Thinking of changing my dog's food, advice

afterglow

Hi all
I am thinking of changing my dog's food, he is on royal canin maxy adult at the moment. I looked up the ingriedients and found that the main ingriedient is maize. Put this into google, and found out that maize is just another word for corn.
Have been told that maize/corn is very harmful to dogs and an alergen as well, is this correct?
I have found what I think could be an alternative, called Luath.
Seems to be grain free, and composed of healthy holesome ingriedients.
My dog is a working dog so I would of course like to be feeding him the best dry food and healthiest I could. It would work out the same as I pay now, admitedly a little less in the bag, but I wouldn't care if it was healthier for him.
What do you all think? Thanks
Edited to add this link with details of food, ingriedients etc
http://www.landofholisticpets.ie/shop/healthydogfood/luath-working-sporting.html
Thanks

Nody

RC is very overpriced for what's in it so a change is not a bad idea; what you linked is better but it still has rice as primary ingredient which is not brilliant either (but better then corn flour). Would you consider something along the lines off of Taste of the wild? It's about RC cost but much more meat (33.6% protein vs. 20%) or Applaws (37%).

Taste of the Wild - Praire wrote:

Bison, dried lamb meat, dried chicken meat, eggs, sweet potatoes, peas, potatoes, canola oil, roasted bison, roasted game, natural flavourings, tomato puree, ocean fish meal, salt, choline chloride, dried chicory root, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, yucca schidigera extract, dried fermentation products of Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus plantarum, dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, quality vitamins (A, B1, B2, B6, B12, C, D, E),minerals (iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, manganese sulfate) potassium iodide, manganous oxide, biotin, calcium pantothenate, sodium selenite, folic acid.

Applaws Large Dogs - Chicken wrote:

Chicken 66% (from Dried Chicken), Chicken Mince 8%, Peas 8% (from Dried Peas), Potato Starch 6%, Poultry Oil 2.5% (Source of Omega 6), Beet Pulp, Poultry Gravy, Whole Egg (from Dried Egg), Cellulose Plant Fibre, Minerals, Vitamins, Salmon Oil (source of omega 3), Tomato (from Dried Tomato), Carrot (from Dried Carrot) Chicory Extract (F.O.S), Alfalfa Meal, Seaweed/Kelp, Yeast Extract (Purified Beta Glucan 0.1%), Glucosamine, Methylsulfonylmethane, Chondroitin, Carrot, Peppermint, Paprika Meal, Turmeric, Thyme Extract, Citrus Extract, Taurine 1000 mg/kg, Yucca Extract, Cranberry, Fennel Extract, Carob Extract, Ginger, Rosehip Extract, Dandelion Extract, Rosemary Oil Extract, Oregano, Probiotic: Contains E1705 Enterococcus faecium cernelle 68 (SF68: NCIMB 10415) 1,000,000 cfu/kg as an aid in the establishment, maintenance and restoration of a balanced gut flora in dogs.

afterglow

Nody wrote: »

RC is very overpriced for what's in it so a change is not a bad idea; what you linked is better but it still has rice as primary ingredient which is not brilliant either (but better then corn flour). Would you consider something along the lines off of Taste of the wild? It's about RC cost but much more meat (33.6% protein vs. 20%) or Applaws (37%).

Hi Nody
Wow, thanks so much for that very detailed and helpful reply.I would probably consider applaws as I believe from my limited knowledge of ingriedients that it has something that protects joints.
Not sure if I'll be aloud change food but I hope so.
Hate the idea that I'm feeding my dog anything less than high quality food.
Thanks again for the fantastic response

tk123

For starters Luath is rice based so it's not grain free.. It's also ridiculously over priced imo for what it is - Burns with some herbs thrown in? I've had very bad experiences with it - my dog was on it for 9 months because they used it at daycare and seemed easier to have him on the same food..then all of sudden became intolerant to it and was very sick to the point the vet gave him 24hours to improve or he would have been taken in for IV fluids.. Fast forward and it has my heart broken with my pup - the few pieces of Luath she's picking up off the floor at daycare (she's not getting it as treats or meals there) are running the insides out of her for 3 days every time she goes and I couldn't keep weight on her so can't send her! . I know of other people who've had bad experiences with it too.

Nody

afterglow wrote: »

Hi Nody
Wow, thanks so much for that very detailed and helpful reply.I would probably consider applaws as I believe from my limited knowledge of ingriedients that it has something that protects joints.
Not sure if I'll be aloud change food but I hope so.
Hate the idea that I'm feeding my dog anything less than high quality food.
Thanks again for the fantastic response

Probably thinking of the omega 6 oil; you can add this (and other things that help) yourself with for example salmon oil and you can dose as needed etc. Other dog users on the forum can give you better advice on that then I can though.

muddypaws

OP, why do you want to change the food, is your dog not doing well on it?

afterglow

Hi all

Firstly, thanks to TK123 for your account of your experiences with this food, won't be considering it quite so much now after reading what you've said.
Muddypaws, allow me to explain why I want to change the food.
My dog is working, not, admitedly, as much as when we were in training(he's a guide dog), but he is working nonetheless.
Because of his reduced workload, I have reduced his feed right down to just one cup a day now, as he had put on some weight which we needed to get off. Last month, before I took the decision to reduce the feed, and on a cup and a half a day, he weighed just over 36 kg so we were going in the right direction, he had recently been up to 38 which worried/scared/frightened the sh*t out of me, as I want to look after/take care of him best I can, because I don't want a situation where he is taken from me, nor do I want a situation in which it is percieved that I don't care about his weight because this is absolutely not the case, hense the reason I took the decision to reduce his feed. So after feeding him this way for a month, and feeling like his harnus was loose, so thinking he lost weight, we brought him to the vet today, only to find he'd put on a few grams. He is now 37.1 which makes no sense to me. Add to this the fact that I found out what I did about the maize and that is what has prompted this thinking. His relieving pattern is very good though, and with changing the food, you do risk upsetting this, so I would be weary, but I just really am at the end of my teather/don't know what else I can do.
As I say any ideas appreciated, and as already stated, I hate the idea that maize is harmful and it irks me to go on feeding him this while knowing this fact.
Thanks

Sasso

Dont forget to wean dog off old food onto new food when you decide on new dish, namely start off with about 10-15% new food to 85% old food and gradually increase new food proportion to eventually 100% new over about 10 days. otherwise may reject outright change. That was advise from my pet shop anyway

muddypaws

What sort of dog is he? If a labrador, have you tried the RC labrador specific food?

afterglow

muddypaws wrote: »

What sort of dog is he? If a labrador, have you tried the RC labrador specific food?

Hi again muddypaws
He is half lab half retriever so the lab speciffic food probably would not be for him.

muddypaws

It might be, if he is inclined to put weight on, sounds like he has that particular labrador gene.

stoeger2000

muddypaws wrote: »

It might be, if he is inclined to put weight on, sounds like he has that particular labrador gene.

I don't agree with breed specific food. I think it's a marketing gimmick by the dog food companies. Every dog is different. Say you have a lab that gets walked twice a day for 30 mins at a time, and I have a lab that is outdoors on a farm all day and gets twice that much exercise.
And we should feed them the exact same food??
Better off go look at the ingredients of dog food and decide what is best for the animal.

Pinklady11

I have my Lab on the RC Labrador food for about 6-7mths now and he is doing great on it.

Like most Labs ours started to gain a lot of weight but since putting him on this the weight is coming off. We also cut out all treats except for the small rawhide stick in the evening and increased his exercise. Although he always had 2 walks a day, we have now included an extra 15 minute run in the afternoon.

I know a lot of people on this forum seem against RC but since my dog is on it he has:

Improved softer and shinier coat
Cleared up a skin irritation
Lost weight
Cleared up his flatulence problem!!!!!
He also loves the larger kibble size.

In the past I tried Red Mills, Burns, and James Wellbeloved and before all them he was on canned food which was totally wrong for him. He didn't like any of them. The James Wellbeloved he would eat eventually but the others he completely turned his nose up and refused point blank to eat them, even when we mixed some fish in.

Really it seems to be a bit of a minefield when trying to find a good dog food that suits your dog. A bit of trial and error along the way. Either way I hope some of this might help in your decision.

Good luck.