Food choice?

[Kingsroadie]

What food do you feed your dog/puppy? Our vet recommends Science Plan (and it is sold in our local petshop), but I have heard others recommend Burns, Orijen, Garden Grange.

Thanks!

[Kingsroadie]

I mean Arden Grange...

[emptyshell]

JamesWellbeloved in my case - cat was doing fantasically on the cat version (well, there ARE hours and hours of maintenance goes into her coat on a daily basis anyway), so when we got the dog we went for the dog-version as well.

After him being incredibly squitty when we got him (had been fed on whatever was in the donation bin at the rescue) he's also now got lovely solid ones (only a dog owner of a persistently squitty dog can appreciate the sheer beauty of a lovely solid poo).

[walkersmum]

Orijen or Acana for my dogs

look her
www.dogfoodadvisor.com

[Kingsroadie]

Thanks guys. I actually feed the 2 cats we have Science Plan which I order online so as to save the massive bags having to be carried to and from car etc. So I am happy to buy it online - I just thought that perhaps if I also fed the puppy that I could always nip out and pick some up just in case I forgot to order it / we ran out earlier than I realised etc. Whereas with the others I would be a bit stuck - that's the reasoning behind asking re Science plan...

[Tuggy]

orijen

[hephaestus]

Science plan is overpriced shite, full of maize and other fillers.

Fish4Dogs is great, reliable delivery if you buy online. Orijen, TOTW or Acana good, JWB, Arden Grange and Wainwrights a bit further down the list, Skinners (duck/fish/lamb 'n rice varieties) the best of the budget options.

[Kingsroadie]

Ah okay - I had heard people saying that about Science plan - do vets get commission?!

Think I might buy online then - it's not the price that's the issue - I want a really good food.

Thanks!

[rogersmellyonthetelly]

I was told that science plan was a top food by pets at home the other day, wont be going there for advice again! its very expensive.

[PersonalClown]

Another Ojijen/Acana devotee here.

My Staffy and Labradoodle are thriving on it.

[PersonalClown]

Orijen...yes I can't spell!

[DooinMeCleanin]

Your Vet probably gets commission from Hills . I use Nature Diet for mine 79p per tray though, so it's not cheap.

[Kingsroadie]

Thanks everyone! Yes every vet I have been registered with has always recommended science plan - I have even questioned them as to why etc. Interesting - perhaps I will rethink my cat food. They were on Almo which is really only meat, cooking liquid and rice. BUT the boy cat started to suffer from what looked like stud tail - greasy and flaky. And the vet said almo doesn't have any added nutrients so he was probably lacking in some (they are indoor cats) and that was causing the fur/oils imbalance. Sure enough, we switched to science plan (wet food) and it cleared up. I realise that this doesn't really belong in the doghouse though...

Anyone got any experience of Burns while we're at it?

[izzybiz]

James Wellbeloved or Wainrights.

[midori1999]

I use Fish4dogs and it is one of the very few foods on which my dogs don't get skin problems, presumably as it is cereal free. It is a complete food and is designed as such. Dogs do not need cereal in their diets but do need a high meat/fish content, which fish4dogs provides. It's also very reasonably priced compared to Orijen etc, but is a similar food.

I have used JWB and Burns and IME you are likely to need to use much more of these foods compared to a cereal free food as they contain rice and other 'fillers', so they will work out more expensive in the long run.

Vets get comission on food they sell and most aren't specialists in nutrition. My vet recommends some right old crap.

[Kingsroadie]

Thanks a lot Midori. Right - am going to try one of the ones above with high meat content. It stands to reason that dogs will need more of a food which contains fillers or high levels of fillers as they are carnivores and require meat/fish to feel satisfied!

[PersonalClown]

I swear vets know almost nothing when it comes to food.
Mine said Bakers was a household name so it must be good.

I had fun educating them!

[Kingsroadie]

Bakers?! Ha. I thought science plan might be okay but interesting to hear they get commission - I was getting fairly suspicious tbh!

[Mrsfred]

We used Royal Canin giant puppy/junior, but very recently switched to Burns because the adult version of Canin didn't suit him for some reason.

Fingers crossed, we are back to firm poo's with the Burns Lamb & rice so far.

[Kingsroadie]

Just quickly - those of you feeding fish4dogs - do you ever give anything else which has meat instead of fish? Do you think it is okay to feed a puppy/dog a purely fish-based diet?

[Kingsroadie]

It looks really good and reasonably priced for what it is too!

Shine - you have a nearly 16 week old cav - is that right? Assume you therefore feed the puppy food? Which meat kibble do you mix with?

Thank you!

[UnseenAcademicalMum]

Can I please hijack this thread slightly to ask whether anyone prepares home-made food for their dog? I've been reading about it lately and it makes a lot of sense to prepare your own dog food in order to know exactly what they are getting and there is of course the quality/health aspect too. If so, how long does it take you to prepare a few days worth of food (would be thinking of preparing a few days at a time and freezing for convenience) and what types of stuff do you prepare?

[Slubberdegullion]

UnseenAcademicalMum, I BARF feed my dog - everything is raw, I don't cook anything, so in terms of preparation time it is tiny. You just need a big freezer and a good enough memory to take the food out of it 12 hours before feeding your dog not something I am always successful at

You do need to put a bit of time in reading up on the subject and planning your dog's diet but once you are up and running it is very straight forward.