Good Complete foods aren't 'enough'... help

[Hurtwood Dogs]

I'm really struggling to find a good quality complete food that suits both my dogs - to be honest Dave can eat anything, although struggled a bit on Burns but Normy is the real problem . She has allergy issues and isn't good on high protein foods so I have to be a bit careful - too much protein makes her a little too wired and can add to her issues around other dogs. None of the Burns foods are enough for her - she doesn't hold condition and also gets scurf, as did Dave. JWB is not a food I'll touch again after problems with that and she's now on healthy paws (I think they've been on it about 3 months) and starting to loose condition again , not sure if her current 'miserable mood' is also related - she didn't even want to play in the garden with the kids yesterday which is unheard of .

Dave seems ok on it but is hungry - although not sure if that's because he's just been clipped and he's a bit 'cool'... but I Just don't know where to go from here . The only thing she's looked good on is Chappie complete - and she had a good coat on Bakers which her last owner fed her But my conscious has finally got the better of me with regard to Chappie and I just don't want to feed her that anymore plus Dave stank on it and their landmines were pretty grim.

I don't want to go BARF - I just haven't got the time at the mo but wondered if maybe adding more to Healthy Paws might help??? Her coat has become dull and scurfy again so maybe Pilchards or something else oily 2-3 times a week??? I add bits of raw and cooked whatever we're eating but that's clearly not enough. Her weight is OK to a little light (but I don't want her to gain anything significant as she's such a big dog), so upping quantity isn't really the issue.

Has anyone else had this issue and can anyone recommend a good complete brand that maybe has a bit 'more' in it? They get a lot of exercise, which has upped recently with the longer days and they're out with us on the bikes 2-3 times a week too. Their walks are mostly offlead and they do run the whole time but as I've already mentioned, high protein working dog foods just make Norms a bit too pumped up Arden Grange didn't work for her either..

Just don't know what to do

[Ian B]

Have you tried Royal Cannin?
Misty gets skin issues on JWB & Origen but she's fine on RC, we feed her the Cocker 25 label. Dale is on RC adult light (due to being a porker ) which seems to suit him whilst George and Jarvis are on Origen.
They do share a tin of tuna or pilchards in tom sauce once or twice a week mixed in with their regular food, dunno if that helps their skin/coat, but they haven't lodged a complaint yet.

[Mittens]

Hi Hannah - we have had Eddie on Purina ProPlan chicken & rice (his breeder fed her pups on the puppy stuff) and it seemed to suit him so well we switched Ruby from Bakers complete to it when she came to stay.... we add a little chicken, fish, mince or egg to it and they both like it (not so keen on the lamb and veg), never seem to get hungry between meals, and have lovely eyes/teeth/coats. I think it's about 27% protein though so might not be of use to you?

Incidently, I know Ruby has her 'OCD' type issues, but we'd gone leaps and bounds with it and she was almost a 'normal' dog  , BUT she visited her old family last weekend and came back super hyper and acting very 'odd'..... I can't say with certainty, but they'd fed her Bakers complete and table scraps and I would bet my life it affected her behaviour. Back on Purina and fresh meat/fish/eggs she's really calmed down again this week.

[Helen]

we do 1/2 HP and 1/2 Barf - Jarv looks very well on it 

Why don't you give Norms a tripe meal or sardine meal or chicken wing meal?  I don't have the time to do full BARF TBH and I feel that Jarv gets all the stuff he needs from his 1/2 and 1/2 diet (sacrilege I know to full raw feeders  )

or go back to Chappie if it suits her so well 

[Nicola]

Rodaidh and Caoimhe are on half HP and half BARF/other stuff too although I'm also struggling to put weight on Caoimhe just now. Although she's got good muscle tone and her coat looks fab she needs to put on some bulk, she eats like a horse but she's rake thin around her middle. I'm putting it mostly down to her age for now but she seems to have Teflon ribs because really nothing's sticking to them Ro's weight is fine though, they like the HP and they're both really sleek and shiny so I'm going to give it another while to see if she fills out a bit but if not the other food I would consider would be Barking Heads.

They always have HP for breakfast and in the evenings they get a variety of chicken wings, portioned rabbits, lamb ribs, tripe, sardines and Nature Diet across the week.

[supergirl]

Yumega is a really good supplement.  I've been adding it to the dogs food regularly and their coats were lovely.  Recently I bought something similar which promised the same results and after a few week or so I noticed that the dogs were a little dandruffy - switched back to the Yumega and within a week all the dandruff had gone.  It was most noticeable on Lexi as she had a lovely shiny coat which seemed to go dull (which I put down to being spayed), but now she's back on the Yumega is lovely and shiny again.  I've also tried salmon oil but to be honest I find the Yumega best.

Interesting that you say that the Arden Grange made Normy pumped up.  When Lexi arrived she was on a food called CSJ, and there has been a noticeable change in her since going onto Arden Grange.  I am thinking of going back to CSJ for Lexi - the link is below, however I can't find any details of the ingredients.

http://www.csjk9.com/range/csj-original-dog-food_p138.html

[Karma]

Tripe is a good suggestion as something to add to the diet which might help.    And as you can get in freeflow frozen, there's no major effort involved.

The odd egg (whole and raw) may also help.

Can't help on the kibble front, we only ever fed JWB, and once Honey got the taste of BARF she stopped eating that!!! 

[Hurtwood Dogs]

Thanks guys, some great suggestions... Where do you get 'easy to administer' tripe and how much is ok to give? Think I'll start with supplimenting with a bit of tripe and sardines and I'll get some Yumega for her as well - she really does seem down in the dumps and not herself she's gone a bit darker too

or go back to Chappie if it suits her so well 

I know I'm half tempted, particularly as it's £25 quid cheaper a bag than HP ... I really want to try and find something a bit better for her that suits her if I can, but we'll see

[Nicola]

You can get frozen freeflow tripe in PAH, or it comes in blocks as well. There are destructions on the bag which tell you how much to feed, I do it by eye going on how the dogs look and at the moment Caoimhe is probably getting Weimie-esque portions

[Hurtwood Dogs]

You can get frozen freeflow tripe in PAH, or it comes in blocks as well. There are destructions on the bag which tell you how much to feed, I do it by eye going on how the dogs look and at the moment Caoimhe is probably getting Weimie-esque portions

  Cricky! She must be some force to be reckoned with
(Are you planning on bringing her daaaan saaaf at some point, I'd love to meet her )

Thanks, I've found a PAH only about 40 mins away so I'll have a fun trip out and stock up!!

[Jessie_Pup]

I have been feeding my two Barking Heads for over 12months now. As you know I had the same problems as you as they were also fed Burns. Jessie has put on over 2kilos now and now a nice weight of 9,5 kilos.   Her coat has no scurfy problems as before her coat is like a piece of velvet as she was clipped yesterday.   Dylan has just over the last month gone on to their senior food.  Just recently I have started to give them a raw chicken wing once a week.

[Toni-UK]

Hi Hannah,,

If Normy was thriving/looked good on Chappie complete,i would ignore your concience as the food obviously agreed with her.

Maybe make yourself feel better by adding the fish and as Helen and Nicola suggested the occasional chicken wing/barf meal so you will feel she is still having nutritious food.

The frozen section at PAH is a goldmine,you will find lots of goodies for them there 

The landmines are another matter, 

[Nicola]

You can get frozen freeflow tripe in PAH, or it comes in blocks as well. There are destructions on the bag which tell you how much to feed, I do it by eye going on how the dogs look and at the moment Caoimhe is probably getting Weimie-esque portions

  Cricky! She must be some force to be reckoned with
(Are you planning on bringing her daaaan saaaf at some point, I'd love to meet her )

Oh she is... albeit a skinny wee force just now I should hopefully get down at some point over the summer, I'm definitely aiming for it

[Mel]

Another half Healthy Paws half BARF feeder here. Look, go with what works. At the end of the day if Chappie is the answer, then so be it. I'm no fan of rubbish foods, but my first cocker, Niki, lived to 12 and a half on Pedigree Chum and mixer and was sick less often than Keli, though ultimatly Keli was internally healthier even on the chemo in his latter years. 

[BarbaraW]

I supplement Dennis's Healthy Paws diet by adding tinned mackeral or sardines in olive oil twice a week as he also gets dry skin.