looking for a good dry dog food ?

[michelle111]

Can anyone recommend a good dry dog food ,our collie past away recently ,she was a rescue dog and she had a lot of problems feeding over the years,we could never get her on a dry food diet!!
We now have two collie pups that are on purina beta puppy food at the moment that is what they were on when we got them...when they went for their jabs the vet recomended royal canin but i noticed everything there was sponsored by royal canin:rolleyes:..before i wean them on to anything else (they seem to be getting bored with the beta) i wanted to know your opinions and experience with other dry dog foods and any recommendations .Thanks in advance:)

[Floosy]

My dad has a retired working dog and uses the pets at home brand. He has used everything from James Wellbeloved and up - He found the pets at home brand really agreeable with the dogs delicate stomach. If you have a pets at home near you they do free samples of there dog food.

[mutley muppet]

I would also recommend James Wellbeloved and also Burns. Neither are cheap but it seems very well digested so you have less poop to scoop out the other end!! :D

My old German Shepherd suffered with colitis but I found he was stable with a mix of James Wellbeloved, fresh meat & veggies mixed in.

I think a bit of something mixed in with the dry food helps to keep them keen.
Good luck.
MM x

p.s. I get my dry dog food from vetuk online and also buy a bit of nature diet wet food.

[Floosy]

I think somewhere online you can get a free sample of James well beloved.

[Floosy]

OOO found it on there web site

James well beloved dog food sample (http://tgisolutions2.no-ip.org/SampleRequestForm.php)

[Tabby]

Burns is very good. My puppy had dry skin and scooted constantly before we changed his diet. Both problems have more or less disappeared now and he really seems to enjoy the food. He doesn't like the nature diet wet food but lots of ogs I know of do.

[michelle111]

Cheers Floosy have sent off for that ..i thought i would just have a look today on a couple of animal sites about which is the best ...aarrgh ive got headache now,it seems the more you read the more i was unsure which one to try...thought i would come on here and get some sensible advice!!
Mutley/Tabby i read a few good things that people said about the Burns, i also read about one called Arden Grange it was expensive but sounds good ???...in the end i read to much and got baffled by science...it went a bit deep into the whys and wherefores of pet food ingredients and hurt my head ..my DD says i need to get a life if im reading up on pet food ingredients:D..sad but true!!

[glorious]

Pedigree better by nature on offer at sainsburys atm half price

[northantblue]

We also use James Well Beloved suits our Jack Russell they also do pouches of meat which we give her as a treat.

[Becles]

Gusto - it's £5.70 for a 10kg bag from Tesco Extra's. It's not quite as good as the more expensive brands, but still far superior to Pedigree, Bakers etc., which have a lot of fat and sugar in.

It's a working dog food and my border collie is doing really well on it. He's full of beans, and has a lovely glossy coat. He just had his annual jabs and check up a few weeks ago and the vet said he's a healthy dog.

[Thrifty Boots]

I swear by iams dry dog food. Easily found in Tesco and their Senior version was recommended by our vet.

[Emmamed]

i have used science hill before, i believe you can only get this from the vet. i have trouble getting dry food for my dog as she wont eat any dry food with veg in and normally leaves all the green, orange and white bits.

[penfold]

Gusto - it's £5.70 for a 10kg bag from Tesco Extra's. It's not quite as good as the more expensive brands, but still far superior to Pedigree, Bakers etc., which have a lot of fat and sugar in.

It's a working dog food and my border collie is doing really well on it. He's full of beans, and has a lovely glossy coat. He just had his annual jabs and check up a few weeks ago and the vet said he's a healthy dog.


Another advocate of Gusto here.....my 4 yr old springer thrives on it. Because it is classed as a food for working dogs there is no VAT charged on it, another reason why it is a very good price!

[suzie3441]

Our darling pooch has hills scienceplan. He has suffered from very nasty hot spots which appear to be diet related and this is the only food he can eat. Bit expensive but better than him suffering and horrendus vet bills. Pets at home sell it so easy to get hold of.

[shoppaholic45]

our dog has chappie biscuits, the resuce centre recommened it.

[Emmamed]

i have used science hill before, i believe you can only get this from the vet. i have trouble getting dry food for my dog as she wont eat any dry food with veg in and normally leaves all the green, orange and white bits.

science plan is what i meant.

[beckieboop]

my westie has sensitive skin, she can only eat certain foods so i swear by bakers sensitive
doesnt break the bank either lol

[flossycandy]

My dogs are on Wagg at the moment and their coats look all lovely and glossy on it. Its really cheap too!

[Maverick]

I use Gusto, and find it very good, I used to use James well Beloved and burns and an american one that I cant remember the name of now.

Def not Iams.

[pookienoodle]

we use ukanuba as our dog is allergic to lamb and certain protiens that are used as fillers.
my mil has just switched to the better by nature which her dogs are thriving on and our dog has had a nibble ot two while visiting and she has had no ill effects.
some vets will give you free samples if you ask.

[MandyJ72]

We have a wee Yorkie and we use Royal Canin and she won't eat any other dry food - tried them all!! We get ours in a HUGE bag from www.zooplus.co.uk whereas the loca Vet & Pet shop only have the 1.5kg bags but the 7.5kg bag saves loads and then I buy 3 tubs of treats as well and that gets me into free shipping and they all last the same length of time. Just bought a big storage tub to keep it in!!

[flookie]

My pup is on the pets at home own brand called wainrights.I tried him on various others after we got him as he was on pedigree biccies and meat which i dont think is that great,but we soon discovered he had a sensitive tummy so i was recommended this brand and he has been fine on it.He loves the salmon and potato biccies and will happily eat as much as you give,and more if you let him!! If you go to pets at home most branches have free samples for you to try.

[Beacon]

Slightly different angle - our Rescue GSD has James Wellbeloved kibble as 'treats', she has several training and behavioural issues we are working through with her, and the animal behaviourist recommended that we use a reward based system involving treats without additives, hence we use James Wellbeloved. This represents one third of her daily food intake, as the behaviourist suggested (there are lots of things she gets rewarded for, and still plenty we ignore/correct!).
The rest of the daily food is made up of tinned Chappie with Rice, (smells revolting, but the Vet recommended it), dog meal without additives and some rice or pasta.
This works for her!
Hope you are able to find a suitable one for your dogs.

[michelle111]

Thankyou everyone for your replies,have repped as many i could (but got to spread a little more love )...im off to ponder all your good advice and get a few free samples:)

[keatergreyhound]

PLease be careful when feeding working dog foods to non workers
I used to work in a vets and saw many a dog have a lot of excess energy from being fed and workers food that took up chewing and other naughty passtimes
The energy and calorie values in working food as very high like a working dog needs
A poor poodle fed on it resembled a horse lol

[ohsobusy]

We used to have a Border Collie (RIP :( )and the only dog food on the market we could find that didn't upset his tummy (and believe me we tried them all) was Denes. They market themselves on the additives that they DON'T put into their pet foods.

Here's the link

http://www.denes.com/dogs/index.php

It certainly isn't cheap as they are not one of the heavily marketed brands. We used to give ours the Denes original cans but recently they have added a dried version to their products. if you don't find any of the others work, I would highly recommend it.

[Becles]

PLease be careful when feeding working dog foods to non workers
I used to work in a vets and saw many a dog have a lot of excess energy from being fed and workers food that took up chewing and other naughty passtimes
The energy and calorie values in working food as very high like a working dog needs
A poor poodle fed on it resembled a horse lol

That's a good point.

I should add - I only feed the "resting" quantity of the Gusto, to stop mine from putting weight on and he's not got excess energy.

[glorious]

My dogs are on Wagg at the moment and their coats look all lovely and glossy on it. Its really cheap too!


Thats another mine has eaten its high in protein and is kind to sensitive stomachs