clucker1 Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 Getting a cocker spaniel puppy in a few weeks time. Looking at the vast array of food out there....quite keen on raw feeding, having it prepared for me to start with. Nutriment looks good though you have to buy a stash of it to start with and what happens if the puppy doesn't like it, though I think this unlikely. Arden grange looks a possible too. Presumably if you feed proper food it will be cheaper in the long run, ie a more healthy dog, less vets bills and happier pet....ie no rubbishy fillers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 Well I am biased but I would definitely recommend raw feeding I think the likelihood of puppy not liking raw is pretty slim, especially if the choice is that or nothing. You can go round in circles trying to decide which wet/dried food is the best choice - basically you want a high meat content and low filler content (rice, maize, wheat etc). Many dogs don't tolerate wheat well anyway, so rice tends to be a good, bland staple filler in dog foods. This website might help you decide if you decide to go down the wet/dried food route. Good luck with your puppy and I hope you'll be showing us all some photos when s/he arrives Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clucker1 Posted May 19, 2014 Author Share Posted May 19, 2014 Thanks LB. What are the pros/cons on dry vs wet food? Has anyone else used the nutriment food? I am very excited about puppy...and can't wait til she arrives!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 I think wet vs dry is personal choice really. Dry takes up less storage space and generally works out cheaper, especially for high quality foods. Also wet/dry (as opposed to raw) tends to be more convenient when going on hols, although if I take Tango with me I tend to portion everything up and bung it all in a freezer box. However, I personally don't like the idea of dishing up dry pellets twice a day to a dog - I know most dogs will hoover up anything, but it must be a pretty boring diet! That's my personal choice though. Certainly I know Tango goes mad for her raw I'm sure Lillybettybabs uses Nutriment for her dogs and cats. Maybe drop her a PM in case she doesn't see this thread? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickcluck Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 I'm a raw girl also. I find it better for their tummies and poops! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancing cloud Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 Also biased towards raw food, having kept the cats healthy on it for several years now . I use Nutriment for cat food, having previously used Durham Animal Foods (moved to an area with no supplier) and Honey's (very expensive!). Nutriment are much cheaper than Honey's, deliver very quickly and the cats really like it, except the salmon flavour. The cat food comes very finely ground, which suits their tiny teeth, and I would expect the puppy version to be much the same.The boxes stack neatly in the freezer, keep the food fresh in the fridge and we rinse them and put them in with the plastic for recycling. They do a 5kg starter pack which may be a good way to try your puppy on it without too much outlay. I had the cat starter pack to try before I committed to a big order. Your pup may not eat too much for the first few days as everything will be so new and different, and it may be worth letting them settle in for a day or two before introducing them to new food. New puppies are so very exciting and cockers are gorgeous . Have you chosen a name yet, or are you aiting to see what they look like? We will, of course, expect loads of pix of the new arrival! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluekarin Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 Aww can't wait to see photos! This time 2 years ago I was waiting to hear about the birth of my cocker spaniel puppy When we got her she was on Purina puppy food, which the breeder got for free I believe. We kept her on this for a while and then moved her onto Iams. Which she didn't like. And so began our food journey I got Arden Grange and she quite liked it but after a bit more research, we now have her on Applaws which is grain free and high meat content. I think it is also UK meat. She loves it - not sure if that's because it tastes so amazing as it coincided with her being spayed and suddenly gained an appetite! What type of cocker are you getting? Mine is a show type with the long feathers. If you are getting the same, then I would really recommend daily brushing from day 1. I never did and regret it now as she is a nightmare to groom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clucker1 Posted May 20, 2014 Author Share Posted May 20, 2014 Right o, have done more research today, thanks LB for the website reference, most helpful. Puppy going to friends house when we are going on hol, so need to be on dry food for start, then after that I am going raw. Looking at Arden Grange/Applaws/Burns puppy. Does anyone know the nutritional requirements for a puppy ie % of protein fat and carbs required. Booked puppy classes, borrowing a crate, ordered vetbed, trying to find pink puppy lightweight collar. Oh what fun!! Will post pics in due course. Can't wait!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandmashazzie Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 I have been using Nutriment,I am done to last box of mixed box of flavours and have found my Schnauser doesn't like Turkey or Duck,she is a fussy one.Left food all day and didn't eat,which is not something I want to do in heat.I am going to look at cheap mince etc from supermarket and do it with veg and freeze as she's only small and doesn't eat much.Definately no dog breath on raw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercedes55 Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 I am another fan of raw food, having changed our 2yr old shih tzu over to raw nearly a year ago. Have to say I wish we had done it sooner as she had suffered a lot with colitis, which is exactly what happened with our previous dog, both times our vet recommended an expensive diet that only he sold. This time around we decided to not listen to the vet and went over to raw and despite our vet not agreeing with our choice we are very happy that she is eating raw. We started off with just raw pieces of meat from the butchers, like chicken breasts with the bone in, lamb chops, offal etc., which was fine during the Summer when she could eat outside. As the weather got colder I tried both Wolftucker and Nutriment and find both to be very good. I can fit 12kg of those foods in just one freezer basket so they don't take up as much room as you think. You can also buy Nutriment from local suppliers to cut down on the cost of delivery, they have a list of their suppliers on their website. Our shih tzu loves any raw food she is given, but I find the salmon Nutriment to be a bit too much on the sloppy side so don't buy that now. The whole issue of raw feeding has now made me question everything our vet recommends and I no longer use any chemicals like Advocate and I don't intend having any booster jabs either, although that's another issue entirely. It actually amazes me that vets have so very little knowledge about diets for pets yet talk as though they are experts, it's about time they were honest about how little training they have and the fact that it's the big commercial pet food manufacturers who supply the training they do get Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 Does anyone know the nutritional requirements for a puppy ie % of protein fat and carbs required. I honestly wouldn't get too hung up on that - especially if the dry food is only going to be short term. If the food you choose has a puppy version, go for that. However many high quality foods don't have a puppy version, you just feed pups more (relative to their bodyweight) than adults. Same goes with raw - just feed puppies more. Don't overthink it! Some people put more thought into feeding their dogs than themselves - or their children! as long as what you are putting in the front end is high quality, all will be well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clucker1 Posted May 21, 2014 Author Share Posted May 21, 2014 Well Applaws has 40%+ in protein and more fat than the others which are approx. 25% protein....that is why I wondered. Applaws looks good but can a puppy have too much protein. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 My (admittedly unscientific) gut feeling is no. If you were feeding raw it would be more or less all meat, which is pretty much all protein (once you discount the water content etc). Applaws is generally considered to be an excellent food - although I did used to give it to Tango and it gave her dreadful stinky wind! That may well just be Tango rather than the food, of course! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluekarin Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 Applaws is generally considered to be an excellent food - although I did used to give it to Tango and it gave her dreadful stinky wind! That may well just be Tango rather than the food, of course! Neela also has the occasional stinky wind, but I put that down to the occasional egg as it doesn't happen that often. She doesn't have the audacity to give me such a look when it happens as if it was me! And then moves away! Cheeky dog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 Haha - cheeky dog! I had a very memorable 5 hour car journey with Tango when she used to be on Applaws. There's nothing worse than being trapped in a confined space for 5 hours with a dog dropping nuclear farts every few minutes I switched her onto raw pretty soon after that, it was more than fresh and blood could stand She never tried to shift the blame though, she'd just sit there looking pleased with herself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercedes55 Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 Raw food isn't all meat, there is also bone, offal and a lot of people who buy the BARF foods have various vegetables in the food too. Nutriment is about the only dog food that gets a 5 star rating on the dog food comparison charts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 Yes - I suppose by 'meat' I also meant bone and offal as well. I don't tend to think of them separately. I would imagine offal has a similar protein content to muscle meat (although I could be wrong) and yes of course bone is different. The inclusion of veggies in a raw diet is a personal choice and plenty of raw feeders (me included) don't bother. It always seems like a minefield! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkysmum Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 Another nutriment fan here My yorkies love it. Annabel no longer has doggie odour and Daisy has stopped being so fussy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clucker1 Posted May 24, 2014 Author Share Posted May 24, 2014 Well think I will start with Arden Grange puppy food. There is corn in it, not sure about this but met a friend whose spaniel puppy is on it and the most important bit is the puppy looks very well with a lovely shiny coat, unlike a dog I met who is on another type. Will see how we go on Arden Grange and then think about raw after my hols. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinsk Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 We've put our puppy on Barking Heads, she's on their ordinary puppy food at the moment but they also do a grain free version for both puppies and adults. She's doing really well on it and when she switches to adult food will be switching our other dog onto it too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clucker1 Posted May 28, 2014 Author Share Posted May 28, 2014 Kinsk, what type of puppy do you have? Barking Heads is under consideration and it is grain free too. Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinsk Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 She's a jack russell, some of the reviews on their website mention puppies suffering from runny poos, never had a runny one from her, no problems with it at all just a happy pup who loves her food. They also do a little big paws for larger breed puppies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatieB Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 Can I recommend fish4dogs. No fillers and high protein. They have their own website delivery is free and they have different special offers every week. My two year old shih tzu has been on it since a puppy. She is very happy healthy with little poos and very little smell. I had forgotten how little until we bought home new puppy yesterday and his dry food....smelly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bellekatz Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 My spaniels have Burns as its hypoallergenic and one of them has IBS. It also has meat only from the animal on the label unlike some that have additional meat from other animals to bulk it out. Jack can only eat Chicken so its great for him and my lively Cocker spaniel loves it too. Not much problem with wind and only 1 poop a day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Another raw feeder here too; I have always fed my dogs on raw meat and bones from the local butcher; the vet grudgingly admits that they are the healthiest dogs he has on his books My cats also get raw meat,and neither their breath or poos smell. Yes, LBB does feed Nutriment, together with raw neat and bones from the same butcher as I use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
