Medium cost dry food - any recommendations?

[lainiekazan]

Golden retriever, 10 months, hates Royal Canin, detests James Wellbeloved, indifferent about Hills Science Plan. Not very enthusiastic about Pets At Home premium stuff.

He loves human food (of course) but a dog cannot live by toast and luncheon meat (bleeuggh) alone. I absolutely do not want to go down the raw or cooked meat route.

I have read all the online guides, but wonder if anyone has a personal recommendation of something.

[fishybits]

We're trialling Harringtons 20 pounds for 15kg as Arden Grange has become too expensive. I add hot water and DD's leftover supper each night so keep this interesting.

So far I've noticed that the dogs are calmer, coats are still soft and shiny, stools larger but still firm and smellier breath. Not all good news but not too bad either.

[Floralnomad]

Try Barking Heads ,my fairly fussy boy loves it ,particularly the lamb variety . It's reasonably priced and TBH you need to feed less than recommended IMO.

[Waitingforflo]

CSJ have lots of varieties - starts at about £15 for large bag and goes up depending on what you want. Great for allergies, sensitivities, weight gain/loss, etc.

www.csjk9.com/

[Needadvice5]

We feed our 7 month old Dalmatians on Collards from kennelgate, although I do mix a few leftovers/bit of tinned in to make it more exciting!

[tabulahrasa]

The only food mine seemed to actually like is Orijen, which is not at all medium priced, lol.

Does he like fish? Pets at home do a pretty good quality, reasonably priced fish one, fishmongers I think it's called?

[MrsPnut]

We moved our dog onto the Chappie dry food and she wasn't so keen at first but will now eat it eventually.

She would much rather be having pedigree chum pouches, or whatever we're eating but her digestive system is very sensitive.
We buy it in big sacks from the range, and it's one of the cheaper brands but has no cereals in it. Her coat is beautifully glossy and she has bags of energy despite being an old lady.

[pollyglen]

Harringtons is loved by my two dogs.Smelly wind problem eradicated,poo's now firm less smelly and easy to pick up.Wouldn't even consider any other brand now.

[Goldencity1]

Another fussy Goldie! Glad I've not got the only one...
My 7 month pup hates Arden Grange, collards, James Wellbeloved plus another one that looks the same [boring brown pellets] which I can'i remember the name of!
She also gets an upset tum quite easily - [had a thread about her revolting poo!] so it has been hard to find one she will eat that won't upset her.

We have settled on Skinners ruff and ready - it has lots of dff textures and shapes and seems to be coated in something sticky - this she will eat, especially with a bit of warm water on it.

Her tum is better too, as long as I stop MIL feeding her horrible cheap dog treats!

[lainiekazan]

Yes, dog's poos are a bit... squishy. And as for the wind - sometimes we all sit watching the television with jumpers/t-shirts over our noses and mouths as dog snores peacefully with his legs in the air .

I think that at the end of the day most dogs do not like dry food. I can't imagine eating a bowl of cornflakes/muesli with no milk on. I tried putting some warm water on the dry food but dog walked off in disgust and wouldn't touch it.

[Whoknowswhocares]

I feed my Goldie wainwrights dry food with a small amount of the wainwrights wet tray stuff as a topper and a bit of warm water.
Despite starting off life with a very sensitive stomach, she is fit, healthy, firm pooed and fart free . She loves it too fortunately.
As an extra I use Feelwells puppy training treats daily for their probiotic benefits, which may possibly make a difference

[lainiekazan]

Thanks for ideas.

Goldencity1 - I looked at your "poo" thread. I know people who have spent a fortune to discover their dog is allergic to this, that or the other. I asked the vet and she said as long as dog is healthy and bouncy then soft (not runny) poo may just be them.

[WeAllHaveWings]

golden the sticky stuff in you skinners ruff and ready is likely to be the glucose aka sugar.

laine we switched our lab onto millies wolfheart a couple months ago and went from sloppy poos and smelly wind to little firm poos And fresh air within a week.

Good quality protein and grain free, a bag lasts a while as you don't feed much. They also do a great range of natural chews/treats.

[needastrongone]

I am trying Millie's too, just waiting for the last of the previous stuff to run out. We do kibble am then raw pm, which seems to work for us. Millie's is £10 per bag cheaper, made in England, grain free etc

[SecretSix]

We use Gilpa Kennel & Senior Light.

SixDog seems very happy with it, coat is in lovely condition which I think is the fish in the Senior. I put a bit of water in it but feed straightaway so it's damp rather than soaked. Poo is generally firm unless he's eaten crap on the park

[DIddled]

Ardern grange- been using it for years.

[WeAllHaveWings]

needastrongone are you in their facebook group, the owners June and mark are brilliant with their customer support!

[sweetkitty]

Another vote for Millie's Wolfheart changed my 6 month old ridgeback over from Burns 2 weeks ago, she wolfs it down whereas Burns could be left in her bowl for a while, grain free, named meats all good stuff voted second best in the UK by Whichdogfood.com

A 14.5kg bag is £50 but as it's so good you feed less, free delivery too and great customer service, actually spoke to the owner for ages about food and dogs

[lainiekazan]

Just bought a small bag of Skinners. If dog turns his nose up at that I'll try Millie's Wolfheart next.

Honestly. Why will dog gulp down a slipper, foam interior and all, but spurn perfectly good food?

[Isthatwhatdemonsdo]

Our Goldie is a fussy bugger too. Had him on our own brand dry food since he was a puppy loved it for a few months then turned his nose up. Went off James Wellbeloved after a couple of months so now I'm feeding him Burns.
He's still a bit picky but eats it in the end. I'm not changing to another brand again.

[Rikalaily]

Wainwrites, our boy has the wet and dry

[DaddysBigTummy]

Another vote for Millie's Wolfheart, my lab puppy eats this. Riverside Mix I think.

[intheround]

I use Beta Pet Maintenance.

[needastrongone]

weallhavewings - I didn't know that there was a Facebook page, but I have joined! Gave both the dog and the pup some Millie's for treats today, vamoosh!

Anyone who have founders called June and Mark get my vote

[CMOTDibbler]

Ours is on Burns atm, but we also use Oscars. He needs grain free, no turkey. The difference in his poo on the right food is amazing

[noddingoff]

OP - is your dog fussy to the point where, if offered only one of the foods you mentioned that he doesn't particularly like, he'll eat so little that he gets thin enough that your vet (not some randomer in the park with an obese dog) tells you that he is too thin?
The foods that other posters have mentioned are good, worth keeping on trialling 1.5kg bags of each I suppose.
Other ways to try getting dogs to eat more:

• bit of stock cube dissolved in water poured onto the new food for a week or so
  
• competition - borrow a friend's (non fighty)dog and feed it beside your dog
  
• adding some B vitamins may stimulate appetite a bit