Beyond Adolescence - a thread to chat about grown up dogs, cake and anything else, excluding coffee.

[SpanielsGalore]

Not going to tag everyone as I don't know who wants to join. Welcome everyone. 😁

I have had two roofers here this morning. After the initial barking at heads appearing over the ridge, the dogs have been so good. They've sat in the garden and watched them working. Greeted them every time they came into the garden and didn't once try to bolt out of the gate. I heard one of the men telling them to 'stay' as he struggled through the gate with a bucket full of water, and then telling them they were 'good dogs'.
They've just finished and as they were leaving one commented on how calm my dogs are and not like 'normal spaniels'. See. Not all working cockers are 'high on crack' and 'manic'. 😇😇😇

Beautiful weather here today. 🌞 I unexpectedly got my car back yesterday. 🥳
Off to the woods to walk the adolescent nutter until she collapses in a heap. 😂

Bingo 6%
https://greenpantry.co.uk/product/white-fish-with-kale-beetroot/
https://greenpantry.co.uk/product/white-fish-with-kale-beetroot/

Is this any good @SpanielsGalore

No idea why it copied link twice, sorry.

Otherwise Millies Wolfheart do two - Highland and Tracker that are both 8ish.

https://www.gilpa.co.uk/product/dr-john-silver-chicken/

The sticky toffee trifle they do at M&S for Xmas is incredible but I can’t bring myself to spend 15 quid on it. I might try and make my own version this year. I’ve already bought and eaten two rounds of mince pies from Co-op this week. May have peaked too early.

@YorkshireFelix Mince pies?! You heathen.

I have just forced down a far too sweet brownie with raw cookie dough on top that I got absolutely fleeced for yesterday. Feel gross now.

@LandSharksAnonymous P will have to make do with a carrot, as she's not allowed walks or treats. Makes me realise how poorly she was feeling though. The last few days she's lay on the sofa and watched us leave. Today she was bouncing at the gate.

@Bupster That's a pain about the plasterers. Wouldn't have been so bad if you had known in advance, so you could prepare for it.
I never thought of using their search function. Thank you for that suggestion. Pets at Home isn't too far away either, so I could nip there tomorrow.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet You're a star! How did you find those? The Dr Silver one is suspiciously cheap. Or is it just I am used to paying over the odds?

Doesn't mean they'll be what you want @SpanielsGalore but if I come across any others I'll let you know. There is a huge price difference between the two, it'd be good to find something in between.

I imagine you don't know if this will just be a temporary change for P or a long term thing? Presumably there's no way to know at this point if it'll settle or is likely to recur...🤔

Sometimes it's worth knowing about this stuff for future reference I think, because it could happen to any of us.

https://www.burgesspetcare.com/shop/dog-food/adult-dog-food/supadog-finest-adult-light-chicken/

Assuming P is okay with chicken though @SpanielsGalore .
(If she's not it might have to be the 8% Millies Wolfheart stuff)

@CoubousAndTourmaIet I like the sound of the Green Pantry one, as I feel white fish is the way to go. But it's very expensive. If I only have to feed it for three weeks, then it's feasible. For the next ten years, possibly not.
I have no idea what has caused the pancreatitis and what the prognosis is. I assumed the pancreas would recover and we'd go back to her normal food. But maybe she'll need a low fat diet forever. Something else to add to my Google search list.
P is OK with chicken, but I don't think the Burgess food would suit her as she's not overweight. You can usually see her ribs, as I struggle to get weight on her. Thanks though.

I imagine that many of the low fat options will mention weight control @SpanielsGalore , because that is a factor, so you probably need to compare protein levels and minerals etc. for direct comparison.
The Green Pantry one is very pricy to feed permanently, yes, but it does look good.

In the longer term if 8% - 8.5% is a manageable fat level for P, the Millies Wolfheart Highland or Tracker Mixes may be a better option for you.

I'm guessing that the no treats rule won't be easy to enforce in a multi dog household. Poor P - I hope she's better soon.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet Yes. I appreciate the low fat element will affect weight. But the Burgess one adds something that seems to make them process the fats quicker and lose weight or something. I'm not sure - the rabbit hole was too scientific for me to understand.
The Dr Silver one might be in stock locally. If it is, I shall buy that for now. If not, I shall order the Green Pantry one, as it's by far the better food. The Pets at Home one is low fat, but has barely any meat in it.
It's all rather depressing when you have spent hours researching decent foods and then have to feed shit ones.
If she has to stay on low fat long term, I'll look into senior foods. They are often just lower fat with joint supplements added, so would benefit P anyway.

ETA - the no treats rule is easy to implement. No one gets anything. 😁

Ah you see, you've done far more research than I have! I hadn't even thought about senior foods. I hope you can get hld of one of them and, more importantly, she'll find it palatable and be willing to eat it!

I know the other factor for you is that because of your location, delivery costs are a rip off - I remember you saying that when we were talking about the Jollyes foods. The food is reasonable but the postage for you wasn't.

As you said, it's frustrating when you've found something that suits them but have to start again. Hopefully it won't be a long term issue for P.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet on the subject of food...think I might actually turn away from Butternut Box now. Their protein content is lower than it used to be (just getting Twatdog's food out the freezer to check for that other thread made me actually look - I'm sure it used to be about 15% or I absolutely would not have fed it to him). They emailed a while ago about a recipe change, but actually just mentioned new allergens...nothing about lowering the protein percentage. Very sneaky. I quite dislike that sort of marketing strategy. 😤

@SpanielsGalore have you found any food that works yet? If it makes you feel better, as you've probably just read above...I've realised Butternut Box have changed their protein percentage on their food so now I have to chuck it and find new stuff. Eurgh.

@LandSharksAnonymous
I saw the debate. That's frustrating for you. But if he's been having it up to now, I wouldn't chuck it. Just mix it with a kibble that has higher protein.

I must admit that none of ours have ever had the subscription box foods, because I'm just too much of a cynic to go with that type of marketing where nothing is up front and you have to commit. I know it's fresh, but I'm just never convinced by it somehow.
But people here are pretty evangelical about it so clearly it must have some merits.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet I think, as that poster has demonstrated, people have confused 'meat content' with 'protein content' which are two very different things.

True! I could mix with higher protein biscuits, but now I have to find some 😂I just liked it for the convenience and I think people like to follow trendy things. It's like buying a Land Rover if you live where I do (because it's the 'trendy' car - not because it's needed).

What do you feed Brie, out of interest? I think I remember you saying your vegetarian so don't like raw etc?

We fed the cats raw for years @LandSharksAnonymous , but the dogs have only had it occasionally because they're never that enthusiastic about it. We also sometimes cook meat for the dog(s), despite us being veggie. They've always had home cooked veg, cheese, yoghurt, eggs, porridge, fruit.

Brie still has 4 meals a day.
She's having some Millies Wolfheart, still the Calibra Junior large breed but mixed with Essentials Lamb and Lifestage lamb.
She also has the Jollyes Lifestage meat trays, which she absolutely loves. They're 60% meat with bone, veg, salmon oil and no crap. It does smell good.

Yes, to be fair, it probably is a lot of processed junk but I think we're happy that she's getting what she needs, and she's looking pretty good.

@LandSharksAnonymous A timely post by you, as I have just made the same mistake. 🤦‍♀️ I trawled the two local pet shops for low fat dry food. One had Dr Silvers in stock, but only in 15kg bags. Pets at Home only had their own brand food, which the sales person agreed is utter shite. I really couldn't bring myself to buy a food that had less than 20% meat content. So we looked at the tinned food. Butchers Grain free tins are 50% meat and only 5 or 6% fat. So I bought those.
Got them home and realised they are less than 9% protein. I am consoling myself with the thought that it's only for two weeks and then I can switch her to something decent. Plus she's supposed to be resting so she doesn't need the energy levels at the minute.And no one need correct me on those delusions. 🙈

@CoubousAndTourmaIet all mine are fed three times a day - 6, 12 and 5. I think we're probably the same in that we worry about feeding them too many bigger meals so smaller and often is better?

Does she have the adult Jollyes? She doesn't just look good, she looks marvellous tbh!

This is what worries me about switching Twatdog. But having just actually looked at his food since the first time I bought it about 18 months ago to get him to eat his damn biscuits...I'm now so annoyed with myself I don't even want to give it to him. But he's quite happy and healthy on it. Stupid dogs.

@SpanielsGalore Yes, exactly! 'Meat' content and 'Protein' content are very different! 😫 But as you say, only a few weeks and then you can have her back on what is best for her. How is she doing today?

@LandSharksAnonymous I would have said she's alright. But she's sitting on my lap and we both know that's not a good sign.

@SpanielsGalore oh no! Is she fine otherwise, still eating etc? If so perhaps she just needs some comfort from mum.

I do hope she gets better soon though, for you and for her!

It really is a minefield with food

I'm feeding two Millies Wolfheart mixed together because one is 30% protein, the other 19%. She has those for breakfast at 7 and supper at 9pm. But now I've looked properly, I'm worried that it's too high in calcium 😨
It's protein 30.5, Fat 14, Calcium 2.3 and protein 19, fat 16, calcium 2.1.
Calcium should be below 1.8 for a giant.
Fortunately she hasn't been on it for long. I may not repurchase.

For lunch at 12 and dinner at 5, she's having a quarter Jollyes adult tray with Jollyes adult lamb kibble mixed with Calibra junior large breed lamb and Essential Estate. Those three are protein 24/28/30, fat 14/15/15, calcium 2/1.3/1.8

So looks like she's better on Calibra & Essential.

We only introduced some adult food at 15 months. Before that she was on just puppy & junior.

Sorry that P is not so great @SpanielsGalore . I hope things improve.

@SpanielsGalore I agree it's a minefield. I actually like the Butchers as it does seem to be mostly actual named ingredients and it's about half the price (or feels like it) of Lily's Kitchen, and Bill really likes the trays we've tried. I'm also going to start Bill on a small amount of Different Dog as we tried one freebie and he absolutely loved it, but I think I'd need a mortgage to feed him only on that. As an extra topper though we can manage it, on top of half/half of LK or Butchers and Millie's Wolfheart.

Talking of which, Different Dog have at least three recipes that are 6% fat or less, and another four or so that are around 7% - might be worth having a look even if it's just to make whatever kibble you end up with a bit more palatable?

Yes she's eating, drinking, pooing fine. But she's licking herself a lot. More her groin/lower stomach area than her bits. Is that where her pancreas is? She's moved to a bed in the corner of the living room now. Suppose it will take a while for her to feel better. 🤷‍♀️

P and K are on the Turkey flavour Country Kibble. That is protein 26%, fats 11% and calcium 1.5%.
Their senior/light food is trout and salmon - protein 25%, fats 8% and calcium 1%. Is that enough calcium for P if I switched her to that?

@CoubousAndTourmaIet One of the pet shops I went to today sold Calibra, but it had really high fat levels. Compared to the 6% I was after, I mean.
It would help if I knew what caused pancreatitis, because now I am going to be wary of any food with a fat content above 11%. Which going off today's shopping trip is most of them.

As a change of subject, I am glad someone else was brave enough to say that puppy isn't a springer.

@Bupster When P was a puppy, she was an extremely fussy eater. Butchers was one of the few things she would eat. I've bought some meat loaf type and some in jelly. I went for the tins as they are cheaper than the trays and she needs two a day.
Lily's Kitchen is ridiculously expensive and high in fat. I looked at Pooch and Mutt too. The white fish is only 2% protein, but would have cost me £5 a day to feed.
I'll have a look at Different Dog.Thank you.

So if I feed kibble at 11% mixed with wet food at 6%, does that make her fat content 8.5%? Or doesn't it work like that?