Which complete dog food?

[Booldawg]

We're picking up a rescue dog this weekend from someone at Mrs. Booldawgs work. Doggy has been on a complete food called Wagg. As I've not heard of the brand I checked it out on the net and it doesnt get favourable reviews.

Its been about 4 years since I last had a dog so not sure whats out there now. I was looking at a feed called Arden Grange which seems to be highly recommended. Does anybody use this or can suggest a decent complete food?

Also, we used to use Eukanuba a few years ago but the dogs get so bored of it. Is there a way to jazz it up a bit to make it more interesting without making it unhealthy? I thought about making some oxo gravy to mix in; just to make it less dry.

[lankeela]

I use Eukanuba for my five small dogs, and I add one pouch of pedigree small breed food, stir it in and share it out between the five, so for one dog I would add about a tablespoon of meat to give it some flavour. Wagg is a flaky type food, not an extruded one, in other words cheap and cheerful, but you get what you pay for. I would always recommend Eukanuba and mine will eat it dry, but I add the meat more for my benefit. Don't add human gravy on a regular basis it contains too much salt.

[mr_g_uk]

When we were looking into buying our dog, I did a lot of research on foods to buy and asked recommendations etc. One make I found to be very good both on ingredients and nutritional content was Burns, another was Autarky (not sure if that is still available). A "wet" complete food called "Natures Choice" (I think) is also supposed to be very good but also a tad expensive. There may be more on the market now; it's a few years since I was researching.
I know these things cause a lot of debate on dog owners forums as to the pro's and con's of each food but I'd say go with what suits your dog and what they enjoy. If you find a food with a decent protein content based mainly on meat (not maize etc) and with little additives (such as ash etc) then you shouldn't go far wrong. Paddy has a little bit of Bakers complete mixed in with his now to "liven" it up although, again, opinions vary as to the use of that (some say it's like feeding your kids solely on smarties!).
I think adding gravy would be fine (as long as it doesn't have a high salt content, preferably none) but you will make your dog fussy - I'm speaking from experience on that, we own the most spoilt dog in the world - Paddy IS the Lord of the Manor :-)

[Booldawg]

Thanks for the answers. I guess it comes down to a balance of healthy eating, tasty to the dog and readily available (as per Eukanuba).

[madmaggot]

I believe Arden Grange is formulated for active working dogs so it will be very high protein content. This would be too high protein for the activity level of a normal family dog.
The trouble with adding gravy to a complete food is that it can make the dog eat more than it should so if you do this be careful to feed only what is recommended for the weight of your dog. There is quite a bit of salt in oxo gravy.

[lulu_bucket]

firstly what kind of dog etc? working or a house hold pet? All the differences are in the % of Protein, ash, fibre and oil content. We use Chudleys and have used Royal Canin and Arden Grange. All expensive but all good.

[kia cat]

Our was on the variety that had orange bits in it which he hated, we've moved onto the "working dog" flavour which he loves. We but the 17k sack - under a £10 in supermarket. No problems whatsoever

[kia cat]

sorry, that was Wagg!

[leelapops]

Hi Booldawg, we use Burgess Supa Sensitive for our gluten intolerant Border Collie. Burgess Supa do a range of "regular" dry complete food too, at about £20 for a 12.5 kg sack (available online or Pets @ Home), and its composition is pretty good.
What kind of a dog is it?
Wagg is VERY cheapy, you can get the extruded kibble, but either way it's naff stuff (Jack was on it before he became ill and it's not the most nutritious gear).