Has anyone had any problems using this food for their puppy.I am begining to think this may be the cause of my pups recurrent bladder infections as someone i met in the park said it was the last food she would give her dogs to much stuff in it that can overwork the kidneys cant remember what she said exactly?.Trying to join but keeps saying there is a problem with cookies(not as far as im concernd managed a packet of choc chip last night!)so will get hubby to sort it out later.
Thanks
Emma

I'm  a member of the Beta Breeders Programme and I've been using it  for my pups for the last 5 years.I've never had a problem with it,all my pups go home with a 3kg bag and I know most new owners do stick to it.Every pup I've reared on it  has left us  happy and healthy and I'm not aware that any have developed  problems at a later date.Hope this is a help.
I bought in a pup 2 years ago that had been reared on Pedigree advance  and she had no end of problems both with her kidneys and bowels.Once I changed her over gradually on to the beta  she was fine

Beta would also be one of the last foods i would feed,from what i have read it is a cheap,nasty food.IMO any dogfood that can be purchased in the supermarket is crap! Why dont you try burns,jwb,naturdiet,with all the premium(more natural) foods about there is no excuse to feed an inferior food.

christine

<<<<IMO any dogfood that can be purchased in the supermarket is crap!>>>>
I think this is a bit of a generalisation.There are good and bad everywhere...not all brands sold by supermarkets are bad and not all brands sold by pet food outlets are good. I buy Autarky from the supermarket..it is not cheap and is 100% natural with a high chicken meat content.I have tried some of the premium diets you mention and have found none of them can match what I feed now...so once again its 'horses for courses' so to speak.
Archer

<<IMO any dogfood that can be purchased in the supermarket is crap!>>

Not necessarily any more so than the 'people food' that is sold there! ;) (Personally I wouldn't recommend JWB because it didn't suit my dogs.)

When I got my puppy he was being fed beta puppy and yes he had quite nasty urine infections :(  although I am not saying that it is a bad food as it does seem to suit other dogs that I know. I changed my pup over to burns and we have been infection free for a year now :)  I think it is just a matter of finding the right food for your dog, although undoubtably there are foods out there that are of better quality than others. I was told that it was just the protein quantity that was too high in the beta that was causing the problems. Sarah :)

"IMO any dogfood that can be purchased in the supermarket is crap!"

Be interested to know your reasoning for this Christine

Also, why to you say that Beta is a "cheap, nasty food" and why would it be one of the last you'd feed?

i feed both my huskies on beta,and without any probs, although i have never seen it in the supermarket to buy, and it's not that cheap ,i think bakers is totally bad it made both the dogs really poorly.

Hi Emma, no food will cause bladder infections athough the wrong foods can cause other renal problems. Infections are caused by bacteria (or viruses, fungi etc) not diet. I've used beta in the past and while I didn't feel it suited my dogs or breed and thought it was overpriced for what you get, I didn't see any great problems with it.

Beta isn't sold in Australia so i have no idea what you can base your opinions about it on, ozzie72?

JWB didn't suit my dogs, neither did Burns, both caused diarrhoea rather than curing it!

Em,You can read the ingredients on the web :rolleyes: you must spend your whole time waiting for me to slip up so you can correct me,dont ya!!!! It really is becoming a boring pattern!

As for the supermarket brands,at least here in Australia they are one in the same,they all start with a corn product,they all have by-products and an absolutly tiny amount of meat,i did assume the same applied in the U.K??? You cant find a dry or wet food in our supermarkets that even resembles a healthy diet for our pets,we have the usual,pal,purina and heaps more you guys probaly havnt even heard of?
Can you find a healthful product in your supermarkets,if so i would be interested in hearing the first 5-6 ingredients.You are very lucky if you can buy a decent product from your supermarkets,coz in our supermarkets you can only find the bottom of the barrel stuff :( Archer i have heard that Aurtarky is a good food,you are very fortunate to be able to get it at supermarkets,so i guess i have to eat my words on that one,what other similar products are available in you s.m? To get the good stuff here you have to go to a select group of pet shops,Australia hasnt cottoned on to the holistic pet food yet,much to many un-educated folk about who beleive their vets when they say that science diet is the best food you can feed

christine

My dogs were raised on Beta Puppy and did quite nicely thank-you.  I certainly didn't find it cheap and they didn't find it nasty.  I am also able to buy Autarky in the supermarket and also Butchers Tripe which comes recommended by my vet and they do well on.

Not every type of food is suitable for every person and just in the same way that I know people that don't eat wheat or dairy or citrus fruits, I eat all of them with no problem.  My dog can't tolerate Skinners which is a good quality food but did well on Eukanuba when I was given a bag from someone whose dog couldn't eat it.  I have a cat whose coat shines and she carries more weight when fed on Iams from the supermarket.  I know people who feed Genesis which is far from cheap, whose dogs are thin, always hungry and suffer health problems.  Some of us do well on what you describe as 'bottom of the barrel stuff' whereas some of us need specialised diets, it's the same for dogs too.

It's very much down to what suits your dog.

Just to change the subject slightly, my eukanuba puppy packs came the other day... what a dissapointment theyre soo small now, only 2 packs of 100g each of food no cup and of course the euk adverts. they look so cheap and I for one will be ashamed to hand them out. Talk about cutting costs its disgusting!

John :-(

A dog belonging to a friend of mine won BOB at Crufts last year.  At the time he was being fed Tesco's complete.........horses for courses isn't it?

Just because a dog looks shiny on the outside,does not mean it is healthy on the inside.
If some dogs do fine on el cheapo foods then fine,but i would feel too guilty feeding a product such as pedigree or purina etc. I wouldnt feed myself or my children foods consisting of by-products or masses of wheat and corn,so why would i feed these things to my dogs,who in my eyes and heart are my kids??
I have nothing against people who decide they want to feed these foods to their dogs,but when someone asks a question about a particular food then i have to give an honest answer,which as always doesnt sit well with someone!
Like i said before,the only pet foods available in our supermarkets are the crap ones.
I would appreciate it if someone would post the major ingredients of the most popular dog foods available in supermarkets,then we can all make up our own minds.

christine :)

In the end it is absolutly up to the individual owner what they want to feed their dogs,yes some dogs do well on products with questionable ingredients, a dog can survive on just about anything an owner serves up to them,but i dont want my dogs to just survive i want them to thrive!
This good food,bad food subject will ALWAYS be a contentious subject,we all will never,ever agree on this issue, Nutrition is a subject many people are passionate about,like myself,other people dont seem to care what ingredients are in the food they feed~cringe~ In the end i know i am feeding my dogs an optimal diet,if god forbid they contract cancer or some other hideous disease,i wont look back and think,gee what if had fed a better diet,maybe this wouldnt have happened,i for one could not handle that on my concience forever.

christine

<<if god forbid they contract cancer or some other hideous disease,i wont look back and think,gee what if had fed a better diet,maybe this wouldnt have happened>>

I recently attended the funeral of a neighbour who died of cancer at a young age, who was extremely fit, took regular exercise, didn't smoke, drank in moderation, ate healthy food, and had regular health checks (in fact the screening test passed him clear of the cancer that was found a month later). Maybe his healthy lifestyle enabled him to live long enough to see the elder of his children graduate from University.

It seems if you're going to get cancer there is little you can do to prevent it.

It seems if you're going to get cancer there is little you can do to prevent it.

I think that statement is a little sweeping!  We know it is possible to prevent many many cancers by changes to our life style.

Lung cancer can be prevented by not smoking, skin cancer by being careful exposure to sun and tanning beds etc, the list is endless. 

Of course there are always people/dogs who will succumb to cancers through no "fault" of their own; however there are a great many diseases that can be prevented/minimised by following a healthy lifestyle!

I understand your point in that even a healthy dog/person can die from cancer,but if it happens i know it wont be because i fed an inferior diet.

christine

I agree they can probably be minimised or delayed, but I don't believe they can be prevented. Non-smokers die of lung cancer. And of course it's something that neither of us can prove! Nobody can tell what would have happened if something different had been done in the past. We only know what has happened. Anything else is pure speculation.
:)

ozzie72
I feed Autarky.
Minimum 28% chicken.100% narural.
Ingredients....maize,chicken meat meal,rice,chicken fat,carrot and green leaf veg(min 4%) whole linseed,beef pulp,prarie meal,mixed herbs and(min 2%) spices,yucca,yeasr.Natural anti oxidents.
herbs include...aloe vera,carob,cayenne pepper,fennel,fenugreek,ginger,kelp,mint,oregano,rosemary,thyme,turmeric,valeriana root,yucca.
Archer

My vegetarian Nephew died at 34 of stomach cancer, as you say JG there is no way of knowing why and strong reasons to believe that it starts with a virus, and there is no way we can avoid them. We feed our dogs as well as we can and as we see fit and if those dogs look good and are bouncing with well being why on earth should we change.

So is my dogs' diet inferior?

Not if you are happy with it :)

jackyjat
didn't I see on the feeding board that you feed Autarky like I do??
I would recommend it to anyone...my oldest elkie was on nutro and looked terrible.He was shown and did nothing and looking back at the piccys I'm not suprised.I put him onto Autarky and he has bloomed.His coat is brilliant ,he is full of energy and has matured into a nice dog(I know its not all down to feeding)...winning 2RCC's out of  the last 3 champ shows hes attended(including Crufts).I will not be changing and pup will be weaned onto Autarky as soon as hes old enough
Archer 

Yes you are correct Archer.  Autarky is the most successful food I have come across for my dog with sensitive digestion so far, price taken into account.  Of course I can't vouch for his internal organs but from the outside he certainly seems to be full of health with a shiny coat and plenty of energy which hasn't always been the case.  What comes out is managable too!!!

I have had a couple of conversations with the people from the Working Dog Food Company who make Autarky and I may be biased because they have working spaniels, but have found them very very helpful.

I am hoping for a litter from my cocker this year, (day 5 of season at the moment, argh!!!) and will wean pups onto Puppy Autarky.  I can't recommend it highly enough for the price I pay, and if I can't get hold of a sack, I can buy it in the supermarket!!

Autarky Minimum 28% chicken so therefore nore than 70% of the diet is made up of other things and in fact as maize is listed first the single largest ingredient is maize (corn). Also the chicken is meat meal which is not the same as chicken meat!

100% natural as opposed to what? :D unnatural? - lots of things are 100% "natural" like hemlock and mercury; not necessarily a recommendation. :)

Ingredients....maize,chicken meat meal,rice,chicken fat,carrot and green leaf veg(min 4%) whole linseed,beet pulp,prarie meal,mixed herbs and(min 2%) spices,yucca,yeast.Natural anti oxidants. herbs include...aloe vera,carob,cayenne pepper,fennel,fenugreek,ginger,kelp,mint,oregano,rosemary,thyme,turmeric,valeriana root,yucca.

Linseed, beet pulp and yeast may be problematic to some dogs

Why all the herbs/spices what value do they have in the diet?  Some of those included have well known beneficial effects but cayenne pepper?

>Just because a dog looks shiny on the outside,does not mean it is healthy on the inside.

Huh? So how do you tell a dog is healthy inside?? By the cost of what is fed??
Health on the inside shows in the appearance of the dog - shiny, strong coat, good teeth and gums, clear eyes, good weight and muscle tone, good bone development, energy levels etc - plus of course what comes out the other end! Illness tends to affect the outward appearance of a dog just as it does us.

Of course damage can show up later - but if people have fed a diet for several years with good results then clearly it suits their dog well. Dogs are all different - mine didn't do well on raw food - but are doing great on a combination of Burns and AMP. Others will be different.

Janet

I use to give my dog Bakers which he did fine on , i now feed him Beta and have done for a few months now he is fine on it and enjoys it, so i shall carry on giving him Beta, dogs are like humans some people like some food others dont, some people can eat food that others cant, it all gets very confusing.

Archer,that sounds like an o.k food,100% better than any foods we have in our supermarkets!
By all means people,feed your dogs what you want and what they do well on,i can only give my opinion,i would never tell an owner what or what not to feed,i only know as much as i have researched.
I find it extremely difficult to put my tone accross on the computer,the last thing i want to do is offend anyone.
Alot of people rave about burns,alot of folk think that if their dogs do well on it,everyone elses will too,i have been guilty of that until recently ;)
I have researched so much about dog food i feel like my head is about to explode :D One thing i have found, is very few people will agree about the benefits of one particular food.Some dogs live to a ripe old age fed on the most generic food available,i just cant take that risk,i spend an absolute fortune on my dogs food,i go without so they can have a good meal every night,i could easily go out and buy a bag of pal,it would make life much simpler and cheaper BUT when i invited my dogs into my home, i made a silent vow to them to give them the best life possible,which includes the most wholesome fresh foods,as much excercise as they want and all of the love that's in my heart,they didnt ask to come and live with me,so therefore i will do everything in my power to make their lives happy and whole,geez i'm raving abit off topic here :p
When i give an opinion on what someone is feeding their dogs,i dont do it just for the sake of it,i do it because i truly do care about each and everyone of your dogs,and if i can steer someone onto a more natural approach,then that's a good thing,isnt it??
I could babble on and on about nutrition but in the end you will all feed what suits your own dogs,which is totally understandable.

I wish you and your dogs a long and healthy life :)

christine

"Don't lock me up as punishment,Dont be angry with me for long.
You have your work,your friends,your entertainment,i have only you"

I have to agree with you tohme,i was too scared to say what i really thought in fear of being jumped on or my words be cut and pasted(ooh i hate when people do that !) In the end i was right in the fact that supermarket foods always start with a yucky grainy ingredient,i did say the food was o.k but there are far better,but if your dogs are doing well on it,so be it,your dogs are not mine,so i shouldnt get so riled up and upset about what other people feed there dogs!

nuff said on this topic,i'm sure there will be another one tomorrow ;)

Christine

Hi Christine, people only cut and paste to make it clear which particular part of a post is being replied to, and so that it is clear that nobody is misquoted. It saves a lot of misunderstandings!
:)

I suppose,it just makes me feel like a little kid and condescended,as if i couldnt remember what i had said,people only usually do it when they want to correct you or make a fool of you??just my experience on it :p

christine :)