# Step Up to Naturals Dog food?



## Poppy171 (Jun 17, 2018)

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## lullabydream (Jun 25, 2013)

If it suits your dog that's all that matters.

I believe @BlueJay uses this but feeds mainly wet too. No one here can say her 5 dogs look bad on it.


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## BlueJay (Sep 20, 2013)

Yup, my guys are all on Step Up!
Only one is on the grain free version (he can't have rice - the others are on large breed and fishy one)

I do mix wet in too, (also step up, lulullus, rocco, butchers etc) but I like tp think my doggos are fit and healthy on it!
Really good poops, soft shiny coats, no stink and they enjoy it.

Of course it comes down to what you're happy feeding. Its not the highest meat content out there nor is it single protein source so probably wont suit snobby snobs or mega sensitive dogs, but it is a pretty good food... Especially for the price!
Plus it goes on offer every couple of months.

I've fed all sorts.... From 80% meat content, organic fancy pants foods to cheapy potato based " OMG WHEN IS PAYDAY?!" ones (i think of myself as a food snob with working class standards  ) and honestly, they're doing just as well - a couple of them doing better - on Step Up than on the top end brands.
I've figured why feed a more expensive one if you dont have to ha


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## Burrowzig (Feb 18, 2009)

It's not bad for the money - pretty much what you'd expect. I'd like to see a higher meat content but appreciate for those on a tight budget it's not always realistic. I have to count the pennies too. I think Millie's Wolfheart Forerunner works out somewhat better being 40% meat, particularly if you can stump up for the 4 x 12 kg deal. https://www.millieswolfheart.co.uk/dog-food/40-meat-fish-recipes/forerunner-mix


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## lullabydream (Jun 25, 2013)

Burrowzig said:


> It's not bad for the money - pretty much what you'd expect. I'd like to see a higher meat content but appreciate for those on a tight budget it's not always realistic. I have to count the pennies too. I think Millie's Wolfheart Forerunner works out somewhat better being 40% meat, particularly if you can stump up for the 4 x 12 kg deal. https://www.millieswolfheart.co.uk/dog-food/40-meat-fish-recipes/forerunner-mix


It's not 40% meat though. It's clever marketing using fresh and dried ingredients. Through processing you lose the water content and plus they class named oils as part of their 'meat' too. Hence the nutritional value for protein is low for protein.

Probably more meat in step up for naturals as they use nutritionally dense meat meal, which is named which is always a bonus.


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## labradrk (Dec 10, 2012)

I’ve fed Step Up to Naturals since PAH started making it - maybe 2 or so years ago? I can’t remember. It’s the only dry food that my fussy ish GSD eats all of with gusto. I’m not particularly brand loyal so thought I’d treat her to a ‘posh’ brand of food as a change, which she picked at one or two meals of and then promptly ignored. SUTN on the other hand is cleared every time!


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## Karen Jack's Mum (Aug 10, 2018)

Poppy171 said:


> Hi all, just wondering what people thought of Step Up to Naturals Chicken and Sweet Potato Grain Free Adult Dog Food? I'd love to get a good quality dry food but I'm feeding 5 dogs so am on a bit of a budget.
> 
> Composition: Chicken Meal (31%), Sweet Potato (21%), Potato Starch (20%), Linseed (5%), Beet Pulp (5%), Chicken Fat (4.5%), Peas (4%), Apple (4%), Chicken Gravy, Salmon Oil (1%), Minerals, Chicory (0.1%), Rosemary (0.1%), Mint (0.1%).
> 
> Technological Additives: Tocopherol Rich Extracts of Natural Origin 100 mg/kg;no colours, flavours or preservatives. Nutritional Additives (Per kg): Vitamins: Vitamin A (retinyl acetate) 25000 iu, Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) 2500 iu, Vitamin E (all rac-alpha tocopherol acetate) 120 mg, Vitamin C 200 mg, Copper (copper sulphate pentahydrate) 32 mg, Iodine (calcium iodate anhydrous) 2.4 mg, Selenium (sodium selenite) 0.33 mg, Iron (ferrous sulphate monohydrate) 133 mg, Manganese (manganous oxide) 16 mg, Zinc (zinc sulphate monohydrate) 333 mg, Biotin 200 mcg. .


Hi, I just bought this yesterday and it looked pretty good. However a little disappointed that the bag can not be recycled


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## rona (Aug 18, 2011)

I use this as treats for my walk dogs, it seems to be fine for the 2 with tummy issues, including pancreatitis and also the one with skin issues. To me that's the best endorsement of a food that I can give.
Of course I don't know how it would go down as a complete diet but I've got a couple of hedgehogs in the garden that have been living on it for the summer and their poops are just fine


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## sjn88 (Apr 15, 2016)

I got this yesterday as I wanted a bigger kibble as Harrington's so small I've mixed this morning and Nova seemed to pick this out 1st so I'm taking that as she likes it


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## Poppy171 (Jun 17, 2018)

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## KeithChesterfield2 (Jul 11, 2018)

A few months ago we rehoused a 7 year old Border Collie from Blue Cross and we didn't know what food he was used to.

We have been giving him Chicken and Sweet Potato Grain free 'Step up to Naturals' and he is thriving on the food.

But we have noticed that, how can I put this, he often seems to have silent but deadly wind.

Do other dogs using this product have a similar problem or should we investigate whether the smells are a direct result of his dog food or another underlying reason ?

Any help appreciated.


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## Torin. (May 18, 2014)

@KeithChesterfield2 - farts usually indicate a mild intolerance - the gut doesn't get on with the food, but not bad enough for it to be diarrhoea levels. Some people are happy with that level, some people will feed foods that are at that level only once in a while, others avoid it all together. It's worth noting that 'happy with that' can cause problems long term as repeat exposure of high levels is more likely to make the situation worse than better. But you'll be much better off in terms of flexibility if you can work out exactly what ingredient that is that's causing the problem. Informed decisions and all that 

For example, my dog gets really bad farts from sweet potato. I'm happy to give him very small amounts of food we get for free with small amounts of it in e.g. trial bags of food with it as a minor ingredient to be used in tiny amounts in feeding enrichment toys a couple of times a week. But I completely avoid actually paying money for foods which contain it, even if they only contain say 4% (how much sweet potato the SUTN tinned wet foods contain).


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## KeithChesterfield2 (Jul 11, 2018)

Thanks for the reply.
If it is the Sweet Potato, as a matter of elimination, causing the wind would Rice perhaps be a better option with regards to digestion than the Potato ?


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## Torin. (May 18, 2014)

I don't really understand your question - can you rephrase? With regards to your wording, despite similar names, potato and sweet potato are completely unrelated plants (they're not even in the same taxonomical family). While some pet food companies call normal potato "white potato" in a bid make things clearer, they do need to be treated as separate ingredients.


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## KeithChesterfield2 (Jul 11, 2018)

_If it is the Sweet Potato, as a matter of elimination, causing the wind would Rice perhaps be a better option with regards to digestion than the Potato ?_

If it is the Sweet Potato, as a matter of elimination, causing the wind would Rice perhaps be a better option with regards to digestion than the SWEET Potato ?

Is that any clearer ?


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## Torin. (May 18, 2014)

That's the same phasing, just with corrected wording. So not any clearer.

The first step with any of these things is to identify the trigger. Sweet potato was my example because that's what causes my dog issues. It may not be the same with yours.


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## Poppy171 (Jun 17, 2018)

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## KeithChesterfield2 (Jul 11, 2018)

The point I was trying to get over in my apparently unfathomable question was that if Sweet Potato was the cause of your dogs problem then it might also be the same cause as my dog's problem.

Therefore, changing one main ingredient (Sweet Potato 21%) to a product with Rice (14%) - and only 4% Sweet Potato - might solve the problem.

Without going through every ingredient that is indicated on the dog food packaging one by one it might be better starting with an obvious one and seeing if that works.

Hope this clarifies the post.


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## SusieRainbow (Jan 21, 2013)

With one of my dogs it was chicken , and before I realised that was the culprit she had progressed through the evil wind stage to explosive diarrhoea and sometimes vomiting. Tripe content also gave her wind, once I eliminated both of those substances she was mostly fine. 
It's a case of trial and error realy, but be aware that chopping and changing food itself can cause tummy upsets.
How about trying a fish and white potato kibble , stick with it for a couple of weeks, and see how she is ? 
Fishmongers from [email protected] is a highly rated food.


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## Torin. (May 18, 2014)

I didn't realise asking you to clarify your question was so offensive. It's not uncommon for people to ask on forums as text-only communication removes nuance (e.g. I politely reworded a training question just the other day).

But yeah, you really do have to eliminate ingredients one at a time to work out what's causing the problem, without assumptions. Yes it's long winded, but trying to cut corners can create additional problems and also give false positives as explained by @SusieRainbow above. It took me about 10 months to know for sure what was causing my dog's problems.


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