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 have two. It took a while to find one that agreed with both, as some foods send my spaniel into orbit, and the small dog is a bit precious. Eventually found a locally made complete dry food. The same company make a museli which the Springer loves but the small dog refuses.

We feed our dog supermarket own brands we figure it does the same as branded versions as our dog has had no problems on these

Somewhat unusually for a vet I have always fed my own dogs a raw/natural diet as I believe that this is the most appropriate and healthiest option for them. Added to this, they have always been much more enthusiastic to eat it than a bowl of dry kibble. I have fed both DIY and pre-prepared raw foods over the years and currently feed either Honey's or Nutriment raw minces as they are good quality, convenient and well priced. They also have a variety of raw bones throughout the week, usually chicken wings, lamb ribs and duck necks. They have all remained in robust health throughout their lives on this diet - no weight or digestive issues, no skin, ear or eye issues and sparkling clean teeth right into old age.

I see a lot of dogs on a daily basis so have a lot to compare my own dogs to and I see the effects of poor/inappropriate diets on dogs (and other animals) all the time.

When recommending food to clients I go by what is most suitable for each dog and owner. I don't push any one diet or brand of food but will recommend a variety of good quality options for them to look into. I will always recommend that they feed the best quality and most natural diet that they can afford and that suits their dog.

I should add that it costs less than £1 per day to feed an active 15kg Spaniel on Nutriment raw food.

We feed our dog just a complete dry food mix depending on what is on offer. Usually James Wellbeloved

I used allaboutdogfood.co.uk to look at the nutrition in various different dog foods, and looking at the price involved.

In the end I went for Markus Muhle, which turned out to be a good balance between nutrition (rated 4.5/5) and price (£15 for 5kg)

For treats and chews I look for ones that are 100% meat (offal, usually) and sensibly priced. Treats2Sit4 is excellent.

Our Lab has Lily's kitchen dried food mixed with a little raw meat.
We chose the food specifically for it's high meat content as she doesn't do well on cheaper food.

She normally only has carrot and dried meat as treats now after she'd gained a little too much weight!

We have 2 greedy labradors. Their diet consisted of mainly wet food with grain free dry food occasionally. That all changed last summer when my DM dog sat for us. After being spoilt by her I now find myself cooking meat and veg for them. Tried mixing in their old food but they just wont have it. They eat better than we do!

Our puppy is on Royal Canin, as that is what the breeder had him on, but will probably look to change him over soon - currently researching all the different options including raw food and tailored food. Also worry about him eating the same biscuits and flavours day in day out - in terms of nutritional balance and boredom!

We started using tails.com last year when we got our new lab puppy. We use the dried food and the little meat carton which is mixed with his dried at his dinner feed. He absolutely loves it and I love that it arrives on the doorstep every month instead of having to pick up the bags from a shop!

I try to look at the most natural ingredients I can. I avoid grain and wheat and ensure that there are some home cooked treats, such as chicken, to mix in with her food to keep it interesting. I find offering meat into both wet and dry food keeps her from wanting ours and make meal times much more interesting for her! The food she currently has she enjoys very much - happy dog, good coat, good energy.

We've got a Border Collie and he has dried food (chicken with rice and vegetables). In our experience Collies seem to have a very delicate stomach and tend to get the runs if we feed him anything else.

what do you prioritise when it comes to choosing food for your dog?
I look for a dry food which has a good balance of meat, vegetables, grain and vitamins, and as I have a small dog, the pieces have to be small enough to crunch.

How can you tell if the food you’re giving your dog is beneficial to their health and general condition?
Wet nose and waggy tail and full of fun, if he was under the weather, I would know about it.

Do you have feeding tips that you’d like to share with new dog owners?
I would say feed the puppy/dog what they were on when in their previous home, and offer 3 of 4 small meals a day until they have settled in. Watch their motions - not too hard and not too runny which would give you a sign that you need to offer more vegetables, water or less meat.

If your dog has ever gone off their food, how have you encouraged them to start eating again?
If they were off their food, for a day or more I would take a trip to the vet to see if there are any underlying issues. I would try another brand, they may simply be bored of the same food.

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 take advise from other owners, forums and my vet and feed a good well balanced food which will prelong the health of my dog.

We use Origen dry food for our Labrador. I think it's a close as possible to raw feeding, which isn't a fit for our family (young children, cats). He has a lovely coat, tons of energy and nice solid poo.
He had to have Bakers during the snow when Zooplus couldn't deliver. It made his bum explode and gave him the zoomies.
A discount on regular purchases would be good. The 11kg bags are best value but hard to store. If I could have the 6kg bags for less I'd like that.

We're first time dog owners and pup is 7 months old, so we're quite new to it all! We started with the food he'd been on with his breeder - Royal Canin. However he never wanted to eat it, we'd mix in chicken/rice/egg from time to time, but he wouldn't eat the kibble on its own.

I came across allaboutdogfood.co.uk from a thread on Mumsnet and so we did some research. We've now switched him to Akela as a result and he eats it so much better! Also happy that it's a high quality food. It's more expensive, but we're not wasting as much as we were before so it seems to make sense.

we usually trust the vets advice for the sort of food we should be buying but then we look online for it as it works out WAY better than the vets prices.

I give my dog the same food that he was on when we got him and he's been on it ever since. He has a VERY sensitive stomach so anything other than what he's used to really upsets his tummy, so he doesn't get many treats etc because of this.

We take in rescue dogs and are usually led by the kennels on what food they have been eating. I have found different dogs react differently to different foods and what agrees with one may not with another. However, once settled I have my favourite brands that I do try them on, and this is also based on the my local pet shop and supermarkets as they obviously need to stock the one I choose.

Ddog has a meat free diet so has a wet food in the morning (fishmongers finest, wrainwright or similar) and tails biscuits in the evening. We’ve always been happy with tails service and now get fish treats and poo bags from them too.

I have grown up with dogs all my life and know that feeding them on an all raw diet makes them very healthy. Apart from to have their jabs, none of my dogs have ever really got sick or needed a vet so I wouldn't change their diet.

I tend to look at review and the nutritional benefits.

USUally he's has a base diet of bakers, but he gets a bit of dinner too within sense!

I took the advise of the rescue we got her from which included weetabix for breakfast with milk, and some carrots in with dry greyhound food.

Ours is so fussy that it is mostly based around what he will actually eat!

Having a veterinary nurse in the family has helped; she has recommended a few brands and after a little bit of further research regarding cost versus nutritional value of the dog food, we settled on something perfect for our pooch.