Having had more than enough troubles with Nature Diet I am looking into changing my dogs to something else.  I am considering feeding the Natures Menu pouches or JWB dry food.

I am concerned about finding a natural and healthy food that is as good as ND. I am worried about the ingredients in these foods i.e. do they contain any hidden nasties??

I have looked at the websites and they seem to look pretty good and the companies seem to have gone a long way to advertise that they don't contain any derivatives, preservatives, fillers, additives etc.

Is there anybody clued up on the subject that can point out any negatives on these dog foods in respect of the ingredients etc?

You may have difficulty, certainly initially, in getting your dog to take a dry kibble having been fed a moist diet previously.  I've used all three of the foods you've mentioned and prefer the moist ones however they are pricey depending on the amount required.  ND works out slightly less expensive (or used to anyway) than NM - so a case of personal choice and finances there really.

JWB is IMO one of the better dry completes but TBH has not suited any of my dogs and I've used several different recipes.  It would probably be best for you to contact JWB and have some samples sent out and see how your dog reacts to a dry kibble diet.

regards, Teri :)

Edited to add:  re negatives, no one food or regime suits every dog so much as anyone will be happy to convey their own experiences your dog may not have the same results, good or bad, as those belonging to other members  ;)

Natures Menu is just as good as Nature Diet, the only problem is that it's more expensive and for a smaller amount.  (350g per pouch compared to 400g pack of ND, and 65p compared to 50p for ND if you bulk order direct from ND.)

You might want to consider Forthglade also, which is the same amount of food and the same price as ND, and the ingredients are just as good.

There's quite a few good quality foods out there on the shelves, but why do you feel the need to feed both a wet and dry food together? To my way of thinking, a complete food like JWB, Arden Grange or Burns has good quality natural ingredients and is perfectly adequate, as long as the dog likes it of course . Ours started on Arden Grange but has been brought up mainly on Burns and is in cracking shape!
The better quality foods are not expensive to feed either, as generally you don't need to feed as much as a cheaper ones  (http://www.burns-pet-nutrition.com/feeding_cost.htm gives an idea of the feeding costs). She's 18kg and I reckon it costs me about 40p a day from a 15kg sack costing just over £30. I guess the costs  are similar for the others.

I've fed JWB for 5 years, since my oldest FC was ill.  My two boys are doing so well on it and I'm always getting comments on how good they look with their shiney black coats.  My bitch can eat anything and look wonderful!
I can't see me feeding the boys anything else. :)

we had to change over from using Nature Diet after HUGE problems getting reliable deliveries and now use JWB - all the dogs have done well on this - I usually serve it moistened with a bit of tripe mixed in - they all seem to digest it well with no runny poos etc :D

Yvonne

The JWB rep told me that if you add a splash of hot, but not boiling, water and let it stand for a minute or two, it brings out the flavour.  My lot go mad for it.

"To my way of thinking, a complete food like JWB, Arden Grange or Burns has good quality natural ingredients and is perfectly adequate, as long as the dog likes it of course cool. Ours started on Arden Grange but has been brought up mainly on Burns and is in cracking shape!

Hello Tans Dad and all,

I was a great believer in Burns food and to be honest I haven't found anything that really compares (fully) to it BUT due to the inclusion of the synthetic K vitamin I've had to ditch it. I'm reliably informed that Burns food will be clear of this by Christmas. (they are starting to produce the foods without this synthetic vitamin but to be on the safe side Christmas is the best time to buy to be sure it's free of it). I'm sure I'll return to that food again then but meanwhile my Lab is enjoying Nature Diet and also JWB. I did put her straight onto JWB when all this came to light(discussed elsewhere in this forum) but her back became itchy. I can't put it down to JWB but at present she's having Nature Diet and enjoying it :-) (Back not much improved though :-(

Best wishes,
Poppys Mum and Poppy xxx