How do you decide what to feed your dog? Share with tails.com – £300 voucher to be won NOW CLOSED

[JustineBMumsnet]

For many of us, dogs are part of the family. Choosing the right food for them can feel really important – but with so much choice, how do you know what’s right for your dog? Share your experiences of finding the right food for your dog, and be in with a chance of winning a £300 voucher for a store of your choice.

To get us started, here’s what Sean, the Head Vet at tails.com, has to say: “From raw feeding to grain free, we are seeing more human diet trends crossing over into the world of dog food. While trends come and go, I believe in three founding principles of a good diet to improve and extend your dog's life. High quality ingredients, tailored to your dog's individual needs, and fed in the right amount to keep them in great physical shape. The question is how do you find the food that meets all three principles?”

What do you prioritise when it comes to choosing food for your dog? How can you tell if the food you’re giving your dog is beneficial to their health and general condition? Do you have feeding tips that you’d like to share with new dog owners? If your dog has ever gone off their food, how have you encouraged them to start eating again? And if you’re thinking of getting a dog, what do you think you’d feed one - would you buy generic dog food or would you think more deeply about their diet?

Everyone who posts on the thread below will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher for the store of their choice.

Tails.com have supplied a 1 month free discount code - if you'd like to use this please click here.

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

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I actually use tails.com because it makes portion control so simple. My dog has digestive issues so I was able to opt for that and for weight control. She always scoffs it down. The delivery can be delayed or brought forward (prompted by email) and I've never had an issue with deliveries.

I feed our beloved Golden Retriever the very best I can afford. When he was born he had so many tummy issues so ended up being poked and prodded in all directions. We decided that we would carefully examine the ingredients on each bag of food before we fed him. There would be no point in saving £5.00 on a bag of food which would result in probably £85.00 being paid in vet's fees. Due to his early ailments he is not allowed any dairy or bones so we feel the least we can do is give him the best in food and of course the very best of our love.

I feed mine a mixture of Oscars and wet food. He enjoys it, we always get compliments on his glossy coat - it is quite something! - and his poos are good. We are continually told how good he is looking for his age - by the vets too, so happy with what we are doing.

My dog has a raw feed diet, which works well for him. It does involve a lot of research. We found that he always had stomach problems when trying tinned wet food and most dry foods, but when we moved to raw he was much better. We ensure that we include a variety of different raw mince, meat chunks and raw treats. This also includes dog safe fruit and vegetables. It sounds like its more work but it really isn't, it's just being smart about your storage and researching your food provider (and getting a good relationship with them). It's also worked out cheaper for us and he's not quite as hyper. Tinned wet food seemed to react like Skittles do for kids on our Lakeland terrier. Raw food has ended up being the best way for us :)

We have a dalmatian, and we only feed her dry food specially designed for Dalmatians. The reason for this is because she was on it when we got her, and it seemed to have been designed especially with them in mind, and keeping their health problems at bay etc. So we kept her on it. She absolutely loves it too, and eats every meal in SECONDS. So I do trust what we feed her, and would never consider a supermarket brand as I don't believe they can be good for dogs as it's so generic and every dog breed has differences that need to be catered for.

My mum insists on getting James Wellbeloved dry dog food as it contains less sugar apparently than some other dog food.

I feed my flat coat a raw diet as it suits his sensitive digestion. Two 300g meals a day of a complete raw meal (meat, offal & bone) from the local independent pet food shop. His coat has been extra shiny since switching from kibble.

Our cocker spaniel has working dog food gelet brand we’ve tried a few over th years but this one seems to ensure his poop is solid and he looks great with a nice shiny coat and vet conpliments his shiny white teeth on each annual visit! We tried other brands noticed some that were not great and make him have loose stools and he seemed constantly hungry even when fed! Also tried raw feeding for a while but I do not have room in freezer to keep the stock needed. On Sundays he gets meat from the Sunday roast and broccoli and carrots as a treat he practically licks his lips waiting for his dinner 😂 never heard of tails but off to google and compare the ingredients against our current branch now

What do you prioritise when it comes to choosing food for your dog?
Her enjoying the food and the condition she's in once eating it for a time.

How can you tell if the food you’re giving your dog is beneficial to their health and general condition?
She will look healthy, have a good energy (but not be totally bonkers!) and her poops will be firm and not too frequent.

Do you have feeding tips that you’d like to share with new dog owners?
I'd always use a raised bowl, no matter the size of the dog because once they're older it will be sore on their legs to splay to eat or drink.

If your dog has ever gone off their food, how have you encouraged them to start eating again?
Add egg or coconut oil or fish.

And if you’re thinking of getting a dog, what do you think you’d feed one - would you buy generic dog food or would you think more deeply about their diet?
I would try to use their diet to help control undesirable traits in the breed - some breeds have bad gas, some are hyper, some are painfully thin. With diet control these sorts of things can be affected.

My pup has horrible digestive issues and finding something to suit her was a grim process of trial and error. Finally found barf (raw food) and thank god it works *and she will eat it. She's pretty much stable now and has the added bonus that her stools are small and virtually odourless.

Our rescue lab x collie is currently on evolution from pets at home. I always buy grain free but she doesn't do well on anything above 60% meat/fish. She is becoming increasingly picky though and enjoyed it when I mixed in a bit of wainwrights gently baked. I choose on a combination of price and ingredients.

After much trial and error we found dry kibble without cereal worked best. Salmon and rice or lamb and rice are favourites. We used to buy James Wellbeloved but our feed supplier now sells their own non-branded version which is half the price.

I fed my dog from Tails! I loved the fact that I could tailor it and make changes each week so I noticed her skin got irritated during hotter months and would adjust her food through tails for this! Really good that they help you with portion sizes too!

My dog is raw fed. We researched lots before we got him and decided the health benefits were best. His breeder had weaned him on raw anyway, and another dog owner recommended nutriment as it comes in handy trays with some added minerals. A main benefit to me is he does small hard poos that don't smell much. I would recommend raw to anyone.

My dog was fed on raw for years, started off with Tripe as the breeder had recommend but moved on to a raw vitimin enriched complete when our friend got breeders discount (20% Off) unfortunately a change in medication meant he had to move to cooked chicken which we feed with a sensitive complete kibble. We have to be careful now so I'm more motivated by what works for him than price. I do have to say I also find it easier to buy chicken weekly and cook it than faff with bulk deliveries taking up the whole freezer.

I just looked on Tails website to check out how much it would cost for my dogs and what goes in it etc.
£78 per month!! I get free delivery already for their raw food and it doesn’t cost me as much as that to feed them.

Millie’s Wolfheart after doing a lot of research online. Grain free no fillers etc. Rhodesian Ridgeback girl always hungry. Never is sick or runny poos.

My lot are on Pet Connection's Grain Free food. They all eat the Small Breed type because the Chihuahua is the boss and it means they can all be fed from one bag . Cost is a big priority for us, while ensuring they get all they need. We feed Pet Munchies treats and they all enjoy fruit and veg.

What do you prioritise when it comes to choosing food for your dog?
My dog is 13 now, so we have had to change his diet from 2 meals a day to 4 smaller meals, with smaller biscuits, and add some vegetables to his diet (carrots and small pieces of oily fish).
How can you tell if the food you’re giving your dog is beneficial to their health and general condition?
We can tell that his feeding routine is working as his gums are healthy, his eyes are bright and his dry coat has become glossy again.
Do you have feeding tips that you’d like to share with new dog owners?
I would stick to regular meal times, mid morning and early evening, and give the portion size as described on the packet/tin so as not to over feed - a dog is always hungry and will eat more than is necessary.
If your dog has ever gone off their food, how have you encouraged them to start eating again?
When my dog went off his food, I checked his mouth for signs of gum disease or a broken or loose tooth, I tried a small tin of wet food over his small biscuits and he found his petite again.
And if you’re thinking of getting a dog, what do you think you’d feed one - would you buy generic dog food or would you think more deeply about their diet?
I feel having an elderly dog (and the same would apply to puppy or active dog) you would benefit from opting for a food designed for their lifestyle and needs, topped up with any raw vegetables when needed.

My dog is very fussy, would have liked to have fed him raw but after a year he would only eat red meat and tripe - no bone, no fish or chicken. So we swapped him to dried food with 80% meat and he gets a can of 65% meat - loads of variety because he gets bored and won't eat. But we try to keep carbs low. And for treats he gets jerky - he likes dried lungs and dried venison.

Had a couple of dogs with bad tums, so went grain free with them. Latest dog hasn't been given a choice. We aren't going to give them different.

Having two labs that looked good and did well on any feed, I didn't think about it too much, then we adopted a little dog that turned out to have a lot of allergies and took a lot of advice from the vet. He suggested a grain free food, such as James Wellbeloved, in fish or turkey flavour only. Our local pet shop suggested going a step further and buying a food that is also rice free, so she ended up on Salmon and vegetable or duck and veg from James Wellbeloved. As the two labs got to nine years and started showing arthiritis we changed them to a senior mix (but we are noticing that they get portly on it so are having to cut down their feed). We feed dry feed as it is easy to store and convenient to take on camping trips with the dogs.

Personally I think dry Complete dog food is the best for my dog. I tend to rely on the information from the brand about the nutritional value of it. So I hope they are telling the truth & it's not to make you buy it.
I tried a few brands in the lower middle & high price range but they all seem to have exactly the same health benefits but at a very different cost, in the end it was down to what I could afford and which one my dog likes, the low price range she hated and the high price she ate just as good as the middle cost so I went with the middle price dog food range.

I think some human food can be good for dogs in very very small amounts like vegetables but not giving dogs scraps every single day. My granddads dog got over weight because he used to spoil it rotten by giving it his left over dinners of meat, roast dinners, etc.

It's so hard to know what to feed for the best - there are lots of militant raw feeders out there who try and make you feel bad for giving your dog a dry food, but raw really isn't convenient for most people - or if you go for the ready prepared raw meals they cost a fortune!

We have two rescue dogs who will eat anything luckily. We don't switch their food about though. One of them has a bit of a dodgy tummy, & is prone to runny poos so I wouldn't want to keep changing the food in case it upset her.

We've found a dried food that seems to agree with her, and just hope she doesn't go off it or become a picky eater!

We started with the same food our puppy had been having when we got her, then once we got to know and trust our vet we asked her advice and followed that

I would suggest asking the vet as they know best, and try to stick to dry food because it's a lot better for their teeth