Dog food

[Fitzwilliam 36]

Hi guys,  looking for recommendations. I work two collie x kelpies. Cracking little dogs. What are you guys feeding? I’ve tried them on raw foods but they’re not doing to good on it. I’ve tried various mixes/wet and dry food but it’s a bit hit and miss. Any recommendations? Thank you 

[socks 32,253]

In what way are they not doing well on raw ? What raw meat are you feeding ? 

[Fitzwilliam 36]

I get it from Holyhead in north wales, they do a variety of raw foods. They have the runs on it, and they become lethargic as hell. With a mixer they have been better so looking at the dried and fresh meat mixes or wet food

[socks 32,253]

What is the raw you are feeding ? 

[Fitzwilliam 36]

1 hour ago, socks said:

What is the raw you are feeding ? 

Chicken, turkey and beef mix

[Aussie Whip 4,145]

Pick a good kibble, mix some meat, scraps and eggs and stick to it. 

[socks 32,253]

2 hours ago, Fitzwilliam said:

Chicken, turkey and beef mix

How much are you feeding and to what size dogs ? 

[Fitzwilliam 36]

54 minutes ago, socks said:

How much are you feeding and to what size dogs ? 

Dogs are 15kg . They eat approximately 400g 

[socks 32,253]

That’s about right for their weight i thought  maybe you were feeding to much thus causing them to be lethargic. I have no answer to the lethargy which I find strange as a dogs digestive system is obviously made to digest meat and bone so they should have more energy not less unless you haven’t given them enough time to get used to it. As for the shits that always happens with a change of food and can go on for up to 10 days. The issue may be the meat is of bad quality ? 

[Ferretman65 2,271]

6 hours ago, Fitzwilliam said:

Hi guys,  looking for recommendations. I work two collie x kelpies. Cracking little dogs. What are you guys feeding? I’ve tried them on raw foods but they’re not doing to good on it. I’ve tried various mixes/wet and dry food but it’s a bit hit and miss. Any recommendations? Thank you 

Could there be something else wrong here you have over looked take a run down to the vet get a blood test done see if something going on inside him  

[Fitzwilliam 36]

1 hour ago, W. Katchum said:

Strange if it’s both dogs then it must be the diet, some dogs do well on kibble, don’t know why or how but iv saw a few cracking working dogs over the years an the owner have said they eat kibble an scraps, made me a bit of a knob after the effort an money I was spending

I’m going to try them on kibble/ scraps see how that goes. Vet checked them and said nowt wrong just not taking to the food.

[Fitzwilliam 36]

1 hour ago, W. Katchum said:

Lot shepherds an farm dogs up this way get fed nowt but soaked kibble, they honestly look at me in bewilderment when I say i feed flesh an these guys ain’t skint or nowt they just belive that it will distract a working dog from its job if it comes across dead meat, but anyways my point is that them dogs graft well, very well some a them. I was a bit obsessed at one point with what I fed, spoke to one guy who had real hard working dogs an he fed them chicken but kept it outside in a bin, by time he got to bottom it was green, dogs thrived, spoke to others who fed best of meat weighed too the gram an there dogs where nowt special, saw dogs fed on all sorts when talking to hound packs an guys who run bigger kennels, I get odd bag of kibble off a pal who gets it by pallet load an feeds his gun dogs an they thrive, but it’s good gear, or not shite anyways. Now obviously id never know if any the dogs I mentioned would have done better on a diff diet an a good diet will never make a shit dog good , but a bad diet could make a good dog appear shit. Just feed what you have a readily available source of, keep your eyes on dogs an change if you ain’t happy, they are dogs it won’t be that hard to find summat that agrees

Thank you

[white van man 3,372]

How old are the dogs mate? If it’s the first time you have fed raw then it might take a bit for them to get used to. I feed raw but there’s plenty do ok on kibble and scraps. Especially collie types. Not heard of the place in Holyhead but if the chicken has slightly turned then that will go through dogs like water. 

[Aussie Whip 4,145]

11 hours ago, Fitzwilliam said:

I’m going to try them on kibble/ scraps see how that goes. Vet checked them and said nowt wrong just not taking to the food.

I feed mine a good quality kibble 3/4, the other 1/4, rabbit, roo, chicken frames, scraps and eggs daily as I have chooks. Apart from some deaths from injuries all my dogs live into late teens with little sickness. Main thing is don't keep changing kibble types, my niece was doing this with her Am bulldogs and they always had gut issues. I have fed mine just roo and rabbit at times but they went skinny as fck.

[sandymere 8,263]

A lot of people get hung up over diet but it’s not rocket science just a balance of protein carbs and fats. To that end dried makes a good basis and if you add in table scraps plus butchers scraps,  bones etc along with game as available you won’t go far wrong.  Some pet meat quality meat can bring problems due to storage etc so using stuff direct from butchers is usually better and although it may mean less meat overall sometimes quality is better than quantity of a single ingredient.

 

I use Skinners working 26, (the green bag) mixed with Chappie dried, (great for keeping things stable) plus i often add some Lidl moist chunks as they like it and it adds a little variety. I mix roughly in a plastic tub. I add in new brands gradually until they're used to it but by using a couple of types it means this is unlikely to be a problem as if I can't get one brand i can carry on with the others without having to start a new brand suddenly. 

I add half a defrosted rabbit/game, lamb ribs and table scraps as available and they thrive on it.

Edited February 25, 2022 by sandymere