Whats the Best Dry Dog Food?

I feed raw, I use pre prepared frozen from Nutriment, Natural Instinct and Wolf Tucker. since changing to it my dogs have genuinely been brilliant, lovely condition and fur with plenty of energy but remaining calm. And yes their poos are good to. My present Whippet has been on it since she first came so can not talk about a change in her but previously when we changed over the dogs we had improved in a number of ways, but we did not think they were doing bad at all on their previous diets, (which were supposedly a good quality food).

 

Well that's a can of worms right there. Before I share my tuppence I have to say I have a vested interest as a retailer of dry foods and whilst that colours my view I'd like to suggest that you may want to look at this i.e whats best in a different way and say to yourself; if I could produce a dry food what would I do? (Which is what I did a few years ago) The dry market is vast, every kind of product at every kind of quality and price for that matter. For me when we "designed" our range I had a few guiding principles, first of all Grain Free, second high meat content with a high fresh meat content, small list of ingredients, fruits, vegetables, joint supplements and a price that was fair. As a result I sat down with nutritionists and the outcome was our range we offer today. (I'll let you investigate that if you choose) So as to the best? thats a very subjective questions. I always tell my customers that whatever food or method you choose you'll inevitably choose one based on knowledge, belief, budget and lifestyle. Unfortunately the marketing messages around foods is so invasive that it causes confusion and falsehoods. Learning to read and understand labels is a good thing and in my view the place to start.

 

We use Gentle, as recommended by @JoanneF and our dog loves it. Previously we used a cheap-ish brand that he was on in the rescue centre, but once we changed the difference in his coat was obvious. As to quality of poo? It tastes the same to me! I'll get me coat.....

 

Like I said the food market is vast, over 1000 brands in the UK alone. Products like the one you mention represent the low end of the market. In many ways the bigger brands can be the biggest culprits at producing low quality foods despite what is often not a cheap product. There are 4 big producers in the UK, the high street brands and you know them well. The rest of the industry is what I call boutique brands such as ourselves and there are many of us. (Gentle for one as mentioned in previous post is a good example) Unfortunately the only way we can compete is on quality and price which is great for the consumer, our product has to stand up to rigour and price otherwise the marketeers win over us. It also worth noting that there is a great range in quality across all food categories, as not all dry food is created equally neither are raw or wet foods. Finally. You maybe familiar with www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk as a resource that can be helpful.

 

My dog is just over two years old and after trying several dry dog foods with varying results (he vomited on nearly every make) I was advised to try Canagan. It is one of the more expensive foods and isn't sold by chains. My nearest stockist is several miles away. He has two or sometimes three firm bowel motions a day. His weight is stable and he doesn't have smelly wind.

 

Bea is on James Wellbeloved too and has been amazing since going on it about a year ago. She dropped her excess weight, became more energised and had less gas!

 

I feed mine Harrington dry food ( salmon and potato) its been really good on Marley as he gets colitis he doesn't get as much problems now.

 

Lily's Kitchen. I use both dry and tinned.