Hi,
Can anyone recommend a dry complete food for my 10 month old Golden Retriever?She is currently on Masters but the protein is 26% and on the one below its still 20.5%.she is carrying a bit of weight which i need to get off her and am looking for a food around 18% protein.
I have always fed Masters and have never had a problem with weight but this little monkey is a nightmare to keep in trim!!!

Thanks
mel

I think you may be trying to place too much control with protein levels. I use Masters Meaty Crunch (23%) and control my dog's weight by volume. The dog's metabolism determines how much food is needed. My old Bethany passed her food through very quickly and needed relatively large amounts of food just to keep a little flesh on her. With Anna on the other hand, what goes in stays in! Literally, by Bethany's standards she is on starvation rations!

All changing foods means (Once you have found one you like) is that you have to start all over again finding the right amounts for your dog. I seriously wonder sometimes just how Anna manages to live on what I feed her but she is completely tireless and can spend a day in the field working without turning a hair.

Count your self lucky, cut the amount of food, pocket the savings and put the saved money towards a nice summer holiday in the sun!

Regards, John

Hi Mel

If you are seriously looking for a low protein good complete food try Burns. All of their complete dried feeds are around 18% and I really recommend them. They are a little more expensive that your supermarket brands but are good.

Cheers
Jayne

I have goldens and also feed masters, mine do tend to put on weight easliy so I mix half Masters with natural 19 from laughing dog, with a little tripe, works well for me.

Barbara

Try Dr John Silver 18% and only £5.99 for a 15kilo bag.

I agree with Johns comments - dont place too much emphasis on the protein level in the food. Compare the feeding guide of different foods. What you may feed 200g of one food at 18% you may only need to feed 100g at 28%, therefore you will feed 36% in total for the first food and 28% on the second. The feeding guide on the packets are only guides and should be adjusted accordingly with your dog.

Micki - sorry but your maths is wrong. If you feed 200gm of 18% protein you will still be feeding 18% protein.It is the phsycial amount rather than the percentage that will double making 36 grams of protein and 164 grams of other stuff. If you feed 100 grams of 28% protein you will still be feeding 28% which happens to be 28 grams of protein and 72 grams other.

You need to look at the total content of a food to see which is best for your dog. It is often the additives that causes hyperactivity though as opposed to actual protein content. I changed from Euk to Nutro three years ago now and have never looked back. The additives in Euk had my boy climbing the walls - he's fine on the Nutro - even if I put him on the higher protein content version:D.

Pam n the boys