Just out of interest really,  do you think all dried dog food tastes the same? 

Which of all the different types that you have tried, do you think your dogs like better, or do they eat it regardless?

Mine really love jwb lamb and rice but it is too expensive to feed all the time, but they sometimes get a bag for a treat.

No real reason for asking, just bored and curious.

although I now raw feed my gsd defo preffered some to others but not sure if he just like having a change. Supose we could always try a bit ourseves  to find out lol !

> Supose we could always try a bit ourseves  to find out lol !

Now, weirdo that I am, I have done that with dog biscuits, they do not all taste the same!

So what tastes good!!

> So what tastes good!!

The ones that look all dry, usually taste cacky!  The ones that look greasy are far more palatable, I guess more fat content.  If they taste like Ryvita, I don't get them for the dogs!

:-O  You actually TASTE the dogs food JeanSW??  :-O

I taste the dogs food aswell. Not the wet stuff but the kibble is OK. I suppose it goes back to the days when I was much younger and my mum would give a Bonio to our Rough Collie Simba and then give my brother and I one each aswell. Never did us any harm. I quite like the taste of Wellbeloved, and Hills tastes OK also. My dogs get fed Vitalin and they love it, not to my taste though !

I remember our Vicar opening a tin of Pedigree and munching on a spoonful one time - cant quite remember the point that he was trying to make but it was minging!! Still turns my stomach to think about it.

> You actually TASTE the dogs food JeanSW??

Sure do!  Doesn't everyone?

> Doesn't everyone?

Why?  Does it not matter that the dog likes the taste?  I can't see any reason at all for a pet food to appeal to the owner.

Ermmm Jean, no hun, you can get help with that you know...;-)

> you can get help with that you know...

Or maybe a little tomato ketchup :-)

> If they taste like Ryvita, I don't get them for the dogs!

LOL

My dog eats what ever is given to him and appears to enjoy it (apart from lettuce, he always spits that back at me!). Dogs enjoy eating things that can turn our stomach at the mere thought of (cat poop & raw tripe spring to mind!), I'm sure they enjoy plenty of dog foods that we wouldn't enjoy the taste of :)

Ugghhh did you have to mention the poo and tripe??? ;-)

Maybe Jean is a bit more up market than me and has Mayonnaise or French Mustard?? Or even a little Pesto? :-o

> Ugghhh did you have to mention the poo and tripe??? ;-)

Sorry :(
;)

It goes to show what disgusting tasts our dogs have  -he has such a different taste to me (thankfully, LOL!!)

I agree the taste is what matters to the dog, ingredients to the owner BUT why especialy with cat food do all the adverts and description appeal to the owners first. My cats atm are happily eating waitrose own wait for it: lamb in mint sauce,cod in parsleysauce and pilchard in tomato and Basil.LOL
Neither cat can read as far as I know and isnt the packaging pretty !! (I bought it cos it was cheaper than the other well known brand)

I feed JWB (do you really find it expensive? I pay about £35 for a 15kg bag, which I thought was quite reasonable :)) & Molly definitely prefers the Duck & Rice variety, she doesn't seem to keen on the White Fish one!!! Saying that she is a lab so would probably eat just about anything I gave her!! ;)

I quite like the taste of Arden Grange Lamb and Rice and the Salmon one, I've tried Bakers that's like chewy cardboard, Pedigree Natures best was OK a bit like a Ryvita and Iams was OK but nothing special. My dogs all like the Arden Grange, they won't eats Bakers but they'll also eat Iams and Pedigree. Now considering that they'll eat poo and other yucky stuff found in the fields I don't see how they can dare to refuse any food I offer them. I've eaten Bonio before and it didn't do me any harm but my dogs aren't so keen on them they'd rather have a buttered Ryvita.

My cat well there is a totally fussy moo, she won't eat Felix or Kit-e-kat, loves Whiskas, will only eat certain kibble like Joe Jills, Whiskas, Iams and Tesco Nature and only goats milk too but that's just as well as cow's milk can cause upset tums and yucky cat poo which the dogs then eat :)

This is an interesting question!  I do know that on several occasions in the past, I've offered my dog a couple of different brands of premium dry hand fed, like a treat.  She'd gobble them up like they were the tastiest thing in the world, yet when I placed some in her bowl as a meal, she didn't want to know!  I wonder how much of it is taste related, and how much behaviour??

>I wonder how much of it is taste related, and how much behaviour??

A good point. Food given by hand, at odd times of the day, is clearly a special treat to be welcomed as a reward. Food in a bowl is 'just' another meal, which you get every day, whatever.

I taste the kibbles too, the ones that taste salty do not get given.

It's around £42 a sack here, I've got 2 to feed and can't justify spending that amount.  They eat cheaper foods ok though, just wondered if the taste differed between the cheap food compared to the more expensive.

Can't bring myself to try the food just yet!!

I have eaten dried food in the past, must admit I prefer lamb to chicken ha ha!!

My dogs get fed mainly wet food although they have a little dry kibble sometimes as well which is Royal canin mini sensible and also burns mini bites, I have to say the older of the 2 a 4 year old toy poodle seems to prefer the Royal canin which referring to an earlier post seems to be more oily where the burns is much drier. With the wet food having tried the usual nature diet natures harvest and natures menu in pouches and recently natures menu in tins as the pouches are not available at the moment I have found that the older dog much prefers the natures menu tins to any of the others I have mentioned including the pouches, all I can suppose is that the consistency of the tins makes a difference to him.

I think it is the smell that attracts them rather than the taste - I am sure my dog doesn't have it in his mouth long enough for the taste to register :-) When looking for a training treat we are always advised to go for a really smelly one.

I have 1 dog that will eat any thing you put in front of her regardless of smell or taste,i cant believe she can taste it or smell it at the speed she its it at.
And my other dog will smell it first before she even trys it, and if its not turkey flavour then forget it.