I feed raw:Natural instincts which is just brilliant... have a look at their web site but if you want dry I recommend Orijen or barking heads. All look a little pricey but you don't need as much and your dog will thrive! Plus less vets expense.

 

Barking heads in this house.

 

Applaws! 75% meat... He was fed on this by the breeder-so far so good!

 

We have Fromm puppy food.

 

Thank you. I really appreciate your replies. I will check out your suggestions. I've applied for a barking heads sample

 

We changed to Fromm on recommendation at this site . . they love it!

 

James WellBeloved Dry kibble and wet pouches...

 

Billy was on Royal Canin up to around 12 months and now on Barking Heads - he enjoys the BH much better.
H x

 

Is barking heads more expensive than most dry foods?

 

Just changed to barking heads. Lola loves it and we do too. Poos, coat, ears have improved almost instantly.

 

Glad the change of food was a success!!

 

Still finding this subject extremely difficult. Most posters are recommending dog foods that are toward the higher end of the foods available. Obviously very good if you can afford it. So who are the people who are buying at the lower end and are their dogs all sick and suffering. One poster on here even called Bakers Complete as the dog food from hell.
Now if you go on Amazon (where they run a very good user review system) and look at the comments you will find Wagg, one of the cheapest foods at around £10 for a 15kg bag, has glowing reports from the users. Bakers Complete (see above) is available at around £20 per 15kg and again receives glowing reviews. So how do we justify buying at the top end other than saying our poos deserve the best.
Can anyone provide any real evidence that the cheaper brands are bad for dogs. Millions are buying them and we are not knee deep in dead dogs. Vets are clearly rewarded for telling us to buy the most expensive brands but they do not appear to be warning us against the cheaper brands.
Is it possible for companys to manufacture and successfully sell foods that are detrimental to our dogs?
I have tried my dogs on many of the brands and to be honest the dogs woofed down the lot and I have never noticed any difference between them all, regardless of price.
What do you think?

 

Bakers and similar food are full of colours and additives, so while you may not be surrounded by dead dogs there will be many dogs that these ingredients have an effect on behaviour, weight, and poo ( basically) among other things. Most of these foods are bulked out with poor grade carbs and there aren't many dogs out there that get a chance to work off those carbs, which can end up with a fat overhyped dog. A bit like someone eating fast food every day, it won't kill you, not quickly anyway but will have a huge effect on your quality of life!
For anyone looking for a half decent cheaper brand I would recommend Chappie, I have often heard of it being recommended by vets as a good food so not all vets are out to pinch your money.

 

Special Royal Canin Works for the BOYZ

Alvin and Simon have been on Royal Canin for 3 years. A few months ago they both got an intestinal problem so I put them on Royal Canin for dogs with digestive issues. Works like a charm and they love their kibbs!

 

when i got ginger she was on nutrisource dry.and she loves it and it has a 4 star rating,but it is so hard to get around here so i'm switching her over to blue buffalo very slowly it is easier to get and it also has 4 star rating you can go on google,and they will give you every dog food made and just how good they are most are very bad. sugerlump

 

i feed ginger blue buffalo and i switched her over from nutrisource cause it was hard to get around here .they both are the same price and both are 4 stars rating .and she loves them
sugerlump

 

I am posting a link to the feeding page on CCGB website, which explains what to look out for

http://www.cockapooclubgb.co.uk/feeding.html

 

We feed Lolly Barking Heads and I can highly recommend it as you will see.

Lolly came to us from her breeder on Arden Grange. Lolly loves all food so was happy on it. She did however suffer terribly from a build up of gunk and dirt in her ears. I was having to clean them every day and that still didn't prevent her from having two ear infections. An independent pet shop owner recommended I try Barking Heads and gave me a sample. I think the price was about the same as Arden Grange so that wasn't her motivation.
As expected Lolly loved it so I decided to swap to it as the meat content was a bit higher. Well almost over night her ear problem disappeared! Our vet was amazed and the only thing we could put it down to was the change in food. Our vet now recommends Barking Heads to all her clients with dogs with ear problems after seeing the change in Lolly's.

There must be an ingredient in Arden Grange that is not good for Lolly or she is allergic to.

So Lolly being fed Barking Heads has nothing to do with price and all to do with health

 

Max has Orijen kibble for breakfast, but it is a bit rich. When it runs out I will be trying Applaws.

He has a raw chicken carcuss (which I buy from my local butcher - 14 for £2.15) for his tea, with some veg mix inside.

Sarah xx

 

Another Barking Heads fan here

I have fed my dogs Royal Canin, Orijen and tried raw feeding, but will stick to Barking Heads now. As a pet owner you need to feel happy with what you feed your dogs and I would always recommend reading the ingredients and any additives

What you feed your pet is personal choice.

 

I can reccomend Barking Heads, Applaws and James Wellbeloved. I used to feed Daisy and Millie Barking Heads occasionally but now they are completely on raw. I gave the two foster dogs I had Applaws but I think it was a bit rich for one of them so after taking advice I switched to James Wellbeloved Turkey and Rice which seemed fine.

Personally I think it is very important to feed a quality dog food. They do not need carbs or colourings or additives in their food. I wouldn't give it to my children so I wouldn't give it to my dogs. Whilst dogs fed on cheap food might not be dying all around us it is known that some of the foods can cause changed in behaviour and basically 'the more crap you put in the more crap you get out'!

If you would like to see unbiased reviews of dog food and what it contains have a look here....

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/

 

Re my observation on the Bakers being called 'dog food from hell'. I looked on the food analysis site where they rated foods from six star to one star. Bakers was one star with the comment that ' we only rated it one star as there was nothing lower'. So perhaps it really is 'from hell'.

 

I suppose its like feeding children, you give a child a poor diet full of unnecessary fat and additives, you are likely to have a problem at some point, whether it be behaviour or health issues. Feed a child a healthy diet and you at least know you are protecting them from all the nasties in processed foods. I have always fed my dogs a good quality kibble and although it doesn't stop them getting ill, I know I have done the best by giving them the nutrients they need to thrive, after all they are like our children jasper is on fish4dogs and Steffi was on hills and her coat was alway glossy and she lived to a ripe old age of 16 and her coat was as soft and shiny as when she was a puppy and her nose wet and eyes sparkly! Jasper is clearly thriving on fish4dogs so I will keep him on that despite the price!


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Well I have just spent a couple of hours plodding through the dog food analasys web site (linked on this thread) and am now even more confused than when I started. Foods are rated from one to six stars.
IAMS recommended by my vet is 2 star and generally panned.
Royal Canin, so popular on this site is rated 2 star with poor ingredients like wheat, soya, beet pulp and chicken fat. receives poor reviews across the range. If you are interested its in the two star group around pages 30-34.
Chudleys, recommended by my breeder (along with Bakers!) is another rated poorly.
James Wellbeloved scrapes into 3 star but ony just.
Burns, too much grains, not enough meat, which seems to be a common complaint across most dry dog foods.
Surprised how many of the popular brands are poorly rated.
I think the site is probably American as so many of the foods I have never heard of and some well known brands (Hill's Science Diet e.g.) could not be found.
Rather struck by the packaging which often features pictures of romping healthy dogs with lots of words like natural, holistic, science, nature, vet, etc. very prominant.
I think we are being conned to spend lots of money on poor products and those of you that are prepared to make up you own foods are the real heros and are probably doing the best for your dogs.

 

I think doing it yourself is best as you know exactly what's in it!its the idea of feeding raw chicken and him getting it on his fur that does me, I'm paranoid preparing chicken for us never mind jasper coming for kisses after eating raw chicken. I wish I wasn't like this as I know he would love it and would be good for him!


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You can get "complete" raw food - Natural Instinct, Nature's Menu etc. but it is pricey compared to diy

 

Jack Spaniel - I notice you don't mention Barking Heads in your above post which lots of us here recommend and is given 4 stars!
At the end of the day in the wild, dogs wouldn't eat kibble but raw meat so those of us who choose not to raw feed for what ever reason are trying to look for a dry food with the highest meat content that doesn't contain too many additives and fillers but still remains within our budget. Jack Spaniel - you go ahead and feed a cheaper food if that's what suits you but please don't belittle or mock us that choose not to!

 

Flounder, I am absolutely mortified that you have read my posts as belittleing or mocking. That was never my intention and I apologise if my wording has upset you.
I started out looking for a kibble for Oscar after starting him on Chudleys on the breeder's advice. I then read somewhere that Chudleys was poor and started looking at alternatives. I stood in the pet shop and read dozens of packets and the lists of ingredients were so long and confusing that it was difficult to make an informed choice. I was also amazed at the wide range of prices and here I must admit price is an issue for me. I am a pensioner and £50+ is just not something that I can contemplate for a 15kg bag of dog food. I did not notice Barking Heads on that website and will go back and look for it. I have definitely decided against the 1 and 2 star brands and will try to sort out the best from the 3 star group. Have been thinking about Fromm but have never seen it for sale and Amazon do not list it online.
Will let you all know what I decide.
Again sorry to all if I offended.