Dog food thoughts?

[arealhuman]

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Hello, it's the forum nuisance again ^_^

I currently feed my dog Champ! Adult (you can see the details here). Does anyone have any thoughts on this? We feed it to our 6 year old male, crossbreed dog, only because it was what he was fed at the rescue centre. We supplement it with a bit of wet food in the morning (Ceasar), just for variety, and have started adding some Hills Science food which was recommended by our vet (but is five times as expensive!). He also gets a few treats throughout the day too.

Thanks,

ARH.

 

[JoanneF]

I suspect you could find something better. Have a look at the independent dog food comparison website www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk. It ranks dog foods out of 5, you can add filters so you only see, for example, scores of 4 and above; and if you have put in your dogs weight etc you can order them by price. We are using Gentle (on Gypsysmum's recommendation) http://www.gentledogfood.co.uk/. It's about £5 per kilo which I think is pretty reasonable . That said Gypsysmum also recommends another food designed for reactive dogs, I am sure she will post later what it is. Sorry I can't remember.

 

[gypsysmum2]

Gentle is an excellent food.

The food for reactive dogs is one developed by a top behaviourist called Val Strong. She is a founder member of COAPE. They do prefer that the dog is seen by a behaviourist first so that the diet and the training can go hand in hand. It is called "Breakthrough".

Diet can have a huge impact on a dog's behaviour so I would recommend that you investigate a change. Do make any changes gradually.

 

[arealhuman]

Thanks to the both of you, you're like the Guardian Angels of this forum :flowers: . I've had time to read the Gentle website and it looks highly rated on allaboutdogfood so I'll probably give that a try after stocks of existing food runs out. Do you both just feed your dogs that or supplement it with anything (e.g. meat from your plate, wet dog food etc.)

I'm sorry about all the questions :ermm:

 

[JoanneF]

Don't worry about all the questions, it's fine! Timber gets a few different foods. He works for his allowance of Gentle - recalls and other training; if it's really horrible weather he hunts for it hidden around the house; tricks etc. A couple of times a week he gets a raw chicken wing to clean his teeth. And I keep kibble (Millies Wolfheart) for when we have a roast and he gets it with the juices. He also gets veg and fruit - he loves green beans and broccoli, and shares our apples, oranges strawberries and raspberries. Bizarrely he doesn't like bananas.

 

[arealhuman]

Thanks for the reply. Sooooooooo, this leads me to my next (niave) question. Do you reduce the amount of daily food you give to your dog in lieu of treats, veg, etc? So for example, if I made the move to Gentle, and fed him a measured amount each day per his weight/activity levels, should I reduce this amount if giving him anything on top of this? I do this currently, so if he has treats or whatever, I take a small amount from his measured kibble allowance.

Thanks again

 

[JoanneF]

Yes. And often, the recommended feeding is on the high side so base the amount you give on your dogs condition. Weigh him, feed the recommended amount for a couple of weeks (reduced a little depending on treats) then weigh again. Your vet will normally be happy for you to just call in and use the scale.

 

[arealhuman]

Many thanks for that )

 

[lurcherman]

Just weigh your dog regular but with the correct amount of exersize then it shouldn't be a problem.,, I reduce a fair bit and add sardines which they've had in there diet since 6 , to 8 months so my dogs are spot on with it.

 

[arealhuman]

Just weigh your dog regular but with the correct amount of exersize then it shouldn't be a problem.,, I reduce a fair bit and add sardines which they've had in there diet since 6 , to 8 months so my dogs are spot on with it.

Thanks for that. He gets three walks a day (beginning, middle and end) which are reasonably brisk and I guess equal out to about 1 - 1.5 miles each outing. He doesn't get to run to much - which breaks my heart - as we don't let him off the lead (rescue dog - no recall, unpredictable with other dogs). Hopefully this is enough for him.

 

[gypsysmum2]

The vet nurse, at your vet practice, will happily give you advice on the weight of your dog. It is usually free

 

[arealhuman]

Well, based on the posts above, he had a small piece of a turkey steak last night (he;s had that before) with some broccoli and a dribble of gravy. He loved it! I didn't think he would go for the broccoli, but it all went, so thanks for all the advice.

On a related note - that gravy was the packet type and he only had a dribble, just to make the food less dry. Any issues with this type of gravy? Thanks (again!).

 

[JoanneF]

Gravy is high in salt so can put a bit of strain on his kidneys; I wouldn't feed it to a young or small dog but I think yours is past the puppy stage, isn't he? The other risk is persuading him to eat food without it now lol!

Plain meat juices are quite good to add if you are doing a roast - my dog enjoys that on a Sunday. But I have a plain kibble that I only use for mixing with mince or meat juices so it is completely different from his normal food.

 

[lurcherman]

And broccoli gives them the shits dosnt it?

 

[JoanneF]

Mine loves a little broccoli - he likes most veg. Haven't had any problems but he doesn't get a lot, just a couple of mouthfuls as a treat.

 

[arealhuman]

We'll he had some broccoli and a few bits of kibble last night and lapped it up! He's 6, I'll be careful with the gravy, he only gets a dribble, might cut it out altogether based on your comment, thanks.

 

[lurcherman]

A well watered down gravy will not hurt I think as mine av had it all there life, my brindle was a week or so short of 14 before he died and the black dog in my avatar is now 14 n half and still going so up to u.

 

[arealhuman]

A well watered down gravy will not hurt I think as mine av had it all there life, my brindle was a week or so short of 14 before he died and the black dog in my avatar is now 14 n half and still going so up to u.

Thanks for this. Maybe I'm putting too much of a human slant on it but some piece of chicken and broccoli just seem a bit dry to me!

 

[arealhuman]

Me again. After reading this post and the replies, is there anything I need to take into account if I move to the Gentle dog food? I hadn't even considered anal glands and poo! Our vet previously said the glands will only need emptying if he starts scooting around, and he isn't at the moment. Thanks again.

 

[JoanneF]

It's not something we have had an issue with for our current dog (eating Gentle daily). Its fibre content is average in relation to others so unless your dog had an anal gland problem and NEEDS a particularly high fibre food, Gentle would be fine. Or add some broccoli!