Dry Food for 4 1/2 months old boxer

butterfly1

HI all,

I have a 4 1/2 months old boxer called Bella. she is currently on Orijen puppy dry food however her coat is wirey / bristley and lost its shine.
I am would like to change her dry food but I am a bit lost with all the different brands.

I heard of Ekanuba, Purina Pro Plan, James Wellbeloved, Burns...

Could you please, give some advise

aoife2k

I've never heard of that particular brand of dog food and I'm by no means an expert but I'm just giving you my opinion based on my own experience.

I feed my boxer Top Dog it's available from co-ops/farm supply shops. I started off feedin her Gain Puppy then gradually introduced her to the Top Dog. Her coat is sooo smooth and shiney it's great.. and we don't bath her very often (only when it's really necessary) but she never looses her shine and everyone compliments her on it. You can buy the 15KG bags for €10.99 and it does my Bailey for ages.

There's real meat bits in it and it comes in dry form but we soak it over night so it's nice and sloppy in the morning for her which she loves. If you're still not sure, you can always visit a local pet shop or a vet for advice on the best food for your dog.

I'm sure other dog owners will have their own opinions but at least you've got something to start on now!

Hope it helps

happypuppy

I did loads of research after i realised my westie was not doing well on the dry food i was feeding him and I decided on Orijen . It is a little more expensive than other brands but as he is a small dog it is not so bad not sure about how much a boxer eats.

I find it brillant he is looking so healthy and eats it easily unlike the previous brand

How this helps

mymo

James Wellbeloved seems like a good quality food, better than the other two you mentioned.
I tried it with my two dogs but they wouldn't eat it. So stuck with the Royal canin.
I do sometimes mix in some sardines in olive oil or other fish in oil and a bit of veg(they love brocolli).
The best thing is to look at the ingredients, Named meat(chicken, lamb etc) is best, not meat derivatives, and not too many other ingredients. Avoid too much cereal and additives, but minerals and oils are ok.
Orijen is a very good food but may not agree with your dog, we had a boxer cross years ago that must have tried every food on the market, he had a very dodgey tummy.

Just when you change food mix it in a little at a time increasing gradually, or it may upset the pups tummy.
Best of luck and enjoy the new pup.

paultf

My 7 year old cocker's coat has really improved since I switched him over to Burns. He is a blue roan and for the first time I can really see the blue roan colouring come through i.e. a silver/blue colouring. His coat is shiney and thick aswell.

Burns is the complete opposite of Orijen though. Whereas Orijen has a high meat content (70% I think), Burns has a high grain content (80% rice). Burns has good quality ingredients IMO and it suits my dogs.

peasant

butterfly1 wrote: »

HI all,

I have a 4 1/2 months old boxer called Bella. she is currently on Orijen puppy dry food however her coat is wirey / bristley and lost its shine.

I would suspect that has to do with her changing her coat from puppy to adult and not with the food

butterfly1

thank you all for your reply.

EGAR

butterfly1 wrote: »

HI all,

I have a 4 1/2 months old boxer called Bella. she is currently on Orijen puppy dry food however her coat is wirey / bristley and lost its shine.
I am would like to change her dry food but I am a bit lost with all the different brands.

I heard of Ekanuba, Purina Pro Plan, James Wellbeloved, Burns...

Could you please, give some advise

Hi,

if she is 4 1/2 months then she is teething as well which sometimes can affect the quality of the coat.

supermum1

I'd be wary of changing from orijen, I really do think it's the best food. also if your dog is used to a grain free diet you should really try to stick with that or your dog could react.

Also if you switch your dog to a lower grade food you will probably see worse than a bad coat!!

How long has the pup been on the orijen? It could just be still adapting to it.

You could try using some cod liver oil in the food if the coat is the only issue, gives it a lovely shine and is really good for them!!

I'm really fussy about dog foods and have done years of research, I have found that a lot of brands charge far too much for what the food actually is, so personally I would stay away from foods like royal canin.

If you really want to switch you could try ecodog or arden grange

butterfly1 wrote: »

HI all,

I have a 4 1/2 months old boxer called Bella. she is currently on Orijen puppy dry food however her coat is wirey / bristley and lost its shine.
I am would like to change her dry food but I am a bit lost with all the different brands.

I heard of Ekanuba, Purina Pro Plan, James Wellbeloved, Burns...

Could you please, give some advise