Hi
I have a 6 months old JRX bitch and Im feeding her on Bakers.  But I ve that its not that good?  She eats well on it and her coat is really soft and shiny.  My only concern is that her poo is quite sloppy sometimes, she eat grass alot too - is there a connection to the Bakers?
This is my first dog and I want to do best for her, so any help is much appreciated.
Thanks

If you feel your dog is doing well on Bakers then stick with it.However I would not recommend Bakers to anyone as it is full of additives and colourings.
Archer

if your thinking of changing jwb ..arden grange ....nature diet ....are all good foods to consider

Hi there,

Sometimes "sloppy" poo is down to over feeding so it is possible you are giving your youngster too much.  On the other hand, Bakers is not a particularly highly rated food by many experienced owners as it contains a lot of artificial colourings and additives which can cause problems for some dogs with more sensitive digestive systems.  Dogs eat grass for a variety of reasons - does she make herself sick doing this? 

There are lots of readily available complete foods which can be purchased from Pets-at-Home and I'm sure you will find something amongst them that will suit your dog and your price point.   I'd personally change away from Bakers onto a brand which carries less ingredients, particularly artificial preservatives, flavourings and colourings.  Do a search on the facility here and you'll find that food threads abound!  Might be a bit mind boggling though ;)

If having changed over (gradually, say 7-10 days) you find the problem persists (or obviously sooner if your bitch shows further or worsening symptoms) then have her checked by your vet in case there is an underlying gastro-intestinal problem.

Regards, Teri :)

Hi Teri
how you doing?????

Hi Roni, hanging in there :P   Am just off to walk (strike that, run them like loonies!) the furbies before the skies open - reckon I best take a rain jacket though or it will be their shortest outing ever.

Teri :)

Hi Teri
It never occurred to me I might be over feeding her,  I feed her twice a day and thinking about it a bit too much. I ll make sure I feed her the right amount.
I have thought about changing her to a more natural food and alot of people on the board say JWB is good so I ll have a look in Pets at Home.  I ll change it gradually like you say thanks again.
I new to this interactive lark so I apologise if I ve done it wrong, but thanks to everyone who replied.

Hi Noel,

It is difficult to work out sometimes how much to feed - most manufacturers' guides are just that, a guide, and they tend to err on the side of being too much rather than too little (more profit I guess :P ).  Plus if you're anything like me, your four legged friend will also be indulged with various tit-bits and table scraps which I tend to forget should mean reducing the daily food ration to compensate :rolleyes:

JWB is a good food (one that I've also used myself before) and certainly easy enough to get hold of too which is always a consideration.  Another good food available from Pets at Home is a moist food called "Nature Diet" which unlike most moist foods is a complete diet - hence, like dry completes, no need to add any supplements etc.  Most food companies have their own websites and sometimes it is easier and cheaper to have food delivered direct - although I suspect as you have such a small dog you'd not be buying in large enough quantities to justify that ;)  Nutro, Arden Grange and Burns (the latter which I'm trying my pack with for the first time just now) all come highly recommended on here too although not all will be available at PaH but you can find their details on-line if you Google everything (like I do!)

Good luck anyway,
regards Teri  :)

Thanks Teri
I went to PAH there are so many dog foods, I looked at JWB but Im still not sure whether to change her food. She does like Bakers, Im new to this so I have to read the labels when Ive not got Pippa pulling on the other end!  Will the JWB make her poo more solid as it more natural?
I forgot to say that when she eats grass she not sick but her poo has grass in it!!  Shes also eats either her own poo or my cats- is this because shes lacking something from her food?
Sorry to go on about poo so much- let you know how she gets on.
Cheers
Noel

My experience of using JWB is that it does make poos more solid, however whether that is what is wanted is another matter :), one of mine got so constipated on it she wept as she pooed :(.  Generally I prefer a bulkier stool for my dogs anyway as I have found it facilitates the emptying of their anal glands.

There's a difference between small healthy,firm stools and constipation :)

Noel take a good look at the ingredient list on Bakers,do you see any specified meat products? Is meat the first, second and third ingredient or is it full of grains to make up the protein levels,instead of meat? Is it full of pretty colours and shapes to please the eye of the pets owner? but to the detriment of the dog :(

Does it have ingredients that you cant even pronounce,lettalone identify?

Well she wasn't constipated when producing larger ones :)

Hi again Noel,

There is no guarantee unfortunately that any particular food will suit every dog - two of my current dogs did great on any of the JWB varieties, the third dog never seemed to be in peak condition and often stools were softer than they should have been and too frequent.   The artificial colourings and flavourings in Bakers do not bode well with me personally hence I can't comment on whether it would have agreed with my dogs - but as your youngster's already producing "sloppy" motions then you need to change something ;)  As a rough guideline only based on personal opinion and experience with my own dogs, (ie. *not a diagnosis*) if too much is excreted, particularly soft /  unformed stools (sorry, graphic I know :rolleyes: ) then either significantly more than is required is going in hence is expelled as surplus or insufficient nutrients are being absorbed as the food is passing too quickly through the digestive system.  The latter could be for a variety of reasons most of which would benefit from a vet's assessment although could quite simply require a minor diet alteration ;)

I found my youngest had frequent and soft motions on JWB but did well on "Wafcol Salmon & Potato" (also available at PaH) but that does not mean your dog will - however it is another food worth having a look at and they have a very helpful customer care line if you wish to discuss with someone in person any dietary needs, concerns etc.

As to poo eating, if you run a search on the forum you'll find there are numerous reasons why dogs do this and several ways of preventing it :)

I'm sorry that I can't say what will best suit your youngster - there are a lot of brands to choose from and it can be a minefield.  I can only pass on personal opinion on foods that I have tried my dogs on (several over the years) and been impressed with their over all condition (few :P ) and these would primarily be, in order of preference,  raw minced meats with a quality biscuit mixer and adding my own vitamins /  moist complete of Nature Diet / dried completes of either JWB or Wafcol.
 
I am currently (for all of 48 hours :D ) experimenting with Burns dry complete for the simple reason that it would be nice to feed all my dogs the same basic diet (they each have raw minced tripe and raw chicken wings for some meals).   Burns is similarly priced to the others I've mentioned and has been highly recommended by many members on the site however the jury's still out here as it's too soon to know how things will work out with that!  It is not available at PaH but can be purchased on-line from their website if you're interested at http://www.burns-pet-nutrition.co.uk/  They also have an excellent customer line if you want to discuss anything.

Sorry for this going on and on - probably just complicated things further for you!   However good luck on your quest, and which ever food you eventually decide to change over to, remember to do so gradually over several days to avoid further tummy troubles.   Best wishes,  Teri  :)

Hi again Teri
I went into PAH again and had a good read of the labels.  Spoke to guy there and he agreed JWB but he mentioned their own make too. So I looked at the ingredients and compared them to their own make, the meat content, oil and vitamins were only slightly different, 2-3% higher in the JWB but the JWB contained no calcium.  The guy let Pippa try their food, which is all the same shape and colour and she eat it, so Ive decided to try their own make, which I feel is better than the Bakers and only slightly less natural than the JWB.  Hopefully this will make her poos firmer, not constipated though, I understand what others on the board are saying, some foods agree with one dog but not others, so I hope PAH food agrees with her- I ll keep you up to date!!
Thanks for your advice, bringing up a dog can be as complicated as bringing up children!!
Noel
PS Where does everybody get the little smileys from?

Hi Noel

Just a tip, but the guy in PAH is going to recommend you their own brand food whether its cr@p or not - its his job ;)  But to be honest, when I have run out of Autarky I have used the odd bag of PAH own brand and its never done my boys any harm, their poos are always firm (but then they are fed half raw)

Hi Noel
I feed my labs JWB, and never have a problem with it. However, I have had to use Bakers on two occasions and the amount of poo that needed picking up was astounding (well in my terms anyway). My oldest lab gets the squits very easily, but JWB never disagrees with him, and my dogs are in fab. condition. People say foods like JWB are expensive but I think it is a false economy as you use more of the cheaper stuff because it is filled with bulking agents etc. Some dogs love bakers and thats fine, but personally I would not use it. Royal Canine is good too I hear, my friend feeds her GSD's on it.

Hi ManxPat
I agree totally about the amount of poo!! I never had a dog before and the amount that such a small thing can produce is amazing.  I must say that as Teri mentioned, I might be over feeding so Ive been measuring more carefully and the poo quantity has gone down.  Do you know how much she should be feed per day, she weighs approx 5kg? PAH food says up to 140gms?
JWB does seem expensive to me but I understand what you say about cheaper brand. Pippa seems to like the PAH she eats it all up and leaves the little green pea bits of the Bakers!! Im changing her over at the moment guadually increasing the PAH.
Thanks for replying
Noel

Hi ClaireyS
Thanks for that tip but the guy did recommend JWB first, it was me whould asked him about their own brand.  Ive started changing Pippa on it today so I hope the guys advise was good. If not I'll definately try JWB as so many on the board recommend it.
Was do you mean by half raw-sorry to be thick? Does it actually mean you feed your dogs raw meat, I didnt know you could do that, well I suppose it actually more natural that having packaged food-me being thick again!
Was sort of meat is best and how is it prepared?
Thanks
Noel