Very hungry Sid

[Golden Sidney]

Hi Sid is 8 months old and has two dry meals per day.  I give him what the  guidlines suggest but he never appears full.  He is wormed regularly so I dont think it is that.  If he knows there is food on the kitchen work tops he will prowl around all night and this drives us mad as we keep thinking he wants a wee.  But no he just wants to eat. 

My brother feeds his Springer continous (so he always got food in his dish) lucky for him his dog is not overweight.  He thinks that by limiting our Sid to two meals a day is making him want food more.  So in theory if it is there all the time he would not be so hungry.  I am worried to try this as it seems to me he would never stop and end up a fatty.  Also this would make him irregular with poo's

Sid has a sensitive tummy and we have tried a fair few dried foods starting with Royal Canin and ending with Chappie.  He parps a lot but I put that down to how fast he eats .

 Anyone got an opinion on the subject?

Thanks

Ann

[mooching]

Ann,

I personally wouldn't recommend Chappie dry at all and would suggest changing him over onto a better quality food for sensitive tums.

Here are Chappie's ingredients:

Cereals (minimum 4% wholegrain); Derivatives of vegetable origin; meat and animal derivatives (minimum 4% chicken); oils and fats; minerals. With antioxidants butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA). With preservative potassium sorbate.

The reasons I wouldn't recommend it are: the main ingredients is cereals, the second largest ingredient is vegetable waste products. Then look at the next ingredient: meat and animal derivatives. This means stuff from various non-specific animals, some of which is which but the rest of which is parts of non-specific animals that we wouldn't consider to be meat. It also contains antioxidants that have been found to be carcinogenic in humans, and a chemical preservative. All these things can cause behavioural problems and also digestive problems.

You may also find that switching to a better quality food means that he is not so hungry all the time either.

I'd be happy to give suggestions for brands of food but would just like to ask what your criteria are for sourcing your dog food. Do you need to be able to get it from a supermarket or Pets At Home, or are you prepared to travel a bit further or order over the internet?

[Golden Sidney]

I am happy to order over the net.  We ended up with Chappie as it seemes to be the only food that came out the other end looking something like poo. we have tried

Beta
Royal Canin
JWB
Huntingdons(wouldnt touch this one) the only time he has ever refused food.
ASDA
Wagg
Chappie

With the first 3 on the list we had to take water on walks to wash away as was unable to pick it up.  Advice from the vet was Chappie as it suits some dogs with funny tummy.  We have had so much poo trouble I am scared to give him scraps just in case it all starts again.  Was also told chappie is good for weight control.

[ebony girl]

we love Robbies holistic foods here.....its dried and you add an equal amount of hot water to it, Ebonys poo is solid, her coat is beautiful and she has bags of energy.....its got a good protein percentage, wholegrain rice, vegtables etc....have a look on the internet...

[bracken]

My 8 month old is on Pro Plan its fab she just loves it   I never feed anything but dog food ..I am mean ..mine never have our food.

My 2 with sensitive tummy have JWB

They do get pedigree white dogs ( low in fat ) biscuits at bedtime and when I leave for work  

I would take him off all dog food and feed white fish and rice for 36 hrs then decide on a good dry kibble such as Pro Plan, JWB ,Royal Canin  introduce very slowly whilst on white fish and rice .....I mean over 7 days ish. I see he has tried many foods for his tummy in a short time this may possibly be the problem.
Have you tried a little live yogurt to stablize his tummy when its upset ?
Jo

[mooching]

Sid's mum,

When vets recommend Chappie, in my experience it's the canned Chappie that they're recommending, not the dried stuff.

How much of the dried Chappie do you have left?

There are a number of good quality brands of kibble around, and some of them will send a good selection of free samples out if you email or phone them, including these two:

Arden Grange have an Ocean White Fish and Potato variety for sensitive tums.

http://www.ardengrange.com/

Barking Heads have a Salmon and Potato variety for "fussy eaters".

http://www.barkingheads.co.uk/

Pets At Home own brand, Wainwrights, also has a Salmon and Potato variety - haven't tried it on my dog, but it looks ok.

http://www.petsathome.com/shop/wainwright-s-adult-complete-dog-food-with-salmon-and-potato-2kg-and-15kg-12798

I personally would prefer the Arden Grange or Barking Heads over the Wainwrights, but it definitely looks reasonable.

There are other good makes around, those just happen to be the ones that come to mind.

[Jeanette]

I am happy to order over the net.  We ended up with Chappie as it seemes to be the only food that came out the other end looking something like poo. we have tried

Beta
Royal Canin
JWB
Huntingdons(wouldnt touch this one) the only time he has ever refused food.
ASDA
Wagg
Chappie

With the first 3 on the list we had to take water on walks to wash away as was unable to pick it up.  Advice from the vet was Chappie as it suits some dogs with funny tummy.  We have had so much poo trouble I am scared to give him scraps just in case it all starts again.  Was also told chappie is good for weight control.

We had problems with Quinn and his food when he got him - he was on Purina Pro Plan but this didn't agree with him at all and we also had the sloppy poos.   

Quinn has been on Barking Heads for months and months now (he is almost 7 months old and still on the puppy food)  and will be sticking with this food.     I'm really impressed that since he went on this his allergens etc cleared up, not sure what disagreed with him with the previous food but am sure its the wheat/gluten.   

I see Mooching has put the link up for them.      Its a very good quality food and a good price (well I think so).    You can get it cheaper from this site though as the price includes postage then direct from Barking Heads.   http://www.bowmeows.co.uk/index.asp?category=Barking_heads&gclid=CJ_96MiBv6YCFcse4QodxWTVGg

[fizzyntiffy]

Both of mine are on Chudleys Choice, lamb & vegetable, & get some tinned Butchers loaf mixed in with the kibble. Swapped Sasha onto it at 8 months and seems to suit them both fine.  I think the last 15kg bag I got was about £18.

They only get their meals at meal times, they'd be little barrels otherwise