We have always fed our dogs with dry, complete food and have tried quite a few brands along the way, usually the cheaper brands (they seemed to contain much the same ingredients as some of the well known 'commercial' brands). Someone on the board recommended we try 'Autarky' which we are now using (the dogs approve so that's a good sign :) ) The thing is, my male, Teddy, seems like he could do with 'bulking up' slightly, hes not skinny but appears to be rather lean, which for a staffie doesnt look quite right (he is 2). Now we are thinking this may be due to the fact that since we have had him, he has been eating this cheap food. Now we have changed over to a quality food we are hoping that he will begin to bulk up. Is it advisable to add some tripe into his autarky?? We were thinking of perhaps 75/25% dry/tripe.
Would this upset the balance of the complete food? We are thinking of using Butchers tinned tripe.
Obviously we dont want to upset his tummy :(
Thanks in advance :)

Autarky is the only thing that has ever made my springer put on weight. He is not food orientated and has always been slender especially in the working season. He's had been on it for over a year now and just the other day I even thought he was looking "chunky"! The only thing I have ever put with it is the odd small bit of Butchers Tripe - mine doesn't ever eat a whole bowl of food but grazes and the addition of a spoonful of tripe helps it disappear all the quicker. I even feed the cat the feline version now and certainly can't speak highly enough for both versions.

Good luck

Cheap foods are cheap for only one reason,take a glance at Greyhound foods, yes they have 30% protein but contain less than 4% meat! most of what your dog eats goes out the other end with no benefit at all,so i think you have made the right choice, but personally i would not mix it with any other food, yes i do believe you would upset the balance and so do the manufacturers. All dogs are different and as long as he is healthy why worry if he is on the skinny side, you could be doing more harm than good if you beef him up to much when his natural frame is a slimmer one.

If I recall from reading the label on Butchers tripe a few weeks ago it is a complete food. You cannot upset the balance of diet if you mix one complete food with another complete food.

If you can see Teddy's ribs he is most likely too thin. If you can just feel his ribs when you lightly press his sides than he is the correct weight, even if he may seem too slim for your liking.

Stacey

Hi, spoke to the vet when I took cassie for her jab and he said the same, that if they are both complete, then adding them together is ok. I can see Teddys ribs, they dont stick out or anything but are a bit visible, also I would like Cassie to bulk out a bit aswell, but shes still growing so Ill wait and see if she does so by herself. Cassies a year old and weighs 12kg, vet said weight is fine but she does seem quite small. I would guess Teddy weighs 25kg.

Ive heard from the posts that Autarky is very good but what are the main ingredients? Can anyone list them and in what %?

If you look on their website it will show you all the ingredients, there are quite a lot , just type autarky into the search and it will come up.

The best thing is that there is a high proportion of meat protein. The adult Autarky has at least 28%. Most other premium foods have around 22%. The only one to come as high as that is Arden Grange.

Reading off the bag I have here the cereal part is rice and corn, but no wheat. It also has Vegetables and beneficial Herbs in it.

Best of all the dogs like the taste.

You may find their toilet just a shade soft for a day or so. It may be that some of the herbs which have a detoxifying effect may be the cause, but they soon have nice firm small motions.