# Is Wagg really that bad?



## wiz1908 (Apr 19, 2012)

Hi advise needed please.

Enzo's been on Arden Grange since I brought him home (breeder had him on NI but I just don't have freezer space for it plus he wouldn't eat what I brought home from the breeder) He always loved the Arden Grange but the last couple of months has gone off it & only eats it if I made eating times "fun" ie hiding it etc. In the evening I was mixing the kibble with Naturediet, sometimes he'll eat it all other times a bit of it. After looking on here I thought I'd try Barking Heads & got a sample but he's not really fussed with that either & ended up with tummy upset despite just giving him a little but that could be coincidence. A few other dog owners I know use Wagg but thought that wasn't meant to be very good but their dogs thrive on it & it has great reviews on Amazon etc but am wary of trying it. It's not the cost, money is tight but I'm happy to pay for higher end food if it's better & more importantly he likes it but at the moment most of it ends up in the bin! I've looked on Wagg’s website & it all looks ok but to be honest not really sure what I'm looking at! I know there are many threads re food on here but get the impression these lower priced end foods really aren't good. If anyone else uses Wagg or knows why it's not good I'd appreciate your feedback.

Liz & Enzo

PS sorry for length & possibly repeat of questions lol


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## colpa110 (Jul 5, 2011)

I'm sure a lot of dogs do love it...it is junk food for dogs which in moderation is OK but would not recommend feeding it long term.


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## Jack Spaniel (Jul 6, 2012)

I fed Wagg to my spaniel Jack for most of his life and he loved it. However Jack died with abdominal cancer at age 7. Would hate to think there was link to the food but he was a really fit and active dog with glossy coat almost to the end of his life.
I have done a fair bit of research with my new puppy Oscar and he is currently on Fromm Puppy, which he seems indifferent about. Will try Barking Heads next and a friends poo is mad about Burns Fish flavour so may try that as well.
Oscar is a bit picky with his food whereas Jack just inhaled his and we had an empty dish in about a minute. 
Perhaps the slow eating by Oscar is just a puppy thing, but he eats chicken or people biscuits fast enough given the chance.


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## RachelJ (Oct 5, 2012)

Ah i didnt know there was anything wrong with Wagg? I have some treats for Darcie that are Wagg, she seesm to love them but i think after reading this i will do some research


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## wiz1908 (Apr 19, 2012)

There might not be Rachel, my 2 friends that feed their dogs wagg have been doing so for years, one dog is 6 & is fit & healthy & the other is 14 & apart from being old is fit & healthy too. It is so confusing, have a look at the wagg website it has lots of info. I just don't know what to try with Enzo, trouble is you keep trying different ones with the small samples which can upset tum too even though just fed slowley so you're not sure if it's the food doing it or the change of food. Although I don't mind spending the money for him can't afford to buy it to chuck away & I want him to enjoy his food. Not sure what's the best to do.


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## Lozzie (Apr 1, 2012)

Hi Liz, I don't know much about this topic, I feed my dogs Green Dog because of ethical treatment of the animals the meat comes from (I'm vegetarian so that's my comprimise). Both of my dogs love it although a few months ago I went through a wibbly patch with Willow so I started wetting it and haven't had problems again.

I posted on the other thread that you're referring to that my mum's 16 year old cocker spaniel has always eaten Bakers and is healthy on that (she has general old age problems now but I don't think that is related to the food). She has never been over weight and enjoys picking at her food throughout the day.

As I say, I don't really know much about it but it seems that there are many dogs who eat the 'cheap junk food' and do just as well on it. Maybe its something worth asking your vet to chat with you about?


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## wellerfeller (Jul 12, 2011)

It really is personal choice what you feed. With the lower end foods it's the additives and indigestible s that go in to them that can create a problem. Your dog may not be sensitive to these things but if they are then it can affect, digestion, behaviour etc. my Dads dogs were fed on rubbish all their lives, you wouldn't have caught him paying good money for dog food but then I think we were lucky that our dogs never suffered with sensitive tums or anything.
Just be careful to not fall into the trap of keep changing food, many pups go through a fussy stage at some point and changing food can make the fussiness worse or even upset their tummy......and they will still be fussy. I would just pick a food you are happy with and ride out the drop in appetite, it should come back in time.


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## Duckdog (Jul 23, 2012)

wellerfeller said:


> It really is personal choice what you feed. With the lower end foods it's the additives and indigestible s that go in to them that can create a problem. Your dog may not be sensitive to these things but if they are then it can affect, digestion, behaviour etc. my Dads dogs were fed on rubbish all their lives, you wouldn't have caught him paying good money for dog food but then I think we were lucky that our dogs never suffered with sensitive tums or anything.
> Just be careful to not fall into the trap of keep changing food, many pups go through a fussy stage at some point and changing food can make the fussiness worse or even upset their tummy......and they will still be fussy. *I would just pick a food you are happy with and ride out the drop in appetite, it should come back in time*.


Wise words, we are currently going through 'stand off' with BH! She eats it at day care but not at home...contrary little wotsit.


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## Enneirda. (Mar 5, 2010)

dogfoodanalysis.com sums up my thoughts on Waggs perfectly. 

"The main ingredients are low quality grains. Wheat is believed by many to be the leading cause of food allergies in dogs, and in wheatfeed form, this is a grain fragment we consider primarily filler. Wheatfeed is a byproduct (think floorsweepings) of processing wheat for human foods - that is, the remainder of the grain after the nutritious bits have been removed for other purposes. Maize (corn) is a difficult to digest grain of limited value, and which is also commonly associated with food allergies in dogs. Even if these had been decent quality grains, we would still note that this food is based heavily on grains which are an unnatural foodstuff for canines. Dog foods should be based on meat.

The first meat ingredient is meat meal, second on the ingredient list. This is a low quality meat product. "Meat" could be anything and ingredients of unidentifiable species and source are usually of very low quality. A second meat ingredient, this time a named meat meal, is fourth - but in quantities of only 4% in a portion of the food, this is far too low to provide meaningful meat content to the food."


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## wellerfeller (Jul 12, 2011)

I also find from my own experience that with Barking heads there is very little poo and its not too unpleasant to pick up, with cheaper low end foods the poo can be mountainous!


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## Hfd (Aug 19, 2011)

Just to add that I have found Billy doesn't get excited about his food - he just eats when he is hungry but more as a necessity. He has been on Royal Canin up to around a year then Barking Heads. Maybe they are just fussy eaters?


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## RuthMill (Jun 30, 2012)

I think fussy dogs will eventually eat if they are hungry. Riding the storm with the fussy periods is probably the best thing to do. Even adding something like natural yogurt and mixing it through may encourage eating, although I wouldn't get too keen on changing the food too much by adding things. Stopping tasty treats and human food will also encourage an appetite.


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## RuthMill (Jun 30, 2012)

I can also vouch for Barking Heads Puppy Days.. Real hit in this house. Lola used to poo all day long on Hills Science Plan Vet Essentials as prescribed by vet for jippy tummy, I decided to change to BH because of all the success stories here on this very forum! It's the best thing we did! Now Lola poos once a day and its formed and non smelly and easy to pick up! Not to mention all the other benefits!


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## sugerlump (Oct 6, 2012)

there is only one thing to keep in mind ,,dogs are meat eaters, they are not to be feed wheat they are not a vegetarian,they are carnivorous, and they thrive much better on a good meat added dog food,,and all dog foods have a certain amount of veggies in it for the benefits they give,like vitamins and minerals. but the fact still is they are ,meat eaters,that is why all the very good dog foods have a lot of meat in it, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,SL


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## Duckdog (Jul 23, 2012)

I won the BH stand off tonight. No treats at all and at 10pm Binky cracked and ate her (very late) dinner!


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## sugerlump (Oct 6, 2012)

ducky, i do the same thing now.i was going to mix some can food with it,but then thought better of it ,once you start that your hooked on it ,right, so we decided when ginger gets hungry enough she will eat,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,SL


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## wiz1908 (Apr 19, 2012)

Thank you all so much for your helpful advice. I won't be feeding Wagg as my worries about it have been confirmed on here & although many dogs must happily eat it I think I'll avoid it. I've decided for now to stick to Arden Grange as I'm almost out of my last 15kg bag of the puppy one & Arden Grange (always so helpful) have said it's ok for Enzo to go onto the adult one now & are sending a sample. He's had a upset tum for a little while now but is now better after a week of chicken & rice so rather than start to try different foods will stick with this but shall be buying a smaller bag at 1st to see how it goes! - the adult one comes in more flavors so will see if maybe he was just bored with the puppy one etc. I shall continue to add a bit of Naturediet to his dinner as he seems to enjoy this & think that is a good quality wet food & also has different flavors to keep it a bit interesting.

Thanks again & as always you have all been very helpful


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