be quite time consuming, when we are short on time we usually feed him Burns, it costs about £7 for 2kg. Best thing is, unlike things like Science Plan and Pedegree, it's not tested on animals =)
You can buy it online, I'm not sure where my mum gets it from but I know a lot of shops sell it =)
 
#555 ·
Che: has Dr Johns Silver,

Buster: The lady who i get his dog food from has stopped doing it so now am stuck, i'm using up the last of it now and have to find another food for him. He was allergic to Chicken, but have been mixing in the Dr Johns Silver with the lOHP Robbies and he seems to like it! no signs of allergy.

:cursing::rolleyes:
Dr. Johns is one of the worst foods on the market it really is full of rubbish, you should be thanking the lady for not getting it in any more.
Has anyone tried the new food from Orijen ( Orijen Red ) I got it for my two a few weeks ago and they love it.

Terri
 
#556 · (Edited)
Dr. Johns is one of the worst foods on the market it really is full of rubbish, you should be thanking the lady for not getting it in any more.
Has anyone tried the new food from Orijen ( Orijen Red ) I got it for my two a few weeks ago and they love it.

Terri
Dr Johns is recommended for Shar Peis by Paul Saxton at the Shar Pei Rescue of Great Britain, it has the right amount of everything.

The lady i get the Robbies from is starting to do a new food, so am going up to see her to get a sample, but if it's the same as Robbies i wont be buying- Buster gained no weight due to the content.
 
#557 ·
Dr Johns is recommended for Shar Peis by Paul Saxton at the Shar Pei Rescue of Great Britain, it has the right amount of everything.
Honestly it really is one of the worst foods out there.
The first ingredient is cereals, that will be the cheapest one on the market at the time they are buying, so the cereal content will change regularly.
meat and animal derivatives, derivatives are all the crap that's left over after the carcass has been stripped of meat, it's beaks, claws, skin, hooves, anything that's left of the animal gets chucked in pet food.
eec permitted antioxidants could be BHA and BHT both of which some experts believe can cause cancers.
I used to feed my last sheltie girl Robbies and she did really well on it.

Terri
 
#558 ·
derivatives are all the crap that's left over after the carcass has been stripped of meat, it's beaks, claws, skin, hooves, anything that's left of the animal gets chucked in pet food.
Terri
I know what you mean, but animal derivatives, though not terrifically high quality protein are regulated by law. If you think about it, in the wild an animal (certainly my cat!) will generally eat 99% of what they kill, and that includes some of what we might think of as the less desirable cuts of meat!

As I see it, ingredients such as this fulfill two purposes. 1) they ensure efficient use of the food chain, in that because we are fussy about what we eat there's going to be a lot left from the slaughtering process, and if this can be a food source rather than dumped in landfill that is basically good, and green!
2) It's a cheap source of protein for those who can't afford posh nosh for their pets. It's the pet equivalent of us buying Tesco Saverburgers rather than 100% Aberdeen Angus Quarter Pounders!

I use a pet food where I know what's in it protein-wise, and choose one without the artificial antioxidants (in my case Whites Premium) but it is a bit more expensive than Dr Johns, and if I was strapped for cash I might have to go down that route!
 
#559 ·
I know what you mean, but animal derivatives, though not terrifically high quality protein are regulated by law. If you think about it, in the wild an animal (certainly my cat!) will generally eat 99% of what they kill, and that includes some of what we might think of as the less desirable cuts of meat!
That they will but they will also eat the meat, something that a lot of the poorer dog foods don't have in them. I've not had a cat for years but when they did catch something they tended to leave the head and the limbs and only eat the body :eek:.

Terri
 
#560 ·
Honestly it really is one of the worst foods out there.
The first ingredient is cereals, that will be the cheapest one on the market at the time they are buying, so the cereal content will change regularly.
meat and animal derivatives, derivatives are all the crap that's left over after the carcass has been stripped of meat, it's beaks, claws, skin, hooves, anything that's left of the animal gets chucked in pet food.
eec permitted antioxidants could be BHA and BHT both of which some experts believe can cause cancers.
I used to feed my last sheltie girl Robbies and she did really well on it.

Terri
It might be awful but....

The difficulty i have is that i have multi allergic Peis. It might be bad food but its about the only food i can buy (apart from Robbies and Luaths) that doesnt make my dogs face and chest go purple and swell up.

As much as i love my dogs once they are gone i won't be getting another Shar Pei. They are so much hard work in the food department.
 
#561 ·
Autarky Adult:

Ingredients: Maize, chicken meat meal, rice, chicken fat, green vegetables, carrots, whole linseed, prairie meal, yeast, herbs, spices, seaweed, yucca extract, with EC permitted antioxidants: mixed tocopherols, vitamin C and rosemary extract.

Nutrient Analysis:
Protein: 22% Fibre: 3% Oil: 12% Ash: 6.5% Vitamin A 15000 iu/kg Vitamin D 1500 iu/kg Vitamin E 150 mg/kg

Autarky Puppy/Junior:

Ingredients: Maize, chicken meat meal, rice, chicken fat, green vegetables, carrots, whole linseed, prairie meal, yeast, herbs, spices, seaweed, yucca extract, with EC permitted antioxidants: mixed tocopherols, vitamin C and rosemary extract.

Nutrient Analysis:
Protein: 28% Fibre: 3% Oil: 17% Ash: 8% Vitamin A 15000 iu/kg Vitamin D 1500 iu/kg Vitamin E 150 mg/kg

Are those any good?

I was planning to put the boys on Arden Grange, but long plan wise it wouldn't be suitable as they're on offer now, but I don't know how long for, so I'm shopping around atm.
 
#564 ·
in the puppy one: maize is top and fat is 4th on the list, it doesnt look so hot to me, the majority of the protein will be coming from the maize which is hard if not impossible to digest for dogs :)
I'd imagine maize is hard to digest but why have Chappie tinned managed to claim it is one of the most easily digestible. I'm suspicious now of any commercial foods.

Skinners; i have some time for as i've bought from the factory and hopefully shortly will arrange a tour round - but then i live locally.
 
#566 · (Edited)
It's probably been mentioned before but this site was very useful to me when I was deciding what pet food to feed my two

Dog Food Reviews
Alot of the food on there is American though, and the prices alone to buy it are high and that's without P+P IF they deliver to the UK.

I'm currently writing down my monthly expense :/

I'm wondering whether or not to start changing the boys food over now or next month :/

So far I've got down a 3kg bag of Beta for Milo and a 3kg bag of Bakers for Zeus.

I'm looking at possibly getting Wainwrights Dry Dog Food, and I'm kinda unsure if 2kg would be enough to transfer the boys to it or not, but then I don't wanna buy a big bag to find out that they don't like it :(

Also what size would I need to Zeus, large breed or the medium size? He weighs 28kgs at 3 years old and is a Boxer cross.

Also should I get the large breed for Milo? He weighs 21kgs at 4 months old and is a Labrador.

Thanks for any help :)
 
#570 ·
I feed my westies Organipets, does anyone else use this/or know about it?
I've never heard of it.

I think I may ask my vet which food is best for my boys.

If I can get this job then I should be able to buy them anything, just atm it's a bit tight.

Oh I've noticed that Milo's stools are abit squidy and a tad runny, not really runny just a little bit. I'm currently feeding him Beta Puppy, which he was fed on as he was growing up at his breeders house, he does sneak into Zeus' bowl *Bakers Adult* and the cat and kittens bowls, so maybe it's just that?

But if not what is a better brand then Beta, but not with a stupid price of £30-£40?
 
#571 ·
I think I may ask my vet which food is best for my boys.
Please dont. Vet's know nothing about feeding and nutrition, unless they have been on some course and done extra training, and even then there knowledge is a tad dubious. They will just push whatever one they make £££ out of.

Tbh, you could feed any of the cheap brands if thats all you can afford. Some of the vitalin range looks good, and is reasonably priced. ANYTHING is better than Bakers.
 
G
#572 · (Edited)
I've never heard of it.

I think I may ask my vet which food is best for my boys.

If I can get this job then I should be able to buy them anything, just atm it's a bit tight.

Oh I've noticed that Milo's stools are abit squidy and a tad runny, not really runny just a little bit. I'm currently feeding him Beta Puppy, which he was fed on as he was growing up at his breeders house, he does sneak into Zeus' bowl *Bakers Adult* and the cat and kittens bowls, so maybe it's just that?

But if not what is a better brand then Beta, but not with a stupid price of £30-£40?
A price range of £30-40 is not a stupid one - you get what you pay for...
Not only that but some more expensive food may not be that much more pricey when you calculate how much your dog actually needs of it - a dog will need a lesser quantity of better quality food thus bringing the cost down a little over time.
Bakers is crap so yes almost anything is better than Bakers.
I feed my boy Orijen - Im not sure about the weekly cost yet (yet to finish the first big bag and plus now I have a another dog ;) but it wont be more than £4 a week max (SBT, 20kgs).
For cheaper foods look maybe at Arden Grange, JWB, Wrainwright... check the meat is listed first, the meat content is high enough, the quality is decent and the cereals are, as much as possible, limited in amount (better without it actually).
oh and some working dog food maybe good value as well!
 
G
#573 ·
It's probably been mentioned before but this site was very useful to me when I was deciding what pet food to feed my two

Dog Food Reviews
Yes Ive mentioned it before - I found it really useful too to understand how to read dog food labels; what to look out for, what to avoid, their detailed reviews are very helpful and make sense to me ;) it complements a book on dog nutrition I got months ago!

xx
 
#574 ·
Skinners isnt too bad for its price. First ingredient is rice, but i dont think you are going to find a great food at the price you wish to pay. I know many dogs do well on this one..

Skinners Petfoods - Field & Trial Duck & Rice Hypoallergenic Dog Food

Arden Grange is another good one. You can buy either 30kg with free delivery on eBay for around £50 (free delivery and you'd have to do a search). Or you can get it from Berriewoods for £26 pounds.

Berriewood Wholesale - Arden Grange Adult Lamb & Rice 15kg(Breeder Bag)

I think Bakers is stupid expensive for the quality. I remember when it was about £12.50 a sack.
 
#575 ·
This is from the Organipets website, does it sound ok?


Complete Organic Dry Adult Dog Food ingredients - Organic fresh chicken (min 22%), organic whole rice (min 19%), chicken meal, prairie meal, organic oats, organic barley, organic peas, organic skimmed milk, maize protein, organic sunflower oil, chicken oil, whole linseed, seaweed meal, vegetable pomace, salmon oil, organic herbs (including oregano, rosemary, sage and thyme). With Natural antioxidant Vitamin E (Tocopherol-rich extracts of natural origin).

Analysis - Protein 28%, Oil 11%, Fibre 2.5%, Ash 6%, Copper (as copper sulphate) 20mg/kg.

Vitamin Statement - Vitamin A 20,000IU/kg, Vitamin D3 1,250 IU/kg, Vitamin E (as alpha tocopherol acetate) 100mg/kg
 
#576 ·
I'm also looking at this CSJ Dog Food, which seems rather good. And as I've said before my vet that has 3 working labs, suggested Supadog to me for Milo.

Also with the Skinners Field & Trial would I need to feed more of it to the boys? My mum said I might as it may have missing ingredients so you need to feed bigger quantities. I've also looked at the non F&T range of Skinners food as well, that seems to be good.

I consider £30-£40 a stupid price for dog food, as Eukanuba, Royal Canin are in those price ranges and have bad ingredients in them. Zeus alone for a 15KG bag of bakers costs £25/month, so if I can find better then Bakers for lower, same price or upto £30 then I'll deffinately get it, once I've tried them on the samples to see if they're stomachs can take it or not.
 
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