Sonic_Danny

My 18 month old labrador eats through approximately £40 worth (20kg) of James Welbelove dry food a month. Is it really worth paying the extra for a so called 'premium' food like James Wellbelove or will he be just as well off eating Beta or the like at half the cost?

davegtt

My mutt is alergyic to lots of dog food, tried him on all sorts, all the expensive stuff like James W and Eukanuba etc bring him out in Xezma (spelling? exzma?) Hes on Beta at the minute, eats it every day and makes his rear entry pretty solid. Cant argue with it really. All depends on what your dog takes to really IMO.

Crazy Chick

I've got an alsatian and a sheepdog and they do just fine on the Beta range of dog food and like you say it's cheaper - only costs £13 for 15kg. I'd change the food before your dog gets too used to the expensive stuff.

stuntmonkey955

It's probably horses for courses, but my previous dogs (2 golden retrievers, 2 brown labradors) and my current dog (Staffordshire Bull Terrier) have always done better on quality food (better coat condition and general energy levels). The way I look at it is I wouldn't choose to eat supermarket 'value' foods, I wouldn't run my scooby on supermarket 'value' fuels and oils, so I wouldn't run my dog on what I percieved as 'lower quality' foods.

Just my opinion FWIW - hope it's useful.
Dave.

Scoobychick

iTrader: (1)

Our Staffy changed from a diet of normal tinned dog food to Hills Canine r/d about a year ago in order to lose weight. Not only has she lost all her excess weight but her coat is in much better condition and she looks much better generally. Everyone who sees her comments on how well she looks now so even though she's finished with the diet food we've put her on Hills Canine w/d. It costs around £50 for a 14kg bag but is worth every penny just to see her looking so good

The only thing is she poos for England now due to all the increased fibre in her diet but at least they're nice and solid now

Crazy Chick

My dogs have got beautiful coats as well and neither are overweight.

It's just a case of feeding the dogs what they like and after trying them on several brands they seem to prefer this one.

island991

our collie has always been worse off on 'cheaper' foods. i used to walk around pet shop and laugh at the expensive varieties, especially the Burns, 'holistic', nonGM, no additives etc me saying "what a load of cr*p people will by for their animals!!"

and after trying him on loads of cheaper stuff and him having poor coat and skin and having frequent looseness at the back etc etc

guess what we now use!! the Burns!!

its cheaper than the vet type stuff, ie hills etc. which the vet was saying we needed to use!

Id swear by it, not only a better coat and skin etc (not that im hung up on that he aint no show dog!!) but he does about 40% less sh*t. i kid you not! i guess its a case of less cr*p in, less cr*p out!!

Sonic_Danny

My lab only does 2.5 to 3 cr@ps a day?

Alas

Always used Eukanuba since we've had the big git and coat, teeth etc all very good.

Karl 227

Stick with the expensive stuff, after all, what's 40 pounds per month for the love, health and loyalty of your dog? Save a tenner, make it unhappy, I don't think so

shaunywrx

As said above, but 20 kilos a month sounds quite a lot to me, i'd stick with the expensive stuff but cut down on the amount a little, unless its a very large or very active dog it sounds as though you could be overfeeding it a little. Labradors can be prone to gaining weight quite quickly weight if overfed, although you may think it kind to the dog, to feed it lots, you'll only harm the dog in the long run, if in doubt have a word with a friendly vet.

Karl 227

Ours is a Golden Retriever and he goes through 20kg of dry food per month, mind you, we have a large garden and when he isn't tearing around in that, he's being walked through the woods (2 - 3 hours per day)

Flatcapdriver

I've gone the other way and it's not worth it. From Eukanuba to some VAT free stuff which has resulted in an even more badly behaved dog who craps for England!

Karl 227

Butty

iTrader: (2)

Dare I ask what a 1/2 cr4p is?

gingerboy

Bakers complete - my two boxers love it and neither are over weight.

PG

We have used James Welbelove, Eukanuba, Burns and just plain old chicken and boiled rice.
We did at one point change to a food that was well spec'd and didn't affect the dog we have with sensitive skin and being a damn site cheaper and availible at Costco we stuck with it for a while.
All was well for a start but over a couple of months we did see the condition of the dogs deteriorate. 2 weeks back on Burns and the change was amazing.
Looking at it from a practical aspect too the wife informs me that the **** is easier picked up as the waste is more solid ....nice.
A mate at work races huskies and the food makes a HUGE difference to his times.
All in all, if you can afford to keep your dog on the dearer stuff then do so.
Eukanuba has a breeders club that you can join and recieve decent money off when you buy multiple bags.

PG

Does the red poo not worry you somewhat?
I would rather my dogs ate eachother than ate that stuff !

Sonic_Danny

He is not be overfed, i only give him the recommended amount and he looks in damn fine shape.

After reading above comments i think im best sticking with the Wellbelove stuff.

2000 sport

iTrader: (1)

my GWP has always been fed on Gusto, he likes it, and he is in great condition.. its a working dog mix, and only £5 per sack..

give it a bash..

Diablo

Mate, the recomended feeding amounts are always on the high side. Its to make you buy more and they ALL do it.

Wellbeloved is excellent food btw.

It's really a case of finding out the food that suits your dog best. After the growing has stopped its less important to use "premium" foods and more important to get one they are good on.

Also look to cut down on the protein content as they get older.

Out bitch can eat anything. Our dog is sensitive to certain foods (stomach, skin senstitivity)

Having been through James Wellbeloved, Burns and Eukanaba, we've finally found a combination he's good on which involves a mix of Science Plan Natures Best (premium) Tinned Chappie (cheap) and cod liver oil capsules.

Fussy bugger that he is...

BTW - he is around 7 stone, gets plenty of exercise and gets appx one half to two thirds the recommended daily intake on aggregate of the various the food types.

gingerboy

Thats them meaty chunks for you , still it's better than white poo. To be honest it's not red and yes I could go and spend a fortune on dog food, but the dogs like it, they get chicken, tripe, fish and other foods to supplement the bakers so they have plenty of additional nutrients other than those in Bakers complete.

Neither suffer any skin conditions at all, the only problem we have is one is a complete physco - but I doubt thats anything to do with bakers.

Isn't it a bit peverse watching your dogs eat each other, must be 2 bitches I presume .

GB

Buckrogers

I use Science Plan - Natures Best. Apparently 100% natural product.

Highly recommended.

Buck

ScoobyDoo555

The expensive stuff is a rip off (IMHO) - many premium/own-brands are just as good, if not better, as the dogs prefer them.

Dan

Swen6

We tried Jess our Boxer on dried food but the numpty just thinks it's a bowl of treats and just takes a bit at a time lays on her bed and thinks how lucky she is that she gets so many treats .
So shes permantly on the tin'd food, two in the morning and 1 and some mixer in the evenings, and still she puts no wait on, enought to make most women jealous


Oh and some of the comments above , red pooh, 1/2 a pooh...
Jess doesn't hold back, she does whole ones, plus the lady-like burps

Merv

iTrader: (12)

I sell about 5 tons of dog food a month,and one ton of that is Burns,speaks for it's self.15Kg of Burns should last a Labrador about 7 weeks if fed at the correct amounts,if he is working or doing alot of exercise feed Burns Active,(which is VAT free)but still only 24% protein.
I have 4 Labs,a Springer and a Hungarian Kuvas,I have tried the full range of foods over the past 11 years that I have been doing it and Burns is definately the best on the market.

http://www.burns-pet-nutrition.co.uk

Free nutritional help line,samples and stockists.

Sonic_Danny

How much for 15kg of Burns?

Merv

iTrader: (12)

RRP £34.65

Trout

iTrader: (1)

Same here and the lab is very healthy and shiny on it.

Good temperament too.

Another dog we had would be a psycho on lesser foods - food has a big impact on what are regarded as poor doggy behaviours.

Simon K

I have a male 6 year old Japanese Akita. I feed him on chicken + rice, dry food and his tummy is perfect. I find canned food, is a bit rich and makes his buiness a little runny.

Mind you, he also has chicken / fish diners, regular steaks, and the odd chinese (he loves sweet + sour chicken Hong Kong style, and boiled rice ).

Occasionally he may eat his own food, but only when hungry :-)

Add to that, he has endless raw hide bones, cuddly toys that make nosies e.g. brought him a quaking duck.

On average, I spend over a good £150 a month on my beast, not including insurance, strong hold, endless remote controls he eats.

For that £150, I get a lovely, happy, fit, loving dog, that I love more than any girlfriend, ( he's bitten two :-), and when asked "Me or the dog", they were shown the door ). I would gladly spend £500 a month on my boy.

SBK