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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Original poster

Help (please) dry dog food advice

29 replies

KittieCat · 06/08/2014 16:58

I'm a new owner. Ddog has been with us for a couple of months. She's a rescue we brought back from a bad situation on holiday as she tugged too hard on our heart strings! We think she's about a year and was hit by a car and left so is taking Yumove to help her leg/hip.

She's a lovely mix breed, weighs just under 10kg and is spayed.

I have decided to dry feed (am almost convinced by raw but I'm newbie dog person and an taking on step at a time, so at the moment dry feeding works for us).

She currently having Royal Canin mini. I'm looking for the best dry food I can give her. I'm almost convinced by MN's fans of Markus Muhle but worry that the kibble will be too big and I can't find anywhere that will sell/send a sample, so I'm reluctant to dive in and order a big bag.

I also like the sound of Canagan but I need help from the MN knowledge banks.

Please tell me about dry food and help me to decide.

OP posts:
soddinghormones · 06/08/2014 17:46

Dpup is on kibble from here

They are the people who used to own fish4dogs before they were bought out - fantastic customer service - if you call them and have a chat they will send you some samples

They do next day delivery and are extremely efficient

Dpup's coat is in fantastic condition and his poos are small, firm and easy to pick up! (Tmi I know but poo consistency is important when you're the one constantly dealing with it ...)

Original poster
KittieCat · 06/08/2014 18:11

Thanks sodding (tee hee). That looks great. Firm, small poos are what I dream of Ddog doing. She currently has two or three big softish ones per day.

OP posts:
CastilianHhhhidalgo · 06/08/2014 19:00

Millie's Wolfheart are great and do small sample sized bags of all their foods. They do a huge range of different mixes with different ratios of various meats to fruit/veg. They also do a good range of treats, the air dried cows ears, fish biscuits and fish skin bars go down especially well in this house.

WeAllHaveWings · 06/08/2014 21:10

Another huge Millies Wolfheart fan.

Excellent range of good quality UK proteins, grain free, chicken free etc etc free foods. Varying protein levels to suit most dogs and excellent customer service and advice either on phone or through their fb group.

Original poster
KittieCat · 06/08/2014 21:33

Thanks for the Millie's recommendations, the treats sound great.

OP posts:
EvenBetter · 06/08/2014 22:26

Have you looked at that website allaboutdogfood.co.uk you enter details and it displays suitable foods with ingredients and reviews and cost per day, listed.
Ours is on Fusspot by Barking Heads because she's a fussy fucker :D was it Royal Canin that sponsored the bear fights recently? (Or Eukanuba or one of those brands vets foist apon us)

Awks · 06/08/2014 22:28

I'm a massive James Wellbeloved fan, my spaniels thrive on it.

Original poster
KittieCat · 06/08/2014 22:35

That site is amazing! Thanks, Even. Markus Muhle comes out well on there, too.

I hadn't thought of James Wellbeloved, our cats love that.

It's a pain as I really want to bulk buy and be done but I fear that may not be the best way. I'm now tempted by Eden, too.

Gah! Thanks for the advice thus far. She's not a particularly fussy eater but I'm guessing that could change as she settles in and gets spoilt.

OP posts:
Aked · 07/08/2014 07:21

Millies Wolfheart. Fantastic food and amazing customer service. We always get compliments on ddog's super shiny coat and she has lovely poos:)

Original poster
KittieCat · 07/08/2014 08:04

Lovely poos! Aked high praise indeed.

OP posts:
Isthatwhatdemonsdo · 07/08/2014 11:27

Burns fan here.

Floralnomad · 07/08/2014 12:03

Mine has Barking Heads he particularly likes Bad Hair Day ,which is the lamb variety . His poo is virtually no different on it than when he was raw fed ( one or two firm poos a day) . He has cooked chicken or turkey with it but would happily eat it without .

IfUSeekAmy · 07/08/2014 12:08

Mine used to have Millie's Wolfheart but then I changed to Markus Muhle as it's slightly cheaper but still high quality. Right now though they are eating Lukullus as my Mum bought 2 bags as a deal so I bought one off her. When this bag has finished though I will probably repurchase Markus Muhle as the big kibble means it's good to take to the park for treats too.

JadeJ123 · 07/08/2014 12:43

Another one for barking heads it's what mine were fed when they were being transferred onto a raw meat diet

BeetlingAbout · 08/08/2014 07:43

Our puppy used to be on Royal Canin mini too, until i read that it's not very good quality and very overpriced for what it was (plus he was having a lot of BM a day). I went to the website www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/ and decided to give Eden a try since it scored so highly.

After a slow transition period, unfortunately it just proved too rich for our pup (constant soft stools), and so we switched over to Lily's Kitchen Perfectly Puppy and he's been doing really well on it. One of the added benefits was that I can pick it up at a local pet shop too rather than having to order online.

They also do some really lovely treats - he goes crazy for the fish skin chews and bedtime biscuits (gimmicky i know, but he runs to his bed at night for it).

Original poster
KittieCat · 08/08/2014 09:03

I've ordered samples galore from your recommendations. thank you. Bye bye overpriced, bad, bad Royal Canin!

OP posts:
spongebob5 · 09/08/2014 20:04

My basset is fed Burns puppy, it's a Welsh company not sure if it's available nationwide? But he's thriving on it.

wanttosinglikemarycoughlan · 09/08/2014 20:18

I tried James Wellbeloved but it made my dogs poo the consistency of peanut butter on a very hot day
And she hated it

Moneyworry · 09/08/2014 21:43

Eden is very very high protien and although good on paper is not suitable for many dogs (runny poo and wind). If you google you will see lots of people with issues with Eden.

Acolyte · 09/08/2014 21:48

Arden Grange, Orijen, Taste of the Wild and Canagan are all high meat content.

mrsharkness2 · 10/08/2014 11:23

My two have Burns. They love it and never leave a crumb.
I but it on line from zoo plus. A lot cheaper than the shop. I bought a couple of small bags from the shop to try first then ordered a big bag on line. It's free delivery if you spend over £29 and you get points with every purchase which we usually spend in dog treats.

Jumpingovaries1 · 10/08/2014 16:54

Mines is on Arden grange but thinking of moving to applaws which gets even better reviews. Can I just ask why a food being free from chicken is good mines loves chicken?

SpicyBear · 10/08/2014 18:51

Quite a lot of dogs are intolerant to chicken. Mine love it but it's one of the main culprits when looking for a food intolerance.

Jumpingovaries1 · 10/08/2014 19:52

Thanks spicy

SistersOfPercy · 11/08/2014 00:04

Mine is fed on canagan, it's a great food. My issue is a fussy pup though who I think gets a little fed up of the same food so lately he swaps between lilys kitchen dry (he loves wild woodland walk) and canagan. We alternate flavors to keep things a bit more interesting. He has a cast iron gut do I'm fortunate that I can just chip and change him with no ill effects.

My late pup was a canagan dog as well, he had skin conditions which eased quite dramatically when he started on it. He wasn't as fussy though.