# Dog food analysis



## bagpuss4 (Mar 7, 2011)

Well tonight i decided to have a nose at the dog food analysis site and i was in for some depressing reading! Even foods such as Arden Grange,Vitalin etc food which i thought was good is not as good as it seems. As most will know i got Baxter my wee yellow lab in december which also happens to be my 1st dog and to say we're had our ups and down regarding fedding is a bit of an understatement.

1st the Bakers didn't know it was the worst, thought it must be decent if a breeder feeds it ( i have high opnions of breeders ) continued to feed it constant diarrhoea and hyper to say the least. Done the reasearch with the amount of e numbers in it would send anyone loopy -not that i,ve tried it!
Now i,ve learnt tonight it has BHT which is a known carcingenic in humans so why give it to dogs?
Changed to Vitalin puppyu after some reccommendations and some also from breeder cured the diarrhoea and hyperness - Fab peace at last, coat better - The 46% chicken sounded good - learnt tonight not got as much meat as i,ve oringinally thought.

Seems i,m doing well selecting the dog food NOT

On to Arden Grange - folk raved about this, several recommendations apprently lamb the best - great try it - shiny cut but not overly keen on it would say edible Baxter has got Beefy on this. Wayhey to my surprise i read has fillers and high fat content - the answer to the weight issues 33kgs @ 9 months i say depends how you look at him as people have said how do you keep you lab slim and healthy like that? Don't know what to make of this.

About finished Ag bag and have Wainwrights dry bag - he loves the wet which he gets for tea.

Wainwrights isn't on the dog analysis site and if dry like the wet i think baxter will love it, he eats it as treats but not had a full meal of the dry. I would love to feed Orijen but just cant afford it.

So what really makes a good food?
I look at meat content and fillers but obviously there's more to it.


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## Lyceum (Sep 25, 2009)

I assume you're feeding Arden Grange puppy.

Price per bag is (I'm going on vetuk) £41

According to the feeding guide a 30kg dog needs 420g (maybe more since tyhe feeding guide oly seems to go up to 25kg), so it costs £1.18 per day to feed.

Orijen (I went with the adult because the ingredients are so similar) is £55 (zooplus), a 30kg pet dog (working is more) needs 250g, so it costs 93p per day to feed.

You're actually spending more per day on AG then you would were you to feed Orijen. Initial outlay may be more, but a sack of orijen will last 54 days, AG, 35

People look at the price per bag, not how much it costs to feed per day. Orijen is actually cheaper than AG.

If you still feel you can't afford it, have a look at taste of the wile, or acana, not dissimilar to Orijen, but cheaper.

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/dogs/dry_dog_food/taste_of_the_wild

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/dogs/dry_dog_food/acana

I think AG is a great mid range food personally, especially if you take advantage of the likes of this berriewood offer

http://www.berriewoodwholesale.co.u...46-bag-FREE-DELIVERY-on-everything-you-order/

And if you cheap on the review site you mentioned you'll see the lamb and rice is rated highest of their range.


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## Cleo38 (Jan 22, 2010)

Agree with Lyceum. My two were fed on Wainwrights (dry with wet) whioch I thought was a 'reasonable' food. Roxy needs to eat more than the recommended amount to keep weight on & I worked out I was spending a fortune on Wainwrights that isn';t as great as I thought. 

When I looked at Orijen, the ingredients & even if I did still feed more than the recommended amount it worked out less than the Wainrights overall. Have a look at the feeding guidelines & work out a cost per meal. I ended up doing an excel spreadsheet to compare at costs 

After all that I then decided to go with raw feeding instead


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## dvnbiker (Dec 2, 2009)

only problem with looking into foods for your dogs you start to become obsessed about it.  In the end i swopped to raw as I then knew exactly what my dogs were eating each day, every day.


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## YellowLab (Jul 18, 2011)

Ive been using Orijen and in my labs case it didnt really do anything. For all the hype surrounding it I thought I was going to see marvelous things happening but nope. Her coat seemed to get quite greasy on it. She is now on AG lamb and rice as I couldnt justify spending £55 a bag on Orijen to see the same results on a cheaper food.


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## Mum2Heidi (Feb 17, 2010)

dvnbiker is absolutely right and as I'm not confident to feed raw, there is no "get out clause" for me

I progressed to wet from kibble. Altho the majority is water, there tends to be less fillers and my dog loves it.

The more you research, the further the goalpost tends to move. Less cereal more meat. Fresh meat not meatmeal. Meatmeal is better -the % listed is what you get, once the water is taken from fresh, there aint a lot left and on and on.:mad2:

You need to get your dog involved and stop at the best you can do that works or if you arent careful, you will end up where you started. When I first moved over to wet it was WW trays and Ndiet. I have now come full circle and back on these,hopefully to stay.


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## Andromeda (Nov 21, 2010)

If you have got time read this:
The Dog Food Project - Dog Food Label Information 101

Will give you a headache


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## anazonerose (Jul 19, 2011)

Many people don`t know what food have given to dog. This is a good forum in which there is a little bit information about the food that is given to dog.


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## bagpuss4 (Mar 7, 2011)

had a look at acana, and orijen also looking at fish4dogs and vitalin maintenance and lamb and rice anyone tried these vitalin foods and what are your thoughts?


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## Mum2Heidi (Feb 17, 2010)

I got a sample of the Adult Maintenance cereal free. Heidi liked it but it was a v hard kibble and I could see after time, could become a problem. Fine for bigger dogs tho and an excellent budget cereal free.

Have a look at these - Working Dog Food Adult Dog food | WorkingHPRs
I got a sample for my son and Heidi went mad for it. We went for the duck and potato. She wouldnt touch WW duck or Skinners duck and doesnt like potato but cant get enough of this.

I had stopped kibble but she has a few meals of this a week no probs at all

Great people to deal with and large samples


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## bearcub (Jul 19, 2011)

I would definitely suggest Orijen for your situation. We had similar problems with feeding as you have had, when we got her from the breeders she was on Bakers, we then switched to Royal Canin, which is very overpriced, then to Wainwrights which she seemed to produce a lot of waste on.

I was hesitant about Orijen at first... same as you thought I couldn't afford it but the amount you feed is much less than with most other foods. The way I look at is I am happy to pay £20 upwards in a restaurant for 1 meal - £55 to feed a dog for a month isn't much really. And if you don't buy Jumbones, dentastix etc then you're not spending that much really at all. 

When we finally switched to Orijen, the difference was amazing. We never have to add anything to the kibble, like sardines or anything, as she enjoys it plain. Her coat is beautiful and shiny and she has lost 5 kilos, now down to a healthy 34kg. So pleased with Orijen - not a food for every dog but definitely Labradors. I urge you to try it.


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## bearcub (Jul 19, 2011)

YellowLab said:


> Ive been using Orijen and in my labs case it didnt really do anything. For all the hype surrounding it I thought I was going to see marvelous things happening but nope. *Her coat seemed to get quite greasy on it*. She is now on AG lamb and rice as I couldnt justify spending £55 a bag on Orijen to see the same results on a cheaper food.


Dog's coats are supposed to be greasy!! It's natural oils and especially with Labs who have a waterproof undercoat which is naturally greasy. If anything Orijen was doing your dog favours!


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## LucyJ (Jul 3, 2008)

This is also a good site Dog Food Reviews | Dog Food Ratings


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## YellowLab (Jul 18, 2011)

bearcub said:


> Dog's coats are supposed to be greasy!! It's natural oils and especially with Labs who have a waterproof undercoat which is naturally greasy. If anything Orijen was doing your dog favours!


Excuse me?! I know what im talking about. Yes Labs coats are greasy but not to the extreme like hers was. Just because its a top of the range food certainly does not mean it will suit every dog. Like you said "its not a food for every dog". In my dogs particular case it did her no favours


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## hyper Springer (Jan 8, 2010)

Does anyone know of any international wet food analysis sites?


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## mollymo (Oct 31, 2009)

bagpuss4 said:


> had a look at acana, and orijen also looking at fish4dogs and vitalin maintenance and lamb and rice anyone tried these vitalin foods and what are your thoughts?


I use vitalin maintenance cereal free and the dogs are very happy on it and look in superb condition and very minimal output.

I have also used vitalin lamb and rice and the meat content with that is also good but I prefer the cereal free range.


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## Powerpie5000 (Jul 20, 2011)

My Borzoi pup is on *Arden Grange Puppy/Junior Large Breed* and i also give him wet food a few times a week which is *Animonda Gran Carny Junior* and *Rocco Junior*.... He loves it all!

I tried to give him *Wainwright's Large Breed Puppy* dry food and also *Wainwrights canned puppy food* but he turned his nose up and would only eat it if he was starving! I basically try and look for decent quality food that doesn't cost a small fortune to buy!


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## Jonesey (Dec 30, 2010)

My sister finally switched to grain free kibble for her lab cross Lexi and her coat has gotten lovely. Glossy and soft. Before she'd get bald patches on her legs and back and was always itching. They have stopped having to use the prescription creams as well (I don't know what they were - cortisone or something). And the patches are filling in.

I've driven myself round the bend trying to have our Biscuit on a good diet that she'll eat! I've got her on a raw mince mix (95% meat/5% fruit and veg) and have slowly increased the portion size so she's just eating the minimum recommended amount now. And origen poultry/fish kibble which is 80%meat/20% fruit and veg. She only eats that out of your hand or when I put it in an empty water bottle and she has to work for it. She probably gets a 1/3-1/2C per day.



> Does anyone know of any international wet food analysis sites?


I don't know of any. I think it would be hard to find one because different countries have different guidelines/regulations and brands as well.


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## Mum2Heidi (Feb 17, 2010)

Powerpie5000 said:


> My Borzoi pup is on *Arden Grange Puppy/Junior Large Breed* and i also give him wet food a few times a week which is *Animonda Gran Carny Junior* and *Rocco Junior*.... He loves it all!
> 
> I tried to give him *Wainwright's Large Breed Puppy* dry food and also *Wainwrights canned puppy food* but he turned his nose up and would only eat it if he was starving! I basically try and look for decent quality food that doesn't cost a small fortune to buy!


WW wet trays are much better than the tins.
Another couple of Zooplus brands that dont burst the bank are Rinti and Lukullus. Bit more expensive than Rocco and Animonda but Rinti in particular produces v good output


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## Powerpie5000 (Jul 20, 2011)

Mum2Heidi said:


> WW wet trays are much better than the tins.
> Another couple of Zooplus brands that dont burst the bank are Rinti and Lukullus. Bit more expensive than Rocco and Animonda but Rinti in particular produces v good output


I've not tried the trays... I've also tried Rinti but he will only eat a small bit and leave the rest (and the declared meat content didn't seem too great). Borzois can be very stubborn and picky at times


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## hyper Springer (Jan 8, 2010)

Mum2Heidi said:


> WW wet trays are much better than the tins.
> Another couple of Zooplus brands that dont burst the bank are Rinti and Lukullus. Bit more expensive than Rocco and Animonda but Rinti in particular produces v good output


You cant beat a good output which is just as important as feeding good quality input:thumbup1:


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## Powerpie5000 (Jul 20, 2011)

hyper Springer said:


> You cant beat a good output which is just as important as feeding good quality input:thumbup1:


My Borzoi pup is only 3 months old and is quite slim, but his output is BIG (in size)!... He drops one maybe two or three times a day and he urinates (and drinks) quite often. There doesn't seem to be too much info regarding a Borzois diet, so at the moment it's all trial and error! He doesn't like raw meat either (i have to cook any chicken or liver etc...).


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## hyper Springer (Jan 8, 2010)

Theres nowt so overated as good food....but nothing as underated as a perfect turnout.....ill get my coat:hand:


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## LucyJ (Jul 3, 2008)

hyper Springer said:


> Does anyone know of any international wet food analysis sites?


Wet Dog Food Reviews | Dog Food Advisor

Had a quick look, only saw Ziwi Peak on the 5 star rating for those avaiable in the UK.
Need to look further ..........


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