Now we have 8 dogs we are looking at the pennies a bit more. At the mo they are all fed AG Lamb and Rice but even with the Berriewood breeder discount ( I am not a breeder but because of the amount I buy they allow me to have the same discount) We are just looking at alternative food and are considering the CSJ. Even though the ingredients are not as good as AG sometimes needs must fit the pocket.
We are considering ( at this stage) the That'll Do or the Complete Tripe. Do any of you use this and which do you consider to be the best, or do you think one of the other CSJ products is better?

A while ago we used the Champ when money was short and the dogs accepted this although not with the relish of the AG, but as said before needs must. I obviously want the best I can get for my money and want to keep the dogs healthy with good coats so any advice or comments would be gratefully accepted.

It is a minefield out there looking for a decent food that you can afford and have been looking at the 'All about dog food' web site where it is easy to discount many of the really cheap and awful brands, but is hard to narrow it down to the right one.
Comments very welcome
The dogs range from 18 months to 5 years ( except one oldie but she eats the same as the others)

Hi Sillysue

I feed Arden Grange - either lamb or chicken and my boys do really well on it.

I did try changing to CSJ last year as I know a lot of people who are really pleased with it and whose dogs love it.  I tried the Champ and the Complete Tripe.

Unfortunately, it did not suit my dogs and they lost condition on it - and produced huge amounts of poo daily!  Disappointingly, I gave up and have returned to AG - dogs recovered their good condition very quickly.

Don't mean to sound negative - I think CSJ is probably a very good food if it happens to suit and is certainly worth a try.  However, whenever i've tried to change I have not had very good results & have always ended up going back to AG.  Also, although AG is not cheap, I find a little goes a long way and is therefore more economical than may at first appear.

Dogs are so variable, aren't they, so I think all you can do is experiment and see how they get on with it.

Good luck - hope you find something which suits.

I think it's worth a shot to try it. My dogs didn't do well, they ended up with very dry coats so I haven't fed it to them since.

I also see that they do a Lamb and Rice gluten free food, so maybe from AG lamb and rice to CSJ lamb and rice would not be too much of a change for them. I have spoken to Ceri and hopefully I will be getting some samples

>Now we have 8 dogs we are looking at the pennies a bit more. At the mo they are all fed AG Lamb and Rice but even with the Berriewood breeder discount ( I am not a breeder but because of the amount I buy they allow me to have the same discount) We are just looking at alternative food and are considering the CSJ. Even though the ingredients are not as good as AG sometimes needs must fit the pocket.

Sorry. I have to ask. It seems you are struggling to afford to feed  the food you consider the most suitable for your dogs but you have just taken on 3 more dogs. while it is wonderful that you are helping these dogs, if money is tight  then would it not be better to have fewer dogs and feed them the food you consider best? After all food is relatively cheap in the scheme of things and if you are struggling with that how will you manage a couple of vets bills.

Sillysue, my Golden has always been a very fussy eater. She is now 6 and I have always had to mix some meat/fish in any kibble, including Arden Grange. A few months ago I changed to CSJ Just Tripe, she wolfs it down! I am very pleased to have a feed she will eat on it's own.

She has a small amount for breakfast dry and her evening meal wet. On all the other kibbles she wouldn't eat breakfast so I was giving her just a Bonio am. I have always struggled to keep any weight on her, now she is fine.

Flatcoats coat gleams and she loves CSJ too. They both have some raw meaty bones or chicken wings, on some days.

From my experience, I would say it is a good one for you to try.

Sorry. I have to ask. It seems you are struggling to afford to feed  the food you consider the most suitable for your dogs but you have just taken on 3 more dogs. while it is wonderful that you are helping these dogs, if money is tight  then would it not be better to have fewer dogs and feed them the food you consider best? After all food is relatively cheap in the scheme of things and if you are struggling with that how will you manage a couple of vets bills.


I think the dogs would rather have a loving home with warm beds and plenty of land to explore and run in rather than a more expensive food. We are not 'struggling' but more like it would be 'easier on the pocket' and all 8 of the dogs are with Pet Plan. I think the insurance matters more than Arden Grange or CSJ choice of food. We also have rescue horses, sheep, goats and chickens, so yes life would be better financially with less animals but  our life would be without the joy and love of animals that we are rehoming in a forever home with love. The animals are always fed and watered and cared for with all the dogs living indoors with us, so they really do not miss out on anything, so I don't think it is a hardship for them to have a change of food.

Bestdogs, many thanks for the advice. I have considered the Tripe food and also the Lamb and Rice which is hypoallergenic so I am hopefully going to get some samples to see how they get on.
Knowing my dogs they will love the samples and look for more, but the minute I buy the 15kg sacks they will decide they don't like it any more ( little s*ds)
Yep even with AG I still have to add a topper so if I have to do that with the CSJ then so be it,although it would be nice if they would eat without this but as long as it is eaten and they look good on it that is what matters.

Might I suggest Nutriment?

A frozen raw food with so called 'superfoods', veg and herbs added.

You could use a more economical food with a topper of this tasty and nutritious food.
It comes in 1kg frozen tubes and would work out very reasonable if not served as the sole diet.

Have you tried the Simpsons premium on the breeder scheme

Tooolz, the frozen tubes of Nutriment are actually 1.4 kilograms. Mine won't eat the Nutriment because, I assume, of the 'additives'. They will eat the Natural Instinct.

As she is already getting a breeder discount from Berriewood, why not try the Berriewood brand of Barf as a 'topper'.

Local butchers will usually 'give away' chicken carcasses for free.

>the frozen tubes of Nutriment are actually 1.4 kilograms

Even better.

Many thanks for all the comments. I have looked at and am very interested in the Berriewood Barf food. I don't think I have the confidence to go fully raw but the free flow mince etc sound very good as a topper to put with a slightly cheaper kibble.
The Simpsons looks a fantastic food but I think it will be the same or slightly more cost than the AG, unless there is a better place to buy it with a discount as I couldn't see it on Berriewood.

I am looking up the Nutriment as I find it very interesting to see how others feed their dogs to see if I can add/ improve my dogs diet, but I think I will need to invest in another freezer for the dogs as my 3 drawer one only fits enough for us into it. If I intend to buy the Berriewood Barf or similar I will need a dog freezer without a doubt.

I am waiting for various samples to turn up to see which kibble we will try ( or rather the dogs will try )
Thanks again

I don't feed kibble, I feed fully raw - it's really easy and MUCH cheaper than the top end kibble.

But with reference to cheaper kibble: my understanding is that the cheaper the kibble, the more that you would need to feed because of the cheaper fillers in order to give the dog full nutrition? If this is so, would this not defeat the object price wise as you would have to buy more?

With relation to the 'free flow' minces. I have always found that the solid block is a far better consistency, and with eight dogs, you would need a full 450/500 gram block.

I know that you are not a breeder but Natrual Instinct give a 30% discount to breeders. Maybe they would consider giving you a discount the same as Berriewood....... Nutriment give a 20% discount.

Natural Instinct also give vouchers to breeders to pass on to their new puppy owners. This give the new owner 5 kilos of raw food, raw marrow bone play bones and liver treats. (not relevant I know, but thought I would just mention it as Nutriment/Natural Instinct have been mentioned)

I wonder if you have tried Autarky? My golden puppy came to me on James Wellbeloved and I kept her on that for a few weeks but her stools were very loose and smelly. Also JW is quite expensive and beyond my budget on a permanent basis. I changed her to Autarky puppy bought from Berriewood at an amazingly cheap £20.99 for 10kgs and she loves it. I did a lot of research before deciding what food to change her to and Autarky was rated higher than JW for the quality of the ingredients. My neighbour has a very fussy staffie but he loves this food and wolfs it down whereas before he as often as not turned his nose up at his dinner. I think this is a very good food at an extremely good price and baring any problems will move her onto their adult range at the right time.
Interestingly my last golden who lived until she was 16 1/2 years and had virtually no health problems, was fed on Pedigree complete all her life which performs very badly in independent tests for the quality and type of ingredients.

Thanks Boo16, I am concerned that my dogs will not get the correct nutrition with Raw feeding, however I am listening to you so I have not dismissed the idea !

You advise that I will need 450-500 grams for all the dogs - is that each meal or over the 2 meals per day
How long does the block take to defrost
Would this quantity be enough to stop the dogs being hungry or do you add any mixer biscuits for a bit of bulk
What else to you add to their diet or is the block  sufficient on it's own to give all the minerals and vitamins etc that they need

Sorry, so many questions but Raw is something I have never dared consider as I thought it would be too time consuming. I work full time ( the dogs go to work with me so are never left during the day ) but with work and 3 walks a day I felt that I wouldn't have time to mess around with food, hence the choice of complete kibble.

I am willing to have an open mind though........

Hi SillySue, not really sure what you are asking.

With regard to feeding raw: they most certainly will get their full nutrition without a shadow of a doubt! Raw contains all the protein, fat, vitamins and minerals that a dog needs.

The blocks defrost really quickly if left in a cool place or overnight in the fridge.

I was only assuming that if you are using it for a topper for 8 dogs for one meal, then if they were sharing a block, it is only giving them 50 grams or so each which is not a lot.

If you were feeding totally raw - say a 20 kg dog, the dog would require around 400/500 grams per day - so a full block for each dog. As I don't know the weight of your dogs, I couldn't advice how much it would cost.

I use my local farm shop and buy minced chicken wings/carcasses at 50 p a pound. This feeds both my dogs for one day - £3.50 per week. I supplement with other things from suppermarket - cheap liver, kidney's, etc. My local butcher gives away chicken carcasses rather than pay to have them disposed of.

Not sure how much kibble you use a month, or the brand or how much it costs, but I bet that you could feed all the dogs for less than £100. If this is too much cost, someone mentioned Autarky. I used this years ago before I switched to raw. I found in comparison to other dried foods that it was excellent so it may be worth a try.

If you really need to top the food in order to make it palatable, have you though of just getting cheap or free bones and making a pan of bone broth to pour over the food?

Good luck any way.

Many thanks for answering my questions, I am going to look into raw a little more as it appeals to me ( well not actually me as such, I prefer cooked for me !)  I am going to do some research online and try to learn more about this way of feeding. I appreciate your advice

A lot of us on here feed raw.  I mainly do, but my oldie can't tolerate much bone in her diet any longer, so mine have a grain-free kibble in the mornings.

It's been trial and error to find a grain-free kibble that suits them and doesn't cost the earth, i was feeding Applaws but I found my local pet shop now stocks this one - http://www.yorkshiresfinestpetfood.com/grain-free-pork-sweet-potato/4581300583  in three varieties, and best of all they sell it by the kilo, £3.75 a kilo isn't bad.

I went for grain-free as of course raw feeding is also grain-free, and one of mine doesn't tolerate cereals in his diet - he even scratched when on CSJ Lamb & Rice. Some people forget that rice is technically a grain.