Hello all, Rio is now 10 weeks old and is currently eating Purina Pro Plan Large Puppy food, however I find he is always hungry and thought it might be partially to the amount of fillers in the food. So I decided to do some research on dog food and found that Purina Pro Plan is not that good a dog food and after much deliberation have decided to switch to Acana. I wondered if anyone has used Acana and where can you buy it from in the UK? Also I wanted to know if anyone has heard done any research on Acana/Eden. On another note, Rio's recall is ok, as Pippa suggested puppy is off lead almost all the time- his recall inside the house is quite good ( I think mainly because he thinks I always have food/treats), in the garden however he gets very distracted by leaves and grass and therefore his recall is pretty poor. Should I just focus on a really good recall in the house and then when he is outside take him on the lead? Or should I just keep enticing him for his recall when he is outside? I know recall is a process I just want to know how should I proceed with this. Thanks in advance for the advice.
Re: Change of food Hi I know you can buy Acana online from petplanet, I've certainly never seen it in the major chain pet shops. Online is sometimes a better option as you can get it a bit cheaper - pet planet are very reasonable with their prices usually too. Just remember to do the switchover gradually over at least 7-10 days and remember that with a higher quality food like Acana you very often need to feed less than you think. With regards to his recall it's all about proofing. He knows what to do in the house but in his mind he doesn't understand what it means outside, so you may need to start again teaching it in the garden and gradually adding distractions, working up to being able to recall him on walks. As he does know the base of what you are asking him it's just a case of teaching him what it means in new situations. It's the same for a lot of behaviours like sit and down, not just recall.
Re: Change of food When you recall in the garden, try sounding really excited and give him a yummy treat (e.g. chicken). I would also suggest calling him to you and then playing an exciting game, like tug.
Re: Change of food Don't recall him if he is fascinated by a leaf or other exciting thing in the garden, wait until he glances at you, then call. When you take him out for a walk and let him off lead, keep changing your direction without saying anything to him and he will begin to watch you like a hawk in case you disappear
Re: Change of food Hi there! Loads of opinions about food, but I am a grain free fan, but can't particularly produce evidence to back it. Just gut feeling. I am an 80/20/0 fan and started with Orijin, and since I have joined a "pack" to get breeders rates, moved from this to Eden Hollistic, and now Simpsons 80/20 - the latter 2 are UK sourced and produced and a little less expensive. LIlly has done fine on all of them. I found the smell of the Eden less appealing personally. Her poops are firm and kickable ;D unless she is scooping up the wind-fallen plums :
Re: Change of food I have done some more research and now become confused on what to feed Rio. So many different foods...arghh!!! Does anyone know about raw food brands such as Natural instinct? I was wondering if this is better than premium dry kibble (Orijen, Acana etc). Any thoughts?
Re: Change of food I have just swopped Albert to Millies Wolfheart http://www.millieswolfheart.co.uk/COUNTRYSIDE-MIX 70/30 mix at the moment. Fabulous grain free, hypoallergenic, gluten free, chicken egg free food. Not well known at the moment and a good price for such high quality food. 5 star rating on "All about dog food". And Albert goes mad for it! Jan
