Dog food recommendations for high energy spaniel

[BonosToupee]

I have a 2 year old WCS, who is extremely high energy and in very good condition, but I can’t keep weight on him and his ribs are like a toast rack at the moment.
He’s been fed Millie’s Wolfheart all his life which he loves, but the only one he keeps weight on with is the highest fat variety.
I’ve spoken to customer service a couple of times and they don’t recommend keeping him on that one permanently, or over feeding him which I’m doing by about 20%.
I’m feeding him on the variety they advised, at the correct portion size and weight is dropping off him again.
He has been vet checked and is in perfect health, the vet said he is on the slim side but very well muscled.
I haven’t had such a high energy breed before and could do with some advice if anyone can help please?

Mine was on skinners working then skinners maintance. He is castrated so a bit chunkier than he used to be but the vet was always happy with his weight.

We also top with a bit of wet food which probably gives his weight a boost.

Have a look at:
https://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/

It is a good resource for the content of the food.

Also the Pet Food Manufacturers Association:
https://www.ukpetfood.org/

The UK has minimum criteria for dog food quality, however there is a voluntary elevated standard that some manufacturers adhere to which can be found through that website.

Also, be wary of the whole raw feeding thing. This is largely Internet hype. There is no conclusive scientific evidence to support it being any better, in fact there is emerging evidence that it isn't and is linked to increasing cases of neospora which is causing infertility in cattle due to cross over from dog faeces.

I used Orijen dry food for my working lab.

@Lomonald I’ve been wondering about skinners or maybe adding some wet food.
He was castrated in November and I was hoping he might gain a bit of weight, but it’s made no difference at all.

Yes we use Skinners - the turkey and rice one - our WCS was having problems with his joints and the vet recommended we change to this and he’s had no problems since (5 yr old WCS)

@HappiestSleeping thanks!
I’ve looked at all about dog food, but got a bit lost with the choice. I want to keep him mainly on kibble as we travel a lot in a camper van so raw would be out of the question.
I’ll have a look at Orijen.

My dog came with skinners as a pup he was on field and trial but because he isn't actually "working" he had too.much energy so we shifted him.to the maintenance, which he has been fine on. We just top.with pouches nothing special.

It is very difficult to get a breakdown of the contents. The fact that a manufacturer states that their food contains chicken could mean that it is chicken beaks and feet (or similar), so no nutritional value. I found myself cross referencing all sorts of sites, and buried in a ton of data, so completely appreciate the difficulty.

My dog was allergic to chicken, so I settled on Orijen because they had a fish option that agreed with him. I much prefer kibble as it can be divided up and used for training too.

I have two gundogs, both working lines, both very active. One holds weight well, one does not - that one stayed very skinny until about age 3.

They get Skinner's. I cycle round a bit between Maintenance, Maintenance+, Muesli Mix - because the fussier one really likes it - and sometimes Working23 if I'm doing a lot with them. They share a tin of Butchers dog food every day, and get various scraps and scrapings.

As long as your dog has plenty of muscle and lots of energy, I wouldn't worry.

Skinner's never comes up as being a really high quality food, but I know many, many working gundogs who live on the stuff, and lead long and active lives

@EdithStourton thanks for the info.
Which Skinners would you recommend I try first? He likes every Millie’s variety I have tried and doesn’t have any allergies that I’m aware of.
Interesting that yours stayed skinny until 3, there might be hope yet!

You could keep him on the same food and add things to it. My WCS struggles to maintain weight. She's always slim and looks ribby if she loses 500gms.
When she went very thin, I added an egg cup full of oats, soaked over night, a glug of olive oil and a tin of sardines in olive oil daily. Plus an egg three times a week.

Hi @SpanielsGalore thanks for your reply.
Mine is the same, 500g is the difference between ok and ribby. I do like Millie’s, and more importantly so does Wilf.
Do you soak oats in water, and not drain sardines? He absolutely loves sardines, but I’ve always drained them in the past.

Another vote for Skinners Maintenance here. It's the one our Gun Dog trainer recommends. Our Sprocker is skinny too but vet is happy with him. She just said he's a skinny boy!

I give mine tuna as a treat and I don't drain i t the oil is good for their coats, he doesn't like sardines turned his nose up at them!

You could also of course up the cheese tax!!

@blanketsnuggler hmm, cheese tax…
Had he been in touch with you? 😂

Surely the recommended amount is just the starting point and you adjust up or down based on the individual dog. Feeding more than the recommended amount isn't over feeding if he's maintaining weight and not suffering from soft poos or digestive issues surely?

One of mine eats the recommended amount of kibble plus extras (wet food, eggs, fish, treats ,cheese etc.), the other eats more than the recommended amount of kibble plus extras. I've never considered it a problem other than it messed up my costings spreadsheet as I'd read that manufacturers always over estimate the feeding amount!

@tizwozliz that’s what I think too, but when I’ve been in touch with Millie’s they’ve always made a big deal about how rich their food is and not to over feed.
I’m going to start adding other bits to his meals as a few people have suggested and see how he gets on.
He does get biscuits, and a cow or pigs ear daily as a treat.

We use a brand called Essential Food which is higher in protein and fat than other brands so it is quite calorie and nutrient dense and they have a performance/stamina variety for active and working dogs.

you can buy some wet dog food as a “topper” for the kibble which is a nice treat and adds calories

or you can just crack an egg over the top. Although with the price of eggs these days that might be a bit decadent…

Hi. I thought afterwards I should have said the oats are soaked one part oats to two parts water. I part drained the sardines as too much olive oil made my dog a bit loose, but I'd see how yours gets on first.

My dog was raw fed at the time. She'd had the same amount for ages and had been fine, but then she lost 1kg and looked skeletal. I increased her food by 50% and she still didn't gain weight. So I added lots of extras.

She's now fed Country Kibble and doing well on it. She did have to have a lot more than the RDA to begin with, but is doing well on 200gms a day now. She's a healthy weight at 12.5kg.

I believe green tripe is good for weight gain too.

We fed ours a mixture of James Wellbeloved kibble and some tinned food. Very active, very healthy and a good weight.

The WCS I know in my village, that are working as gun dogs, are on DARF. There are lots of varieties/ flavours of this cold-pressed food, including "Active".

I feed my dogs a variety of foods, including DARF, and confirm that they love it and thrive.

Millie’s they’ve always made a big deal about how rich their food is and not to over feed.

I've always assumed that's advice aimed at people who after they'd measured out the recommended amount thought it looked a bit small and so add a bit more. Not applicable to dogs who actually need a bit more, but who knows.

If their advice when you say my dog is losing weight on the recommended amount is just to reiterate not over feeding and not offer any other advice that's pretty useless.

Skinners here too - chicken and rice one

@SpanielsGalore thanks for all the info, very helpful!
@tizwozlizvery good point, I’d not thought of it that way.