Because
you have a choice! An Insider's Guide
to Choosing the Right Food for Your Pet
Pet Food Choice Recommended Foods
This is a difficult task, because there are so many pet foods out
there. The chosen dog and cat foods have not all been physically
tested - the following criteria for selection, which we believe
are appropriate for the vast majority of pet owners, have been used
(if you don't agree then feel free to ignore our choices!)
Does the food offer good value for money (this weighs heavily
on the rating)?
Are the ingredients clearly stated (or hidden in vague terms)?
Has the company opted for cheapest option with ingredients?
Where does the food fall in the various market sectors (Value,
Premium, Natural etc)?
The recommendations are subdivided into categories into which they
seem to naturally fall.
Wheat, poultry, maize, wheatfeed, poultry digest, poultry
fat, whey powder, soya oil, yeast, mixed herbs, extract of
New Zealand green-lipped mussel, yucca extract, minerals,
trace elements and vitamins, including zinc chelate. With
EEC permitted antioxidants.
Protein 20%
Fat 10%
Comments
Difficult to fault this as a well thought out product for
the money. For less than £15 for a 15kg bag you get
named cereal and protein sources, moderate levels of protein
and oil (which are recommended for good health and long life)
and the possible health benefits of green-lipped mussel for
joints.
On the downside, being a 'value' food it is wheat based which
can be a problem for a small % of dogs, and it uses EEC permitted
antioxidants rather than the more expensive natural alternatives.
But for value for money this one gets
HYPO-ALLERGENIC
DOG FOOD (for sensitive skin or digestion)
Yes, I know there are lots of hypo-allergenic
products on the market, and maybe this wouldn't be the first
choice for many, but it does offer excellent value for money,
saving anything up to £15 or more on big brand names.
(One reason for this might be that Burgess manufacture the
food themselves)
With rice as named cereal, which is common in hypo-allergenic
products, and lamb as meat source, together with no colours
or artificial preservatives, this offers excellent value for
money and deserves
Brown Rice (min 63%), Fish (min18%), Oats, Peas, Fish Oil,
Sunflower Oil, Seaweed, Minerals and Vitamins
Protein 18.5%
Fat 7.5%
There are other contenders, with lots of fancy
additives to entice but Burns has been around for a while
now and has built up a good reputation with dog owners. The
recipes have been developed by a veterinary surgeon with knowledge
of holistic medicine.
The only downside is that it is £14 a bag more expensive
than the Burgess product highlighted above!
Natural ingredients, no colours or preservatives and using
brown rice and fish. Most users would give it
I've recommended the new Pets at Home range
as an alternative to the more expensive branded products for
two reasons - firstly they offer savings of up to £10
on a 15kg bag which is considerable, and secondly because
they are good foods, we've just road tested
this one. The ingredient declaration is longer but that's
partly because they're being more open about what's in the
food (rather then just listing some ingredients as 'vitamins
and minerals'). Poultry Digest doesn't sound very good, but
it's basically mashed up liver and is (I presume) quite tasty
for a dog. It's used in almost all foods, just not always
declared... ask your current manufacturer if in doubt.
One proviso - if your dog is not very active, choose the
light version with lower oil and protein
Now here's an interesting product which contains
no cereals at all - the carbs come from vegetable sources
instead.
This product would fit into several categories including
hypo-allergenic and holistic/natural, but does come out expensive
compared to our other choices at full price (bearing in mind
it's only 10kg), hence it's parked here at the Rolls Royce
end of the product ranges!
VALUE
BRAND DOG CANNED/POUCH FOOD
Butchers 400g pk 12
Guide price £7.19/12 (Pet
Planet)
- just under 60p for 400g
The Butchers range is quite large to quote
ingredients for one product. However they do point out that
the foods are made with all natural ingredients and free from
Soya, artificial preservatives, colourings and flavourings.
Typical ingredients:
meat and animal derivatives, Tripe min 26%; derivatives of
vegetable origin; and minerals.
Protein 10%
oil 8%
At the 'Value' end of the market you're not
going to be too fussy about what goes into your dog's food,
and canned food does seem to be lagging behind dried food
when it comes to choice of ingredients.
They all tend to include derivatives of one sort or another,
although Butchers do include Tripe.
Trouble is, there's no denying that dog's like this food,
and it's very popular. So if you are not too fussy about the
phrases 'meat and animal derivatives' and 'derivatives of
vegetable origin' then this might be the value food for you!
Alternatively suss out the supermarket own brand which will
probably have similar ingredients!
NATURAL
/ HOLISTIC / PREMIUM DOG FOODS - CANNED OR POUCH
INGREDIENTS:
Chicken Min 60%, Brown Rice Min 15%,Carrots Min 8%, Natural
Ground Bone, Kelp, Vitamins & Minerals
Protein 10%
Oil 8%
Naturediet has been a firm favourite for a
natural choice for some years. This one is a blend of chicken,
brown rice and vegetables. A complete white meat menu suitable
for young and older animals and those with a sensitive digestion.
An exclusive recipe containing only chicken meat and chicken
bone, this menu is suitable as an elimination diet where allergies
to specific proteins are suspected.
28% Chicken meat, 18% Beef liver, 8% Pumpkin, 8% Carrot, 8%
Green pea, 5% Rice, 28% Water
Protein 13%
Fat 0.6%
To quote the company 'Available in a variety
of of tantalising flavours, Applaws truly is a dog food with
a difference. All fish used in production of this dog food
are caught in sea water using dolphin-friendly methods, and
all chickens are fed only organic feed and are entirely hormone
free.'
This type of food is rich in meat and high quality ingredients,
but at a cost, unless you have a very small dog!
James Wellbeloved pouches are a complete wet
food with the bonus of being hypo-allergenic. They are deal
as a tasty topper dry kibble, as long as you remember to reduce
the amount of kibble fed by 35g for every pouch used. With
selected protein sources and rice as a source of carbohydrates,
Wellbeloved pouches are dietetic food that is excellent for
the reduction of ingedient and nutrient intolerances. Adult
variety, choose from Lamb & Rice or Turkey & Rice.
Expensive compared with Natures Menu, gram for gram - not
sure why, but dogs seem to like it.
Cereals, Meat And Animal Derivatives, (min 30%, including
min 4% Chicken in Chicken pellets, -, - min 4% Beef in Beef
pellets, min 4% Liver in Liver pellets), Derivatives Of Vegetable
Origin, Vegetable Protein Extracts, Oils And Fats, (min 1%
vegetable oil), Minerals, Yeasts, Various Sugars, Contains
E E C Permitted Colourants, Antioxidants And Preservatives
As always, if you're choosing a food at the
value end of the market then you're talking about derviatives
of one sort or another, and Go-Cat is typical of a lot of
similar products.
This is a popular food, however, it's complete and offers
all the nutrition that's required and even our fussy cat will
happily eat it when we can't afford anything posher!
Cats can suffer from food allergies, giving
rise to poor skin and coat condition, and stomach problems.
The most common allergies are milk, beef and wheat. So, the
JW cat foods contains none of these problem ingredients. And
because duck is an uncommon protein source, it is perfect
for a hypo- allergenic diet.
Purina offer a choice of varieties, this one with chicken,
which is very palatable, and contains quality ingredients.
Like all the big multi-nationals and the millions they pour
into research, if Purina can't formulate a food that cats
love then there's something seriously wrong.
Our fussy cat thinks this is great!
VALUE
CAT FOOD - CANNED / POUCH
Felix Pouch 12x100g Mixed Pack
Guide price £3 for 12 pouches (Pet
Planet) or 25p each
Meat and animal derivatives (of which chicken 4%), fish and
fish derivatives, minerals, various sugars.
Protein 8.5% Oil 4.5%
OK, you know the score already, at this end
of the market we're talking derivatives - but always remember
that any pet food which calls itself 'complete' must be just
that, in that it offers the cat all the nutrients required.
Felix is offered as a product typical of its type, but also
from a manufacturer that knows a lot about pet nutrition and
what makes a food atractive to a pet. It's also a lot cheaper
than some of the upmarket foods out there!
This one scrapes in with a little reluctance
because although it contains almost all naatural ingredients,
they then insist on putting colours in, which seems a little
perverse.
However, compared to the cost of the top end products, which
can be 99p a tin, this does offer an acceptable and economical
alternative containing ingredients which are mainly understandable
as 'food'
The Applaws rage is typical of products introduced
from Italy a couple of years ago, being simply meat with cooking
water and a little rice.
They are excellent quality, but rather pricey - not sure
how they are viewed as complete, as they do not have added
vitamins and minerals, and the protein content is very high.
That's why I've put it in this category.
Ingredients Cereal grains, dried forages,
products and by-products of legume seeds, products and by-products
of sugar production, minerals, oils, fats and fructo-oligosaccharides.
This complimentary rabbit food in pellet form
is recommended by vets as it prevents selective feeding. It
is fully extruded for nutritional balance and contains profeed
for healthier digestion. Designed to be fed with good quality
roughage such as hay.
It is fully supplemented with minerals and vitamins with
the correct calcium to phosphorous ratio.
Based on high temperature dried alfalfa, which
is naturally rich in both protein and fiber. Other ingredients
include oats, peas, linseed, soy and the all-important Vitamin
C. It has the right amounts of protein (for growth), carbohydrates
(for energy), fiber (for digestion), oils (for a glossy coat)
and vitamins and minerals (for healthy bones, teeth and skin).
Gerty Guinea Pig is a complete diet specially
formulated for guinea pigs.
Both Burgess and Supreme make excelent products for small
animals, so it's hard to choose between them!
The
In House Reviews!
Pet Food Kitchen
Welcome to the kitchen!
Our resident volunteers, Moggie and Maggie (not their real names,
for professional reasons!) are gradually working their way through
the local pet shop shelves in their search for the perfect pet food!
[Jump to our 'in house' testing]
You can help, by sending
in your own pet food experiences, both good and bad, so that
these can be shared by our visitors. Say something about your pet
and any benefits you might have noticed after using the food in
question.
Let me introduce Moggie, who will
be testing cat foods. Moggie is a fussy eater, and has been raised
on dry complete dites, so I'm afraid that this is all she will be
testing (please send in your own experiences of dry and wet foods)
Historically she was raised on Go-cat and our local Co-op's own
brand, and these suited her well until recently when she basically
went off cheap food and became a bit of a foodie snob!
Moggie has been very busy of late, and is totally
committed to the whole Foodie programme!
1) Co-op complete dried cat food - this is a basic
complete food and may well suit a large % of the UK cat population.
Moggie was on it for several years, and thrived on the food until
she got bored with the flavour. (Moggie gives it 6/10)
2) Burns Ocean Fish - Moggie tried this for a couple
of weeks on the basis that it was a whole lot 'healthier' than the
food she was on, but unfortunately didn't find it very appetizing,
which may be because it lacks the sort of flavour enhancers that
cats like, or maybe wasn't as fresh as it could be. ( Moggie gives
it 3/10)
3) Pets at Home Complete Light - Moggie like the 'fresh
chicken' on the label, and the money-back guarantee, which her owner
was hoping to profit by. Unfortunately that wasn't possible as Moggie
though the food was rather nice, and can I have some more please!
( Moggie gives it 7/10)
4) Royal Canin Sensible 33 - A strange product name,
but as Moggie is a sensible cat she thought she'd give it a try,
and it got a big thumbs up. Not quite sure what these guys put in
the food to make it so attractive, but whatever it is, it works!
( Moggie gives it 7/10)
5) Whiskas with Tuna - Here's a bit of a lucky strike,
Whiskas is fairly cheap to buy compared with some of the others
listed above, and Moggie loves it. So a big thumbs up from Moggie
and owner! ( Moggie gives it 8/10)
6) Iams Adult 1+ - Current food, simply because our
local Coop had it on a BOGOF offer. Here's another one with plenty
of chicken in, and another hit with Moggie, though maybe not eaten
quite as quickly as the Pets at Home recipe. Also, there's the whole
Iams and animal testing thing to contend with, should that bother
you. Tasty though (she assures me) and excellent value at buy one
get one free!
( Moggie gives it 7/10)
And then there's Maggie, who again has been raised
from a pup on dry complete foods, for her owner's convenience. As
a retriever breed, Maggie will basically eat anything that resembles
or smells like it ought to be eaten!
As a pup, Maggie came with a free bag of Arden Grange from the
breeder, but was raised on Burns pupy food.
As far as Maggie is concerned, we're not going to
go down the chopping and changing every week, but rather looking
at buying a 15kg bag and working our way through it.
1) Burns Mini Bites - Maggie loved
this food and seemed to thrive on it as she was growing up. Lower
protein than many puppy foods so you get a nice steady growth.
( Maggie gives it 8/10)
1) Burns Fish & Brown Rice -
Maggie was eating this for a couple of years and loving it, but
latterly there were a couple of issues, particularly with anal glands
and problems keeping weight on her.
( Maggie gives it 6/10)
2) Wainwrights chicken & rice
- from Pets at Home, a fairly natural, light and hypo-allergenic
diet like the Burns. Feeding rates higher and more poo noticable
(!) but larger kibble and very palatable. Have noticed a slight
weight gain which is actually a good thing, as Maggie was startingto
look a bit skinny.
( Maggie gives it 7/10)
3) Pets at Home Chicken & Rice (new recipe)
- Flashy bag, natural recipe and good value at the moment at around
£28.99 for 15kg. The protein (26%) and fat content are higher
than Maggie has been usd to, so I'll be feeding at the bottom end
of the feeding scale - but she's active so should cope. Put side
by side with their Wainwrights food, this one scored a big win.
Again a larger kibble size than Burns which I like -and so does
she. So we'll see how Maggie goes on this one.
OK, we've made our way through 18kg of the new Pets
at Home Complete, and a couple of things stand out. Coat condition
is excellent, much silkier then it was on the Burns, and Maggie
has put on a little bit of weight which is also not undesirable
as she was looking a little too lean for my liking. No adverse reactions,
and therefore overall I would say that this is excellent value for
money compared with other 'natural' foods out there.
One proviso though - if your dog is not very active
(Maggie runs about 5 miles a day) then you might think about choosing
the light version of this food, with lower protein and fat content.
(Maggie gives it 9/10)
4) Our quest continues and Maggie's next trial is
James Wellbeloved Fish & Rice
Pet
The
In House Reviews!
