Is the Royal Canin dog food any good?

johnnewtothis

I was just wondering if I could get some recommendations on the Royal Canin meduim junior dog food?

We just got a new cocker spaniel and the breeder has him on the royal canin medium junior food. As this is my first pup I want him to be on the best. Also Petstop have €20 off the 15kg junior bag which helps. Should I keep him on this.

Any help would be great.

cocker5

johnnewtothis wrote: »

I was just wondering if I could get some recommendations on the Royal Canin meduim junior dog food?

We just got a new cocker spaniel and the breeder has him on the royal canin medium junior food. As this is my first pup I want him to be on the best. Also Petstop have €20 off the 15kg junior bag which helps. Should I keep him on this.

Any help would be great.

Royal canin is pretty low quality dog food with a high price tag.

here is the ingredients directly from their site:

Ingredients

COMPOSITION: dehydrated poultry protein, animal fats, maize, dehydrated pork protein*, wheat, beet pulp, wheat flour, rice, maize flour, hydrolysed animal proteins, vegetable protein isolate*, maize gluten, fish oil, yeasts, soya oil, minerals, fructo-oligo-saccharides, hydrolysed yeast (source of manno-oligo-saccharides), marigold extract (source of lutein).

ADDITIVES (per kg): Nutritional additives: Vitamin A: 11800 IU, Vitamin D3: 1000 IU, E1 (Iron): 46 mg, E2 (Iodine): 3.6 mg, E4 (Copper): 8 mg, E5 (Manganese): 60 mg, E6 (Zinc): 199 mg, E8 (Selenium): 0.08 mg - Preservatives - Antioxidants.

ANALYTICAL CONSTITUENTS: Protein: 32% - Fat content: 20% - Crude ash: 6.4% - Crude fibres: 1.7% - Per kg: Calcium: 11.5 g - Phosphorus: 9.1 g - Manno-oligo-saccharides: 0.5 g - Fructo-oligo-saccharides: 3.4 g.

its full of bulking agents with little nutritional value.

What is your price rage OP and posters can recommend decent dog food within your price range?

cocker5

ps whatever dog food you move to.. do it over a course of a week dont change over all at once it can cause upset tummies etc.. add a bit of the new food bit by bit each day.

irish_goat

We feed our springer cross and cavalier cross Royal Canin and it does them grand. To not put you off your lunch, it's one of the few brands that doesn't "disagree" with their bowels...

We get it quite cheap though so aren't paying the premium price (€7.70 per kg).

cocker5

irish_goat wrote: »

We feed our springer cross and cavalier cross Royal Canin and it does them grand. To not put you off your lunch, it's one of the few brands that doesn't "disagree" with their bowels...

We get it quite cheap though so aren't paying the premium price (€7.70 per kg).

€7.70 a KG... that is a premium price for a poor brand

taste of the wild is a far better brand and better ingredients yet its €4.77 a KG

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dry_dog_food/taste_of_the_wild/231924

its utter madness to feed your dogs royal canin when they are far better brands for a cheaper price

Have you looked at the content of RC?

irish_goat

Sorry, €5.50 per kilo (forgot the bag is 14kg). The missus is a vet, I can't really argue with her over the quality of the food. The dogs are happy and healthy so I've no need to question her on it anyway.

johnnewtothis

Thank you for the info guys. I'll keep him on the royal canin medium junior for the moment as it is what the breeder had him on and it is on special on Petstop.ie (€3.99/kg)

cocker5

irish_goat wrote: »

Sorry, €5.50 per kilo (forgot the bag is 14kg). The missus is a vet, I can't really argue with her over the quality of the food. The dogs are happy and healthy so I've no need to question her on it anyway.

Ok Irish Goat - but just to note (no disrespect intended) Vets while medically very knowledgeable alot are not very knowledgeable when its comes to animal nutrition and behavourial issues in dogs - the ingredients speak for themselves, its a not a case of trusting someone or who right and who wrong - the ingredients are plain to see.

Anyway OP personally i would look at a higher quality food for better price.. do some research any food where they have fillers, maize, wheat pulp etc are not good quality food... can lead to all sorts of skin conditions, intestinal issues in dogs - best of luck with the new dog - post a pic

Angel2016

johnnewtothis wrote: »

I was just wondering if I could get some recommendations on the Royal Canin meduim junior dog food?

We just got a new cocker spaniel and the breeder has him on the royal canin medium junior food. As this is my first pup I want him to be on the best. Also Petstop have €20 off the 15kg junior bag which helps. Should I keep him on this.

Any help would be great.

I got a donation of dog food for my elderly lady it was called Canagan dog food and it is brilliant she gobbled it all up and she can be fussy her coat was gleaming and her toilet was excellent I would highly recommend that one or else I use the Gain Senior Dog food its about 40 for a large bag that will last me 2 months, I know there is two qualities of their food so this range is the higher one its smaller pellets so my dog loves it.
She has loads of energy and her toilet is good too which is a good indication for me.

pawrick

If you are sticking with the Royal Canin price around some more as there are cheaper suppliers even allowing for the discount you mentioned. Try the german version of zooplus for example. zooplus.de which also delivers to Ireland.

If your dog likes it I'd be inclined to stick with it, it's not the best food out there when you compare the ingredients with similar priced products but it is very overpriced in Irish pet stores.

Bells21

We had ours on royal canin for a while, we moved from Burns as they had gotten fairly fed up of it. Moved to royal canin on advice of vet. We took them off it fairly quickly as it ran through them even though we'd slowly introduced it(poops were very soft and yellow). They were also constantly hungry on it. We moved to Acana which they are thriving on.

Bunnyslippers

I wouldn't touch royal canin either, our vets used to stock it only because they got a good bit of money for it, as others have said poor quality high price. James wellbeloved isn't so bad, as well as taste of the wild - our last rescue pup loved that stuff so can highly reccomend that.

650Ginge

What about Marcus Mulhe?

How would you guys rate that?

We changed to it a while ago and they seem to do well on it.

cocker5

650Ginge wrote: »

What about Marcus Mulhe?

How would you guys rate that?

We changed to it a while ago and they seem to do well on it.

Haven't used it for my dog bit do know people using it and have good results and some people do recommend it on here!

ejabrod

We have a beagle 1 year old and have fed her Barking Heads puppy and now junior. Apparently grain free and natural.
She loves it and have had no issues with her tummy.
Personally don't rate Royal Canin based on the ingredients.

Nody

650Ginge wrote: »

What about Marcus Mulhe?

How would you guys rate that?

We changed to it a while ago and they seem to do well on it.

For it's price it's among best in category (talking NaturNah version); not top of the line from content alone as it has rice and maize but definitely not poor stuff.

stesaurus

There really should be laws against Vets being able to push certain dog foods. Royal Canin is pretty poor stuff but when you have a high price tag and your trusted local Vets telling you it will solve your dogs problems then you get sucked in. Most people don't research this stuff and Vets are effectively preying on the vulnerable. Can you imagine the uproar if your local GP started stocking weight watchers ready meals?
OP there is far better stuff online. Zooplus is fantastic, delivery within a day or so. Personally I'd recommend taking a look at Orijen, Acana, Taste of the Wild and James Wellbeloved. And if you fancy looking into a raw diet there's plenty of info online too

Springwell

Royal Canin isn't great in terms of content but if it works for your dog then that's what important. If you want to try something you can pick up locally Red Mills Engage Duck and Rice or Salmon and Rice are better quality. If you're willing to order online Zooplus has lots of options - I use Acana but there's several others in the same price range. I did feed Markus Muhle and the dogs did well on it but it didn't have enough calories for my working dogs.

Springwell

All About Dog Food - is a great independent site to research food options. If they don't have a food listed copying and pasting the ingredients into the review generator is a good rough guide also. Being UK based it has most of the brands you'd find here or on Zooplus

cmssjone

s.welstead wrote:

There really should be laws against Vets being able to push certain dog foods. Royal Canin is pretty poor stuff but when you have a high price tag and your trusted local Vets telling you it will solve your dogs problems then you get sucked in. Most people don't research this stuff and Vets are effectively preying on the vulnerable. Can you imagine the uproar if your local GP started stocking weight watchers ready meals? OP there is far better stuff online. Zooplus is fantastic, delivery within a day or so. Personally I'd recommend taking a look at Orijen, Acana, Taste of the Wild and James Wellbeloved. And if you fancy looking into a raw diet there's plenty of info online too

We use orijen for our little fella. It seems expensive at first but he doesn't need much of it each day so it only works out slightly more expensive than other brands. Full of protein and no fillers.

johnnewtothis

Hi guys, I really appreciate all the information and guidance. I ordered the Royal Canin Medium Junior from Petstop.ie yesterday and the post man just delivered it. I can't fault the service and price so I'll see how he gets on with this food. Fingers crossed he gets on well and wont have to change him. Ill keep you all posted.

Iang87

Hi Lads, Really interesting thread. Was always led to believe royal canin was high quality. We have a Pug and a Pug cross and they've always been on Royal Canin and rarely have issues but I'd be interested in trying a higher quality food.

Can anyone let me know what type of taste of the wild food they have tried or other higher quality food types. Our dogs food only costs approx 50 quid every 6-7 weeks so its not exactly bank breaking stuff. I wouldnt be bothered paying a little more for higher quality.

The pug is 4 since April and the cross which we believe to be a Bugg is 2 in September. Thanks

Springwell

I've used High Prairie Puppy, SouthWest Canyon Adult and Sierra Mountain Adult from the TOTW range with good success. I now use Acana Lamb and Okagan Apple, Acana Sport and Agility and Acana Light and Fit which give me similar results for slightly less money (they do have a small amounts of oats in but my dogs are fine with this, TOTW has no grains. Acana are updating their formulas currently to remove the oats also).

Ashbx

I have recently moved to Markus Mühle and so far I am very happy.

I often wonder how much difference the food makes in dogs though. Growing up, we had three Tibetan terriers in the family home who lived to 17 and two till they were 18, never had any health issues.....and they were fed on Spars own brand tinned food! :eek:

Knine

Ashbx wrote: »

I have recently moved to Markus Mühle and so far I am very happy.

I often wonder how much difference the food makes in dogs though. Growing up, we had three Tibetan terriers in the family home who lived to 17 and two till they were 18, never had any health issues.....and they were fed on Spars own brand tinned food! :eek:

Yes good point. Dogs are not living any longer now although I guess the next 10 years should hopefully show some improvements with the current trend of feeding better food.

stefanovich

Bells21 wrote: »

We had ours on royal canin for a while, we moved from Burns as they had gotten fairly fed up of it. Moved to royal canin on advice of vet. We took them off it fairly quickly as it ran through them even though we'd slowly introduced it(poops were very soft and yellow). They were also constantly hungry on it. We moved to Acana which they are thriving on.

Are vets paid to promote it? Our vet also recommends (and sells) it. Didn't recommend anything else.

Springwell

No, vets are not paid to promote it but they need to stock the veterinary diets produced by Royal Canin and Science Plan/Hills for specific issues (such as low phosphorous for kidney issues) but to stock these they generally have to stock the "core" range of foods also - rock and a hard place really.

spurious

Angel2016 wrote: »

I got a donation of dog food for my elderly lady it was called Canagan dog food and it is brilliant she gobbled it all up and she can be fussy her coat was gleaming and her toilet was excellent I would highly recommend that one or else I use the Gain Senior Dog food its about 40 for a large bag that will last me 2 months, I know there is two qualities of their food so this range is the higher one its smaller pellets so my dog loves it.
She has loads of energy and her toilet is good too which is a good indication for me.

We use Canagans too and because it is decent quality, they don't need as much of it. Less stuff in, less stuff out.

marienbad

great thread - what are the opinions on Purina Proplan (medium) for a Cocker ?

hairyslug

We have ours on royal canin, he was brought up on it, we are slowly moving over to a majority fresh diet.

xECompanyx

I've had my golden Cocker on royal canin since birth (he's 2), royal canin medium, puppy version for year one and he's currently on junior. I swear by it, the dog is thriving with a healthy shiny cost. I buy the 15kg bag on Amazon uk for 36stg with free super saver delivery to Ireland. Royal Canin is the best of it, I would not agree with some of the negative comments posted..

jockeyboard

Sorry what do you mean be the dogs toilet is good?

Springwell

xECompanyx wrote: »

I've had my golden Cocker on royal canin since birth (he's 2), royal canin medium, puppy version for year one and he's currently on junior. I swear by it, the dog is thriving with a healthy shiny cost. I buy the 15kg bag on Amazon uk for 36stg with free super saver delivery to Ireland. Royal Canin is the best of it, I would not agree with some of the negative comments posted..

The ingredients used are not high quality and it has a lot of cheap fillers which doesn't fit with the premium price for it. However, different dogs are suited by different foods. If it works for you that's great.

FrostyJack

jockeyboard wrote: »

Sorry what do you mean be the dogs toilet is good?

Healthy looking, solid etc Some foods cause particular dogs waste to become liquid.

Nody

marienbad wrote: »

great thread - what are the opinions on Purina Proplan (medium) for a Cocker ?

It's similar quality to RC; at the end it's a question what will work for your dog and wallet.

deisedays

A big bowl of scraps is as good as anything
Go to a rendering plant sometime and see what goes into "dog food"
I guarantee, the remains of your dinner etc will look like much better feeding for your dog.
Don't waste your money on expensive highly marketed pet food.

muddypaws

deisedays wrote: »

A big bowl of scraps is as good as anything
Go to a rendering plant sometime and see what goes into "dog food"
I guarantee, the remains of your dinner etc will look like much better feeding for your dog.
Don't waste your money on expensive highly marketed pet food.

Except that Royal Canin and the other premium and super premium foods use human grade meat.

deisedays

muddypaws wrote: »

Except that Royal Canin and the other premium and super premium foods use human grade meat.

All offals and other associated crap are regarded as fit for human consumption once they've passed vet inspection.
Doesn't take away from the fact that it's a load of rubbish to be feeding your dog.

Scraps all the way. Bit of chicken and potato better than any processed dog offal.... Sorry I meant food

SillyMangoX

I don't see what the problem with offal in the food is? Dogs would hardly be going around filleting breasts of chicken or t bone steak in their hunting days they'd just get stuck in! Some of the better brands of food, especially wet food, will even tell you the percentages of different offal in the foods, and people who raw feed make up a certain percentage of the food with offal. It's a lot better than the beaks and bumholes that end up in the cheapest of cheap foods!

muddypaws

deisedays wrote: »

All offals and other associated crap are regarded as fit for human consumption once they've passed vet inspection.
Doesn't take away from the fact that it's a load of rubbish to be feeding your dog.

Scraps all the way. Bit of chicken and potato better than any processed dog offal.... Sorry I meant food

So how much would you suggest I cook every day so that I can eat, and have enough scraps for 12 dogs?

tk123

deisedays wrote: »

All offals and other associated crap are regarded as fit for human consumption once they've passed vet inspection.
Doesn't take away from the fact that it's a load of rubbish to be feeding your dog.

Scraps all the way. Bit of chicken and potato better than any processed dog offal.... Sorry I meant food

Fresh offal and "associated crap" like necks, wings, heart, ribs, carcase are far from a load of rubbish. :rolleyes:

muddypaws wrote: »

So how much would you suggest I cook every day so that I can eat, and have enough scraps for 12 dogs?

You'll have to go dumpster diving to keep that mob fed

deisedays

muddypaws wrote: »

So how much would you suggest I cook every day so that I can eat, and have enough scraps for 12 dogs?

If you have 12 dogs
I wouldn't be buying commercial dog food
I'd make my own
Packs of hounds are fed knackery meat. Comes from animals that have been put down or died. Great 'atin for dogs. Give it a try. Local hunt hounds look in great order, no royal canin in sight.
Have you a knackery near you to buy some?

muddypaws

deisedays wrote: »

If you have 12 dogs
I wouldn't be buying commercial dog food
I'd make my own
Packs of hounds are fed knackery meat. Comes from animals that have been put down or died. Great 'atin for dogs. Give it a try. Local hunt hounds look in great order, no royal canin in sight.
Have you a knackery near you to buy some?

So in one post you say commercial dog is full of crap, then in another you tell me to go and buy the same crap to feed to my dogs. Makes no sense. Why would I want to feed my dogs meat from an animal that has died, are post mortems carried out on the animal to make sure the meat is disease free? If it is, what did they die of?

Have you actually put your hands on any hunt hounds? They are not in great order at all, and I like my dogs to live longer than just for their working span, they all have homes with me for life, and that doesn't mean a bullet in the head when they are no longer useful.

I'm happy with what I feed my dogs thanks, and their working results and annual health checks bear that out

tk123

deisedays wrote: »

If you have 12 dogs
I wouldn't be buying commercial dog food
I'd make my own
Packs of hounds are fed knackery meat. Comes from animals that have been put down or died. Great 'atin for dogs. Give it a try. Local hunt hounds look in great order, no royal canin in sight.
Have you a knackery near you to buy some?

You said in your last post that offal and meat that's fit for human consumption is crap but you're happy to feed meat from animals that's fit for a knacker yard?! :rolleyes:

deisedays

muddypaws wrote: »

So in one post you say commercial dog is full of crap, then in another you tell me to go and buy the same crap to feed to my dogs. Makes no sense. Why would I want to feed my dogs meat from an animal that has died, are post mortems carried out on the animal to make sure the meat is disease free? If it is, what did they die of?

Have you actually put your hands on any hunt hounds? They are not in great order at all, and I like my dogs to live longer than just for their working span, they all have homes with me for life, and that doesn't mean a bullet in the head when they are no longer useful.

I'm happy with what I feed my dogs thanks, and their working results and annual health checks bear that out

Meat from knackeries is the best of stuff. They can only use steak type meat and round roast type meat from cattle for dogs. It's mighty stuff. The animals have died from cow diseases or been shot so dogs can't get cow diseases so fully safe.
Annual health check by vets is only a scam for money. Don't fall for that like bringing your car into the mechanic for free check over only for them to find a heap of stuff wrong
you won't listen girl so if you want to go waste your money on dog food go ahead.
I'm only trying to help.
Mate of mine gave friskafoal to the hounds said it turned them inside out cleared out fleas and worms. He also swears by the sheep dip as well. Only a few tips I've picked up being involved with dogs on and off last 20 years

deisedays

tk123 wrote: »

You said in your last post that offal and meat that's fit for human consumption is crap but you're happy to feed meat from animals that's fit for a knacker yard?! :rolleyes:

Well happy see my other post where I explain why

muddypaws

deisedays wrote: »

Meat from knackeries is the best of stuff. They can only use steak type meat and round roast type meat from cattle for dogs. It's mighty stuff. The animals have died from cow diseases or been shot so dogs can't get cow diseases so fully safe.
Annual health check by vets is only a scam for money. Don't fall for that like bringing your car into the mechanic for free check over only for them to find a heap of stuff wrong
you won't listen girl so if you want to go waste your money on dog food go ahead.
I'm only trying to help.
Mate of mine gave friskafoal to the hounds said it turned them inside out cleared out fleas and worms. He also swears by the sheep dip as well. Only a few tips I've picked up being involved with dogs on and off last 20 years

Lol. Girl? Seriously? Condescending much?

My dogs travel abroad to compete, so yeah, they get their annual health check when they get their lepto vaccine and every three years when they get their core vaccines and rabies.

Sure its grand, I'll listen to your unqualified mate instead of the vets that are qualified - from UCD by the way

Knine

deisedays wrote: »

Meat from knackeries is the best of stuff. They can only use steak type meat and round roast type meat from cattle for dogs. It's mighty stuff. The animals have died from cow diseases or been shot so dogs can't get cow diseases so fully safe.
Annual health check by vets is only a scam for money. Don't fall for that like bringing your car into the mechanic for free check over only for them to find a heap of stuff wrong
you won't listen girl so if you want to go waste your money on dog food go ahead.
I'm only trying to help.
Mate of mine gave friskafoal to the hounds said it turned them inside out cleared out fleas and worms. He also swears by the sheep dip as well. Only a few tips I've picked up being involved with dogs on and off last 20 years

I worked with horses for many years, some friends still do. I have seen some of the horses that end up here - horses that were full of drugs to keep them sound or pain free, horses that died from god knows what, Where do you think their meat ends up?

deisedays

muddypaws wrote: »

Lol. Girl? Seriously? Condescending much?

My dogs travel abroad to compete, so yeah, they get their annual health check when they get their lepto vaccine and every three years when they get their core vaccines and rabies.

Sure its grand, I'll listen to your unqualified mate instead of the vets that are qualified - from UCD by the way

Ok, so some tips from my mate: serious savings to be made
Home compounded dog food ( not just knackery meat but carbos an minerals and vits). Savings ££££
Shot of ivermectin cost cents versus expensive vet shop robbery flea treatment. Save £££
Buy vaccines over the counter and administer yourself. Save £££.

Use the vet for stuff they're good at. Sick dogs spaus nesters broken legs. Don't get me wrong tho a good vet is worth there weight in gold. All for them. Only try to get a UCD vet cos or heard there are peeple out there who got vet qualification for the Internet or something. Be careful
Feel free to ask me any further questions girl thanks

muddypaws

deisedays wrote: »

Ok, so some tips from my mate: serious savings to be made
Home compounded dog food ( not just knackery meat but carbos an minerals and vits). Savings ££££
Shot of ivermectin cost cents versus expensive vet shop robbery flea treatment. Save £££
Buy vaccines over the counter and administer yourself. Save £££.

Use the vet for stuff they're good at. Sick dogs spaus nesters broken legs. Don't get me wrong tho a good vet is worth there weight in gold. All for them. Only try to get a UCD vet cos or heard there are peeple out there who got vet qualification for the Internet or something. Be careful
Feel free to ask me any further questions girl thanks

:pac::pac::pac::pac::pac::pac::pac::pac::pac::pac::pac::pac::pac::pac::pac:

tk123

deisedays wrote: »

Only try to get a UCD vet cos or heard there are peeple out there who got vet qualification for the Internet or something. Be careful
Feel free to ask me any further questions girl thanks

Can you back that up or let me guess... "your mate from UCD" told you that? :rolleyes: