which food?

[aladdinsane]

I have a 1 year old miniature poodle
I have struggled to find food she likes but doesn't give her the runs
I tried James wellbeloved which she hated and made her poo like water
Hills and Eukunaba she hated
Can't remember which others
we introduce new food gradually
She is on acana at the moment which is OK but a very small bag for £12
I know poodles can have digestive problems so I am careful
DH has recently been made redundant so we are - temporarily I hope - tightening our belts
So, which reasonably priced food is the best, and tastiest

[fanoftheinvisibleman]

I have had the same problems and went raw about a month ago. He is eating like a hoover and dancing circles when food comes out. It isn't costing me any more than Eukanuba etc either with careful shopping and we haven't had one dodgy tummy unlike all the kibbles.

[QuietTiger]

Try CSJ. CSJ Ours are on it, it's hypoallergenic and it's very reasonably priced. Think £12-£15 for a 15kg sack.

Ours are fantastic on it.

[aladdinsane]

OK
Is that the stuff you buy from the freezer in the pet shop or do you buy somewhere else
Sorry, I am totally ignorant if what a raw diet consists of
Am interested to know more though

[fanoftheinvisibleman]

I have got some from the pet shop but shan't bother again.

You need to feed a good mix of meat on the bone (ours loves chicken wings/thighs, lamb and pork ribs and oxtail, some muscle meat which includes things like tripe and heart. I buy value mince from the market which is £1 for 1 1/2 lb and is mixes meat plus heart. He loves it!

Also need smaller amounts of liver and kidney. I go to the market and then weigh and bag it and pop in the freezer. I also give him white fish (supermarket savers range), sardines which are 47p a tin at aldi, eggs, yoghurt, and bits of pasta, rice and veg when cooking for us.

He is so much happier as kibble used to go uneaten and he was underweight.

[Lilcamper]

Another CSJ feeder here!

[aladdinsane]

Do you buy CSJ online - thanks for the link - I just wondered about p&p charges

[francesdrake]

I've just switched mine to CSJ too, after going through ALL the hypoallergenic kibbles for my reactive hound. Cheap, if you go for the Champ line, but he's looking great on it and the poos are good - I add pilchards/yoghurt/eggs now and again for interest. Internet delivery is £7 ish or i pick it up from a local farm.

It gets low scores on that dogfood rating website, but my dog does best on a lower protein diet, and the roughage slows everything down in his gut - before that the vet was prescribing Hills WD at extortionate cost to do much the same thing.

[TataClaire]

Might sound odd but have you tried tinned chappie? My boys guts got so bad, even the vet foods didnt work, someone suggested it and we thought - well its cheap and worth a go and it was like a wonderfood!
Hope you find something to suit!

[Lonecatwithkitten]

I was going to suggest tinned chappie too. Very good for dogs with dodgy tums.

[miggy]

Have always found Royal Canin sensible to be good for fussy dogs with iffy digestive systems.
Not cheap cheap but will be much less than acana I think

[francesdrake]

And another yes to Chappie too! There's always an emergency tin or two in the pantry here.

Skinners also do reasonably priced, pretty good kibble; my dog liked duck/salmon & rice and it didn't trigger any sensitivity. The Field & Trial range is working dog food, so VAT free - about £25/15kg.

[MoaningMingeWhingesAgain]

Skinners here too - very good quality for the price IMHO. Currently get mine (salmon version) on autodelivery from Amazon but GW Titmuss and the online petshops often have good offers on. My old terrier mutt and 2yo collie are both thriving on it, very tidy poo and clean teeth.

Skinners will send you samples etc and give you advice over the phone for which food to choose too.

[GooseEnthusiast]

Try [http://www.whichdogfood.co.uk/ this] website.

You put in your dogs need, weight and the amount of money you can afford to spend on dog food per week and it comes up with a list of options plus reviews from users etc.

[GooseEnthusiast]

Oops - link

[Bunnylion]

I tried a few and have settled on Lily's Kitchen

It's the healthiest processed dog food recipies that I've seen. Before putting him on this, my dog often had colitis on other complete foods, and he is a very fussy eater but loves Lily's.

I had him on raw for a year and he loved that too and was very healthy, but it was harder work and more time consuming - although nutritionally better than any processed food. If you're interested in raw, look up 'BARF diet' or read more here

[janmk]

My dog reacted badly to even chicken and rice. We now have no issues with the runs since we switched to Quantum lamb and rice ! It really worked wonders