# Best dog food? - UK



## Charlieee

When we first got Bella, the breeder gave us Pedigree puppy complete and although she did eat it at meal times, she didnt seem fussed by it or rush to eat when we gave it to her. 
Recently when the food had run out we started to give her Bakers complete and she seemed to wolf it down. But we've noticed Bella seems to have become a bit more hyperactive in the last few weeks (she's 13 weeks now) and I'm wondering if it could partly be to do with the dog food, as I have read a few bad reviews about Bakers

What do you find is the best dry dog food? Are there ones that are both nutritious and tasty for your puppy?


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## lady amanda

She is 13 weeks....I would say that she is hyper because she is 13 weeks.


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## Dylansmum

I had a dog trainer who told me that she found Bakers to be the worst food for hyperactivity. She described dogs fed on it as "bouncing off the walls"! I think it is high in carbs. The best dry foods are those that follow a natural regime and are approx 80% meat, with no grains or artificial additives. If you look at the ingredients of the natural holistic dry foods, I think that Orijen looks by far the most impressive, but is obviously a premium price. Other than that, you could look at Applaws, Arden grange, James Wellbeloved or any other holistic foods and compare the ingredients. Good luck!


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## wilfiboy

Just bought Orijens after reading good reports on here and then reading up about it .. it is more expensive but if you want to give your dog a good diet its 75/80% naturally soursed meat and 20% friut and veg without grains or fillers. Its only day one and Im introducing it slowly with my old food though Im sure they'd be fine Im just tight and dont want to waste what I've already got ... so I dont know how they will behave .. all I know is when it was delivered they were both very interested in the box and then the bags inside it obviously smells delish. It has won best dog food for last couple of years have a read. I would feed Barf ( bones and raw food) but it is messy to make and Wilf went off it at one point although they still have bones occaisionally and a chicken wing a day. Helens food looks great (Dylansmum) if you fancy raw food. As an alternative prior to me just buying Orijens mine had Barking Heads which is made up of natural ingredients.


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## alfiedoo

I've also heard bad reports about Bakers. Alf was on pedigree dry food when we got him but I wanted him on a good quality dry food. Our local pet shop recommended James well beloved as its one of the ones which has a high meat content and is hyperallergenic, free from artificial additives and colourings. Apparently Bakers is one of the worst for additives especially artificial colourings and has quite a low meat content. It could be contributing to how hyper Bella is. (as well as the fact she is 13 weeks old!)


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## embee

I've just switched to Orijen because it is the best dry food and follows the 'biologically appropriate' principle of meat/fruit/veg and no carbs/fillers/grains.

The supplier I brought it from also said it is the best dry food but did agree it was expensive. She did say that the manufacturer is about to introduce a premium food along the same lines but at a lower price so that might be one to watch for if cost is a constraint.

The dog trainer I use recommends Burns dry food and Nature Diet wet food. I've always mixed a little Nature Diet with Flo's kibble to keep her interested and use 1 box per week and a different flavour each week. I cut it into cubes and freeze them then defrost 1 cube for each meal that I mash with a little water then add her kibble too.

She used to be a really reluctant eater but loves what she has now. Orijen smells great when you open the bag and Flo was jumping about all over the place when she got a whiff.


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## wilfiboy

Mandy I was wondering what Flo thought...mine could smell it through the box (ordered it off tinternet) x


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## kendal

get her off the bakers and Ped, they are no.1 and 2 on the list of foods that make dogs go nutty. while JW is owned by the company that make Ped it is still one of the better brands.


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## embee

wilfiboy said:


> Mandy I was wondering what Flo thought...mine could smell it through the box (ordered it off tinternet) x


She went bonkers when I opened the bag and even I (veggy) thought it smelt great. She's still only on 25%O and 75%JW as I need to use the JW up but I'm really pleased I'm switching her over.


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## wilfiboy

Never mind it smells nice we cant afford to eat it ourslves lol x


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## embee

wilfiboy said:


> Never mind it smells nice we cant afford to eat it ourslves lol x


Funny that we go to such lengths to feed our dog the absolute best, no rubbish, 'biologically appropriate' diet but eat 'rubbish' ourselves (chocs, crisps, wine etc etc etc) now if I could just feed myself on berries, nuts, fruit and veggies I'd be as fit and as lean as my dog


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## barrelman

*Arden Grange*

We use Arden Grange as it only contains natural ingredients. You only have to look at Bakers Complete to see that its full of rubbish. Why the need to make the food bright and colourful. It's designed to make us humans think it looks nice. Your dog won't care what colour it is. However the additives and colours put in will make them hyper. 
The likes of Arden Grange are a little more expensive but if you buy in bulk the difference is fairly minimal


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## alfiedoo

kendal said:


> get her off the bakers and Ped, they are no.1 and 2 on the list of foods that make dogs go nutty. while JW is owned by the company that make Ped it is still one of the better brands.


Thats interesting Kendal I didn't know was owned by same company!


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## wilfiboy

embee said:


> Funny that we go to such lengths to feed our dog the absolute best, no rubbish, 'biologically appropriate' diet but eat 'rubbish' ourselves (chocs, crisps, wine etc etc etc) now if I could just feed myself on berries, nuts, fruit and veggies I'd be as fit and as lean as my dog


Berries and nuts my personal favourite


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## embee

wilfiboy said:


> Berries and nuts my personal favourite


Well that's what I'm existing on at the moment as I attempt to shed 2 stone by July so I'm sort of in competition with Rosie on the forum. No - I'm not going to post before and after pics!


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## wilfiboy

Thats an idea we can double up as a weight loss forum ... save money on classes and might make me stick to it if I had to post humiliating progress pics x


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## kendal

alfiedoo said:


> Thats interesting Kendal I didn't know was owned by same company!


Pedigree, Royal Canin, and James Well Beloved are all owend by the company mars


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## lady amanda

wilfiboy said:


> Thats an idea we can double up as a weight loss forum ... save money on classes and might make me stick to it if I had to post humiliating progress pics x


LOL! too funny...but so not in on the pics! lol.


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## wilfiboy

Remember Amanda I cant even post them of the dogs lol x


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## lady amanda

wilfiboy said:


> remember amanda i cant even post them of the dogs lol x


lol!!!!!!!!! Very true!!! Hahahah


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## Kel

Chloe is on Blue Buffalo puppy and Orijen...on the road to maybe switching to Orijen alone. It is taking a long time to switch, though, because she was having some problems with vomiting. I know Orijen is really good for her(and the factory that makes it is about half an hour away from me) so I want to give it a fair chance. They did recently change their formula and some people have complained about it. Two websites I did a lot of researching on are www.dogfoodchat.com and www.dogfoodadvisor.com


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## Enneirda.

I feed tasteofthewild. It's grain free, high protein, and is one of the cheaper foods in it's category. If had it near me -and could afford it right know lol- I'd try Orijen too, heard great things about it.

This site is great for telling you the real worth of dog food brands: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/

No matter what you choose, get her off Bakers and pedigree now. Really bad foods.

This site is great for info about what's really in dog foods along with many stories and facts about canines: http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com


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## Charlieee

Thanks for all your very informative messages. We went to the pet shop today and got a small bag of James Wellbeloved to try, so we'll see how that goes. Obviously she'll still be quite hyper as she's still only a puppy (but she's so cute when she is) but I'll be happy to know I'm not feeding her a loads of additives and rubbish.


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## weez74

Anyone tried Purina Beta? - I saw an advert for it today which was stressing how good it was for dogs with sensitive tummies (obviously a draw for me!).


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## Dylansmum

weez74 said:


> Anyone tried Purina Beta? - I saw an advert for it today which was stressing how good it was for dogs with sensitive tummies (obviously a draw for me!).


Not impressed with their ingredient list (which took a lot of effort to find on the website). Top ingredient is cereal, then meat and animal derivatives. It has prebiotics, but apart from that doesn't appear to have a lot to recommend it. Sorry! Don't like to be negative


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## weez74

Dylansmum said:


> Not impressed with their ingredient list (which took a lot of effort to find on the website). Top ingredient is cereal, then meat and animal derivatives. It has prebiotics, but apart from that doesn't appear to have a lot to recommend it. Sorry! Don't like to be negative


No, it's far better to be negative than for me to spend money buying it and not be able to use it! It sounds like they've just taken some normal food and bunged in some prebiotics (which, as I've mentioned before, are far less effective if they're not stored in a refrigerator), so they can sell it to those of us with sensitive doggies! Boooooooooo to the cynical dog food people. 

Actually, the JWB Fish seems to be finally working out for us and, with Kendal's yoghurt tip, I reckon I'm probably feeding her something far better than what they are advertising! I just feel sad for Rosie that she won't have much variety, so I'm keeping an eye out for possible additions to her diet for the future. Once her tummy's been settled for a while I'll start trying out other things (subject to quality control!), I think, and see how she goes. 

Thank you for your excellent consumer research!


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## parapluie

wilfiboy said:


> Berries and nuts my personal favourite


Oh, I was thinking chocs, crisps, and wine would be the fav. I guess that's only me! Before and after pics... oh lord, wouldn't that make this forum popular!!


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## ali

Hi,
I am new to the forum so hopefully am posting correctly! We have a 15 week pup called Woody (yes, named by the children after the character from Toy Story!) He too appears very active (sleeps for only minutes a time throughout the day) and last night our dog trainer commented that he appeared hyperactive. She suggested that we try a change in food - we are using Hills Science Plan which he came from the breeder on and i thought was supopsed to be a good brand. I notice that it hasn't been mentioned through this thread - does anyone have any experience of using it?


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## kendal

ali said:


> Hi,
> I am new to the forum so hopefully am posting correctly! We have a 15 week pup called Woody (yes, named by the children after the character from Toy Story!) He too appears very active (sleeps for only minutes a time throughout the day) and last night our dog trainer commented that he appeared hyperactive. She suggested that we try a change in food - we are using Hills Science Plan which he came from the breeder on and i thought was supopsed to be a good brand. I notice that it hasn't been mentioned through this thread - does anyone have any experience of using it?


 its one that the vets push normaly because the are sed to get a persentege of the sale. its not one of the best in my book.


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## embee

kendal said:


> its one that the vets push normaly because the are sed to get a persentege of the sale. its not one of the best in my book.


Our vet even gave us a free bag when we first took Flo to their puppy parties so there's clearly some kind of deal going. I suppose the thinking is that if they can encourage you to try Science Plan for your new puppy you are more likely to stick with the brand in the long term. As I was a first time puppy owner I also thought if the vet gives it out it must be good. I used the bag of science plan they gave me as training treats then didn't buy any more. Flo was always keen on it but maybe just because it was something different to her regular kibble. For her main food I started with JW initially but have now switched to Orijen with a little Nature Diet mashed in.


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## wilfiboy

parapluie said:


> Oh, I was thinking chocs, crisps, and wine would be the fav. I guess that's only me! Before and after pics... oh lord, wouldn't that make this forum popular!!


Oh Lia you've rumbled me I was fibbing. 
our vet pushed science plan and that was the start of Wilf not really having an appetite when i told the vet that I was feeding Barf instead he was nt too pleased, would be interested to know how much they get for promoting it x


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## weez74

I've had two free bags of James Wellbeloved from our vet! It's the only food they sell, so I assumed they get given the trial bags for free because they stock the food. It may not be a case of them getting payment for stocking it. We also got free toothpaste and a finger toothbrush, and two free JWB food bowls. I do love a freebie.

Our vet did push me towards JWB, even though we had bought some originally and Rosie still got colitis. She was more interested in the ingredients (i.e. we'd bought lamb and rice, so she wanted me to try turkey and rice, then when that didn't work, she wanted me to try fish and rice. I did get a bit suspicious at how much she was sticking to the brand, but then she explained that JWB are one of the few feeds that have guaranteed ingredients, so it is much better for when you are trying to work out whether a dog is intolerant of something in particular. She did seem to know what she was talking about (maybe I am just really naive?)


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## Dylansmum

weez74 said:


> I did get a bit suspicious at how much she was sticking to the brand, but then she explained that JWB are one of the few feeds that have guaranteed ingredients, so it is much better for when you are trying to work out whether a dog is intolerant of something in particular. She did seem to know what she was talking about (maybe I am just really naive?)


I'm a real cynic now and after researching and experiencing natural diets I totally lost faith in the veterinary industry, as well as the dog food industry! I believe that for most vets it's about profit, and, for the exceptions to that, they are governed by their training and are rarely open to other ideas. Most vets seem to sell Science Diet, but that doesn't mean it's a good food. The first ingredient is corn and the second Chicken by-product meal. The third is corn gluten meal. 'Fraid that doesn't do it for me! At least JWB is a holistic food, so your vet would appear to have better ideas than most Louise, but they are still promoting their product and that doesn't mean it's the best. But if you compare the ingredients to Science Diet, you can see the difference.


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## francesjl

Bakers is the Macdonalds of dog food !
I feed my 2 cockapoos on purina beta puppy


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## Enneirda.

francesjl, purina is Macdonalds too. 

I find the way they list their ingredients terrifying.

Ingredients
Cereals (wholegrain min. 4%, rice min. 4%), Meat and animal derivatives (meat min. 14%, Lamb min. 4%), Vegetable protein extracts, Oils and fats, Derivatives of vegetable origin (beet pulp min. 0.5%), Vegetables (chicory min. 0.5%), Minerals.
With antioxidants and preserved with EC additives.

Not even being able to know what's in it. Nothing could be worst with how many freaky things go into dog food nowadays. 

www.dogfoodanalysis.com's take on this food:

This food receives a 1-star rating simply because there is nothing lower. 

We cannot comprehend feeding a dog on a mixture of cereals and “derivatives” of animal or vegetable origin. There are no official definitions for those ingredients, and assurances that there is a minimum of 4% chicken in the food does nothing to decrease our horror at the idea of feeding this food to a canine. End quote.

Also,

Purina normally contains the ingredient ‘animal fat’. The FDA tells consumers the pet food ingredient ‘animal fat’ is one of several pet food ingredients that are probable to contain the lethal drug pentobarbital thus probable to contain the remains of a euthanized animal. “There appear to be associations between rendered or hydrolyzed ingredients and the presence of pentobarbital in dog food. The ingredients Meat and Bone Meal (MBM), Beef and Bone Meal (BBM), Animal Fat (AF), and Animal Digest (AD) are rendered or hydrolyzed from animal sources that could include euthanized animals.” I have to keep saying this… Any food (human or animal food) that contains even the tiniest bit of an animal that has died other than by slaughter (euthanized animal) or contains even the tiniest bit of animal that is diseased (again, sick euthanized animal) is a clear violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. By the FDA’s own testing, pet food that contain the ingredients ‘Animal Fat’, ‘Meat and Bone Meal’, ‘Beef and Bone Meal’, and ‘Animal Digest’ are likely to contain pentobarbital and in turn, a euthanized animal. Right now, pet food sitting in your grocery, Walmart, Target, and mega pet stores contain numerous ingredients that are a clear violation of Federal law. Sadly, no one seems to care Federal law is being violated every single day; no one of authority that is.

Nope...a lethal drug and rendered euthanized animals would never be ‘the right ingredients’ for any of my pets. 

The above ^ http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/purina-warns-pet-owners-to-avoid-junk-food.html

Here's one about purina beyOnd : http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/purina-one-beyond-what-do-you-think.html


Not to mention WAY to much corn and other such trashy grain packed into foods like this.


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## caradunne

I wanted to mix a small amount of good quality wet food , with the dry food and bought Almo Nature Jelly - tuna, before reading Mandy's Naturediet recommendation. I can't find any info on this on any of the suggested websites. Does anyone have any experience of this? It smells and looks like tin tuna and Izzy loves it. Ingredients 61% Tuna, 1% rice, 38% fish broth in gelatine. I am a bit put off as it is made in Thailand for an Italian company - any ideas?


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## embee

caradunne said:


> I wanted to mix a small amount of good quality wet food , with the dry food and bought Almo Nature Jelly - tuna, before reading Mandy's Naturediet recommendation. I can't find any info on this on any of the suggested websites. Does anyone have any experience of this? It smells and looks like tin tuna and Izzy loves it. Ingredients 61% Tuna, 1% rice, 38% fish broth in gelatine. I am a bit put off as it is made in Thailand for an Italian company - any ideas?


You could just mix in a 'human' tinned tuna or salmon. Flo really enjoys her kibble with just a tablespoon of Nature Diet mashed in so one box of Nature Diet lasts about 5 days. I cut it into small blocks then defrost or microwave a piece each day. They do 5 flavours so I use a different flavour each week to keep her interested in her food. I also sometimes stir in a raw egg.


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## JulesB

http://www.pet-food-choice.co.uk/

I found the above website quite useful and Betty is currently eating Natural Dog Food having been on Arden Grange which she was fine with but seemed a bit bored of.

Am going to either keep her on this for awhile or switch her to Green Dog or possibly Whites Premium. To be honest I think you can debate the which food to feed them constantly but what will work fo one dog may not work as well for another so its all trial and error!


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## Dylansmum

caradunne said:


> I wanted to mix a small amount of good quality wet food , with the dry food and bought Almo Nature Jelly - tuna, before reading Mandy's Naturediet recommendation. I can't find any info on this on any of the suggested websites. Does anyone have any experience of this? It smells and looks like tin tuna and Izzy loves it. Ingredients 61% Tuna, 1% rice, 38% fish broth in gelatine. I am a bit put off as it is made in Thailand for an Italian company - any ideas?


Those ingredients sound good, or as Mandy said, you could just use tinned tuna, or even raw whole fish like sardines. Some dogs love them, others don't. It's all the grains and derivatives and additives in some dog foods that are best avoided.


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## wilfiboy

Mable will just munch through fresh full sardines, Wilfs not a lover although they do both like tuna, Wilf has been known to turn his nose up at fillet steak ... fussy bugger x


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## wilfiboy

P.s great post Adrienne x


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## caradunne

embee said:


> You could just mix in a 'human' tinned tuna or salmon. Flo really enjoys her kibble with just a tablespoon of Nature Diet mashed in so one box of Nature Diet lasts about 5 days. I cut it into small blocks then defrost or microwave a piece each day. They do 5 flavours so I use a different flavour each week to keep her interested in her food. I also sometimes stir in a raw egg.


Thanks for the advice and i have found the Naturediet in a local petshop - i tried a cube with Izzy's food and she loved it. Unfortunately i bought a pack of 24 Almo pouches so I do want to use them up if they are OK and i wondered if anyone had come across them before.


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## Wendy

Well, our breeder gave us Science Plan for our puppy (Dudley) and he is thriving on it but I felt he needed some variety despite the vet, the petshop and uncle Tom Cobley and all insisting dogs are more than happy to eat the same food every day. So now I mix in a serving spoonful of Chappie tinned food with his dry biscuits and he always, always eats the tinned food first - so I guess puppies do like variety! Plus, the other day he got hold of the plastic tub of treats we keep by the back door to reward him when he's been out for his toilet break and he scoffed the lot and was found with a very guilty (but satisfied) look on his face but his over-indulgence happily didn't seem to particularly affect his digestion and we just skipped his next meal to get him back on track.


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## wilfiboy

Naughty Dudley lol x


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## Spikeyboy13

Would James well beloved be a good food to have a puppy cockerpoo on then? And would u mix any wet food with it? A tiny bit to keep them interested as was said above or not while they're a pup?


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## RangerC

You need to go raw guys - there is so much variety and you will notice how much their coat improves.


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## wilfiboy

Try checking out the different brands on here...

http://www.whichdogfood.co.uk


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## senyma

Have any of you tried Holistic Health extension (organic)
My breeder started us off with it.it seems to have good indredients, only thing is Hachi is 20 months and I feed him twice a day. Since we have him every twice or three times a month he vomits that foamy whitish stuff in the early morning...so we now are trying to feed him three times a day with a snack at bed time...I would usually fed Hachi twice a day once in am and then at 4pm...to long a waiting until the next am feeding so we are trying the three times with a snack at bed time....as I mentioned after that initial vomit he is fine, very active all day long...I would appreciate any comments on the food Holistic Health extension if you've tried it Thanks Senyma (Joanne)


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