Raw food to dry for puppy

[DottyHarmer]

My golden retriever puppy came with a raw food diet, and he is now on Bella &Duke which he really enjoys and poo is all good.

However, I would like to move him onto kibble and wet food (nervous about health risks to us with raw) but I just can’t get an unbiased opinion on a good product.

At Pets at Home the advisor (who was very helpful) said that grain-free was a fad and not recommended; at the independent pet shop they were pushing grain free. I obviously want a high meat content, but some of them are horribly expensive. Given that he will be a larger dog with a larger appetite, the £16.50 a bag foods are a no-no!

What is a decent mid-range food? I will be weaning Dog very gradually onto dry food.

Our lab has millie's wolfheart kibble, then various things as toppers - wet food, cooked veg, sardines etc.

Do you want something you can pick up in a shop or are you happy to order online?

Either - don’t mind.

My old gr had a bit of a dodgy tummy and posh brands (hunter-type stuff) made him ill, so he ate Harringtons, but I’d like to go a notch up for Dog.

Part of the reason we went with Millie's is they have a range of flavours and meat/veg mixes (50:50, 70:30 etc) and acknowledge that different dogs have slightly different needs. They were also really helpful when I contacted them for advice about what flavour and meat/veg ratio to start with.

Honestly I would stick to raw. But if you’re adamant that you want to change then have you looked on allaboutdogfood.com

Orijen would be my next best choice after raw.

The allaboutdogfood was overrun with raw food evangelicals

You can filter raw food out. It is rated the highest for nutritional value which is why it shows up first. If you just search for dry and wet it'll only bring those up

@DottyHarmer

The allaboutdogfood was overrun with raw food evangelicals

You need to filter out raw food so you only get shown wet and kibble options :)

We feed Harringtons as it's the food our dog gets along with the best. Their kibble isn't the best but their wet food scores highly - he gets mostly wet with a handful of kibble added for texture each day.

He has firm poos, a shiny coat and always gets a clean bill of health from the vets each year. I think what agrees with your dog is a very individual thing - lots of dogs, for example, struggle on high protein foods as they make them hyper.

@DottyHarmer

The allaboutdogfood was overrun with raw food evangelicals

As @welshdaisy said it shows first as it’s highest in nutritional value. That doesn’t make it ‘overrun with evangelicals’ 😂

Just change the filters to only show dry/wet/fresh/whatever.

As others said use the filter on allaboutdogfood to choose just dry and wet.

I typically filter on a reasonable mid to high score and then look at costs. I have used a variety of different brands over the years including the eye watering high cost ones. Ironically he has now favoured wet butchers which is cheap but his stomach and poos are great on it so it can be a bit of trial and error so buy small quantities first.

Both of mine came on Bella & Duke but I weaned them off it as they seemed to prefer dried.

I’m lucky that they’ll eat whatever is on offer - they are cockerpoos and get bored easily so it’s helpful being able to switch up the food to keep them interested.

Hits so far have been:

Barking Heads
Lily’s Kitchen
James Wellbeloved (the superfood version) and
Pooch and Mutt

They also like the wet butchers cans too (the tripe ones especially ) but I can’t stand the smell so they only have them occasionally.

I suppose I made the mistake of looking on the forum; the range of opinions and what was utter poison was bewildering!

@DottyHarmer

I suppose I made the mistake of looking on the forum; the range of opinions and what was utter poison was bewildering!

Everyone will have an opinion but you need to find what works for you and your dog.

Raw sounds good in theory but wouldn't be practical for us so I have no issues about feeding something else.

Grain free can cause heart disease - was first shown in golden retrievers so I would avoid that.
Bigger companies tend to have board certified nutritionists involved in the diets along with food trials.
Some dogs to better on some brands rather than others, the kibble may have different moisture content. Pick one, try it, and gradually swop over if it doesn’t seem to suit your dog. Go for a large breed puppy food, whichever one you choose.

@DottyHarmer

I suppose I made the mistake of looking on the forum; the range of opinions and what was utter poison was bewildering!

Remember - anyone can post on there and preach about their chosen type of food.

The vast majority of dog owners will just pick a food that's affordable and that their dog eats - they won't be worrying about whether it rates highly on a random website ;)

The brand we feed doesn't rate brilliantly on there - around 70% or so for their kibble, but my dog loves it and it agrees with him, and that's what's important IMO. They don't care how it rates on a website either!

What are the thoughts on Pets at Home own brand - Wainrights?

@DottyHarmer

What are the thoughts on Pets at Home own brand - Wainrights?

We fed it for a while and it seemed absolutely fine - good poos etc. but my dog went off it after a while unfortunately.

It isn't grain free that causes heart issues, but seemingly the legumes in some grain free foods, so avoid legumes.

Millies Wolfheart, Orijen and Ziwipeak would be my votes. Bear in mind when comparing prices that you tend to need to feed less of those with a higher meat content so you can't really compare bag for bag, rather you need to work it out comparing the daily cost for each food.

I couldn't recommend Naturo trays more highly. It's grain free but our dog gets grain in other things so don't feed it for that reason. It gets 85% rating on all about dog food. It's very similar in composition to Lily's kitchen but less than half the price. Our dog has a sensitive tummy, tried raw and various others, and this has been the best. Her coat is in great condition too. We pay £5.50 for 6 trays and at 19kg, she has one tray a day (but also has treats). I was reluctant at first as it's so cheap but it's been brilliant

I find the quantities so difficult!

My pup is on four meals a day of 150g atm (plus big bowl of goat’s milk); I’m not sure when he should go down to three

Our puppy came to us on raw food (organic raw food no less ) but after the first 4 weeks at home I gradually moved her on to Eden 80/20 dry food. I buy the 15kg sacks of working dog mix, it's identical to the non-working but cheaper as it's VAT free. She also gets a raw egg or a dollop of plain yoghurt on top a couple of times a week, plus high quality pure meat chews. She looks Very Shiny and seems very healthy for it.

That sounds good. The vet recommended working dog food. Raw egg? Do you need gas masks?

Remember quantity wise you can't compare weight of dry food with wet.

Our pup gets raw egg twice a week, doesn't cause any gas issues.

We feed raw but when it's not convenient, we feed Akela Wholeprey 80/20. They look well on it (show dogs).

I give my DPup Akela- very happy with it. I also add sardines, fish, raw chicken wings, egg veggies and homemade stock to it for interest. 2/3 kibble 1/3 fresh. They do 100g sample bags for £1 so you can try the flavours. We did raw for ages but v expensive and she was so fussy it was a waste.

A puppy doesn't need milk once weaned. Ours have always had Chudleys or Skinners Field and Trial. You don't need to mix kibble and wet food, unless you are merely adding a teaspoonful as a tempting treat. Dogs don't need vast amounts of meat. Too much protein causes growth issues. Pick a mid-range food, £20-35 for 12-15kg, appropriate his age. Puppy food generally to six months, junior food to a year or 18 months. As research has shown, dogs don't need haute cuisine. Keep the yummier things for training.