What's next for their food

monkeysnapper

Every now and again I've changed the food I buy my dogs. It comes down to cost and what's available at my small local pet shop . I started my 2 westies on

Arden grange for their 1 st year and half, the lady shop owner said she could no longer get it so I changed to beta sensitive . I found that food quite cheap because I started buying my food from pet mania. Ussually it will go on offer for 29.99 for a 15 kg bag.

I changed then for a while to clinivet , I think this may be a pet mania brand.

Then last few times changed to wafcol.

My dogs have never had a problem with any of the food and I've always introduced foods gradually.

I was at a pet show at the weekend and I saw a company called husse. It's 54 euro per 15 kg bad delivered to your door. I'm at the stage now where my dogs are 5 and 6 and I don't want to keep messing with their food any longer. But on same note things are really hard in our house cost wise and if it was up to my other half they'd be both on aldi complete.

Can anyone give me some good advice on a dog food for westies that comes in a 15kg bag maybe and won't get me kicked out to live in the shed.

My budget can't really go over 50.

Thanks

jimf

find a food thats not too high in protein i have 5 springer spaniels i feed them on gain 20 and have done for years the food is good and easily obtained just for their coats i add a spoonful of apple cider vinegar once a week and 1 raw egg every 2 weeks works for me and there in great nic cost per bag 17eu

boomerang

Skinner's Field and Trial, Duck & Rice variety. It'd be better quality than Husse but as it's VAT free it's only €32 per 15kg bag, including delivery. It would be akin in quality to Arden Grange, Burns or James Wellbeloved.

Lots of folks here on the forum discovered it lately and are really happy with it. :-)

It's available through Amazon or www.vetuk.co.uk

boomerang

Jimf, how do you find they tolerate the cider vinegar? I tried adding it to my crew's water bowl but they were having none of it! Must try sneaking a teaspoon full into the food instead.

jimf

boomerang wrote: »

Jimf, how do you find they tolerate the cider vinegar? I tried adding it to my crew's water bowl but they were having none of it! Must try sneaking a teaspoon full into the food instead.

i tried that as well but like you said not havin it so tried it in food just spread it around only a small spoon now mind you dont overdo it

its easier to conceal in their food i think

some dogs just dont take to it but if they do within 1 month you will see a big difference in there coats and overall appearance

monkeysnapper

boomerang wrote: »

Skinner's Field and Trial, Duck & Rice variety. It'd be better quality than Husse but as it's VAT free it's only €32 per 15kg bag, including delivery. It would be akin in quality to Arden Grange, Burns or James Wellbeloved.

Lots of folks here on the forum discovered it lately and are really happy with it. :-)

It's available through Amazon or www.vetuk.co.uk

I had a look at that food, looks really decent for money, you'd have to buy 2 15kgvbags to get value out of it , you always worry when you buy a large amount " what if they don't take to it". But like I said they never turned their nose up to any food I've ever given them.

It feels really od buying food over the Internet . At the moment skinners seems perfect. Does anyone els recomend this food.

Any westie owners use this skinners trial and duck .

kylith

I've just switched my pair to Markus Muhle, which is on permanent special offer on Zooplus: 30kg for ~€60. We're still mid switch over at the moment, but the poo is already better, and there's less scratching going on.

paultf

monkeysnapper wrote: »

I had a look at that food, looks really decent for money, you'd have to buy 2 15kgvbags to get value out of it , you always worry when you buy a large amount " what if they don't take to it"

Just to say you can get this food on amazon for £20/15kg bag (about 25 euro).

Set up a "Subscribe & Save" to get the discount and amazon will automatically deliver.

You can order 1 bag at a time if you want and delivery is free.

boomerang

I think a few people here on boards contacted Skinners for samples before ordering a big bag.

paultf, I'm delighted with the cider vinegar tip - will definitely try it!

jimf

kylith wrote: »

I've just switched my pair to Markus Muhle, which is on permanent special offer on Zooplus: 30kg for ~€60. We're still mid switch over at the moment, but the poo is already better, and there's less scratching going on.

watch the protein content keep it 20 or under less scratching issues

LisaO

jimf wrote: »

watch the protein content keep it 20 or under less scratching issues

I would have thought skin issues such as scratching would be more likely to be caused by cereals & additives such as colour, rather than (quality) protein?

kylith

jimf wrote: »

watch the protein content keep it 20 or under less scratching issues

LisaO wrote: »

I would have thought skin issues such as scratching would be more likely to be caused by cereals & additives such as colour, rather than (quality) protein?

They've always been on about 22% protein, I'm fairly sure it's the high cereal content in Creavens Chicken that's making her itchy because she's never had a problem with higher meat/lower grain content foods.

jimf

LisaO wrote: »

I would have thought skin issues such as scratching would be more likely to be caused by cereals & additives such as colour, rather than (quality) protein?

maybe you are correct this is advice i was given by an old family friend he was a vet

had a springer spaniel who had skin problems he advised me to cut back on the protein content in his food from 28 to 20 and 2 weeks later he was back to normal with no other treatment and used same brand only lower protein

tk123

jimf wrote: »

maybe you are correct this is advice i was given by an old family friend he was a vet

had a springer spaniel who had skin problems he advised me to cut back on the protein content in his food from 28 to 20 and 2 weeks later he was back to normal with no other treatment and used same brand only lower protein

This is a common misconception - you need to look at the source/quality of the protein. Protein coming from rice/crap cereals doesn't compare to protein coming from meat. My dogs daily meals are 75% protein (coming from raw chicken) and his skin and coat among other things are in perfect health - no scratching.

Back on topic...OP I only feed cereal free - raw for his meals but he gets a handful of dry food a day for treats on walks/for training at home. The dry food lasts us ages and the raw is so cheap (€25 a month for a 30kg retriever) so I decided to spend a bit extra this time and went for a 6.8kg bag of Taste of the Wild for approx €32 from Amazon. Generally with a higher quality food you'd feed less so it may work out the same as buying a cheaper bag where you'd feed more.

jimf

thank you tk123

so you think protein from a good quality meat source is ok

i suppose this really makes sense dogs in the wild all food being meat of some kind

meoklmrk91

+1 for skinners
I am very happy with the results I have gotten, he loves it, actually drools when he knows its dinner time which is great to see.

His coat his shiny, it smells at the moment but he is in need of a bath so I can't blame the food, only the mud and rain, poos are good, and the price is great, what more can I say, if you email skinners they will send you out little samples, or if you are anywhere near limerick ill give you a bit of my fellas so you can try it for a few days and see how if goes.

monkeysnapper

I was at a pet show last Sunday and they were giving out samples of dog food at stands. Their was one stand, husse , did anyone on here try their food .

Basically they deliver to your door from a local rep . They advertise on their site 54 euro for a 15 kg bag. Guy just rang me and said he does it for 50' I asked if he could do better price for 2 bags and said no probs.

So did anyone try this food. I just gave my 2 some of the samples and seemed to like it

I'm still tempted on the skinners tho

Oh I bought a 7.5 kg bag of burns to tie me over from my local pet shop so I didn't actually buy this husse food . I said it'd get back to him

monkeysnapper

meoklmrk91 wrote: »

+1 or if you are anywhere near limerick ill give you a bit of my fellas so you can try it for a few days and see how if goes.

I live in south Kerry so no but thank you for the kind gesture

Cherry Blossom

jimf wrote: »

thank you tk123

so you think protein from a good quality meat source is ok

i suppose this really makes sense dogs in the wild all food being meat of some kind

You can't compare raw feeding to dry dog food in that way. Raw meat is between 15 and 20% protein depending on what cut it is etc. Again fat content depends on the cut and the rest of it is water. Dry kibble on the other hand contains virtually no moisture content, is highly concentrated and the protein has been chemically altered by the preparation process. Stick to low protein, low cereal content dry foods for Westies, personally I'd avoid chicken in dry foods with the exception of Pro-plan as it's prepared differently.

I stick to Barking heads (Lamb or Salmon) & Fish for dogs for my two. They are both fish-junkies anyway

monkeysnapper

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

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I stick to Barking heads (Lamb or Salmon) & Fish for dogs for my two. They are both fish-junkies anyway

Where do you buy that, do you have 2 westies as well .?

RubyGirl

jimf wrote: »

find a food thats not too high in protein i have 5 springer spaniels i feed them on gain 20 and have done for years the food is good and easily obtained just for their coats i add a spoonful of apple cider vinegar once a week and 1 raw egg every 2 weeks works for me and there in great nic cost per bag 17eu

Gain 20, is that the greyhound food?

jimf

yes it would be classed as greyhound food have used for years with great success
very happy with it

boomerang

Jim, just as an aside I got some unpasteurised cider vinegar, added a teaspoon each to the girls' tripe this morning and they wolfed it down regardless! ((((evil cackle)))

jimf

boomerang wrote: »

Jim, just as an aside I got some unpasteurised cider vinegar, added a teaspoon each to the girls' tripe this morning and they wolfed it down regardless! ((((evil cackle)))

remember once a week now they have the taste

boomerang

I'll give it in their Saturday tripe, so it'll be always easy to remember.