Think what you have just said 'they are not exactly cheap and have good marketing....' Is that a good reason to buy anything, let alone food. You can say that about McDonalds really can't you??
Dogs do not need carbs in the form presented in dry food, so no need to check the carbs content - they don't need it in that form anyway.

I think most of us start out believing what the manufacturers say. Sadly, we find out from painful experience that the beggars present a partial picture to make us buy their stuff. Like some yoghurts are advertised as Low Fat - which they are... but they contain masses of sugar.

Everyone should work out what carbs they are giving to there dogs especially if it is dry kibble, I have in come across some major brand where the carb content is in excess of 70%, considering dogs dont need carbs, they are being fed an awful lot of them

It says 20% crude protein. Gilper kennel.

It's sold as joint formula for working and active dogs.

Is it rubbish then?

Would it be classed as ok as kibble with the raw added like I do.

Confused now. Any advice gratefully recieved. Totally raw all the time is not possible as my freezer is not big enough

I think that a dog's reaction to protein also depends upon its metabolism - how efficiently it uses that protein. Our breed - Siberian Huskies - has an incredibly efficient metabolism which in its native habitat enabled it to extract maximum nutrition from minimum food intake.

Many young Siberian Huskies come in to Welfare because they are "out of control." There are a variety of reasons for this behaviour - some due to lack of training, some to incorrect temperament and commonly, due to incorrect diet.

Unfortunately, one of the abiding myths around feeding Siberians, is that because they are working dogs, they need a high protein, working dog food. This would be all well and good if the dogs were actually working hard - pulling sleds in arctic conditions for 30 miles+ each day. Here in the UK however, this is extremely unlikely to be the case (chance would be a fine thing). So, unless our dogs are training hard, day after day, not only do they not need high protein, high energy food, it can actually cause serious problems. A dog on such food is producing prodigious amounts of energy, but without the outlet of hard running sled work in cold conditions, the energy tends to make the dog hyper and uncontrollable. It is the equivalent of dosing yourself with amphetamine for a quiet day at home.

Unless your dogs are working hard in harness, they will be very adequately nourished on any good "adult maintenance" quality food.

The proof of this is in the pudding (or the kibble) - many of the "uncontrollable" rescued dogs we have taken in, have become perfectly "controllable" once their energy levels have been balanced to their activity levels by feeding them a lower protein food.

Mick

Noooooo don't feed the kibble, you don't need to add anything, I add steamed veg to bulk out what are very tiny meals, because my girls are enormous on very small portions and they look at me like I am some cruel person if the bowl doesn't look as full as they think it should
Here is Lona rolling in the snow, she looks good doesn't she-



particularly if you know she had just had 12 PUPPIES the day before she fed all those puppies herself, organised them into her own particular shift system, I never once had to supplement feed them, I did wean them earlier than I would normally, but she had 5 meals a day (it was difficult fitting them all in )so you just don't need to add anything to raw, you can 'cold turkey' a puppy onto it, because it is a completely natural way of feeding, the way a dog's system is designed to be used.

Looking at the source of the protein is the most important thing. I'm sure that if you have a high protein level of crap, indigestible protein then its going to make some significant difference to your dog.

We all know that if a dog has a digestive problem, the first thing we do is feed it the most digestible protein sources which are certain types of fish and white meat. I've always had to be careful of the type of protein I've fed dogs over the years because of intolerances and medical conditions so I've had to become a bore over feeding!!

I recently asked Fish4dogs about their reasoning for adding peas to their diets and you might find it interesting to read their response which i was really happy about so I will continue to feed this 'higher' protein percentage food that I have been feeding for years with total confidence.

Actually they don't need these types of carbs anyway, they make their own from animal fats (when permitted to do so that is) so waste of time and money really, quite literally a waste as it all passes straight through and out the other end!!! fin
I find it incredibly amusing that the minute a dog has digestive problems it is whisked of dry and put on white fish and chicken, then when it gets better it is put back on to dried, which is probably what caused the problem in the first place, why not carry on with the fish and chicken and ditch the dried??? My other source of amusement is people mixing tuna and chicken etc in with dried to encourage their dogs to eat the dried, they are quite amazed when I point out that maybe if they just fed the tuna and chicken without the dried then their problems would more than likely cease

Tiggers mum - that is interesting but prob not for the reasons they wanted by sending the mail
AFAIK the GI of a food is based on how it effects HUMANS

I honestly think most of what is added into many premium dog foods is to make it sound better to us humans based on what we think of as a balanced diet for humans

Yeah spot on