megan is now 12 weeks. i have been feeding her pedigree chum puppy tinned food and biscuits since getting her 4 weeks ago. i would like to eventually like her to be on complete puppy dry food.i have had lots of advice from kind neighbours and other dog owners aswell as the breeder.they feed their dogs on Butchers.the vet suggested a good quality dog food.when looking around i have found it very confusing as there are so many to choose from !!! can anyone give any me inside knowledge on their experiences with their border collie or other active breed.i am a new member to this site and have already found it very interesting when reading suggestions to one another     that may help them and their dog.

My Border Collies are fed on Naturediet and do very well on it.  If you want a dry complete food then Burns always comes highly recommended here.  I wouldn't touch pedigree or any tinned food with a barge pole.

Have to agree with Sally, you won't go far wrong with what she has suggested.  My BC wouldn't eat Burns unfortunately, but she is a fussy eater.  I have her on Purina Pro Plan now.  Just make sure it is a good quality puppy food, I wouldn't touch tinned food either, especially with a puppy.
Sandra

thanks for your comments,do nature diet make it for puppies aswell ? i have read alot about opinions regarding burns on this site ,it does seem popular although i dont think ive seen it in the pet shops.i do know i can get it on line after reading about it here., i will have to email them as someone else did for a sample .i am only feeding her on canned as the breeder weened her onto this at the time,so now i am looking for something much better.thanks to sally sandrah and michelle for advise.

the nature diet is a similar consistency to tinned,but freasher & healthier!
(have fun opening the packets!!)(once you get one youll know what i mean!!)

michelled, i shall have to get some packets of nature diet ,it does sound interesting.as a point of interest,you say you feed yours natural,what do you mean ? fresh chicken etc ?

mainley raw chicken wings,but also some veggies(raw) mince,liver,heart, all raw.
also any left overs
sometimes rice or pasta,bit of cottage cheese,porridge

theres alot on here on Barf/raw feeding,worth a read through & see what you think. its made all mine alot less fussy!

whats your puppy called? colour? any interesting breedlines?

my bc puppy is called megan, she is a smooth haired and is tri black white and red.she is very lively and loves to chew of course ! she has pleading puppy eyes to try and get what she wants, very intelligent. she certainly keeps me active.

lovely!
does she have a kong,so you can stuff it with treats,mine love working out how to get the treats out,abit of chedder wedged in there will make it harder!

these are the best dogs in the world you know!
have you got others too?or is this your first collie?

meg will be so quick to learn,which is great,just be aware theyll learn bad habits just as fast,& with a collie any behaviour that becomes learnt can prove a bugger to put right! they are quirky too-i love this!

megan is my only dog, but i do have other animals, 3 cats 2 rabbits and a guinepig. my little animals live in a corner plot with a playhouse as there home,(very spoilt) one of my cats is part ferral one is a manx and is the boss, the other cat is very layed back and lives upstairs most of the time...sleeping.although i do know they sleep 19 hours each day. megan had lots of toys bought when i first got her. it felt like the time i had my children and family/friends dropped in with gifts. she has a treatball and another ball that you put in cheese etc as you say they love them. 

very fussy usually & will tend to cut their meals down for you!

watch the protien level esp if she starts getting very scatty!

mine are feed naturally,but i do keep burns for emergancies,which mine love!

with alot of collies it can be a case of whatever you can get them to eat!

Ohh lovely, i have a black and white short haired border collie called Megan too! (Shes a bit older at 2 years though!) I find meg is good on burns, as it is not so full of additives and less protein than others, but it is of a better quality. As a puppy i also fed her on pedigree puppy, but i was advised to change as it was making her completely hyper, (more so than a normal border collie pup.) and her attention span was virtually nil!

thanks for your info regarding burns,i have requested a sample pack from them ,i'll let you know how we get on.its nice to hear that you also have a megan too.interesting that you say you were advised to change from pedigree puppy that could have caused the hypo,my meg is totally off her head sometimes and i have to put her in her crate for 'time out' until she has calmed down.so this does make me wonder about her diet. i love her to bits and im sure we have already set up a special bond.

Hi Jackie

I have two BCs both farm bred so can be pretty hyper.  They are 15 and 6 months.  Both were changed to burns as soon as we got them. It  does work very well and their coats are fantastic.  They tend to have it the morning and then burns in the evening with puppy naturediet just to add some variety.  Both are great.  You will find that burns is only stocked in smaller independent pet shops and not the big ones like Pets at Home etc.  I believe it so that they can give proper advice about diet etc.  Otherwise ordering off the net is great unless you are like me and are practically running out before ordering it.  Naturediet you can get from Pets at Home about 59p or thereabouts.  Personally I buy it in bulk now so it is cheaper.  Burns website is very good and if you have any queries at all ring them as they are great with the advice.

Best of Luck
Claire

P.S.  Kongs are a great idea.  For the pups I fill them with rice pudding and freeze it.  Great for pups that chews or are teething.

thanks for your ideas claire,especially the kongs and rice pudding.as its made with milk, will this still be ok occassionally ?

Our border collie Spice,now 8 months,is fed on Naturediet.We started her off on food the breeder had used,but gradually introduced Naturediet puppy and a bit of James Wellbeloved for the crunch,as Naturediet is a soft food,this helps her teeth.
She also gets a variety of fresh raw veg and other healthy treats.
If you contact Naturediet via their website they will send you loads of information on their food and it's content.In fact they told us that at 6 months Spice could happily change to the Adult naturediet and she has adapted to it very well.She has Original,Chicken,Lamb and the fish variety!(she didn't like the chicken and tripe!)
She only eats one pack a day,plus 2-3 handfuls of JWB,quite a bit less than the guidelines,but that is what suits her at the moment.
We now order from them in bulk,over the phone and they deliver to our door within 2/3 days.It works out to around 50p per pack inc.delivery,a saving of between 9p-25p! per pack compared to other suppliers.

Everyone has to choose what suits their own dog and sometimes their budget,but this is the mix which seems to suit Spice very well,her coat is shiny and she has a very good attention span,plus lots of energy,but not hyperactive :)
Jacqueline.

i think you are right, that you have to choose whats best for your own dog. i am really greatful that there are so many nice people out there to share ideas with and to learn new ones. i have been on the naturediet site and registered, it is interesting.thanks for that.