Hello everyone, hope you and your furry companions are well. Can you help me? I am now more confused than ever about the ideal food I should give my boys. They were both fed on Alpha in the dogs home, which they seem to love. Since they have been with me, they have had Royal Canin pro club, again they love it, but the noxious fumes and sound effects are something else! This week I've mixed in Dr Johns Silver with the Royal Canin, as I've been told that this food is great for sensitive tummies. I've just read some reviews, including Dr Johns (the only criticism here is the preservatives which have been linked to carcinogenics), and Royal Canin has not come up that well either! Could you possibly give me some advice here, as I don't want to keep swapping their foods around, but want to make sure they have good nutrition. I do add evening primrose oil, cod liver oil and glucosamine into their food each day. Many thanks
Re: Labrador diet: what food is best? Any high quality kibble will have all the nutrition that's needed. The best thing to go on is the dog's coat and energy level - if the former is glossy and full and the latter is 'ready to go when you are' then all is well. Fumes are a factor too, though, I agree! You are looking for a pleasant doggie smell and no chewing at feet. Er, and minimal farting, I guess ;D At this point I'd probably try the Dr Johns to see if it reduces the 'wind factor'. Preservatives in kibble may have been identified as carcinogens, but the risk would have to be tiny. For example, a dog on kibble might have a slightly increased risk of cancer, but the risk might be 2 in 5000 dogs, as opposed to 1 in 5000 dogs (I made all that up just as an example). In that example there's a 100% increased risk (2 is twice as much as 1), but in absolute numbers it's tiny. I really wouldn't worry about that aspect. Just go by your dog's appearance and behaviour. Personally, I don't feed kibble as a main meal (it's used as occasional Kong stuffing or low value treats on walks) because I prefer a less processed, more varied diet. But the vast majority of dogs do very well on kibble. Just avoid cheap kibble - the quality does vary hugely between them. If you want to, you can easily add variety (meaty bones such as lamb ribs or chicken frames, or sardines) though I know that was not the main purpose of your post Obi also gets human 'leftovers' (quality, not rubbishy scraps). Last night he got sardines, raw squid (we had salt-and-pepper calamari), artichoke and almond pesto and a tiny bit of Camembert
Re: Labrador diet: what food is best? oh dear , you have got us more confused,......i take good care not to give jasper human left overs, some times may be high it fat, i do give him sardines mixed in with his kibble, but you have just blown my mind
Re: Labrador diet: what food is best? What is is that is confusing, Lynne? Not sure exactly which bit or which post you mean Happy to try to clarify if it's something I wrote.
Re: Labrador diet: what food is best? Menu sounds scrum my in your house Rachael .Dexter was on Royal Canin maxi puppy when he came to us ....he had very soft poo ( too soft to pick up,a nightmare on walks)and very bad wind.The vet told me to put him on Royal Canin Gastro intestinal and he firmed up and stopped farting! I haven't messed with his food since....I'm so determined he won't get fat so he doesn't have anything else except his kibble.....training rewards are taken out of his meal allowance.he does have an omega oil spray that I put on his breakfast for coat and joints.i feel a bit dreadful actually that he doesn't have any variety ,especially now I've read what Obi has.questioning now whether I am lazy or nervous about veering away from a prescribed diet.....it doesn't require thought and not having a lot of experience of dogs I guess I am relying on it to give him everything he needs.....Henhas cottoned on really quickly that human food isn't an option for him so while he is round my feet during meal preps in the kitchen,he goes straight on his bed and stays there while we eat....not even a half hearted beg! Poor puppy of mine :'(
Re: Labrador diet: what food is best? Obi doesn't get Camembert every day ;D I can only wish I had a dog that didn't hover at the table at meals - we have a committed hoverer and it's entirely my own fault. If Dexter goes to his bed during meals then you have my very sincere admiration!! Long may that situation reign in your household. A quality kibble diet is just fine. It's not lazy. The only thing that kibble won't do is clean teeth - so it might be worth thinking about a solution for that, whether that is a chicken frame as a meal substitute a couple of times a week, or even tooth brushing (every dog's favourite pastime).
Re: Labrador diet: what food is best? Slightly diverting the topic, riley gets rawhide occasionally which i thought would help clean his teeth. Sometimes there's blood on his chew though, should i worry and/or take him to the vet? He's getting a lot less rawhide as a result and I'm probably not doing enough for his teeth
Re: Labrador diet: what food is best? hi rachael , i was just confused with the diet , it made me think that i was not giving him enough variety, i steer away from human food, although i do give him meaty bones from the butchers, also i give him a denture stick every morning, i am starting to use ham pieces and chicken for traning purposes, ...........may be i have been a bit scared to try human food yet as he not 6 month yet .......when we eat he sits under the table, but knows not to jump up when we are eating thank you for advice
Re: Labrador diet: what food is best? Rachael,how can you even imagine that I don't clean Dexter's teeth EVERY day!i ; can you see my halo gleaming across the miles to you!!!in fact I'm just back from the supermarket with a new pack of 6 brushes as on average one lasts about 3 days ....oh we have fun!he gets one to chew on with his toothpaste on while I probe around with another .....then I have a go with one of those finger socks! He is actually very good,I don't know how effective a job I'm doing but I do have a go everyday and some cleans are more thorough than others .....I will strongly consider your advice....I might be totally thick but is a chicken frame a cooked chicken carcass?might bring a little bit of sunlight into Dexters boring diet too!
Re: Labrador diet: what food is best? No, NO!! Definitely not a COOKED chicken carcass! I don't do any raw chicken bones so not an expert, but the RAW ones are safely chewed, and the cooked ones are the dangerous ones. Lots more experience coming to tell you more I am sure. I am not sure the strick definition of a chicken frome but I believe its whats left once the breasts, thighs and legs/wings etc removed for the human food market. Open to corrections though jac
Re: Labrador diet: what food is best? Thanks jac,Dexter gutted he isn't getting chicken in a basket for one of his dinners this week! :'(
Re: Labrador diet: what food is best? I did see a mysterious glow to the east some hours ago - now I know what it was! You are very diligent, cleaning every day - that is super impressive. Dexter made a great career move when he came to live with you Lynne, glad I didn't confuse you too much Sounds to me like Jasper has a great diet. Barbara, I wouldn't worry about a little bit of blood staining the rawhide, if that's all you mean. I've noticed it myself. We use rawhide chews here too - as a teeth cleaner and as a 'just chew this and be quiet for 15 minutes, will you?' pacifier Chicken frames are exactly what Jac said. We just avoid weight-bearing mammal bones, but any other raw bone is potentially on the menu here. Lamb ribs and lamb necks are good.
Re: Labrador diet: what food is best? Thank you so much for your really informative comments. I think the boys were drawling over the thought of squid and Camembert! So far the farting has reduced and all seems well. I did give them all brown rice wit their tea tonight, which Joseph promptly puked up and Bailey cleared up....filthy beast! Thank you again
Re: Labrador diet: what food is best? We had smoked salmon at a party at work the other day, with hard boiled eggs etc on baguette. Loads of these little canapes were left over, so I bagged them up and took them home to Poppy, who has been eating them for the last few days. She thinks she has died and gone to heaven. 'You KNOW smoked salmon is my favourite, Mum...' : As already said, any good quality kibble is fine. I basically raw feed Poppy (raw meaty bones), but she also gets fish, vegetables, rice, potatoes, left-over bread, yogurt, etc etc. I also give her a handful of kibble every now and then when I dont have enough non-processed food around, or when she looks at me yearningly (she thinks kibble is the doggy equivalent of MacDonald's, and LOVES it). I also put a powder additive with minerals in with her food, if I'm not giving her kibble, as a recent blood test showed some mineral levels were up and others were down. I don't think there is anything wrong with mix-and-match kibble/raw food diets, but it is up to each individual. Just dont feed cooked bones, they can splinter and cause very bad injuries.
Re: Labrador diet: what food is best? I feed a similar diet to you Karen , a mixture but have recently changed Sams kibble to a wheat free one and have noticed a big difference , he isnt scratching or nibbling at his feet as he had begun to do with the previous food and his coat is looking great, plus the bonus of far less poo
Re: Labrador diet: what food is best? Thank you to you all for your help and suggestions. I hate to admit it, but I bought some Hero in Asda recently, when I scurried in after work one evening, having realised that I'd forgot to order their Royal Canine. I couldn't believe it ...very woofed it down (unsurprisingly) but hey presto...the house is no longer home to two farting labs that can create one hell of an aroma! I'm still worried they are not getting their full nutrition as this s only £14.00 a bag for 15 kilo, so sometimes, I do add in chicken or fish, but aware of not overdoing the protein. I thought I would mix the RC with the Hero, would this be ok? Many thanks
Re: Labrador diet: what food is best? You can mix the foods Labrador farts..... Times two, even! My sympathies!!
