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Post by SarahHound on Mar 28, 2013 22:08:02 GMT
Mutley gets wet food in the morning and Bakers complete at night. Have you ever considered a different food to Bakers? It contains several ingredients which are banned in many countries, and also contains several carcinogenics. There's better foods at half the price. Not trying to be nasty, but it really is the most awful food on the market and I'd hate for your Mutley to have health problems in the future because of it. All of the following are in Bakers various feeds. THIRTEEN E numbers: E320 - has been found to be tumour-producing when fed to rats. In human studies it has been linked with urticaria, angioedema and asthma E321 - banned for use in food in Japan, Romania, Sweden, and Australia. The US has barred it from being used in infant foods. So bad McDonalds have voluntarily eliminated it from their products. E310 - Banned from children's foods in the US because it is thought to cause the blood disorder methemoglobinemia E172 - Banned in Germany E132 - Can cause skin sensitivity, a rash similar to nettle rash, itching, nausea, high blood pressure and breathing problems. One of the colours that the Hyperactive Children's Support Group recommends be eliminated from the diet of children. Banned in Norway. E102 - TARTRAZINE - A trial on 76 children diagnosed as hyperactive, showed that tartrazine provoked abnormal behaviour patterns in 79% of them E110 - Sunset Yellow has been found to damage kidneys and adrenals when fed to laboratory rats. It has also been found to be carcinogenic when fed to animals E104 - One of the colours that the Hyperactive Children's Support Group recommends be eliminated from the diet of children. Banned in Australia, Japan, Norway and the United States. E171 - Banned in Germany E153 - Banned as a food additive in the United States of America. Suspected as a carcinogenic agent. Glossary to dog food ingredients - [www.dogsandco.info]
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Post by littlekitty on Mar 29, 2013 8:34:27 GMT
Thanks for the info sarahound,I didn't know about bakers tbh, but he really enjoys it. I bought a bag of Waggs complete yesterday(because the shop didn't have bakers) and he seems to like it aswell.
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Post by caz2golden on Mar 29, 2013 9:27:25 GMT
Littlekitty have you ever used the website whichdogfood? www.whichdogfood.co.uk/ I would recommend it for finding dog food which is good quality but within the price range you want to pay. It also has a glossary which describes what every ingredient is. You can do an advanced search and base search on size of dog and angle towards some common ailments like joints etc. Well worth a bit of a search around. Some foods which look more expensive on the shelf are not when you compare feeding amounts etc. I am a total snob when it comes to what I feed my dogs so best I don't say too much Unsure if the link will work but here's an example of food comparison bakers vs arden grange vs skinners As you will see not much price difference really but food quality is better!! (Skinners is actually cheaper than Bakers!) www.whichdogfood.co.uk/compare-dog-foods.php?comparison=foods&compare%5B%5D=0020&compare%5B%5D=0012&compare%5B%5D=0297
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Post by BorderTerrier on Mar 29, 2013 9:44:03 GMT
Littlekitty; I'm just saying, it would be best not to change the diet around too much for stomach' s sake.
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Post by caz2golden on Mar 29, 2013 10:31:25 GMT
Its not how often you change the food but how you go about changing it. As long as you mix old with new for a week or two any change of food should be easy for dog to accept. Moving to a better quality food is unlikely to have any ill effects though moving to poorer may do!
Introductions to new brands done slowly has never caused me any issues.
I used to subscribe to feed one food and stick by it (thats what these dog food companies what us to think) but now I see variation can be better for the dog.
I keep my dry food quite consistent though I will change meat sources within a brand when possible (cant at the moment as it is too limited). I would not think twice about my next dry bag being something I have used before and my dogs liked and thrived on or trying something new if I thought it would be of benefit to them. Part of my decisions are however based on what I can afford.
The wet food I feed varies a lot with numerous brands (one day one brand, next another) and as I am feeding good quality food I have no issues switching and changing. I do bring anything new in slowly.
Now they get occasional raw days and I have had no tummy issues with that either!!
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Post by SarahHound on Mar 29, 2013 19:53:27 GMT
Thanks for the info sarahound,I didn't know about bakers tbh, but he really enjoys it. I bought a bag of Waggs complete yesterday(because the shop didn't have bakers) and he seems to like it aswell. I'm afraid to say Wagg is just as bad, but not as bad as Bakers. Have a look at this site, its a good choice to read about foods and you can compare prices and work out how much it will cost you to feed per day. www.whichdogfood.co.uk/Most dogs like Bakers, because it has a sugary coating on. It's like giving a kid smarties for every meal.
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Post by phiney69 on Apr 8, 2013 19:18:30 GMT
When we first got Lola she was on Butchers wet food tins and Bakers dry kibble. : ( The Butchers would make her sick or have loose poo and she would become high as a kite hyper and bounce off the walls within 15 minutes of eating a small handful of the Bakers. After some trial and error we are now happily on Arden Grange Sensitive ocean white fish and potato dry kibble and have started to enter the world of raw food a small step at a time. We also sometimes use Wainwrights chicken and rice wet food pouches (very rarely as they all contain rice but this is the only wet food she has had little to no stomach issues with and has the least rice content as I think she has an intolerance or allergy to rice/cereals).
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Post by CurlyCub on Apr 8, 2013 19:21:05 GMT
Jess gets dried food and a little raw mixed in
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Post by BorderTerrier on Apr 9, 2013 8:48:41 GMT
Its not how often you change the food but how you go about changing it. As long as you mix old with new for a week or two any change of food should be easy for dog to accept. Moving to a better quality food is unlikely to have any ill effects though moving to poorer may do!
Introductions to new brands done slowly has never caused me any issues. I used to subscribe to feed one food and stick by it (thats what these dog food companies what us to think) but now I see variation can be better for the dog. I keep my dry food quite consistent though I will change meat sources within a brand when possible (cant at the moment as it is too limited). I would not think twice about my next dry bag being something I have used before and my dogs liked and thrived on or trying something new if I thought it would be of benefit to them. Part of my decisions are however based on what I can afford.
The wet food I feed varies a lot with numerous brands (one day one brand, next another) and as I am feeding good quality food I have no issues switching and changing. I do bring anything new in slowly. Now they get occasional raw days and I have had no tummy issues with that either!!
Actually, I was wondering what I would do if I were to win a bag or more of different dog food from a competition of some sort, the other day, if Earl wasn't on the same food. My mum said I could just gradually mix it in, and when its finished, mix it out again. I was a little ummy and arry about that, but what you've said in the quoted text above has made me think and possible change my mind. You did say it depends if its a better or poorer food, but how do I know which is better and which is worse? I have no intention to change the healthy kibble diet Earl is currently on, but it seems a shame to waste a prize. If I am not going to be feeding it while it lasts, it could go to a dog charity or something. Sometimes if Earl has a tripe bone, he gets runny poop the next day - would that be because his stomach was not used to the tripe, or would it be just because of what is in the tripe? What you have said in the quote above, has possibly changed my outlook on food for the better!!
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Post by petitsfilous on Apr 9, 2013 14:22:20 GMT
Oh yeah and Brian the lizard gets live hoppers, crickets, waxworms, morioworms, curly parsley, butternut squash, lambs lettuce and the occasional red pepper, grape and apple
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Post by charlottte on Apr 9, 2013 19:49:33 GMT
I must say. I'm not the best for switching diets. Jasper gets various foods and I rarely bother to introduce it in because he often just picks out the bits he wants and leaves others. A lot of the foods we've switched are relatively similar anyway (JWB, Arden Grange, D&B). Fortunately he usually has a hardy stomach and I believe that giving him a varied diet has helped with this as he's used to being fed different things.
If we were going to change to raw or frozen raw then that would be completely different, I wouldn't just throw all that in together.
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Post by caz2golden on Apr 9, 2013 20:16:57 GMT
BT, you look at the ingredients and work out if its good food. Could always use whichdogfood website and see what they say about it. If it is lower quality than what you currently feed I probably would not bother - use as treats or give it away. If it is better quality then you have to ask what may be the result when you go back to your normal food!! Personnelly I look for meat to list mostly in the top section of the ingredients list and in high percentages (otherwise you are just feeding veg or grain with a bit of meat as an afterthought). I walk away from any food that says derivatives in. They are ok in the occasional treats but I don't want to feed these all the time!! IMO currently on the market the ultimate example of lots of meat and good ingredients in a dry food is below!! However it is super expensive and I know I can not afford to buy it on my budget!! www.bernpetfoods.co.uk/acatalog/orijen_adult.html
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Post by BorderTerrier on Apr 10, 2013 8:49:41 GMT
I haven't heard of whichdogfood website - it sounds like a good and informative one. I might try Earl's current kibble food and see what they say about it. My mum thought that since we moved Earl gradually off Burns puppy to Symply small breed adult, his anal glands have gotton worse, and he's had to have them squeezed more often. Then she gave in and said maybe not, but that comment of her's is still in my mind now. Maybe I could use that website to see which is better, or am I mistaking the website for something it isn't? Have you ever fed/heard of Burns or Symply, and if so, which do you think is better? They do do Burns adult at our local pet shop 'Pets Corner', but I'm umming and arring about changing him back to Burns if my mum's thought is true... I think I'd better stay on Symply and see how everything goes for a little while longer? I guess as long as I introduce different food in gradually and out gradually, there should not be a major problem - if one at all. If its super expensive then I think my dad especially would walk away from the idea!! Thanks for the link too Caz.
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Post by AnnaAmber on Apr 10, 2013 9:48:32 GMT
I often use the WhichDogFood website, I think it's really good. Amber recently won a prize of James Wellbeloved dog food because her photo was in a calendar, but she hated it and refused to eat it So another dog owner took it for their dogs and they seem to like it! Because Amber is quite fussy, switching her from one food to another is hard because she just picks out the kibble she prefers. However, she never seems to have any tummy upsets or anything. Some people suggest you give them a bag of one food, then a bag of another brand. They say it is good for them to have the variety etc. So you could always give Earl a bag of Symply, then a bag of Burns and so on? As long as he doesn't have any issues with switching, but I'd say it'd be OK? You can compare two brands on WhichDogFood and see which one works out best. It also does the daily feeding costs which can be useful. They also now do reviews of dog treats too!
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Post by scallywag on Apr 10, 2013 11:16:34 GMT
I haven't heard of whichdogfood website - it sounds like a good and informative one. I might try Earl's current kibble food and see what they say about it. My mum thought that since we moved Earl gradually off Burns puppy to Symply small breed adult, his anal glands have gotton worse, and he's had to have them squeezed more often. Then she gave in and said maybe not, but that comment of her's is still in my mind now. Maybe I could use that website to see which is better, or am I mistaking the website for something it isn't? . Found this info may be of use ?? Some anal gland problems may be linked to the quality of pet food a dog receives. Inexpensive brands of dog food often use cereal fillers that tend to result in soft stools. The soft stool isn't able to press firmly enough against the dog's anal glands to provide the necessary pressure to express them, and there the trouble begins. Higher quality dog foods will help your pet produce firmer, more compact stools that actually help the glands express, so those foods may be a better food choice for your pet. Express Only When Necessary Under normal circumstances, the anal glands are able to function completely on their own without human intervention. Unless your dog has developed a problem, it is better to avoid routine expressing of the glands, and let your dog's body function the way it was designed to do.
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