Which dry dog food?

[bigbob77]

Sorry - I know this has been done to death!

Our Lab & Border Collie are on Acana. I'm mostly happy with it and they love it, they'd probably both eat to death if I let them.

I have one issue with it - I can only get it online, which is fine, but approx 80% of the bags I've gotten so far have had holes in them. And it doesn't happen during delivery because the packaging is never damaged. I've tried several different suppliers, complained, been given free replacements (once the replacement was also damaged) - but it keeps happening.

No idea why, the bags look fairly tough, but some are split and some are punctured - sometimes both. It's a PITA, sometimes the bags are puffed up and I worry the food has been exposed to air for months before reaching me.

Anyway, I'd like to try a replacement. I don't want to downgrade from Acana, so criteria are:

1) Dry food
2) Locally sourced ingredients from a country with decent regulation - no Chinese ingredients
3) Everything done "in-house", not sent off to random foreign companies for packaging
4) Human grade ingredients (I don't mind if the packaging/etc. is human grade, just no crap in the food)
5) An ingredients list that I don't need to be a chemist to understand
6) Not extremely high in protein - my dogs are hyper enough
7) Easily available on the internet, not just on one obscure site

To pre-empt the "feed raw" answers, I would if they were outdoor dogs. I don't want them rubbing their raw-meat-juice covered snouts all over my house and face.

[carinatauk]

I use Fish4dogs, seems to suit the Cocker I have.

Not sure if would fulfill all your criteria, ie only on internet seller but prompt. The only other one I would consider is aatu food which is generally more available across the internet.

[HTP99]

Lilys Kitchen, it is easily obtainable at most pet food shops, is natural etc but it isn't cheap.

Both ours were on it; we changed to raw though, both indoor/home dogs.

Wolf Heart (I think that's the name) has a good reputation too.

[MKnight702]

I quite like Bonio myself....

[flyingscot68]

We feed both our dogs on a mixture of Lily's Kitchen wet food and James Wellbeloved dry food.

The JW we usually get from pets at home, our dogs seem to thrive on it - they're both ten years old now but people we meet are always complementing their condition.

[r-kid]

HTP99 said:

Wolf Heart (I think that's the name) has a good reputation too.

Millies wolfheart (https://www.millieswolfheart.co.uk/), my two are on the salmon & veg and they love it. I've never had a problem with any of the orders, depending if your nearby you could collect.

[moorx]

CSJ may be worth a look:

http://www.csjk9.com/

I generally ordered it online for delivery, but they do have some local stockists who you can collect from.

[EnthusiastOwned]

Another one for Millies wolf Heart here.

Tried a few different high street mixes for our Staffordshire Bull Terrier before settling on Millies. Currently on his second large bag of Gamekeepers Mix but have a Surf and Turf sample to try next. I've tried Ranger, Riverside, Farmers, Hunter then Turkey and Veg mixes so far.

Whatever I have bought from Millies he has absolutely loved. All mixes have stopped any red skin which the high street brands gave him and his poops have all been healthy (some softer than others) without any smells (or stinky farts, which Staffies are renowned for).

I'd recommend trying a few small sample bags first as it's designed for quick wean so you can rotate every couple of days until you find one the pooch likes (and you do). I found with my pup the higher the protein content, the sloppier the poop. However, the higher the protein the smaller the actual amount you need to give (so I was more than likely over feeding). I settled on a 60/40 mix as its the right amount to fill up the dog (so he's not begging for more) and his poops are nice and firm.

FYI - Millies was created by a (human food) nutritionist who found it almost impossible to find a decent dog food with easy to understand ingredients so he created his own. Other than raw food diet, you won't get any better. Oh, and I've never had an issue with any delivery - It's free and shipped within a day or two using DPD.

Food wise, a large bag (usually around 12-15kg) will last my dog two meals a day for around two months. Works out around 36p a meal, ish.

If you're in Sheffield you're more than welcome to grab a sample from me to try?

Edited by EnthusiastOwned on Thursday 19th May 13:54

[oddman]

I used http://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk to look at nutritional content of food and went for Millies Wolfheart

I have working cocker who is in great condition and thrives on it

Food is quite rich and you don't need to feed much. Agree with advice about buying a few sample packs - the protein source varies from one variety to another.

Works out relatively cheap compared with premium brands and good service

[Steve H]

So we're about to adopt a wire-haired pointer, two years old and in good health. It's been about 18 years since I last had a dog so I'm a bit out of date on what's available!

Are there any new recommendations for dry food or do the above suggestions still apply?

[Unexpected Item In The Bagging Area]

I can highly recommend Millie’s Wolfheart, our Springer thrives on it. It’s great quality, a good price and delivery is very quick. We use this mix https://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/dog-food-reviews...

[Rh14n]

We're also on Millie's Wolfheart here for our 12 year old Cocker and 7 year old Springer. The Cocker is a fussy eater and this is the first dry-food he hasn't got bored with after a few weeks. As others have said, it's good quality, they love it and have good healthy poo. We were previously on Eden for a few years but in recent months we had looser poos and their deliveries became unreliable with us having to buy food locally to fill in which was a pain.

[silverback mike]

Royal canin for my German Shepherd. He's an ex Police dog and been fed on it all his life. Fit as a flea at 8.

[Steve H]

Thanks chaps

[Remster500]

Skinners Field & Trial

[HelenT]

Another happy Millies Wolfheart owner, like the company ethos and my working cocker loves the food.
My criteria were choosing something that was additive free as cockers are hyper enough without E numbers, good customer service and reliable delivery and Millies ticks all those boxes

Edited by HelenT on Wednesday 14th November 21:12

[pikeyboy]

My working GSP and the terrier are on the basic chicken and rice from the local farm feed place. Its gluten free hypo allergenic etc and 15 quid for 15kg.

http://gablestock.co.uk/product-category/cat-dog-f...

[Escort3500]

Tried many different foods over the years but now use The Natural Dog Food Company products on the advice of our vet. No artificial ingredients/100% natural and human food grade. They thrive on it and we wouldn’t use anything else now.

[Sargeant Orange]

Remster500 said:

Skinners Field & Trial

Yep our Lab is from working stock and thrives on this. Vat free & on Amazon prime too

[sma]

Millies wolfheart here too. Max our Cocker spaniel loves the stuff.