I've looked on the Royal Canin website and done some searches on food that our little girl should be on at various stages of her life (she's a 7 month old sheltie).  Its come up with this:

2 months to 12 months - Medium Junior
12 months to 7 years - Meduim Sensible (I clicked on sensitive tums as this is common in shelties)
7 years + - Medium Mature

So, if anyone could tell me whether or not this food is good (and what its like compared to Burns, JWB and Hills and any other "good" ones) it would be much apprectiated :)

Also, what are people's thoughts on Eukanuba - I don't recall seeing a post asking about that you see?  Thanks :)

P.S.  Sorry if people are tiring of posts like these but I would really appreciate the advice :)

[Edit to say: she's currently on Burgess mixed with tinned Pedigree Puppy but I'm going to wean her off the tinned food anyway once she's properly settled in here. This is just to see if I should consider weaning her onto another dry food at a later date :)]

Hi,
I feed JWB and find that it's fantastic. My pups breeder started him off on Royal Canin but he was very loose (am i right in thinking that JWB and Royal canin are made by the same company??) I was torn between Burns and JWB but read that burns tends to keep a dog very lean and if you up the amount fed to gain weight it often causes loose stools.....my pup was quite skinny so I opted for JWB and he's doing fab!

Hayley x

My vote would be Arden Grange classic Puppy now up to a year,a nd then the lamb and Rice (works weell with iffy digestions).

Both have a better meat content (if I remeber rightly) that the others you have quoted, and compare well on price too.

All I can tell you is Royal Canin didn't suit my TM pup. I had really good results with James Wellbeloved for many years, but stopped feeding it as it didn't suit the TM pup either and my old shar-pei suddenly lost condition on it and picked up again on the superdog. I went on to Superdog Sensitive for both my dogs after seeing how fabulous my friend's 10 shar-pei looked on it. She changed over from James Wellbeloved 18 months earlier and if anything, they look better on the Superdog. I've known all these dogs all their lives and the oldest is almost 10. I stuck with it because both of mine did/do really well on it (sadly my shar-pei has recently passed on due to old age). I felt a little guilty feeding it at first because it was half the price of JW, but it was stupid paying so much for food that my dogs looked awful on just because it was 'reassuringly expensive'. 

I think a lot of the premium brands like Hills, Eukanuba, Iams, Royal Canin etc... are much the same as each other. They're not necessarily better quality than some foods half the price (though they are far better than some) because a lot of money is invested in the promotion and development of these foods and that's how they recoup costs. I mean, Royal Canin must have a special food for at least 5 different breeds of dog plus the bog standard size and life stage foods! It's ridiculous. Some small independent companies just stick with the same tried and trusted recipes for years rather than introducing 'new improved' ones every few months. Most of the time, there was absolutely nothing wrong with the 'old not improved' food, but new gimmicks equals new sales.

I reckon if your sheltie likes the food and does well on the Burgess complete, stick with it. If not, give the James Wellbeloved or Arden Grange a try.

Thanks for all the replies!  I'm familiar with Wafcol and have heard thats a great food too but it stinks!!! (mind you its probably very tempting to a dog) haha  The reason I asked was that she really doesn't seem overly interested in her food.  She was having a teaspoon of Pedigree Puppy tinned food mixed in but didn't actually eat many of the biscuits that were 'coated' in it so today we tried her on just the dry.  She ate all of her breakfast (granted it took 3 hours) but hasn't touched her tea and really isn't interested.  Thats why I'm looking at other foods which will be more 'tempting' but also very good for her :)  Do PAH stock Arden Grange as its not one I remember seening whilst browsing?

I know that Supadog, Wafcol, Hills, JWB, IAMS and Eukanuba all do 'hypoallergenic' foods for 'sensitive' tummies which she needs and I'm guessing Arden Grange does - yes or no?

I'm asking all these questions so that I can narrow the 'choice' down and hopefully find a food that she does grand on without having to 'chop and change' like we did with our previous shelties - they had IAMS, Eukanuba & JWB (that I can remember) over the course of their lives until we finally found that Hills was the best for them both.  I know its a case of what is best for one dog won't be for another but all advice is much appreciated :)

If you can't find it at PAH then they do deliver, the Lamb and Rice is their sensitive one, and you can see the full info here:
http://www.ardengrange.com/

I'm familiar with Wafcol and have heard thats a great food too but it stinks!!!

If your dogs like it and do well on it then that's all that should matter :)

I feed Wafcol salmon&potato,it's the only dry food one of my fusspots eat's half willingly. I also give them fresh meat and fish, and rmb's daily as i dont think there is one dry food in the UK that has an adequite amount of meat in it to sustain a dog at the optimal level :(

Your'e very lucky that your dog prefers dry over wet,it's usually the other way around.However i must say,not even my chow hounds will touch pedigree,tinned or dry! I was at the pet shop a while back with my dogs and a bag of pedigree had split and spilt all over the floor,they all went running up to it,2 of them sniffed and walked away and the third picked one up and spat it straight back out again Now 2 of these dogs will eat anything,or so i thought,LOL!

Most dogs also love the 'less healthy' foods such as purina,pedigree etc. because they are salt/sugar and preservative ladened,with a good spray of grease to make them palatable :rolleyes: My dogs wont eat those either,i tried them out of curiosity :o I think mine are one of the  few dogs who dont like junk food

Royal canin is a mediocre food with a high price tag! The 'gimmicks' they employ with all their junior,maxi and breed specific foods makes me think that their main objective is to get as much shelf space as humanly possible so their products dominate the pet shop shelves and therefore the customers eyes,i would hope they put as much effort into the quality of their ingredients as they do their marketing. I cant really say nay or yay on RC as i've never fed it to my dogs,however i have heard that it's good for fussy eaters as it smells very strong,so it may be worth a try and see how well your dogs do on it :)

You probaly havnt seen many posts on Eukanuba as it's not a very rated food,it's along the same lines as iams and hills *YUCK*! Besides there are plenty of Brit pet foods to choose them :)

Thanks for the advice!  Your dogs sounds like they've got taste ;)

Our previous dogs would only eat their dried food reluctanctly if wet with some 'tasty' meat but our little girl really seems to prefer dry on its own :)

I've noticed that the only Wafcol 'puppy' food they sell in our local pet shops is Salmon & Potatoe.  I'm still debating on that, Arden Grange, Burns and JWB tho so... which is the better for sensitive tums?

I'm wanting to buy some new food and wean her onto it before her current food runs out and see how she does on it :)

Hey peewee,

Why dont you rotate between the foods :) You can give them,say,JWB for a month or when the bag runs out and then swap to the next food,and just rotate through them.This will ensure your dogs wont get bored,recieve nutrients that one of the others lack or has too much of.Rotating between different foods also lessens the chances of dogs developing allergies to particular ingredients,which has been known to happen to dogs fed the same food all their lives.Finally,i personally hate the thought of a dog being forced to eat the exact same food day in day out for the rest of it's life,i think they definately do have preferances and enjoy change just as much as we do,which is evidenced by how excited my dogs get when they know their favourite meal is being served up compared to when it's just boring old kibble :rolleyes:

>If your dogs like it and do well on it then that's all that should matter

Well said, Hailey :)

Thanks for the link!  AG probably is in our PAH but I've probably not noticed it as I wasn't actively looking.  My local pet shop would prob be able to get some in for me from the local suppliers anyway :)

I use PAH own food as one of my dogs has a wheat/gluten allergy and a sensitive tum.  This food suits them fantastically and they have grown well and look fantastic on it.

Bev

Peewee -

I might have understood you wrong, but are you saying that you have no evidence/symptoms of a sensitive tum at the moment with your sheltie, you just clicked on "sensitive tums" and are looking for a food for sensitive tums, because shelties as a breed are known to have them??

If so, I'd stop looking for a food for sensitive tums until you know if you've got a dog with one. 

And when you have a dog with a sensitive tum, you need to find out why - is the dog allergic to an ingredient or intolerant of an ingredient? 

"Sensitive tum" means nothing by itself.  And seeing as (as far as I can see) your dog doesn't have one yet, why make that be one of your criteria?

In my opinion, try Burns or James Wellbeloved.  The Wafcol is also good in terms of ingredients, although I haven't fed it myself.

If you go for the James Wellbeloved, there are 4 flavours (duck, fish, turkey, lamb) and each flavour has a puppy food.  I find this quite good because I like to feed my puppies on a variety of proteins/ingredients from a young age (because I find it means they grow up with strong digestions, able to eat anything).  The fact that JWB has 4 flavours and makes a puppy food in each flavour means there are 4 flavours you can feed from a young age.  By comparison, Burns just has 1.  (Well it has Canine Extra and Mini Bites, but the protein source in both is chicken.) 

www.wellbeloved.co.uk

Thanks all for the replies!

We did used to 'rotate' foods with our other dogs as they went 'off' them pretty quick *fuss pots*  However, we found that this in itself caused stomach upsets :rolleyes:  That's why I'm looking for one food that suits our little girl and comes in different flavours - then I can 'rotate' flavours and not foods :)

Our sheltie girl has shown signs of a sensitive tummy (as have most of the breeders own) which is why she (and the others) are on Supadog Sensitive :)

I have noticed in the shops that JWB flavours are all for different things like itchy or scaly skin etc etc.  They all seem to be "hypo-allergenic" and "gentle on your dog's digestion" .  Will this have any effect if I do 'rotate' all the flavours just to keep her interested?

:)

If you're still looking for Arden Grange, they stock it in our 'local' Waitrose, so if there's one near you it may be worth looking there :)

It's impossible to say, peewee.  It depends if there is an ingredient your dog is allergic to and what that is. 

If I were you, I'd buy a small (2kg) bag of each of the 4 puppy flavours (they cost about £5 each), then try each one for a couple of weeks each.  That way you will know which one(s) she can't have.  It's normal for there to be loose poo during the changeover period though, just while she adapts to the different food, so don't overreact at the first sign of a sloppy one!

I don't overreact at "sloppy" poo's - they just ain't as easy to clean up as the firmer ones *yuk* ;)

Have requested samples for Wafcol, Burns & JWB so will see what she makes of each :)

[Edit to say - does anyone know what the recommended age for changing over to adult food is for all of the above foods?  Can't find this info on any of their sites ya see.  Thanks!]

does anyone know what the recommended age for changing over to adult food is

Usually around 12mths. :)

FTR Large breeds should not be put on puppy food in the first place,these dogs do well put straight onto Adult food which tend to keep them growing at a nice slow pace,rather than sprouting like a weed when put on puppy foods!

"Usually around 12mths."

Thanks Hailey - thats what I thought   It was just that I recall reading a differing opinion on here so wanted to clarify :)

Just wanted to say - about the samples - usually samples are only one meal of a food, and most dogs like novelty so much they will wolf it down, no matter what it is.  If you tried to feed the same food for several weeks you might find a different story though.  (Talking from experience of trying dogs on samples, thinking they like it, buying 15 kg sacks only to find they won't eat it 2 wks later!!!)  So I do think the 2kg bags are a better idea.

Don't panic there's no way I'm going to judge whether or not she 'likes' the food based on a sample   Its just basically so I can compare them myself i.e. ingredients, what they're like when a bit of water is added, smell, look etc.  The nets great but for some things you need to have the product in front of you :)

i use arden grange and burns-burns 90% of the time, but if my food place doesn't have any, i'll get arden (they're on it now).

i find that burns makes my two more solid and they seem to eat it with a bit more gusto (although the little 'un will eat anything-typical lab). Burns is quite bland, whereas arden has more oils in it i think. I must say though, when they do have arden, their coats feel a bit softer and look a bit glossier, but overall both i, and they, seem to prefer burns. That reminds me-must get a bag ordered!

nicola

i recomened Trophys premium range , they also give free samples then a trial bag and if you do purchase a 15 kg bag and your dogs go off it they give you a full money back on unuesd food ,free delivery if you have an agent in your area or they do do a carrige paid service www.trophypetfoods.co.uk on the buav list too-Jo  

Not heard of that one so will have a looksie into it :)

On the samples front I've been mixing in a bit of burns puppy minibites with our little girls usual food and a bit of added water to produce a bit of 'gravy' and she's wolfing it down which is a far cry from how she's been eating before!  Her poo's are already much firmer and she's only been on it for 2 days

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