Any recommendations for a good complete dry adult dog food?

[Lilacs394]

Hey Mumsnetters!

My lovely pup (large cross) is one in a few weeks and we'll be transitioning him onto a complete dry food which we plan to mix with homemade broth and cooked meat & fish. He's been on a combo of wet and dry as a pup but we're keen to move away from that.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good complete food that is reasonably priced? Equally - any to avoid!?

Thanks!!

I use James wellbeloved

We've just transitioned into Eden and so far our dog is doing really well on it.

We use Orijen. Have you checked the all about dog food website? It's very good at explaining the nutrition in foods and what's best for your dog.

www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk

The good complete ones tend to be ££

I usually get Carnilove. Also AATU (£££) and Lily's Kitchen (I don't think it's as good since the Nestle takeover)

Wainwrights Grain Free is good and reasonably priced if you have a Pets at Home nearby. Much higher meat content than a lot of dry foods at a similar price (some are over 50% cereals/grains!)

When you do make the move buy extra poo bags. One thing we noticed when switching the other way was the drastic reduction in the amount of poo exuded. Many people on various sites agree, dry food = loads of poo!

The other thing is smell. You may also notice that not only does your dog's poo smells different but so does the dog. Nothing to worry about, it is just how they react to the food sometimes.

Don't get me wrong, I am not against dry foods, ours still has kibble available all the time and is fed wet once a day - he is not an over eater. But I do know people who have been alarmed at some of the things that can change when a dog goes onto a dry diet after a wet one.

We use Dr John’s, remember anything labelled as working dog food has no vat on it so expect a like for like product to be 15-20% cheaper than one sold as pet food.

James Wellbeloved. They do a Large Breed kibble.

Eden is great.

Use the all about dogfood website to help.

We currently feed Markus Muhle via Zooplus. Get 86% on AADF and works out under 50p a day. Dog likes it too.

We add salmon oil couple of times a week and some wet or tonnes fish or cooked meat in evening

Oh, and we use Canagan, entirely grain free and high in protein. It isn't the cheapest but was best at reducing the smell and large amounts of poo issues - as lasted longer, so was more cost effective in the long run.

Available at Pets Corner,.

Millies Wolfheart is one I see recommended a lot, I recently moved mine over to it from raw (was too expensive to keep feeding raw) and they've done very well on it.

I did like Orijin but it's too pricey for me.

My dog has Millie’s Wolfheart - it’s quite expensive but has really sorted his dodgy tummy issues out. We’d previously given him Royal Canin but he had terrible sloppy shits and sickness every couple of weeks and we were at our wit’s end with him. Millie’s Wolfheart has been great for him.

I agree with advice to check any nutritionally on the websites mentioned. Some that look scientific and good like Royal Canine score really badly . We use Orijen or Eden along with fresh food too

We use Hills. It is pricey, but worth it imo. Our dog has lost weight and has not had arthritis flare ups since starting it.

I should probably add try a few different ones. Most of the sellers around here give out free 5-10kg bags to try for a few weeks so you don’t end up having to buy lots of large bags you then end up
throwing out.

Millie's Wolfheart and Carnilove are my picks. Quality food with a high meat content, a bit pricey but cheaper than some of the other high meat content brands

Thank you so much for your suggestions everyone! Yes we definitely expect a change in his poos - I'll take that advice to stock up on poo bags!!

Thanks for this!! It's a good tip as I've looked at a few of the working dog ones!

You are going to the effort of finding a good quality nutritionally complete food - to then mess up the nutrition by adding home cooking. This is the fastest way to make your dog fat the single biggest animal welfare problem in the UK.

Millies wolfheart for my springer...lots of flavour/nutrition options...you can talk to them for advice as well...

We use Millie's too and have done for years. We find it good quality for the price.
Ddog has thrived on it.