Hi i have asked this before but am still stuck?

Question

i want to feed my 2 year collie/spaniel the best diet i can,at the moment he is on commercial dry complete food (asda own make) mixed with a tin of tuna but i have heard a lot of bad things about it that it's like feeding them a mcdonalds,i have been looking in pet stores and the best complete food i seen was hill's science diet but it is far too dear,i am kind of on a budget so can any1 suggest the best diet for him i have seen a few brands that are reasonably priced in sainsburys they were 'HiLife,Iams and Purina are any of these good?and is it ok to keep mixing tins of tuna fish in sunflower oil with his dry food as it conains salt but i find dry food a little bland so like to mix something with it,also he is becoming a little overweight

Answer 1

ANy dog food with the main ingrediant as "meat" is a good food. I give my dogs either Iams lamb and rice, or Purina One lamb and rice...nothing with the main ingred. as CORN...have you ever seen a wild dog grazing in a corn field? Corn is just a filler...that's why most cheap dog foods have corn as the main ingred. It's CHEAP......so if you want your dog to have a good diet, a little more $$ has to be spent. Unfortunately...but the good thing is, since it is high quality food, they eat less, because they get full faster. And this does even out the cheap/expensive thing.

Answer 2

I used to use Iams and Eukanuba, but the Iams company was purchased by Purina and they add a lot of by-products and less-than-great ingredients to keep the cost down. Good food is more expensive than lesser food.

I did a lot of research a while back to find what truly were the best foods. My first choice was "Blue", which is not everywhere but PetsMart carries it. It gave my dogs some gas, so I had to switch. My second choice was Royal Canin. Both have some choices in match to breed. I have Golden Retrievers and they are pups, so they have a Large Breed Puppy formula that is supposed to help avoid joint development problems and keep them from growing too fast on a too-rich food. They have other formulas--some are even for specific breeds.

I supplement with fish oil every once in a while and brewer's yeast (from the pet store) every day.

To get the food to be less dry, I simply pour 1/2 cup warm water (barely warmer than lukewarm) on their 2+ cups of food. They love it and it takes 30 seconds to warm 1 cup of water in the microwave.

Answer 3

Have you thought of making some dog food yourself. There are loads of web sites that tell you how and what nutrients a dog needs. You can buy meat quite cheaply in bulk and make it up and freeze it. That way you can put just what you want to in the food and you know it got all the vitamins he need. It may also be a good idea to cut down on the amount you're feeding him as he is becoming over weight. You may be better mixing his food with an oxo or even just warm water, instead of tuna in oil.

Answer 4

I read an article in Which? magazine about Iams/Eukaneuba pet foods, and the conclusion was that you are just as well giving your dog a much cheaper complete food. Dog food is produced under strict guidelines and has to reach certain nutritional standards. Dry mix is best for dogs, its healthier for them than wet foods, Baker's Complete is a good one, a friend who breeds German Pointers always uses it. Just because it doesnt seem interesting to you, doesnt mean the dog doesnt enjoy it! A nice big bone from the butchers shop or the occasional pigs ear or chew stick will keep him happy between feeds. If he is becoming overweight he simply needs a bit less food. Remember sunflower oil although good, is full of calories.

I don't mean to be gruesome, but if you are an animal lover as you clearly are, take a look at this website. I think it will put you off Iams.


http://www.uncaged.co.uk/iams.htm

Answer 5

As you've already found out, ask a question about what to feed your dog & you'll get as many different answers as you get answers!
The best food for your dog is what suits him and what suits your pocket the best.

Most expensive isn't necessarily the best. You'd be better off mixing Chappie tins with complete than Tuna & Chappie is one of the cheapest foods around, it's tried & tested too. You can feed a dog perfectly well on Chappie & ordinary mixer - it's what dog owners did years ago, before all these complete foods came in. If you ask your vet, he'll probably recommend the food that his practice is selling, so it won't be an independant view.
I don't feed complete because I don't feed myself on 100% processed food, so I don't feed my dogs on it either. I would steer clear of any own brand complete as it's probably overly full of cereal.
You could look up BARF diet on Google, it's one of the cheaper options for feeding the dog & healthy too - you don't have to become a fanatic about it. It's said that you have to feed Complete so you know your dog is getting a balanced diet - but you don't eat complete yourself & presumably manage to have a balanced diet!

Answer 6

science diet is crap. And to be honest all the foods u buy at the grocery store are also. The foods r full of fillers and ingrediants not good for your dog. But......... since you r on a budget i would suggest pedigree even though i would never feed my dogs any of it as it is full of fillers also. putting tuna in the food is okay, tuna is good for the dog, but i would cut down on it. Feed in the food maybe once or twice a week and not every feeding.
I feed the raw diet to my dogs, but it is not for everyone.
the best foods r foods with all natural ingrediants like canidae, solid gold, california natural, dick van pattens formula and wellness. good luck.
u r going to get alot of differant opinions on this.

Answer 7

I buy pet mince from the butchers and cook it up with rice. My 2 GSDs love this and have always eaten it. Along with the cats - they get 6lbs of the meat a day between them all. (2x GSD 14 Xcats) I also leave them a big dish of Supadog sensitive that they can help themselves to as they like - thats the dogs the cats get breederpack.
My friend uses the same to feed his 2 GSDs and springer spaniel - they are all looking good on 3lb of meat a day between them.
Hope this helps - it is way cheaper than any tins.

Answer 8

Look at the ingrediants for the dried food. With regards to the tuna - it's good for them and they love it, although try to get it in brine rather than oil, and drain before serving. My collie is allergic to meat, and so is fed a vegetarian complete food, and tinned tuna. We ran out of dog meat for our other two dogs one night so gave them tuna that night, after that they didn't want to eat the meat, they wanted the tuna as well.

Answer 9

We feed our dog Royal Canine, it's a holistic dog food and yes its more expensive, but the better the quality, the less amount of food you go through. As for the fish, I wouldn't be adding it. Dogs do not need a variety in their diet, it can upset their tummy and give them the runs.

By the way, how do you know his dry is bland? (lol)

Good Luck

Answer 10

your dog is quite an active breed have you thought of something like valumix or Norfolk gold you add water to these or i sometimes add gravy or left over veg and reduce the amount of dog food accordingly but only sometimes just so my dog dosent get board. We used valumix at the kennels were i worked and all the dogs were healthy and happy these are available at pet stores the amount for breeds/size of dogs are generally on the packet like humans dogs have different metabolism and thay are just a guide if he is putting on wight try reducing the food amount a little and give plenty of exercise or ask a vet if you are worried