How do you know what to feed your dog?!

[arbitraryarsehole]

Never anticipated this being such an ordeal. There is just so much out there and such divided opinion! Breeder said raw, so we got raw. Then vet strongly advised against raw - to the point that I thought she must be on kibble commission because it was such a one sided argument. Tried 'woolfies' which is supposed to be best of both & pup liked it at first but now doesn't seem keen. Just want to do the right thing and but also find something he likes that I can just stick with!

Look at the allaboutdogfoodwebsite and their specific breed recommendations. And ignore your vet when it comes to raw. Most vets knowledge on the subject is very outdated and they are not nutritionists. We feed raw and it is all human grade meats, we have not had an issue in 2 years.

Oh and don’t forget that many vets are on commission from companies like Nestle and Mars who own Royal Canin, Purina etc (all of which have pretty poor nutritional ratings).

If your dog suited raw and you're happy to keep feeding it, then I would continue with raw.

Most vets sell Hills and Royal Canin and earn commission on it.

Don’t overthink it. Feed the highest quality food you can afford, that results in firm poop.

Dogs when I was a kid lived on scraps, rolls of chum and the odd marrow bone and they all lived forever. 😂

I spent hundreds on all “the best” kibbles when mine was younger before I realised I was going broke and he was fine on the local pet store’s homebrand kibble. I top with tins of tuna and bone broth to make it more interesting.

Our pug would eat anything we let him…

He’s currently on pooch and mutt. Previously he had Symply but it wasn’t always easy to buy.

He also has a small amount of cooked meat and other non processed food that are leftovers. So for example if I am cooking chicken breasts I cut off the fatty or veiny bits and cook them separately for him.
he spends most of his life in the kitchen if humans are prepping food, with his mouth open and upturned towards the worktop

Whatever the fussy twat will eat.

He’s a Labrador but I think he’s broken. Never known such a fussy dog. Been through every brand of kibble know to man. Gets bored of it and literally won’t eat it anymore, will leave it and go without all day. Now on cheap supermarket wet food. Seems to be working for now, till he turns his nose up at that too.

Raw is fine if you can be arsed with the hassle, personally the bacteria risk freaks me out and it’s not for me, I like huntland cold pressed.
I also find if they are a bit fussy add something really smelly - salmon oil or buy some dried sprats, crush them up a bit and add to the food. Makes it a bit more interesting

I have an extremely fussy mini schnauzer. She has Lily’s Kitchen wet food mixed into a bit of their kibble. It’s good quality food. Even then sometimes she won’t eat, I often throw away her food and don’t offer anything else. I know she likes to play me over food! Although once or twice a week I do give her tinned sardines as she loves them and they are good for her coat.

Our vet advised against raw because we have a child and a bearded dog. Raw fed dogs can retain tiny bits of raw food in their beards which can transmit bacteria if your dog tries to give you doggy kisses.

We use a high quality kibble that results in much smaller poops as it's all good stuff. We also include raw carrot, small amounts of cooked chicken and dried salmon skin treat - just to give variety and a bit more interest.

Why did your vet advise against raw? There may have been a good reason. Our vet said he couldn’t officially recommend it but he fed his raw.
We feed raw but we have no children and have a separate freezer in the garage for it. It suits our dog very well. Ddog has lost 3kg (needed) on it and his coat is lovely, unlike his breath. His poos are tiny for a big dog and not very smelly.
Its not for everyone but I wouldn’t feed my kids a constant diet of processed food so why would I feed my dog like that?

Trial and error plus what my fussy dog will eat and what agrees with his dodgy stomach!

I take immunosuppressants and I still feed my dogs raw. No issues here.. I personally wouldn't stay at a vet practice where they are so anti it.
If your dog did well on raw then stick with that?

We carried on with what the breeder was using (kibble).

The reason vets are more anti raw feeding these days is that several studies published in the last two years have shown 1) raw food diets contain antibiotic resistant bacteria, one published in 2021 showed half the samples of raw foods tested contained bacteria resistant to the antibiotics of last resort, 2) dogs fed on raw food diets, either commercial or home-prepared, are much more likely than dogs fed other diets to have antibiotic resistant bacteria present in their poo and 3) that this cannot be explained by other transmission pathways, e.g. these dogs haven't picked up these bacteria whilst crossing farmland or swimming in infected water.

This means if you feed raw, even if you are feeding 'human grade' meat (whatever that means), you are likely to be feeding infected meat to dogs which while they do not become ill themselves still shed the bacteria and this is a potential transmission pathway to humans. Since spreading antibiotic resistant bacteria is dangerous I give my dog kibble instead.

Our working cocker spaniel has a rather delicate tummy. Her vet didn't recommend raw feeding and he was right, made her very untidy and upset. She has Scrumbles kibble with a bit of Scrumbles wet food mixed in. We vary the 'toppings' so instead of wet food she might have chopped lean meat, white fish or scrambled egg. She also loves plain yogurt and goes mad for cooked sweet potato. Also add salmon oil. She has a lovely coat and is full of energy.

Thank you all, this is really helpful! Will read through properly later then have a look at some brands/types online.

Yes when I got my puppy he was on raw and we continued feeding the same. We went to vet who said exactly the same as yours and so we stopped. He is now on James Wellbeloved wet and dry. I think the reason the vet gave there was not enough nutrients and vitamins in raw 🤷🏻‍♀️

We feed a mix of kibble and wet food (tin or tray). At the moment this is James Wellbeloved kibble and Lily's Kitchen wet food.

We started our pup on raw, it was a pain in the bum with young children around and in the fridge etc.
We now feed him dry biscuits in the morning and dry biscuits mixed with wet food in the evening. He loves it!!!
We use Mole Country Stores own brand:
Premium Country Dog dry food 1 small scoop
Premium Country Dog wet trays (1/3 per meal) + small scoop dry together

Really reasonable pricing and lasts for ages.

Sorry forgot to add he's a Lab / Cocker cross. xx

Join "raw feeding for dogs made simple" on Facebook, they explain raw feeding perfectly, the correct amounts to feed & any supplements etc that you may need to add. Vets opinions on raw feeding are outdated and as long as you feed a balanced 80:10:10 raw diet most dogs will thrive on raw.
There are plenty of nutritional kibbles out there also just avoid brands like Hills & Royal canin as some of the bags only have 5% meat and the nutritional ratings are awful🫣.

I've tried a few over time but now sticking with Marleybones. It's a fresh food like butternut box but is easier as don't have to store in the freezer and also packaging is not all plastic like butternut. My dog loves it and it scores highly on allaboutdogfood.
If you want to try, I have a code for 40% off: HI-HELEN15

When our wee dachshund was 5 we switched to raw - 3 years on he has never been healthier and vet is amazed that severe limp in hind leg has gone away: he said that he'd got irreversible damage.... like many dachsies he overdid it and had 10 weeks cage rest aged 4.

We thought we were doing the best for him feeding him Lily s Kitchen - reading website recommended above (allaboutdogsfood) and how their recipe changed with ownership, I was shocked we had been feeding him such low quality food.

Other thing is he loves it - kibble he could take or leave. Raw he adores - finds meals seriously exciting. Very sweet to see

And we have found it no problem interspersing with very high quality kibble.... using this as treats and when we go away. The extra we spend on raw is balanced by what we save on treats - and we know the "treats" we give him are super healthy (ie kibble)

I personally don't like raw, kept making mine sick.
My fussy dog loves canagan

Just choose a good quality food, with good quality ingredients.
Like if you were looking for something to eat for yourself you would not choose something that had a lot of rubbish in it. X

Switched from premium kibble to raw years ago and it’s been the best thing ever. Hardly any poo, clean teeth , fewer farts and shiny coat.

might have to try it myself 🤣

Great supplier of frozen is www.theyloveit.co.uk