Skinners dry food is it any good?

[rachelhodgkins]

A lady who owns 4 of her own cockers plus fosters for rescue, recommended the skinners dog food. I was wondering what people's opinion on this brand is. My cocker is currently being fed raw though this isn't working or for him like it does my other dogs and just keeps loosing weight. Vet recommended changing foods as he is otherwise physically healthy. They said to try hills though I'm not a fan of this brand.

[Markr64]

Most vets recommend Hills as they give lots of marketing to vets for free. e stumbled across Akela working food which we feed to our show cocker. It is a good food with no grain added. It is available on line direct from the manufacturer and is quite cheap compared to others. We have not used Skinners so cannot comment on it.

[Pearly]

When not raw feeding my guys are fed on Skinners, either muesli, working 23 or currently maintenance.  As your dog is losing weight you may want to try the muesli first, some dogs put on weight with it as its a high calorie, slow release food.

If in doubt, phone Gregg at Skinners who is their nutritionalist - he will advise which variety will best suit your boy given his level of activity etc they often send out a small bag of food to try as a sample (3Kg  )

Jayne

[MIN]

Gemma and Poppy (elderly staff) are fed Skinners Field and Trial Salmon. I have no complaints

[Anne16]

Hi
Our 6 month old working cocker has been fed on Skinners Working - puppy - since he was at his breeders and this is what she herself recommends (and also feeds her dogs with Skinners).  He is still on this, his coat his lovely and shiny, his weight is right for his age and height.  We have had him since he was 12 weeks old and have had no problems.  Hope you find this helpful

[its.sme]

My girl was on Skinners from her breeders, she did very well on it and the Working Dog range is Vat free.

I only changed it becouse Bea is a fussy eater

[rachelhodgkins]

Can I ask ppl how much there cockers weigh as I find such conflicting answers. My boy is currently 12.5kg I can't get him to go past 13 kg using raw feed he had just turned 1 years old he a show x working

[its.sme]

They come in such a wide range of sizes, my Show Girl is around 11.8 kg and I think that is about right for her, she is nicely tucked in at her waist and I can feel her ribs with not too much pressure.

The wait on the food packaging are just a guide, every dog is different and some are just ment to be lean.

Have you thought of adding a extra meal ?

It's trial and error with dog food I'm afraid.

Sharon.

[rubybella]

I have a Wcs and she weighs around 12kg. We tried Skinners but it didn't agree with, gave her wind and loose poos.

[MIN]

Gemma, a working, working cocker aged 3 3/4 and weighs 8.5 kg

[rachelhodgkins]

My cocker seems to be alot taller than most working spaniels I see he is as big as my miniature labradoodle. He has a nice tucked in waist but I can feel his rib dips without pressure and I can slightly feel his hip bones, totally different to my other which is quite stocky in shape but not over weight. On the raw I increased his amounts and fed 3 meals a day with no prevail. He gets alot of exercise maybe too much (if that's possible)  I have just had him neutered do may start gaining. Maybe it's my perception as for him at 6 months old, very over weight due to original owners not walking him as was only walking to and from school runs about 10 min a day.now he gets at least 1 1/2 hours off leash,  all day to pay with best dog friend and the occasional agility in the yard.

[Pearly]

Pearl is a show type and almost 14Kg in weight.  She has a waist and defined muscle and although not a wcs does work plus hydrotherapy - she should really be about 12Kg for her size and the vet is always bemused that she's 2Kg more!

Coral is still growing at 10 months old.  She is under 12Kg but not been weighed for a couple of months - again she has a waist but at this age I'm not concerned if she's carrying a bit of weight as she will soon lose it, if needed and I'd rather her be slightly over than under and not developing bone structure properly.  She's on Skinners at the moment after advice to reduce the amount and change the type of protein she is on - although I've not seen her slow down yet so I'm not convinced it is diet, I think she's just a very high speed dog! If, after another couple of weeks on kibble there is no change in her then she will be back on raw which I prefer both to have.

At six months old your wcs should really only be getting 30 minutes exercise up to three times a day; an hour and a half is a very long time for young bones and may be why he is losing weight? Far better to 'brain train' in my limited experience 
Jayne

[Jane57]

Riley who will be 4 in February is 15.2kg, he has put on a tiny bit since being neutered in April,
He still looks firm , goes in very slight at waist, I would like him at 15kg max though.

He went through a skinny phase about 2 years ago when he was 13.5 and it was too light for him.
He is quite a tall boy too.

[rachelhodgkins]

Just to correct my typing mistake he was 6 months old when we got him he is now over 1 its just a shock as in little over 6 months of having him he had gone from very over weight to bordering on too skinny

[JeffD]

Teal worker three and a half is 16 Kgs she has a waist and you can feel her ribs built like a brick out house, they all different, when we brought her the breeder was sure she was going to be one of the little pocket rockets  lol yeah right I would big pockets.