Hi

have posted before querying changing my dogs diet to burns. (thanks for all the replies)

I've been in contact with burns and they were very helpful and have advised me how much to feed, which product and the change over period. 

I will be ordering some food in a few days (OH broke home pc again, cant get on the net :rolleyes: and have restricted access at work )

What i was wanting to know those of you that feed your dogs burns do you soak the dry food in hot water before feeding?

I've been doing this with his current food, as advised by the breeder then adding a little taster.

Sir will be 8 months old next week, where has the time gone.

Woke up last nite to no husband ( he fell asleep on the sofa watching tv ) so it was just me and the boy on the bed, when i went to move him he decided not to curl by my feet but to stick his jowls on my face (boxer) :D so i got lots of sleep!!

OH half woke up with bad neck at 3am and came up to join us.

Need a king size bed double not big enough, i'm 5 '8, OH 6 '3 and doggy not little ( :-) )

thanks

Lou

i've recently changed over to Burns, wonderful food for my 11month old rottie, when we first started weening her off her old food, i mixing all the dry food with water to soften it up, then gradually reduced her old food and the water, now mia is just on dry burns and she wolfs it down :)

hope this help :)

Have fed Burns dry from the start - Murphy wolfs it down in seconds - no need to wash the bowl after!!! They have a phone number - happen to have it here!!! 01554 890482 - incase you cant get back on line. I have just had some samples of the adult varieties sent - my boy is still on the mini-bites, but will be changing onto the adult when this sack is empty
My hubby is working away at the mo, and am resisting the urge to let Murphy sleep on the bed lol - dont want to get into bad habits for when hubby gets home - we have the kingsize bed, and we are both same heights as you - no room for a Gordon Setter!!!

Hiya
Just thought I'd share this with you in the hope of being some help....
Pre-soaking Burns before feeding was a question that I previously asked due to my basset being more prone to bloat. They (Burns) reassured me that because it is very digestible, there was no need to do so, even though she'd been on (tinned) Hills and therefore used to 'wet' food'.
The main emphasis, especially on this forum, has been the sound advice to introduce it slowly. My Rosie is 8 months......but if she were younger when I started to introduce it....I may have been likely to moisten it for her.:)

Out of interest, let me know what you decide and how it goes.

I've just recently put my two dogs onto burns too !  I'm very excited about it, I thought they looked healthy anyway so I'm hoping to see them looking even better in the coming weeks :-)

I've always fed a dry complete diet but I do moisten it purely because one of my dogs is terrible for taking huge drinks of water and I have to watch him like a hawk so by adding water I'm trying to reduce his thirst.  I too have a breed susceptible to bloat (weimaraner).  I don't soak their food but simply put enough hot water in to almost cover the food then I put it down and they eat it immediately.  I have to say Burns food doesn't smell disgusting either like some of the dry complete foods, I am presuming this is because the ingredients are more wholesome and healthy.

HTH.  :-)

thanks for the replies.

will order some tonight (will use sisters pc ) and hopefully it should arrive by next week when he turns 8 months and i can start gradually changing the food.

I soak with hot water and drain it away before sir eats it, recommended by the breeder to do this to help avoiding bloat.

Will let you know in the coming weeks how sir is doing.

I am looking forward to there being less poo's :D

He is not meant to be on the bed when we sleep as his bedding is in our room, but he is crafty and waits until you are in deep sleep and pounces, you then wake up to him there and remove him to repeat the whole cycle.  I dont think we help ourselves as its a case of no no you musnt cuddle cuddle kiss, we are soft.

though last nite i gave up and had to lock him out of the bathroom, he drinks all the froth and sticks his head over to drink, :rolleyes: i even pulled the shower curtain across but still the head appeared.

he is a character

I dare you to order some of the 'fishy' treats at the same time!!!! ....they wiff....but rosie lllloooovvvess them too!! :)

I was thinking about the treats so will be brave an order them. :-) ( will let you know )

They can't smell as bad as liver cake does when its cooking, can they ???

Best not give them to sir before bed time, snoring and bad breath not nice, or is that the other half :D :D :D 

they can and do!!! Burns treats STINK!!!! got to say, as a total Burns addict tho, they give Murphy runny poo!!! will leave them sealed and tucked away for few weeks, and try again - he has a tad delicate belly tho, seems if I give him any kind of manufactured treat it affects him - disappointing really cos I want him to have chew sticks etc that are good for his teeth - odd he reacts as he does, has done incredibly well on Burns food - looks SOOOO well, coat glossy, more chilled out, less poo ( always a bonus!!! ) will stick to the food, but hold off on the treats!

Hiya,
Just pickin' your brains! :).....do you follow the 30 minute guide of not letting them drink either side of feeding because of bloat?
Jo

what brains :-)

yes and no, i dont move his water bowl but he is walked first then fed over an hour later, he usually drinks upon returning home after exercise.  He will often have a mad ten minute or more charge or we play and train.

By the time his food is ready he is flaked out, i dont top the water up until well after his tea.  Once he has eaten he wipes his mouth on either you or the sofa throw :D and will either go to sleep or chew his toys for a bit then snore and break wind ( usually in that order :-) ).

Not sure if this helps.

Lou

LOL :D:D:D  !!........yes your reply does help LOOBY!.......especially the laughs that are supplied with the advice :)
Cheers
Jo

Just to let you know my experience of Burns (well Barney's anyway).  He is now on his third 7.5kg bag of large breed puppy food and he loves it.  I always moisten rather than wet it, with cool water as I have read that hot water removes some of the vital vitamins and minerals.  It soaks up quite quickly, even cooled.  He has it dry as a treat however so still gets to crunch too.  I think it smells much nicer than his previous dried food and poos are firmer (very important with a long haired breed, believe me!).  I don't think he needs as much as he did with his last food, as more is turned into energy (and lots of it). He has, if anything, become even bouncier than before.  We are both very happy with Burns. Good luck.
Lorna

hi

i did'nt think they did a large breed puppy?  i feed it dry but mixed in with naturediet to make it a bit more interesting, i have tried every flavour for my young boxer and have found that she's less hyper if she has the fish one, she's on the venison at the moment and this has been the best one for firm poo's and she only goes about 3 times a day at the most, its defernantly a quality food.

jojo

Hi

major problem with home pc have had to use recovery disk to be able to log on, couldnt wait til we buy a new pc ( will get one on sunday)

was advised to feed dudley on burns canine extra so have ordered two 7.5kg bags (dont have the 15kg bags) and some fish treats (hope they dont whiff too much).

Am definitely looking forward to less poo as if we havent removed it straightaway from the lawn sir has a tendancy to step in it :rolleyes: at least he likes having his feet washed (a lot)

had to laugh this morning he had to poo before our walk and then kept trying to bite his bum, it wasnt til he came into the light i could see poo hanging ( sorry to be so graphic :D) and i had to help him with kitchen towel, what a start to the morning.

tonite and last nite he has been boisterous to say the least i have a bruised eyelid,  he has just gone to sleep now ( on our bed :-) ) at last

When I say Burns Large Breed Puppy food - it is described as 'Burns Canine Extra' and says that it is for the larger breed growing dog and pregnant and nursing bitches.  Barney is 6 months old and thriving on it.
Lorna

hi

did burns recommend the K9 extra for your boxer? its just that i was advised that boxers are considered a medium breed not a large breed so its a bit confusing? thats funny about the stepping in poo thing my boxer always steps in poo it drives me mad! the only thing i would say about the fish treats is that they are very high in protein which tends to make my dog more hyper than normal if she haves too many what flavour food did you order?

kind regards
jojo

Hi JoJo

Yes i was advised that as he is 8mths (or will be early next week) to feed him on the canine extra for a few months then go onto the other adults foods.

Do you alternate the adult flavors or just stick to one?

will limit the treats, he doesnt get many, tend to only give him liver cake when training and walking to heel, well trying to :-) until we see a leaf, bit of paper, fluff in the air or old people.  We like to say hello and jump which i can control him when he is on his gentle leader.  But i tend to walk him on his normal collar and lead sounding like a twit talking to him and reiterating heel.  Last week some old guy stopped to say hello at which i said he is a puppy and very bouncy, the guy said it's ok he loves dogs and with that dudley nearly put him on the floor i was mortified and made a hasty retreat.

how old is your boxer?

have you been using burns food for long?

hi

my boxer is 10 months old and i changed her onto burns when she was 6 months but they told me to put her straight onto the adult? it has less protein in and as she is so hyper i thought it may calm her a little! she is better than she was but she's still quite hectic but thats more to do with being  a boxer i think!!! i have the same problem when meeting people they can't stroke her as she does'nt keep still long enough she's like a kangeroo on speed!!  i did change the flavours to see which suited her best and i found the venison is best for getting hard and less poo's and she does'nt seem so hyper when she has the fish one so she has venison at the mo but i keep a small bag of fish flavour just for a change if she's getting a bit fed up with the same one, i know i AM owned by my boxer but i don't mind if she's happy i'm happy well knackered and happy anyway!!!

jojo

Hi Jo, My Dobe is 10 months old now and Burns advised me to put her on the adult food at 6 months too. She's done really well on it and usually has a super coat.
Annieee :)

PS - I agree, the fishy treats STINK !!!!! :D

Hi Looby,
My 12 month old Boxer has been on Burns venison and rice for the past few weeks and it has completely cleared up his colitis.I too had been advised not to feed him large breed as he was medium.(he was on Nutro large breed when the colitis developed).I can't recomend it enough!
I have to be so careful what he eats now but he's happy with it dry and every other day I add some natural yoghurt.
Hazel

hi

the venison is very good, and my boxer also loves natural yogurt! she gets it all round her face and nose it makes me laugh! she looks so funny then she wipes her mouth on me then i stop laughing!

I heard a great phrase once"boxers think people are napkins!" so true-but we love em anyway!!

Hi
I have a question about Burns..... we have just started feeding to our 11 month old bc's they gulped it down which was good coz they had been used to tinned. Only question I have is should they be drinking loads (and I mean loads more water than before), we have had to re-fill the bowl about 10 times tonight, lots of peeing!!!

Will this fade, is it because it was the first night of giving it to them?

Thanks

Jo

Hi Jo,

Your dogs will most likely slow down on the water consumption - sounds like they are not used to dry and were overreacting a bit.

They will drink more water on dry food than they did on tinned.  Tinned food is approximately 75% water, so you dogs need to replace the moisture they were getting from the tin with water from their bowl.

Stacey

Hiya
I had this with Rosie for the first 3 days or so...then it reduced during the 'change-over' period...and now, after 2 weeks of being on Burns alone .....she's back to normal amounts of water consumption.

HTH
:)

Jo

Thanks Jo

Jo!