Dylan's Change Of Diet

[llannon]

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I'm off to our local PAH this afternoon...so fingers crossed I can make sense of the various packaging and pick a winning formula :thumbsup:

I'll have a look at the Cod Liver Oil while I'm there. Cheers for the tip!

Many Thanks for everyones thoughts...i'm still not sure what to do, but don't think I ever will be... :wacko:

He seems to love the natures menu, but I can't afford 2 pouches a day :b

 

[llannon]

Sorry...just testing my updated profile picture...

Doesn't seem to show it :unsure:

 

[Nicola]

Nature's menu is in small foil packages and is quite expensive. Nature Diet is about the same price (I think) but in bigger packs, and as good quality to my mind.My two love their NatureDiet.

If I made much more of an effort and had the fridge/freezer I'd probably switch to BARF, but I think Nature Diet is the next best alternative to BARF if you don't want to do the dry food route and your dogs loved the Nature's Menu but you want a slightly cheaper alternative. I don't see why you can't mix a little bit of dry complete with NatureDiet as well to make it go a bit further. I'm sure it wouldn't do any harm... :wacko: Just make any changes gradually or you'll end up with upset stomachs :x

 

[whippetmad]

I,ve brought a freezer a couple of months ago,so that i could get frozen raw meats,i paid £10.85 for 40 x 1lb packs with i thought was good,so i got beef you can also have tripe,lamb and chicken.I mix it with Laughing Dog mixer.

 

[masta]

Thanks....a bit more thinking and reading to do on my part before I decide.
It's interesting that PAH recommend a product, and no-one on here recommends it...would this indicate a hole in the market or are these forums read more by whippet owners who feed BARF???

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PAH are corporate they are not interested in whats the most cost effective medical sound diet, what matters to them is keeping shareholders happy ie making money they dislike barf because it can be fed without ever stepping foot in a PAH

the advice you get on here comes from people owning and working whippets sighthounds etc and knowing that feeding a balanced meat rich diet is best for their dogs not because someone tells them it is,but because when fed you can see the difference.

personally i wouldnt feed a processed food that includes meat in sealed foil wrappers from companies that have jumped on the barf band wagon.

What's easier than chatting to your local butcher that includes supermarkets and buying trimmings for next to nothing with a bag of bones thrown in or even cheap mince/lamb breast theres no need for a freezer beef is the only meat that should be frozen and you can buy frozen beef mince job done for you

 

[hely]

mine has natural menu with a mixer, she loves it and it hasn't got any crap in it.

i buy it from our local pet shop (its the only place i can find it apart from online) as i buy it in bulk he gives me money off :thumbsup:

 

[Trish]

i feed barf to mine too they love it,we use landywoods and have found them fine.

wouldnt go back to dry food as it must be so boring for them.

 

[llannon]

Nature's menu is in small foil packages and is quite expensive. Nature Diet is about the same price (I think) but in bigger packs, and as good quality to my mind.My two love their NatureDiet.
If I made much more of an effort and had the fridge/freezer I'd probably switch to BARF, but I think Nature Diet is the next best alternative to BARF if you don't want to do the dry food route and your dogs loved the Nature's Menu but you want a slightly cheaper alternative. I don't see why you can't mix a little bit of dry complete with NatureDiet as well to make it go a bit further. I'm sure it wouldn't do any harm... :wacko: Just make any changes gradually or you'll end up with upset stomachs :x

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Thanks for the reply...do you mix the Nature Diet with anything...or feed on its own? How much do you give per day? Have you found any flavours better than others?

Regards, Matt

 

[llannon]

mine has natural menu with a mixer, she loves it and it hasn't got any crap in it.i buy it from our local pet shop (its the only place i can find it apart from online) as i buy it in bulk he gives me money off :thumbsup:

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Hi,

Do you mean the same natures menu pouches I bought in PAH?

What mixer do you use? How did you work out how much of the pouch/mixer to give?

Thanks for the help, Matt

 

[sharron]

Zeb has natures menu,they do a mixer as well that (mr fazzie)well eat.

Zeb is 18 1/2 kgs and eats 1 packet of meat and 2 cups of mixer a day.

The web site is

www.naturesmenu.co.uk

it may be worth looking at.

 

[Nicola]

Nature's menu is in small foil packages and is quite expensive. Nature Diet is about the same price (I think) but in bigger packs, and as good quality to my mind.My two love their NatureDiet.
If I made much more of an effort and had the fridge/freezer I'd probably switch to BARF, but I think Nature Diet is the next best alternative to BARF if you don't want to do the dry food route and your dogs loved the Nature's Menu but you want a slightly cheaper alternative. I don't see why you can't mix a little bit of dry complete with NatureDiet as well to make it go a bit further. I'm sure it wouldn't do any harm... :wacko: Just make any changes gradually or you'll end up with upset stomachs :x

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Thanks for the reply...do you mix the Nature Diet with anything...or feed on its own? How much do you give per day? Have you found any flavours better than others?

Regards, Matt

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I find the chicken and tripe, with a few carrots to be the best one. The chicken and carrots (without tripe) is good too but has too many chopped carrots which they can't always digest properly. The lamb is popular but feed sparingly at first as too much can upset stomachs more easily. I feed it on its own but they get meaty bones once a week from the butchers, and the odd raw chicken wings to help keep their teeth clean. I'm sure a little scoop of good quality mixer or a bit of complete with it won't hurt, and will help bulk it out a little.

I will go the BARF route eventually....but they love this in the meantime.

 

[llannon]

I find the chicken and tripe, with a few carrots to be the best one. The chicken and carrots (without tripe) is good too but has too many chopped carrots which they can't always digest properly. The lamb is popular but feed sparingly at first as too much can upset stomachs more easily. I feed it on its own but they get meaty bones once a week from the butchers, and the odd raw chicken wings to help keep their teeth clean. I'm sure a little scoop of good quality mixer or a bit of complete with it won't hurt, and will help bulk it out a little.
I will go the BARF route eventually....but they love this in the meantime.

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Have you any experience with the Beef one, as I bought the variety multipack that they do, and the Beef seems to make him a bit smelly

In what sort of quantity do you feed the pouches?

Have you found a cheaper supplier than PAH?

Thanks, Matt

 

[Jessr123]

Joylles pet store seems to be cheaper for food than PAH - Nature's menu is 66p a tub rather than 70p at PAH.

 

[llannon]

Joylles pet store seems to be cheaper for food than PAH - Nature's menu is 66p a tub rather than 70p at PAH.

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Thanks for the tip, but unfortunately they don't have any stores in wales

 

[HopeRosie]

Ive done quite a lot of research into feeding Evie (paranoid mummy!) and as I dont have freezer space for BARF I had to look into a complete feed, I also only have a small pet shop/morrisons/PAH to choose from. I had problems with either Evie not wanting to eat it and just picking at it, or it making her so OTT she was a nightmare. This is what I found out:

If you look at the label at the meat content it will tell you what sort of quality meat it contains. With Rendered meat or fish and animal derivatives the overal protein content is the same but it would come from a different meat combination in each batch. With ones that are just fresh meat and fish - they have to use exactly the same amount of a particular meat - ie just chicken mince.

Fresh Meat or Fish: Fresh meat or fish is from sources deemed suitable for human food.

Rendered Meat or Fish: Rendered meats are commonly listed as ‘meat meal’ or ‘poultry meal’ on the ingredient label. They are the cooked and processed remains of the leftovers in meat, fish and poultry processing. This isn’t to say they are poor quality as in the EC the source animal must have been deemed suitable for human consumption. Every time you process meat you run the risk of destroying essential nutrients.

Animal Derivatives: Is the broad category name which encompasses all animal ingredients. The broadness of the category means that these may be products left over after most of the meat has been used, such as feather, hoof, hair, bone, blood and fatty tissue.

Im feeding a puppy who is always on the go but who seems to get OTT on Purina ProPlan which has quite a lot of additives in it - so I looked at Burns but it was a much lower protein even in the puppy range. I had also heard that dogs didnt put on weight with it, Evie is quite skinny so I didnt really want that. So shes on James Wellbeloved puppy, same level of protein 30% as all the other puppy foods, she loves it and wolfs it down (unlike the other foods) and its very low in allergens = puppy with loads of energy - growing like topsy and no ADHD!

I decided against a wet food as Ive always found with my other dogs that it makes them smelly, they do elephant sized soft poos which caused problems with anal glands and tins/pouches took up a lot of space in the cupboard.

 

[BeeJay]

Hi, i'm hoping i can pick a few brains and get some advice on changing Dylan's diet. I have decided to do this as he has been on Burns Lamb & Rice, but he could do with putting on a little more weight and he seems to have a slight dandruff problem.
The vet has checked him over, and gave him the all clear, but advised adding various oils to his Burns.

I feel a better approach for him is to change his diet, as he doesnt always eat all his Burns.

I went to our local PAH, and ended up choosing the natures menu pouches. He seems to like them a lot more than just the Burns...so they get his approval!

I have introduced them slowly over the week. adding more to his Burns and reducing the biscuit slightly.

He is now having half a pouch and a good handful of Burns twice a day. I would try totally stopping the Burns and giving him just the pouches...but I reckon he would eat 2 a day...which I cant afford!...therefore should I keep mixing in the Burns or change to a mixer?

Dylan is 13 months old...sorry for the waffling...Cheers Matt

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I had 3 dogs on Burns and they are looked bad on it. Their coats looked terrible. The deerhounds broke off and fell out in tufts. I was stupid because I kept thinking this is really good food maybe it's just summat to do with the change over. Then Bean because seriously ill and had to have an emergency op to save his life. Dunno if that was because of the food but it didn't suit him. Can't believe that I was so stupid that I didn't change it. So as your dog is showing signs of it not suiting him I'd take him off it.

I've been feeding some of my dogs Vitalin sensitive for about a year now and they are looking good on it and Woody's stomach problems have gone. Vitalin also do a puppy food at 32% protein. (w00t) I wouldn't advise feeding that to a hyper pup though. This Vitalin food isn't the rabbit food type btw.

I would expect a whippet to eat 2 of those adult pouches per day as well. I have fed them to some of my dogs and they eat one per meal.

Countrywide stores are in some parts of Wales and they sell AMP meats, natures diet and Vitalin types that I mentioned earlier. I also feed Forthglade to some of my dogs which I get locally. I'm just inside Wales.

 

[llannon]

So shes on James Wellbeloved puppy, same level of protein 30% as all the other puppy foods, she loves it and wolfs it down (unlike the other foods) and its very low in allergens = puppy with loads of energy - growing like topsy and no ADHD!
I decided against a wet food as Ive always found with my other dogs that it makes them smelly, they do elephant sized soft poos which caused problems with anal glands and tins/pouches took up a lot of space in the cupboard.

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If I went down the JWB route...do you mix it with anything or just feed it as is?

Any advice on what would be a good flavour to put him on to?

Do you find the JWB keeps the coat nice, or would I still need to add extra oil?

Many Thanks, Matt

 

[llannon]

I had 3 dogs on Burns and they are looked bad on it.  Their coats looked terrible.  The deerhounds broke off and fell out in tufts.  I was stupid because I kept thinking this is really good food maybe it's just summat to do with the change over.  Then Bean because seriously ill and had to have an emergency op to save his life.  Dunno if that was because of the food but it didn't suit him.  Can't believe that I was so stupid that I didn't change it.  So as your dog is showing signs of it not suiting him I'd take him off it.
I've been feeding some of my dogs Vitalin sensitive for about a year now and they are looking good on it and Woody's stomach problems have gone.  Vitalin also do a puppy food at 32% protein.  (w00t)   I wouldn't advise feeding that to a hyper pup though.  This Vitalin food isn't the rabbit food type btw.

I would expect a whippet to eat 2 of those adult pouches per day as well.  I have fed them to some of my dogs and they eat one per meal. 

Countrywide stores are in some parts of Wales and they sell AMP meats, natures diet and Vitalin types that I mentioned earlier.  I also feed Forthglade to some of my dogs which I get locally.  I'm just inside Wales.

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I know my simple pole on this topic is only a brief insight...but it's strange Burns is leading...but a few dogs don't seem to get on with it. I guess it just proves no 2 dogs are the same, there is no right answer....all you can do is ask advice and make up your own mind.....then cross your fingers :wacko:

I wish there was a simple answer of give the dog this much of this and he will add a little weight and his coat condition will improve... :- "

Thanks for everyones advice...I would have asked for more BARF advice, but I'm really not in a position to provide that....so more reading and browsing and hoping to find a winning combination for my boy until I can go BARF!

 

[hely]

my whippie doesnt like burns..in fact she wont eat any hard food!!!!

we have to give her natural menu and mix in a bit of mixer (although she does spit most of it out on the floor :rant: )

we have had a right old time finding something she would eat!

 

[HopeRosie]

If I went down the JWB route...do you mix it with anything or just feed it as is?Any advice on what would be a good flavour to put him on to?

Do you find the JWB keeps the coat nice, or would I still need to add extra oil?

I just feed the JWB as it is altho sometimes I add a few vegetables from our tea on top - we are literally talking a teaspoon of peas or a couple of slices of carrots or a tiny tree of broccoli - thats only about once or twice a week as a treat really. Evie is black so I notice every scrap of dandruf - when she was on Proplan she was very scurfy but pic below shows how shiny she is on JWB. Just looked at the JWB website and at 13months he would be on the adult maintenance so comes in Lamb and Rice/Turkey and Rice/Duck and Rice/Fish and Rice/Lamb and Vegetable. I think they are all formulated with the same level of protein etc -so its a matter of what your dog likes, but it does mean you can change flavour occassionally and I suppose if your dog is extra sensitive then I would go for the fish one.

Taken from JWB website - there is a proper ingredients breakdown but this is the mini version:

Turkey, turkey gravy, brown and pearl rice, seaweed and linseed, alfalfa and oats (in Turkey & Rice Kibble).

CONTAINS: Min. 26% turkey, min. 26% rice, min.19% oats.

TYPICAL ANALYSIS: Protein 21%, Oil 10%, Fibre 4%, Ash 7.5%.

Grass-fed lamb, lamb gravy, brown rice, barley, seaweed and linseed, alfalfa and yucca (in Lamb & Rice Kibble).

CONTAINS: Min 26% lamb, min 26% rice, min 14% barley.

TYPICAL ANALYSIS: Protein 20%, Oil 10%, Fibre 4%, Ash 8.5%.

Duck, duck gravy, organic oats, seaweed & linseed and alfalfa (in Duck & Rice Kibble).

CONTAINS: Minimum 27% Duck, min. 27% rice, min. 12% organic oats.

TYPICAL ANALYSIS: Protein 21%, Oil 10%, Fibre 4%, Ash 7.5%.

Ocean white fish, brown & pearl rice, seaweed & linseed, alfalfa and olive oil (in Ocean White Fish & Rice Kibble).

Contains: Min. 23% Fish, Min 28% Rice, Min 15% Barley

Typical Analysis: Protein 21%, Oil 10%, Fibre 4%, Ash 8%.