First of all, sorry if this topic has already been covered loads of times, but I can't find the answers to my questions (or maybe I’m just rubbish at searching).
I have an 8-month-old Australian Shepherd that I'm currently feeding the same dry food he had at the breeder's (Royal Canin Puppy Medium), but I’ve noticed he’s turning his nose up at it more and more, and he’s getting a bit bloated. I’d like to switch his food to something higher quality (grain-free + high meat content?), but I’m finding it really tough to make a choice, so I’d appreciate some help/advice.
The brands that look alright to me are Carnilove, Orijen, and Wolfood. I was thinking of going with one of those, but I must admit I’m a bit lost because there are just so many ranges... and I don’t know which one to pick.
I asked my vet for advice, and they recommended Royal Canin and Hill's Prescription Diet, which are packed with grains, so I didn't bother with that.
Thanks in advance for your help 😌
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@Lewina – nope, no (more) vitamin and mineral supplements for us 😉. I did use them at first, but once I found a supplier just a few miles down the road, I recalculated everything to account for what I was getting (tripe, liver, kidneys…).
I still remember the first time the butcher gave me a horse femur for free, covered in plenty of good meat (they had an absolute field day – under supervision, of course) 🤣
A ‘juice bone’ is a meaty pork bone with loads of marrow (the kind used for making stock).
Just out of curiosity, I had a look at Tails: for Athos, even though I provided all the right info, including the fact he’s very active, I still ended up with a recommendation of less than 30% protein (28%) and only 13% fat.
I’d asked for it to be wheat and maize-free, hoping for rice, but I’ve ended up with potato and I don’t think I saw a box to tick to say I didn't want that.
There’s no information on calcium and phosphorus levels, which means we're missing some key quality indicators.
Based on their "14-day free trial" offer, I worked out I’m supposed to feed him about 260g a day (since they wanted to send me around 8 lbs), but I can’t find how many kcal there are per 100g of dry food to see if it actually meets his needs... and I’m fairly sure that's mandatory information. It might be on the bag if I actually bought it, but buying without knowing is a bit of a pain!
For it to be any good, it would need to be 420 kcal per 100g, but looking at the ingredients and the levels shown, I’d bet on it being more like 360-380 kcal per 100g... (comparing it with dry food with similar stats).
That’s not to say it wouldn’t suit some dogs, but as is often the case, it just doesn’t work for mine!
Right, I’ve got a much simpler suggestion... Isis eats this dry food, which is very budget-friendly: Tails.com's tailor-made dry food! You’re the one who decides – you’re guided by experts and you pick the recipe (grain-free, your goals, the meat...). Anyway, that’s just my opinion!
Gentle giants, I used to spend about £185 a month on dry food for my three dogs, and that was without counting the extras. Nowadays, I’m spending between £100 and £130 (depending on what’s in stock), including all the extras. I’ve got one girl who just could never tolerate dry food, even though I tried absolutely loads of different brands 😫
The only way to get firm poos and stop the gas is home-cooked meals (I’ve got a butcher who saves me horse liver, meat trimmings and various offal; I buy the meaty bones and meat in bulk, which costs me around £50 a month). They get a good marrow bone once a week (about £7 a month), and the rest is made up of grains (rice, quinoa, pasta, semolina) and veg (carrots, spinach, beans, chicory…). Honestly, it’s much better for my bank balance, but you really have to hunt for the best deals.
I totally agree with you that it’s more ‘complicated’ to leave a dog with a sitter or at a kennel when they’re on home-cooked food, as it’s time-consuming and they won't always take it on.
So, they do have the odd tin of wet food sometimes, because honestly, dry food (even though I know it’s convenient and can be high quality) just wasn't an option for mine unless I wanted to go bankrupt 😢
I’m always a bit sceptical when I hear people say it's cheaper than dry food. I’m using a range of kibble with a carb content of around 23-27%, and it costs me less than £1.70 per meal for a 132lb (9st 6lb) dog.
What bothers me most about this kind of diet is that if, for whatever reason, the dog has to stay in boarding kennels or even at the vet's (it can happen to anyone), it’s going to be very difficult, if not impossible, to keep their diet consistent. So, even with home-cooked meals (or anything else), I’d recommend getting the dog used to dry food.
Orijen has been coming in for more and more criticism lately, to be honest. It’s becoming clear that a lot of these companies pour their budget into marketing rather than the quality of the food itself.
At the end of the day, it’s really just mid-range. Apparently, the phosphorus levels are too high, which is a real worry for their health in the long run.
Mind you, it’s the same story with loads of brands making all sorts of wild claims. If you want to stick with dry food, try testing it out with small 2lb bags first to see how well they digest it.
There are pet food comparison websites out there, often run by nutritionists, where you can compare quite a few ranges of dry food based on your own specific criteria.
Otherwise, a home-cooked diet can work out cheaper than "premium" dry food, or at least cost about the same, but the quality will always be better if it's done properly. You’re the one choosing the ingredients.
That said, if you do decide to go down that route, make sure you do the maths and consult a veterinary nutritionist. If you just follow random recipes you find online, you run the risk of your pet ending up with a deficient diet.
Gentils géant, the great thing about home-cooked meals is that it’s so easy to vary the ingredients (meats, grains, veg, oils 😉).
I've also noticed that my dogs tend to drink a lot less since switching to home-cooked food compared to when they were on dry food.
There are some excellent dry foods on the market and, if you're going to stick strictly to dry food, the best thing is to vary it as much as possible 😉.
Don't fall for the whole grain-free marketing hype. Dogs are a domesticated species that have been fed an 'omnivore' diet for 10,000 years.
To my mind, the most important thing is having a dog that's capable of eating and properly digesting all kinds of food. So, that means a variety of different brands and recipes of dry food, rather than just the same thing every day.
👋 Hi Lewina, it’s all pretty straightforward once you get a vet involved 😀
It takes me about 25–30 minutes a day to prep their home-cooked meals (it’s not too bad for 3 dogs! 😂).
Regarding the calculations, you definitely need to consult a pro to make sure they’re getting all the necessary nutrients.
I’m really not a fan of dry food; the only brands that actually worked for us ended up costing me more than the home-cooked diet 😢 Every other one we tried led to messy business, wind… basically, dry food has been a bit of a nightmare for me 🤪
