The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Pets & Working Animals => Dogs => Topic started by: Lubob on February 06, 2009, 06:37:37 pm
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We have 5 dogs (3 mini long haired dachshunds, 1 terrier and a german shepherd) and after reading the posts here I am keen to get them off the food they are currently on (Bakers!) they are all fine on it, good coats, teeth etc but I would love to hear from you with your advice. Thanks Lu :dog: :pug: :paw: :dog: :paw:
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Hi Lu,
We had 2 german shepherds, both on Bakers at the time of the behaviourists visit. One of them was absolutely fine on it, but not the other. I think that every dog will react differently to certain foods.
For a while we fed Costco's own brand (but were near a store at the time) Kirkland Signiture Complete, it's really good and not too expensive (especially if you compare it to Iams & the like) but for now we just use a complete working dog mix, whatever happens to be in stock / best price (working dog food is VAT free, as far as I know) - since we managed to wean him off the mince he'd been getting at grannys ! He's not happy, I'm sure the mince was much nicer ! But he's realised that it's all thats on offer now and eats it quite the thing.
Your shepherd and terrier should be fine on something like that - not sure about your dacs though, they might need something a bit finer, but never having had any I wouldn't know for sure.
Karen :pig:
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We feed Burns complete. I used to cook them chicken and brown rice then discovered that Burns was the same but easier! Tess was a very picky eater and the vet said she might have a colic when she ate. She's fine on Burns and they both really like it. It's quite expensive but they don't need much.
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There are a great many different animal foods on the market - it is really a case of suck it and see mostly. I always use an extruded food for my dogs now as it is so much easier but they don't always like it - if I see that they are going off one I change it (gradually) to something else. However, I have recently been given a bag of a new food to try and I would even eat it! ;D ;D ;D It smells EXACTLY like salmon - it is made of salmon and potato, and the dogs just love it - to the extent that i have started using it as training treats! It's new - if anyone wants to try it, let me know.
What you need to look out for is not too high a protein content if the dogs is not working hard all day - for instance a farm collie that is herding most days and for a few hours a day might need a higher %age than say a Chihuahua - but that's pretty obvious. I try to keep mine at around 21% and they are pretty active dogs - HPR gun dogs. I try to limit the fat content too as that puts weight on - my spayed bitch gets the same food as my other dogs and is at least twice their weight, but doesn't run so fast or for so long. Sandy will tell you the speed my Brittanys go at, she's seen two of them!
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We use James Wellbeloved which is hypoallergenic and based on turkey and rice, pearl barley, seaweed etc (they also do other flavours - lamb/duck and different varieties e.g. puppy/junior/senior/light). We have two pointers and I chose this food as I wanted to avoid the risk of skin problems which some foods with lots of additives might bring. The dogs look great on it. It is however pretty expensive and can be as much as £43 for a 15kg bag in a local pet shop (although I have managed to get the same bag elsewhere for £31 ?! ) It always amazes me that you can get a 25kg bag of sheep feed for £7 but you have to pay £43 for 15kg of dog food
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My three dogs ( Otterhound and two patterdale terriers) are all fed Dr. Johns Silver (7.99 - 15kg) raw green tripe, and raw lamb breast. I also walk fox hound puppies for the hunt kennels and they are fed the same as my dogs, with the addition of ewe milk and raw eggs for breakfast and plenty of raw bones. The puppies also get SA37 supplement and my elderly Patterdale (14 this summer) has Superdog MSM to keep her youthful !! In fact I think I should try some myself :dog:
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We have six dogs (5 whippets and 1 deerhound) and we feed them on food from The Natural Dog Food Company and our dogs love it.
We add cooked vegetables, pasta and scrambled eggs in to mix it up a bit.
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Just goes to show we all have different ideas, different dogs, and many of us add stuff to what is supposed to be a balanced scientifically calculated dog food! ;D ;D ;D
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nat buys for kaiser her german shepherd chappie in tins -she swears by it -Hes very happy with it - we often also get him burns and james well beloved - I look at some of the stuff in the supermarkets and you have to wonder how little protein some of that actually has -good we all choose correctly ....
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Dogs can happily survive - some of them do very well - on 18% protein. I prefer mine to be on 21%. You have to look at all the ingredients, and the amount of each, and as I said previously, each to their own. If your dog is happy, healthy, energetic, shiny coat, clear eyes, outgoings normal then you have found the correct combination, whatever it is. Personally I wouldn't feed an all tinned food, nor a raw diet. I prefer extruded/kibble as it helps keep their teeth clean.
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... I feed Ozzy and Breeze with McCaskie's (Farm suppliers in Stirling, Ayr, Crook of Devon and Lanark) own brand Chicken and Rice nuggets, available in both 19% and 23% protein... I buy the 23% and it is only £11.64 for 15kg.
Both dogs luv it....
Cheers
Pete
:-*
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i will tell my ex - her and the hound are off to perth this weekend for 5 days -thats high protein and she may consider that as a good one to try - Thank you
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Anything over 21% can cause skin problems
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Will definately try McCaskies - sounds like a good buy. Thank you :pug:
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I might try the McCaksies one too - it's a lot cheaper than Burns, which is about £40 for 15kg. I need to go there for sheep hurdles anyway.
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... Annie ...
Ozzy .... The Prince of Darkness... has been fed on 23% protein all his 9 years... and hasn't had any skin problems... yet....
... perhaps it helps that he's a cross... A Ruff coated Somalian Terapin hound .....
Cheers
Pete
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Makes no difference whether a cross or not - if you mate a bloodhound that has genes for hip dysplasia to a cocker that has genes for entropion you could get both in the hybrid. Hybrid vigour isn't necessarily seen in dogs due to the complex nature of the genes and alleles. You've just been lucky. I still wouldn't give my dogs any more than 21% protein unless they were working a number of hours every day. Most gundog people feed higher in shooting season but season is only 4 to 5 months out of 12.
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depends on the dog my gordon seter has always been on no less that 26% protein at a boney 24kgs he needs all that he can get and was on puppy food for several years ( hes 8.5 ) and hes never worked a day in his life.
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My pooch (a cross bred mastiff type) used to eat James Wellbeloved, and I only stopped buying it when it cost almost £40 for 15kg! He did well on it though so no complaints. Now he eats Chudley’s Classic and does just as well on that for a fraction of the price. As it’s for working dogs it’s VAT free (according to the retailer). My previous dog, a Rottweiler, did well on Chappie complete, which was very cheap at the time and recommended by the vet.
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Trying McKaskies 19% and all 5 of them seem to love it. Will let you know how it goes over time ... ;)
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;D ;D ;D ;D ;) ;) ;) ;)
Lu....
... that's a result... then ...
Pete
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Hi, I feed my three gun dogs ( 2 springer spaniels and an Irish red and white setter) on Beta Active and they thrive on it.
They are all agility dogs and this food gives them a good balance of energy levels.
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I feed my two (springer spaniel and patterdale terrier) Baileys working dog bites, they are both doing great on it and i think it is VAT free too, so i'm happy as well x
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I am new to this dog thing after only being an owner to an 8 month working cocker for the last 3 weeks. She was a rescue dog from springer rescue Scotland and they recommended I use Autarky as it has been developed especially for working dogs. It has antioxidants, herbs and nothing extra added. This is the link from their website however I have managed to find it a lot cheaper at Costco £12.75 (vat free) for 15Kg rather than the advertised £21.50 on their site.
http://www.autarky-foods.com/dog-adult.asp (http://www.autarky-foods.com/dog-adult.asp)
I would be interested to hear from anyone else if they have used this food.
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I've got 5 (Lab Xs, Spaniel X, Foxhound X) and Naturediet Lamb and Senior-Lite suits them brilliantly. They are fit, glossy coated and very chilled. It's lower protein than any other I've tried but everything else I've gives them all the squits. Not good, en masse. I have a lurcher too but he doesn't count-he eats when he feels like it and is more picky than a super-model. He rules my life. The only thing guaranteed to get him off the sofa is a sausage roll or dead rabbit.
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I put my 3 Cocker Spaniels onto Burns Food many years ago and they are doing brilliantly well on it. Gynty has a skin condition that we cannot get to the bottom of but her litter sister also has it but much worse. Since putting onto the Burns her skin is soooooooo much better so I swear by it.
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My young lad has been scratching a lot lately and have had him on Dr Johns Gold for about a week. It hasn't made any difference so he is going onto Challenge Salmon and potato tomorrow - 20% protein, no cereals, pure products etc, but not cheap at £28.50 for 15 kg. I think I know the possible cause though - the Goudnie Burn which runs through my garden and runs into the Black Devon, has been polluted YET AGAIN!! It is running grey water. I have complained to Scottish Water regularly at least twice a month since last July and still it is no better. I daren't let my ducks out in it and they are going bananas, and I use the burn for training water retrieves with Allez so it is d"£$%^d annoying to say the least. I'll try to keep him out of it for a few days to see if that helps. I don't know what to do about the Burn though.
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I have 4 large dogs, 1 collie, 2 husky and 1 Heinz variety, needless to say they all have different requirements and sensitivities. I looked into the BARF diet, bones and raw food and put them on it nearly 3 years ago.
One tip is that your local butcher has to pay the bone man to take away the bones and meat scraps he has butchered so its worth going along and asking if you can have some of it, ours eat chicken carcusses, lamb and beef bones, the huskies also have pork skin for the fat content especially in winter as they live out, also offal, all raw not cooked, it helps him keep costs down and you get free dog food.
We also give the dogs eggs, carrots and apples, they also get to lick out the empty margarine tubs, if any of them get an upset stomach which is rare on this diet we give them pasta. Also there are not piles and piles of poo as the body uses up most of what has been eaten.
They are not over weight and their teeth are excellent, no build up of tartar or bad breath, my vet said she has never seen them look so healthy.
Its not for everyone, or every dog and I would recommend doing your research for whatever type of dog you have but worth a look.
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Hello, interesting topic for discussion. Every dog being different obviously! We have six dogs (seven till recently, but had the 16 year old lurcher put down). Two Irish Setters, Two Collies, One Labrador and One Aged Lurcher. They are respectively 4 years old, three, two and fifteen. All get own brand dried food (Mole Valley Farmers) as it is the cheapest working dog food available to us locally. The setters eat four times the amount that the collies do, yet do considerably less work. The ancient lurcher has his soaked for 24 hours prior to feeding so that he can easily slurp it up. All six dogs thrive on this diet, and it doesn't cost us too much - approx £20 per month to feed all six. They do get additional bits such as any unsaleable eggs from the hens, off cuts of meat when we have recently slaughtered and are butchering the lambs, pigs, cows etc. And as there is normally some leftover meat from our regular roasts, they get that as well. Not to mention they often help themselves to the chicken food, pig food, sheep nuts, goats milk etc. A varied, and sometimes balanced diet!! Cat.
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We went though several dry foods for our 2 (collie and dalmatian) often finding what suited one didn't suit the other, culminating in Welbeloved which was expensive, they always seemed hungry and didn't suit one of them. Faced with the prospect of buying two different types of dog food I switched to BARF, using frozen minces, butchers bones and veg. Since then both dogs have eaten pretty much the same diet, their condition has improved and I have the flexibility to give them different diets if necessary. Also it has the advantage that I can use 'human' food if the dog food happens to run out. I'm not sure it costs me much less than the Welbeloved, but I feel is better for the dogs and certainly more convenient for me. I can imagine that having 'free' meat available would be an advantage in reducing costs. I did worry a bit to start with that I might not get it quite right, but to be honest I think most of us survive quite well on a diet that is less than perfect and as no two people seem to be able to agree on what a perfect diet is (human or canine) I suspect it is unattainable in practice!
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I have one mongrel and a wiredhaired/shorthaired pointer cross and feed them Dr John Silver £7.50 for 15kg. They thrive on it and have lovely shiny coats. I also have a friend who feeds it to her Whippet who looks fantastic. When I worked at an animal rescue centre we tended to feed cheap food like Chappie to underweight/starved dogs as it doesn't overload their systems. I guess feeding just depends on your dog's constitution and work load.
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hi all
i have 12 siberian huskies, 3-14 years old, 4-9 years old and 5-2 years old, all have been fed on BARF most of their lives, our 3-14 year olds are now on arden grange plus a small amount of minced meat as recently they have started to struggle to digest raw.
all the rest are happy on barf.
i have to confess to having a sceptical view towards multi national companies telling me that the food they produce is best, if this food is so good surly a dried food would have been produced for human top athletes to make sure they get the best so that they can win everything. i also worry when they say no added preservatives then in the small print it says EC approved antioxidant, if you are proud of your product say what's in it as some of these antioxidants are known carcinogens.
ok rant over
would like to point out i have no problem with using dried food if it works for you thats fine, its when companies are economical with the truth that i dont like it.
kn
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Our two were on bakers for ages and seemed fine but the German Shep x collie is fussy as, the ginger stripy thing couldn't care less as long as he has plenty. When we started to be more concerned about what we ate we thought it best to give them better food too. We switched to Arden Grange lamb and rice (approx £25/15kg from the vet in the village) they are now on AG senior (£35/kg) Both thriving. Coat so good, less poo and less smelly. The ginger one used to chew his feet a lot and we thought it was just his particular brand of specialness but since being on AG this has lessened significantly, vet said may have been an allergy.
HTH. Helen :)