feeding our new baby

[trousers12]

hi
weve just boght a one year old cocker, and shes wicked, just a quick question, has anyone any tips on whats good to feed her, weve been told by her previous owners that she doesnt like iams, and that bakers sends her loopy all night so were giving them a miss, also can she eat proper food , as i always used to do extra sausages on a sunday morning for our last dog who was a collie, but obviously realise shes a differnet type and still a puppy, and are we ok giving her just dry food, as the missus gags when we open the tinned stuff lol, any help appreciated

cheers rob

[Karma]

There are a variety of good kibbles out there that would be a complete diet without adding any tinned meat.

What to feed often comes down to personal choice, metered by personal budget and availability...

Generally avoid foods with artificial additives (like Bakers, Pedigree etc) as the additives have been associated with hyperactive behaviour.  Look for a food which gives a named protein source as it's main ingredient (so, for example, "chicken" rather than "animal derivatives"), and has as few unnecessary fillers as possible. 

Some highly recommended brands include Burns, Healthy Paws and Orijen.... though there are many others.  We fed James Wellbeloved when we fed kibble (we do a raw diet now).  Harringtons is a good option if you are on a tighter budget, and is sold in many supermarkets.

While a few human food treats aren't a problem, I probably wouldn't recommend a whole sausage as an extra - you could cook her one, cut it up into tiny pieces and use it as training rewards if you want.  But a whole sausage, as an extra to her normal food and training rewards, could set her up to put on excess weight...

[penfold]

What did her previous owners have her on?  If at all possible I would keep her on that to begin with before gradually changing her onto whatever you prefer.

Dry complete food is a good solution.  It is easy, removes guesswork re nutrition and is good value for money. ..and if your OH doesn't like the smell of wet food then, well, theres your answer 

Price wise, it can vary quite a bit.  You have your higher end, premium brands such as orijen and then your more middle of the road ones like Arden grange, burns and skinner.  A 15kg bag of Arden Grange costs £29 from Pet planet and last my 3 (2 cockers and a large springer) about  a month so would prob last you over 3.  So, a tenner a month or so. 

Personally, I agree with Karma that I would limit the amount of 'human' food you feed them, especially processed food as there are usually high levels of salt etc.  OK as an occasional treat or tiny bits for high value treats but not all the time.  Everything in moderation , same as for us

[Beezzzkneez]

Dry kibble is a fine solution - if you want to change her over I'd suggest getting samples of several different foods and seeing which ones she likes best. This way you don't end up buying a 15kg sack of something only to find she feels lacklustre about her food.

[Danni and Freya]

I've tried a few with my little girl and settled now on Barking Heads. Would highly recommend it as one to look into

[Bluebell]

Hello Rob!
Congratulations on your new addition
I have fed my dogs,
 James Wellbeloved, Burns , Naturediet & home cooked .
Atm, they are on Skinners Field and Trial - salmon and rice, with pilchards or raw egg or a bit of tinned Chappie. For training treats they have chicken or frankfurters, and cows eats to chew
I wish you all the best with your little girlie, what have you called her ?

[trousers12]

thanks for all the tips folks, shes one and already called lilly, and she suits her name so were leaving it at that, first night went well last night , not a peep and such a happy waggin tail this mornin to get up to, shes ace , gonna hit the beach and woods this omorning and see what she makes of them lol, can se a wet and tired doggy comin up lol, will have a good look in the shops and try a few things and see what she likes, are there any things that are ok to give her human food wise, as i feel tight when were eating and shes just sat there lookin alll gooey eyed , ie can she have some toast etc

cheers rob

[Beezzzkneez]

Bread is generally a bad idea, maybe if you can't resist those Cocker eyes just have some treats handy and feed her those? Bits of raw veg are good, and the odd bit of sausage is fine though maybe not a whole one. Maike is crazy for Frankfurters, which is ideal for training her (generally not that fussed about her food, not very Cockerish!) We put ours in her pen when we're eating so begging is not a problem for us.

[cangrejo]

Resist the eyes 

Congratulations on your new dog.

[trousers12]

ha ha shes got them gooey starvin eyes down to a tee already lol

[Bluebell]

ha ha shes got them gooey starvin eyes down to a tee already lol

I like marmite on toast, and so do my dogs

[ElaineH]

Those begging eyes do not show hunger it's actually called G-R-E-E-D 
 

Loads of things we eat are just not that good for dogs I'm afraid, I should think that would probably include Marmite, it's very high in salt.

[Coco]

Gizmo has all sorts of human food  Just a little but she's eat anything last night was a fork full of Cottage pie, a bit of roast chicken with broccoli and carrots the day before  . BUT she has a cast iron tummy and doesn't get affected by what sort of food she has. As you know Lilly can be affected i'd be careful. Watch out for things high in salt (human gravy, bacon etc) and things that are toxic to dogs (Chocolate, I think grapes and onions). Gizmo would happily eat a whole bag of quavers or pork scratchings  I may let her have one though. Bearing in mind that she probably eats more rubbish off the ground, i'm not going to argue about one crisp. IMO It's personal preferance, (my Nan used to cook one dinner for her and one for the dog) and how your dog reacts, if it is over/under weight, if you don't ike begging etc but just be sensible really.

[Karma]

Honey has loads of human food at the minute, as we have a (nearly) 1yr old baby who thinks it's great to feed the dog... and as her appetite varies there is frequently leftovers.  We have also always given the very final corner of toast or the empty yoghurt pot for her to lick out.  There is no problem with dogs having human food (as long as you are aware of salt, sugar and fat levels and don't feed grapes, raisins, chocolate or large quantities of onion) as long as you cut back their normal food/treats accordingly.  But remember that corners of toast etc aren't as nutritious as kibble, so don't let human scraps become the major part of her diet (unless you can balance the scraps so they contain meat, veg etc) as she could become deficient in nutrients. 

I wouldn't cook extra for the dog (unless I was feeding a cooked diet and it was an appropriate meal), but getting table scraps isn't a big problem.  Overfeeding is, though - dogs need far fewer calories than humans, so the amount that would be in that sausage could easily add up to a weight problem.  Also, try not to reward those "greeding" eyes - I would (and did until Isobel undid our training) expect the dog to lay down quietly while I ate and be rewarded for this with a treat at the end.  There's nothing worse than a dog who tries to mug your visitors for their food!!