Dog Food

[johnny37]

My 17 month old springer bitch is healthy, fast, lively, and absolutely adorable in every way. She is fit, solid muscle and bone, not overweight though slightly small for a springer (19.8kg). We have a largish garden and she gets taken for a 1.5hr walk in the woods once a day.

We feed her on Winalot and Pedigree tinned dog food and she can eat four, sometime five, tins a day which I feed her on demand. I was taught that puppies should always have a full belly. Four tins (1.6kg) of dog food seems a lot. It works out £1.20 a day.

Does this sound right? Would a good quality dry food be cheaper (ie would she eat less for the same benefit?)

Thanks

[Khandro]

Sounds to me like you are heading for a very fat dog! There are dog weight to food table ratios you can consult. Feeding a dog on demand is always a bad idea, even working sheep dogs don't get that.

[icemaiden]

Feeding a puppy on demand, that's a new one on me.

Doesn't sound like a good idea at all.

I have never fed my dogs a tinned food. High water content, additives, artificial colours, preservatives etc in them and not much goodness either.
I would say a good dried food is better, James Wellbeloved or Burns. Both have nothing artificial added to them.

I feed mine naturediet and a plain, nothing added, biscuit mixer. Fed once in the morning and again at night.

But that's my preference.

[chrissa1]

4 or 5 tins a day??? I'm afraid that is far too much. Having had 8 Labs over the past 35 years I've always fed them on tinned meat and mixer. One tin a day with mixer is all dogs need.

How does your dog "demand" food?

[chrissa1]

4 tins of Pedigree Dog Meat doesn't equate to £1.20/perday. It's more like £2.50.

[woofgang]

Tinned food has a load of water in it. mine eat expensive dry food (wafcol Salmon and potato) and I feed two large dogs (weimaraner x gsp, 31 and 32 kg respectively) for about 45 a month. They get treats on top but that's the basic. At 17 months, she is pretty well full grown and shouldn't need as much as a pup. Where did you get her and what feeding advice did they give? My pups are down to two meals a day by 18months and stay on two meals a day for life. If I demand fed them they would eat themselves sick!

[Ratty2E]

I've never heard of feeding a puppy on demand and at 17 months she's done her growing so twice a day would be more like it. Five tins plus mixer a day seems an enormous amount of food. Take a look around the local pet shop, all food brands will give you a guide based on breed and weight but you also need to use your own common sense as most of them seem to over estimate in my experience. Dry food is easy and convenient but pretty boring, my two just pick at it and chuck all over the floor, and she may not take to it as she's been used to wet food. I feed mine pet mince (and mixer) from our organic butchers which is basically all the bits of the beasts us humans won't eat plus anything that past it's best. It may be entrails but it's organic and New Forest Marque entrails and they love it. I works out at 25p for the equivalent amount of a standard tin. Whatever you eventually choose please be careful and introduce the new food gradually, slowly replacing ever larger quantities of her old food with the new over the period of 7-10 days.

[johnny37]

She will soon be out of puppy status (18 months) but she has had adult food since she was 9 months. We started on Skinners field and trial dry food which is what the breeder suggested. She did not seem to like dry food so we switched to tinned. She only eats when she is hungry, not the primaeval instinct 'get as much as you can, tomorrow it may not be available'. She never gets treats and does not need them.

On the diet we feed her she is perfectly fit and healthy, no excess fat at all. On her dog walks she never stops running and must cover more than six miles if I walk 2 miles. I think I would notice if she became overweight.

She tells me she is hungry by lying out with her nose pointed towards her bowl looking at me doefully.

Pedigree and Winalot and sometimes Butchers are always on special offer at 12 tins for £5. to be precise it works our 41.7p per tin/£1.66 per day/£50 per month. My mistake.

I dont think it would be in the manufacturers own interest to pack the food with harmful additives but I take the point about water. It says 89.5% on the tin!

I have also looked at the portions and the instructions suggest 3.5 tins for a dog of 20kg which is not far out. Its just that £50 per month seems a lot.
Perhaps it would be cheaper to try dry food again.

[woofgang]

The tinned foods do have extra flavourings (sort of doggy msg) in to make them attractive to the dogs which may be why she turns her nose up at dry. While the additives aren't exactly harmful, they aren't the healthiest diet. Try serving dry food with a little canned fish stirred in or meat or fish stock (not cubes or powders, too salty) dogs also enjoy cooked vegetables. As ratty girl says, make any changes slowly.

[RATTER15]

Oh dear, you really are going down the wrong road Johnny!!

If you want to feed a food that your dog will love and is very natural then go RAW, we only feed raw meat, raw veg, raw bones, whole chicken carcases, raw green tripe etc. its a lot of work, some research and a lot of dedication, it is a lot kinder to your dogs digestive system as it doesn't have to battle against things like flavour enhancers, preservatives and cereals. Their poo's are half the size and they don't get wind, the dogs never smell even when wet.

Research: Raw Feeding or BARF feeding. or read: "Give your Dog a Bone"

Most certainly the way forward!

[RATTER15]

Incidentally, RAW feeding will often work out cheaper than commercial food once a reliable source has been established.

[lankeela]

When I was in the boarding kennel business we often had overweight dogs come in with what we called the 'full tin' syndrome - the owners always fed a full tin of food even if it was a small dog. We recommend buying one of those little plastic lids and only using half, or a third or two thirds of a tin for most average size dogs, and keeping the rest towards the following days dinner. Even Lab size dogs wouldn't need more than two tins a day at most. This is a horrendous amount of tinned food and I would hate to do your poo picking! I would try about a mug full of good quality dry food (Eukanuba, Purina, James Wellbeloved or similar) and add about a tablespoon of tinned meat and swirl it round so it gets the flavour of the meat. Twice a day is plenty for any dog over six months of age. Raw is fine if you have the time or the inclination to do it, although mine often have raw chicken wings for their morning meal (Sainsbury's do them as cheap as I can get them anywhere). As for the 'looking at you doefully' well you should come to my house when I am eating - never seen such doeful begging eyes but they don't get fed till I am ready to feed them!

[jules77]

Oh lordy, four tins a day?! I do know someone who gives one of the large tins, plus mixer biscuits to a Collie, and seeing the amount of food in the bowl I wondered what waste they are getting out the other end.

I would definitely try a good quality dry food (which would be cheaper), feed two meals a day, and add some veggies or as Lankeela suggests a few spoonfuls of tinned meat for interest.

[welshlibranr]

I have a Cocker Spaniel puppy ( 6 months old), I feed her on Purina Pro Plan dry food, I give here the recommended amount for her age and weight, it's not the cheapest on the market, I pay £15.65 for 3kg, but it last for a good 2 weeks, she gets some veg with it, whatever I'm cooking, and she's really fit and healthy........ sure that this would be more healthy for her........

[sheribee]

Hi, i am studying for a degree in animal management and i too own a springer spaniel, ,mine is male and he weighs19.9kg which is a perfect weight for an active springer. I also work at a vets once a week and the vet has commented on my dogs excellent size and shape.
He is fed twice a day on a wet food for working dogs called country choice. Its vat free as it is specifically for working breeds, and costs £5.09p for 12 cans. i would recomend you feed her on a food designed for working breeds, but you are definately feeding her way too much.I have studied nutrition and with that amount of protein in her diet you are heading for intestinal problems, and a very over active dog with way too much energy to burn, along with the exces calories she will get fat.
My springer is 2 in April sothey are of similar age x

[johnny37]

Thanks for all the replies. The Pedigree can says 20kg=3cans and the Winalot can says 12-25kg=2.5-4cans which works out 3.5cans for 20kg. 4cans is a bit higher but she is perfectly fit and active in every way. I may change to dry food for working dogs. Asda do one called Waggs which is about £10 for 15kg. A lot cheaper than the big name brands. They recommend 400g per day. I dont know if Molly will agree! The cans are mostly water so the dry is a lot less bulk.

[Khandro]

Reading manufacturers recommended quantities is like asking a barber if you need a haircut.

[boxtops]

It's the same with cat food, johhny - the box says "feed four pouches a day" - yeah, right, most cats I know are fed one pouch twice a day, that's all they need. Like your dog pointing for food, the catz will demand food all day if you let them - they're not hungry, it's habit. Most dogs I know are fed once a day once they are adult.

[johnny37]

I like the haircut analogy! I take that to mean some dogs will exist happily on two tins while others may need four.

[ummmm]

My cat will eat 4 pouches a day, no problem. For some reason he begs for the pouches. Something he doesn't do with dried food or normal tins. I reckon they are laced with catnip...

I used to have a springer....he never went through 4 tins a day. He mainly ate dried food.

[Ankou]

jesus ummmm!!!

my cat gets two bowls of dry food a day, and an additional sachet 'treat' on a saturday and a sunday, and yes he would eat them all day if we let him.

dry food is good for their teeth.