# Harringtons dog food



## poppydog1

Has anyone tried this food ? what do you think to ingrediants good or bad?
Natural Dog Food from Harringtons - Natural Wholesome Nutrition for Healthy Dogs


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## ploddingon

My 4 month old pup is on it and loves it.

There are other dog foods which are supposed to be better -ie, have larger concentrations of meat/fish etc, but for the price I reckon it is a good one and does not have any artificial colourings/flavourings etc in whch is good.

I like to vary his diet a bit so I do give him a meal of fresh meat/chicken, raw egg etc for a bit of variety now and again, but he is doing really well on Harringtons.


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## Lyceum

First ingredient is maize, and only 14% meat, also contains another meat meal but doesn't clarify what one.

It's also the same price as Skinners (Both Duck and Rice and Salmon and Rice). So thumbs down from me sorry.


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## ploddingon

Lyceum said:


> First ingredient is maize, and only 14% meat, also contains another meat meal but doesn't clarify what one.
> 
> It's also the same price as Skinners (Both Duck and Rice and Salmon and Rice). So thumbs down from me sorry.


Not sure where you are getting the prices from but in my local Asda I get a 2kg bag of Harringtons for £2.97 and a 5kg for £6.98. Skinners is £5.49 for 2.5kg according to their website, and that is if you are buying the 'working dogs' bags.

The first ingredients in many of their products are not meat, but either maize or rice.

I would not say that Harringtons is THE Number 1 dog food available, but to me, it does not seem to have any artificial nasties added in, is easy to get hold of from the local supermarket rather than have to order online or travel miles to a designated shop, and most importantly is scoffed down without hesitation by my pup, who looks the bees knees on it 

For value for money I reckon it's worth considering.


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## Lyceum

ploddingon said:


> Not sure where you are getting the prices from but in my local Asda I get a 2kg bag of Harringtons for £2.97 and a 5kg for £6.98. Skinners is £5.49 for 2.5kg according to their website, and that is if you are buying the 'working dogs' bags.
> 
> The first ingredients in many of their products are not meat, but either maize or rice.
> 
> I would not say that Harringtons is THE Number 1 dog food available, but to me, it does not seem to have any artificial nasties added in, is easy to get hold of from the local supermarket rather than have to order online or travel miles to a designated shop, and most importantly is scoffed down without hesitation by my pup, who looks the bees knees on it
> 
> For value for money I reckon it's worth considering.


I got my prices from the net, no idea what they are in Asda, never seen it there, but then I don't look in the pet food isle. Harringtons prices from their site (15kg bags) and Skinners from VetUk (They don't sell Harringtons so I couldn't get a price there).

I did mention the duck and salmon Skinners( they're the hypo-allergenic ones), yes rice is the first ingredient, but that's easier for dogs to digest than maize, and is less likely to cause allergies.

I used Skinners as an example since it's roughly the same price for a 15kg sack.

You think it's worth a look, I think better can be had for the money.


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## ploddingon

Thats fair enough Lyceum. I think you are probably right, there are better available. 

I wish that F4D was available locally and as easy to get my hands on but unfortunately it isn't - it either has to be ordered online or I haveto traipse to a shop miles away and have to buy a huge bag that is just way too big for a pup!

It's frustrating really!


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## sequeena

I've not used it but I'd like to add that Harringtons is a wagg product.

ETA: Actually I might be wrong. I'm sure I read somewhere that it's made by wagg.

ETA 2: I was right  http://www.vetuk.co.uk/wagg-pet-foods-wagg-harringtons-for-dogs-c-62_444_447/wagg-harringtons-lamb-rice-15kg-p-2894


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## Lyceum

ploddingon said:


> Thats fair enough Lyceum. I think you are probably right, there are better available.
> 
> I wish that F4D was available locally and as easy to get my hands on but unfortunately it isn't - it either has to be ordered online or I haveto traipse to a shop miles away and have to buy a huge bag that is just way too big for a pup!
> 
> It's frustrating really!


It is very frustrating.

The big bags actually keep really well, we got an airtight container at [email protected] for about £10, keeps dry food nice and fresh.

Fish4dogs is much cheaper at vetuk too, just in case you are thinking of ordering some.


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## Lyceum

sequeena said:


> I've not used it but I'd like to add that Harringtons is a wagg product.
> 
> ETA: Actually I might be wrong. I'm sure I read somewhere that it's made by wagg.
> 
> ETA 2: I was right  Wagg Harringtons Lamb & Rice 15Kg - £17.81


lol, even more reason to stay away IMO. Although, oddly the ingredients on the vetuk site are different to the Harrington site,

VetUK ingredient list

Lamb Meat Meal (min 14%), Mixed Meat (min 12%) Maize, Rice (min 20%), Barley, Fat, Beet Pulp (min 4%), Digest, Linseed, Vitamins & Minerals, With Kelp, Citrus, Yeast & Yucca. Protein 21%, Oil 10%, Fibre 3%, Ash 8.5%, Vitamin A 12,000iu/kg, Vitamin D3 1200iu/kg, Vitamin E (alpha tocopherol) 150mg/kg, Copper (cupric sulphate) 15mg/,g, Sodium 0.3%

Harrington site ingredients list

Maize, Lamb Meat Meal (min 14%), Barley, Rice (min 14%), Meat Meal, Beet Pulp, Poultry Fat, Digest, Vitamins & Minerals, Linseed, Kelp (0.2%), Yeast (0.1%), Citrus Extract (0.04%) & Yucca Extract (0.01%).


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## sequeena

Lyceum said:


> lol, even more reason to stay away IMO. Although, oddly the ingredients on the vetuk site are different to the Harrington site,
> 
> VetUK ingredient list
> 
> Lamb Meat Meal (min 14%), Mixed Meat (min 12%) Maize, Rice (min 20%), Barley, Fat, Beet Pulp (min 4%), Digest, Linseed, Vitamins & Minerals, With Kelp, Citrus, Yeast & Yucca. Protein 21%, Oil 10%, Fibre 3%, Ash 8.5%, Vitamin A 12,000iu/kg, Vitamin D3 1200iu/kg, Vitamin E (alpha tocopherol) 150mg/kg, Copper (cupric sulphate) 15mg/,g, Sodium 0.3%
> 
> Harrington site ingredients list
> 
> Maize, Lamb Meat Meal (min 14%), Barley, Rice (min 14%), Meat Meal, Beet Pulp, Poultry Fat, Digest, Vitamins & Minerals, Linseed, Kelp (0.2%), Yeast (0.1%), Citrus Extract (0.04%) & Yucca Extract (0.01%).


Mmmmm not very comforting is it?


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## Lyceum

sequeena said:


> Mmmmm not very comforting is it?


Yeah, very.

Don't you hate it when labels have stuff on like 'mixed meat' or 'maize/rice'?

Why can't they just put exactly what is in the food, what percentages, what meats etc. I mean, 'mixed meat' really could be anything.

If it has maize and rice, list them separately and put what percentage of the food is maize and what percentage is rice. It can't be that hard, they make it, they must know exactly what goes in it (I really hope so anyway lol)


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## sequeena

Lyceum said:


> Yeah, very.
> 
> Don't you hate it when labels have stuff on like 'mixed meat' or 'maize/rice'?
> 
> Why can't they just put exactly what is in the food, what percentages, what meats etc. I mean, 'mixed meat' really could be anything.
> 
> If it has maize and rice, list them separately and put what percentage of the food is maize and what percentage is rice. It can't be that hard, they make it, they must know exactly what goes in it (I really hope so anyway lol)


I really really hate that. It drives me nuts! I know they're meant to put the biggest ingredient at the beginning but maize could be fourth and be the biggest percentage in there!


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## ploddingon

Thats interesting that it's made by Wagg, and the differing descriptions of ingredients I might just send an e mail to Harringtons and see what their explaination is of that!


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## michaelasi

I used H food for nearly 2 weeks 

my lot was very sensitive with it ...
Brewster had farted like a trouper , very very stinky poo and with in 10 days of usage, kia's weight went rapidly up also Brew's but he need it a bit of weight so I keep him a bit longer but could not live with the stinky farting any more ....
I went back to wagg


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## Mum2Heidi

I think I looked at it once but the cereal content is more than I would like.

Going back to the skinners, I expect it would work out cheaper because you dont have to feed very much. Something like 100g per 8k body weight. Lots of feeds have a RDA of twice that.


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## sequeena

Mum2Heidi said:


> I think I looked at it once but the cereal content is more than I would like.
> 
> Going back to the skinners, I expect it would work out cheaper because you dont have to feed very much. Something like 100g per 8k body weight. Lots of feeds have a RDA of twice that.


Interesting. The last time I weighed Luna she weighed 38kg so that would be about 500g a day. Same as usual really lol


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## Lyceum

sequeena said:


> I really really hate that. It drives me nuts! I know they're meant to put the biggest ingredient at the beginning but maize could be fourth and be the biggest percentage in there!


Exactly, they could all take their lead from fish4dogs

Fresh Sardine 21.5%, Sardine Meal 25.6%, Potato Flake 31.5%, Beet Fibre 8.2%, Fish Oil 8.2%, Brewers Yeast 2.9%, Minerals 1.1%, Vitamins 0.8%

All ingredients listed and what percentage there is. Not hard is it.


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## sequeena

Lyceum said:


> Exactly, they could all take their lead from fish4dogs
> 
> Fresh Sardine 21.5%, Sardine Meal 25.6%, Potato Flake 31.5%, Beet Fibre 8.2%, Fish Oil 8.2%, Brewers Yeast 2.9%, Minerals 1.1%, Vitamins 0.8%
> 
> All ingredients listed and what percentage there is. Not hard is it.


That's great!  Mine are currently on country choice. Not the best but not the worst. Sky developed another rash on Beta so I had to switch them over


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## ploddingon

Well Ive sent Harringtons an e mail to the address listed on their webpage asking why the difference in ingredients, so I shall see what they say


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## Lyceum

sequeena said:


> That's great!  Mine are currently on country choice. Not the best but not the worst. Sky developed another rash on Beta so I had to switch them over


Before switching to raw I used Skinners and Arden Grange, think it's about finding the balance between a decent food that actually suits the dog and the budget not about feeding 'the best'. My two didn't do well at all on Orijen, but one look at the ingredients tells you it is without doubt the best kibble available.

I think a lot of people sadly believe the advertising and think pedigree, wagg, bakers etc are actually the best dog foods about, they don't realise better can be had, and often for less. Or they assume giving an excellent diet means spending more on dog food than they do on their own food.


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## Lyceum

ploddingon said:


> Well Ive sent Harringtons an e mail to the address listed on their webpage asking why the difference in ingredients, so I shall see what they say


Please let us know if you get a reply.


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## Mum2Heidi

_Interesting. The last time I weighed Luna she weighed 38kg so that would be about 500g a day. Same as usual really lol_

Oops Sorry, I didnt make myself very clear, :scared: I meant in comparison to supermarket brands like Harringtons/Wagg. A few of the better brands can catch you out too if you arent careful.

I cant be 100% sure but of the brands within my budget without too many cereals, most RDA were more than Skinners.


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## sequeena

Mum2Heidi said:


> _Interesting. The last time I weighed Luna she weighed 38kg so that would be about 500g a day. Same as usual really lol_
> 
> Oops Sorry, I didnt make myself very clear, :scared: I meant in comparison to supermarket brands like Harringtons/Wagg. A few of the better brands can catch you out too if you arent careful.
> 
> I cant be 100% sure but of the brands within my budget without too many cereals, most RDA were more than Skinners.


lol that's ok I was just working it out to see if it was worth changing to skinners


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## ploddingon

Lyceum said:


> Please let us know if you get a reply.


Well to give them their due they have replied very quickly. I received this this morning -

* "Thank you for your email and for bringing to our attention the anomaly listed on some websites. The food that we make is to the recipe listed on our website and on the bags and we do not produce different versions of the product for different customers. Are you able to let me know which websites you found which are listing the ingredients wrongly so that we can contact them about their mistake.

Maize is the largest single ingredient in the food, however it looks as though the websites you have visited have linked the two meat proteins together to show that the total meatmeal (lamb and mixed), forms the largest ingredient in the food. If we listed the meatmeal as one item instead of splitting into two different ingredients, this would form the largest percentage in the food. Rice in the food is at a minimum of 14%.

I hope that this information has made the ingredient list clearer, however if you do have any more queries, please let me know.

Kind regards

Helen Fothergill

Customer Services Manager

00800 19232008

[email protected]

"*

Seems a bit strange that a website wouldn't just copy the details from the product rather than alter it in this way?:


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## sequeena

Mmmm to be fair that's ********. The website ingredient list has things in it which the Harringtons list DOESN'T.

How can the website make up extra ingredients? :confused1:


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## Lyceum

Plus if the meat was the actual biggest ingredient, surely they'd want that on the label. Since that obviously looks better.

Seems like a bunch of crap to me, I'd stay well clear.


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## ploddingon

Must admit, it has made me think twice about this product, and I have just ordered a small bag of F4D to see if I can wean him onto that.

IIt is such a pain because I thought Harringtons was a decent independent company selling a reasonable product, but now it seems it's part of a larger company and the ingredients info is iffy to say the least!


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## Kitte

I am in two minds at the moment! My cocker was fed on Harringtons (when James Wellbeloved got so ridiculously expensive) for the last three years of her life and she was fine, nice firm stool. At the time, I compared the ingredients of the two and to me they seemed very similar.

I now have a 2 year old whippet who came to me three months ago clutching a Burgess bag. His stool was nice and firm, twice a day. I also compared Harringtons to Burgess and again they seem very similar, except for the price, Burgess being twice as expensive. He has been on Harringtons for two months now.

Early on he did not do anything when out for walkies, but now he does and all should be well. I walk him late afternoon and he will invariable go twice, one nice and firm, and the second pile is barely formed and mushy at the end. As I am sure you all know, it is difficult to pick up............especially right in front of driveways, let alone the pavement, I feel I should carry a hose pipe!

Anyway, I am now wondering why it is, are whippet digestions different from other dogs ? And having read this strand, I am now having my belief in Harringtons severely tested ! Might the 'Lamb and Rice' be better than 'Turkey and Veg' ?

Any suggestions welcome !


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## cinnamontoast

Read the dry and wet dog food indexes at the top of this board. Green=great, yellow not so good, red=avoid. I would avoid Harringtons, dogs do not need cereal as the first ingredient in their diet. It's low quality food and is red on the index above, lots of suspect ingredients:

HARRINGTONS (turkey & vegetables)

Price (15kg): £23.57
Suggested daily amount: 350g
Daily feeding cost: 56p

Ingredients: Maize, turkey meat meal (min 14%), oats, meat meal, rice, peas (min 4%), beet pulp, poultry fat, digest, vitamins, minerals, linseed, kelp, yeast, citrus extract, yucca extract


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## Fluffaluff

I was having troubles also with 'supermarket' dog food brands! and a lovely person here on the forums pointed me to CSJ. Now i read all the ingredients and decided it was of a 'better' quality than what they were previously having.

My little Shihtzu would not eat regular at all but since switching he fishes all the new dog food out of his mix  My older dog also really enjoys her dinner time now and they are quite happy with no more flatulence and runny bottoms!
Quite reasonable product for the cost  im incredibly happy!

That'll Do!/Hi Lost!

I searched for a regional stockist and picked up a 15kg bag, though you can order online if you can wait 5 working days.


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## soulful dog

For anyone that feeds their dog on supermarket type brands, the first thing I'd suggest they do is try Skinners Duck & Rice, which you can buy for £20-£23 from Amazon.

That CSJ food is obviously better than most of the food you buy in the supermarket, but still has Wheat, Maize, Wheatfeed & Prairie Meal, all of which are considered lower quality/cheap grains, the wheat in particular. Whereas Skinners uses just whole rice and oats, two of the better quality grains.

While most dogs probably don't have problems with allergies or sensitivity, if there are better alternatives which don't break the bank, why not feed the better food? Although if £13 up to just over £20 is something you can't afford (the price difference between CSJ & Skinners), fair enough, at least you've stopped paying out for the really poor quality supermarket foods and are feeding something a bit better!

As for your whippet not getting on with the same food your cocker ate, perhaps he just has a slightly more sensitive stomach. Worthwhile trying him on something different. Just remember to change the food over gradually when you do so.


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## GoldenRetrieverman

All dog food sold in the uk is regulated, so I dont know why people are saying stay well clear due to confusion over the ingredient list!. Harringtons is one of the better supermarket foods. If your dog does ok on it then stick with it.


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## cinnamontoast

I wouldn't say stay away from it due to confusion, I'd say stay away because the primary ingredient is cereal, which is not ideal, IMO, for a 'decent' food.


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## GoldenRetrieverman

cinnamontoast said:


> I wouldn't say stay away from it due to confusion, I'd say stay away because the primary ingredient is cereal, which is not ideal, IMO, for a 'decent' food.


Not everyone can afford high meat kibbles, and not all dogs can tolerate such diets either.


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## cinnamontoast

Often smaller amounts of quality kibble are required so it probably balances out and imagine something decent like Fishmongers balances out financially. Harringtons is very poor quality.

I'd also suggest that more dogs are prone to cereal allergy than to reacting poorly to high quality meat diets.


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## Guest

GoldenRetrieverman said:


> All dog food sold in the uk is regulated, so I dont know why people are saying stay well clear due to confusion over the ingredient list!. Harringtons is one of the better supermarket foods. If your dog does ok on it then stick with it.


Harringtons I's listed in red on the dry dog food index. I'd never feed this poor quality dog food to my dog.


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## Kitte

Seems there are as many opinions as there are dog owners ! James wellbeloved is a good make and Harringtons stacks up as pretty much the same quality.

I fed two standard poodles on something called Vitalin (looked just like muesli !) and they were fine. Anyone remember that ?

I have a feeling all the knockers of cereal kibble are the raw feed brigade, bit like formula versus breast milk. 

I don't know; what I do know is, that I don't like my trust in Harringtons/James Wellbeloved being shaken on here. Maybe I will mix in a proportion of Burgess and see if that makes a difference in the long run.


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## Kitte

By the way, I know that Harringtons is listed in the red by whoever made that list up, but as he clearly states, it is only HIS opinion, it is not scientifically arrived at, is it ?

And what is that C something dog food that is being bandied about ? Also, 'Skinners' has been po-poed on here !


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## WeedySeaDragon

Kitte said:


> I walk him late afternoon and he will invariable go twice, one nice and firm, and the second pile is barely formed and mushy at the end. As I am sure you all know, it is difficult to pick up............especially right in front of driveways, let alone the pavement, I feel I should carry a hose pipe!
> 
> Anyway, I am now wondering why it is, are whippet digestions different from other dogs ?


The second looser poo is not necessarily down to him not getting on with the food he's on.

Both our whippets, who are fed a high quality grain free dry food and are absolutely fine the rest of the time, will do the loose poo on walks thing. It's pretty much just down to the bursts of very high exertion exercise they do, just like in human runners it gets everything moving!!

I don't feed raw but I still don't like high cereal content in dog foods and wouldn't touch anything with cereal as the first ingredient with a bargepole. I just don't see the logic behind giving an animal like a dog a food based on grain instead of meat.


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## GoldenRetrieverman

Rice is more digestable than potato. Just because meat is first on the list of the dog food label doesnt meat it is. Fishmongers for example, green rated food on here. 38 % fresh fish and 16% fish meal. So in this case potato is the most abundant ingredient and first on the list, because once the water is removed from the fish its only 28-29%. So it should be - potato 32%, fish 28.5%..........


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## soulful dog

Kitte said:


> By the way, I know that Harringtons is listed in the red by whoever made that list up, but as he clearly states, it is only HIS opinion, it is not scientifically arrived at, is it ?
> 
> And what is that C something dog food that is being bandied about ? Also, 'Skinners' has been po-poed on here !


Yes there are plenty of opinions, but there are plenty of different types and quality of foods too. If you look at just kibble, you can buy a 17KG bag of Wagg Worker for £10, right up to a 13KG bag of Orijen Regional Red for over £80, and hundreds of options inbetween. There isn't such a wide variance in price just because of opinion, but good quality ingredients & high meat content, compared to stuff that amounts to not much more than the sweepings off the floor in an abattoir mixed with grain and coated in gravy to make it 'tasty'.

Harringtons is far from the worst food, but you said your dog was having problems on it, so I've given you a suggestion of a better quality food (because it has a slightly higher meat content & doesn't have any maize) that costs the same price for you to consider trying. If you want to continue feeding Harringtons, go for it, you did say any suggestions were welcome! A change of food might help, but then again, it might not. And as for one dog being fed all it's life on 'x' brand of dog food. Yep plenty of dogs do manage to survive quite well on rubbish food, but they may well do even better with a good diet.

As for SixStar's list, yes it is not scientifically arrived at, but it is opinion based on a lot of common sense, and a bit of knowledge about what ingredients are good and bad (some of which is indeed scientific). You can argue about just how much merit there is to certain grains in dog foods, and you can argue about grain-free or not. But take a look at some of the red listed foods and compare them to some of the green listed and tell me you can't see why one is poorly thought of and one highly rated?!?


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## Renata

---- Harringtons I's listed in red on the dry dog food index. I'd never feed this poor quality dog food to my dog.-----

Dry Dog Food Index is one person's opinion. All foods in red there are not necessarily poor quality. Unfortunately lots of people get influenced by it.


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## pogo

nothing to add apart from that Sixstar is a lass


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## SixStar

pogo said:


> nothing to add apart from that Sixstar is a lass


I'm starting to worry :yikes: that's probably the fourth or fifth time I've been referred to as a man on here now!! :lol:


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## pogo

SixStar said:


> I'm starting to worry :yikes: that's probably the fourth or fifth time I've been referred to as a man on here now!! :lol:


haha it's ok most on here think i'm an old man anyway :lol:


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## cinnamontoast

GoldenRetrieverman said:


> Rice is more digestable than potato. Just because meat is first on the list of the dog food label doesnt meat it is. Fishmongers for example, green rated food on here. 38 % fresh fish and 16% fish meal. So in this case potato is the most abundant ingredient and first on the list, because once the water is removed from the fish its only 28-29%. So it should be - potato 32%, fish 28.5%..........


Don't know ow you arrive at that percentage: how can you possibly know how much actual fish is left once the moisture is removed? And fish meal means the moisture is already removed. Curious maths.



Renata said:


> Dry Dog Food Index is one person's opinion. All foods in red there are not necessarily poor quality. Unfortunately lots of people get influenced by it.


How is it unfortunate that people are influenced by it? Is it not a good thing that people investigate what they're giving their dog? Once I did, I discovered that many commercial dog foods eg ones in the supermarket, contain carcinogenic ingredients. And surely to goodness, 40% maize ie pure filler, not necessary to dogs, cannot be labelled as even 'ok.' Perhaps I should start feeding my horse on it, he'd probably be fine with nearly half his food being maize as that's what horses, not dogs, should be eating!

From the Which dog food site, I'd say not just someone's opinion!

The first ingredient is maize, which many canine nutritionists class as little more than a filler*. The named meat source accounts for just 14% of the food* (although there is another unspecified amount of an unspecified meat further down the ingredients list) - both of which are distinct traits of mid-range food.

It also highlights controversial ingredients in red eg the maize and unspecified meat. It's made by Wagg, which does contain carcinogens. I think it's brilliant if the dry food index puts off people, therefore!


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## Goblin

Kitte said:


> I have a feeling all the knockers of cereal kibble are the raw feed brigade, bit like formula versus breast milk..


Show me a pet food review site, not related to a pet food company, which advocates cereal based foods for dogs?

Formula vs breast milk.. judging from everything coming out recently, including scientifically, the conclusion is that natural breast milk is far superior to formula


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## ellenlouisepascoe

I've been trying to get my mum to swap her Labrador to Harringtons she's currently on Bakers  but unfortunately that is the only thing she will happily eat and that doesn't give her a runny bum . She's 5 years old and she's been tried on everything from something £60+ to the lowest budget food possible and the only ones that haven't messed with her stomach is Bakers and Webbox dry so at least she's eating -something- 

I have a bag of Burgess sensitive Salmon & Rice I got in ASDA ( for emergencies or for family members dogs if they sleep over ) I think it was 4KG for £10 

Ingredients 

Rice (min. 26%), Salmon (min. 26%),Chicken Meal, Poultry Fat, Unmolassed Beet Pulp (5%), Digest, Fish Oil (1%), Lucerne (1%), Dicalcium Phosphate, Limestone, Sodium Chloride, Fructo-oligosaccharides (0.2%), Yucca Extract (0.025%), Minerals.


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## cinnamontoast

Tell her Bakers contains cancer causing ingredients and get her to read this (scroll down):

Dog Food Reviews - Bakers Complete Rabbit & Duck Medley & Select Vegetables - Powered by ReviewPost

My dog died of stomach and spinal cancer and the specialist said it was probably related to nutrition, so yes, I want people to understand what they're feeding their dogs. I think there are some fabulous commercial dog foods out there, I used to feed Orijen, brilliant stuff, but the ones in the supermarket are all _*crap*_.


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## ellenlouisepascoe

I've told her it all a million times trust me :lol:

Stubborn old lady she is. 

It's the meaty meals she feeds her ( No idea if that is any better than the complete as I never look at it )


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## soulful dog

cinnamontoast said:


> My dog died of stomach and spinal cancer and the specialist said it was probably related to nutrition, so yes, I want people to understand what they're feeding their dogs. I think there are some fabulous commercial dog foods out there, I used to feed Orijen, brilliant stuff, *but the ones in the supermarket are all crap*.


To be fair, Tesco do their own Latham's dog food and now stock Vets Kitchen too, while Asda also stock Vets Kitchen and Burgess Sensitive. Obviously they're not a patch on the best stuff, but still, not complete rubbish..... though in saying that, I bet the amount those brands sell compared to the amount of Bakers, Pedigree, cheap own brand products is probably pretty small.

It's a shame, most people just think that as their dogs will eat anything they can feed them pretty much anything. Especially as pet companies can make their products meet certain requirements, so they must be fine. Also, you get plenty of people who don't pay too much attention to their diet, despite the fact a lot of cancers being linked to poor diet, so it's no real surprise that it's not even a passing concern for their dogs.


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## ellenlouisepascoe

We used vets kitchen puppy on our pup before we switched to raw. It's definitely one of the better ones on a supermarket shelf. but to be honest it works out extremely expensive the 1.3KG bags are £4.84 and lasted us 2 days  the guided feeding amount for our pup was 750g a day we were spending nearly £80 a month just feeding the pup and then we have another dog to feed as well! 

I also hear good things about Sainsburys delicious collection trays so there are some good finds if you so your research. 

There is a pet store over the road from me and the only dog food brands it sells are WAGG / Butchers / Fold Hill


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## Renata

cinnamontoast said:


> Don't know ow you arrive at that percentage: how can you possibly know how much actual fish is left once the moisture is removed? And fish meal means the moisture is already removed. Curious maths.
> 
> How is it unfortunate that people are influenced by it? Is it not a good thing that people investigate what they're giving their dog? Once I did, I discovered that many commercial dog foods eg ones in the supermarket, contain carcinogenic ingredients. And surely to goodness, 40% maize ie pure filler, not necessary to dogs, cannot be labelled as even 'ok.' Perhaps I should start feeding my horse on it, he'd probably be fine with nearly half his food being maize as that's what horses, not dogs, should be eating!
> 
> From the Which dog food site, I'd say not just someone's opinion!
> 
> The first ingredient is maize, which many canine nutritionists class as little more than a filler*. The named meat source accounts for just 14% of the food* (although there is another unspecified amount of an unspecified meat further down the ingredients list) - both of which are distinct traits of mid-range food.
> 
> It also highlights controversial ingredients in red eg the maize and unspecified meat. It's made by Wagg, which does contain carcinogens. I think it's brilliant if the dry food index puts off people, therefore!


Let me copy from the same site as you did:
"To its credit, Harringtons is free from artificial additives, uses high quality meat meal and includes nutritious kelp and linseed. It is worth noting though that the 'Turkey and Veg' variety would be much better named 'Turkey and Peas' since it unfortunately doesn't contain any other vegetables.

To be fair to Harringtons, it is a good mid-range food and you would be fairly hard pressed to find a better one at this price, but premium it is not.

Conclusion: A good mid-range, natural food and good value for money."

Author of Dry Dog Food Index does not like maize. Some foods there are listed in red only because there is maize in them. This is in my opinion unfortunate. Foods that are far from being poor quality are listed as red.

As for maize, let me copy this:

►Corn often gets an undeserved bad reputation. While it is not acceptable as a main source of protein in a dog food (as it is used in combination with corn gluten), as a source of carbohydrates it is no better and no worse than other grains in terms of nutritional value and digestibility. The starch part of corn is highly digestible but the whole ground product has a higher fiber content than other grains (around 7%), which results in slightly larger stools - often incorrectly interpreted as lack of digestibility. Unless an individual dog is intolerant or allergic to corn, there is no need to avoid products which include it in reasonable amounts. 
The Dog Food Project - Identifying better products


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## StormyThai

Are you really arguing that a food product that a carnivour is not designed to eat is fine to feed?

Really???

Harrington's is crap, if it works for your dog then that is awesome for you and your dog...that still does not take away the fact that as a food it is crap..

High quality meat meal.....don't make me laugh....you know meal contains around 33-35% ash right? What is so high quality about a product that contains nearly half ash????

If you wish to feed maize and corn to your dog then knock yourself out...but please don't try to make a product out to be what it is not


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## spannels

StormyThai said:


> High quality meat meal.....don't make me laugh....you know meal contains around 33-35% ash right? What is so high quality about a product that contains nearly half ash????


"Ash" in dog food - sounds vile, doesn't it? Look at this explanation 
"Minerals / ash

'Ash' is one of the most commonly misunderstood terms in pet food. Contrary to the images it conjures, ash is simply a measure of the mineral content of a food. When calculating the food's calorific content, it is incinerated and the energy released is measured. All of the carbohydrate, fat and protein burn off leaving only the minerals. This is known as the ash content.
In general, foods based on red meat meals have higher ash contents because they contain more mineral-rich bone.
Dogs need a wide variety of minerals to stay fit and healthy, all of which have to be in sufficient quantities in any complete food. For this reason, for most dog owners, the mineral content of the food is fairly unimportant. Two exceptions are dogs with kidney or urinary problems, who benefit from lower ash diets, and growing puppies which need sufficient minerals for healthy bone development.
Minerals are involved in every process in the dog's body."

Copied from Which Dog Food - Feeding Guide

Trouble is, the legal requirements for dog-food labelling are not user-friendly, so we get all this gobbledegook instead of something easily understandable. "According to British law, all complete dog foods have to display the percentages of protein, fat, fibre and ash on the packaging. Some foods declare the contents of more nutrients, but this is completely voluntary. " (Quoted from same source as above.)


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## cinnamontoast

Renata said:


> Let me copy from the same site as you did:
> "To its credit, Harringtons is free from artificial additives, uses high quality meat meal and includes nutritious kelp and linseed. It is worth noting though that the 'Turkey and Veg' variety would be much better named 'Turkey and Peas' since it unfortunately doesn't contain any other vegetables.
> 
> To be fair to Harringtons, it is a good mid-range food and you would be fairly hard pressed to find a better one at this price, but premium it is not.
> 
> Conclusion: A good mid-range, natural food and good value for money."
> 
> Author of Dry Dog Food Index does not like maize. Some foods there are listed in red only because there is maize in them. This is in my opinion unfortunate. Foods that are far from being poor quality are listed as red.
> 
> As for maize, let me copy this:
> 
> ►Corn often gets an undeserved bad reputation. While it is not acceptable as a main source of protein in a dog food (as it is used in combination with corn gluten), as a source of carbohydrates it is no better and no worse than other grains in terms of nutritional value and digestibility. The starch part of corn is highly digestible but the whole ground product has a higher fiber content than other grains (around 7%), which results in slightly larger stools - often incorrectly interpreted as lack of digestibility. Unless an individual dog is intolerant or allergic to corn, there is no need to avoid products which include it in reasonable amounts.
> The Dog Food Project - Identifying better products


I think you're doing Sixstar a huge disservice: what is your problem with her? It seems very personal. She does not think cereal is an appropriate ingredient for dog food. Many of us agree. I do not see how a food containing primarily cereal can be considered 'good'. 40%, you must concede, is OTT as a filler-you may as well go and buy horse feed for your dog. Nor can you say that nearly half of the content being a cereal is a 'reasonable' amount. Saying it contains 'veg' when it only actually has peas is also a huge black mark against it in my opinion.

Dog food manufacturers are not particularly honest in their packaging/advertising and if people can't be bothered to research and OMG, travel past their local supermarket to find something really good for their dog, then fine, I just hope it doesn't come back to haunt them as it did me.


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## StormyThai

I'm fully aware of what ash is in a pet food, doesn't mean I want or need to feed it  Let me break it down a bit....Maize is the first ingredient so will be in the majority...then you have Salmon meal (in the salmon and potato one) which comes in at 14%, so if you think about it only 0.0938% will actually be salmon, and being meal you can not be sure what part of the salmon either.

So my point was..how is 0.0938% of meat a good food for a carnivour? 

I'm also fully aware of the pet food labeling "issues"  Hence why I conduct my own research before feeding a product


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## Goblin

Didn't we do the Maize thing to death in http://www.petforums.co.uk/dog-health-nutrition/307673-cereals-potatoes-dog-food.html ?

Still find it interesting IAMS actually say:



> So although dogs are classified as omnivores, they are best fed as carnivores.


http://www.iams.com/pet-health/dog-article/importance-of-animal-based-proteins-in-dog-foods


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## Renata

I think you're doing Sixstar a huge disservice: what is your problem with her?


Silly thing to say. Everything here is in fact anonymous. I have slightly different opinions on dog food than Sixstar (is it her real name??) and that is nothing personal. It only makes people talk more about dog food. I personally do not like to be fed someone else´s "likes and not likes".


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## Baggio

On an unrelated but not irrelevant note, I think that this whole discussion about what other people think about dog food is really objective - some dogs like certain brands, others might hate it with their lives...how useful would other people's opinions on a particular brand of dog food be from someone to your dog if your dog's never actually *tried* it before?

It sure helps if the brand is reputable, but whether your dog actually likes the dog food is an entirely different question - my best bet is to actually check the ingredients (so I know there's nothing that I don't want in there), and try it out. I'd just buy the smallest bag of it available and give it a try, and if it doesn't work out, you can just move on to the next brand.

See, this is why I'm not a huge fan of commercial dog food - maybe I'm being biased as I say this, but when Lucky was younger and we were still struggling to find a good brand for him, I find that I almost have no clue as to why Lucky liked one brand better than the other...it's more of a trial and error thing.

But with home made food (which is what we do), again - I'm not trying to steer people for it or away from commercial dog food, just stating my opinion - you *ALWAYS * know what goes in there, and if you're uncomfortable with it - easy! Just change it! More than likely, because you're working with a close selection of ingredients - e.g. turkey, brussel sprouts, turnip, carrots - you probably know what you dogs don't like or not.

Much more control over what goes into your dog's stomach.

Just my two cents. :biggrin:


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