Which One :food

Hi
After again reading all the plus and minus comments on types of complete dry foods i noticed recently in the post on R C that Karlin rates it quite highly and feeds her dogs on it ,i must agree as i do the same but cavymum is not so keen as she reckons it has too much filler .Surely to a newbie who seeks advice from forum members this is a tad confusing equally i am sure they dont want to be pointed to some article written by research people about the pros and cons of all foods it will probaly be quite paddy and a bit stuffy and after all we are talking about cavs not pit bulls terriers or great danes i think sometimes the experts generalise too much as we cav owners must all want similar food that is the best just for our breed. So if we look just at premium foods like RC, JWB ,Burns Orijen ect and on the presumption if people can afford a cav they also can afford and want to feed the best ,and excluding the barf diet and food not available in the uk and eire i am sure we can form some census of agreement on food for our ever increasing fan base of King Charles Cavalier Spaniels, i look forward to members thoughts.In the past a lot of members have stated what their dogs are fed but not why i hope if i am feeding wrong somebody will pls tell me and i will correct striaght away

Brian M said:

i am sure we can form some census of agreement on food for our ever increasing fan base of King Charles Cavalier Spaniels

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I think it is unlikely that a consensus would ever be met, at least in our lifetimes.

You see we all come from different angles, different parts of the world, we have different biases & even our vets have quite opposing views on feeding.

Take for example the argument of bones for dogs. Nothing could be more simple. Do we feed our dogs bones or not? And yet the answer to this varies from country to country, from vet to vet.

In the end, all we can really do is be open minded & then make our own decisions based upon all the data available to us, plus our own experiences.

If people care about their dogs and nutrition, I really feel responsible owners need to read and educate themselves, not just take people's advice from a board on what to do (and you will note my disclaimer pinned in this section that states NOT to take advice on a board as presumed informed opinion but as just one perspective to consider). Only ONE member of this board that I know of is a qualified nutritionist and that is Monica Segal, so she is really the ONLY person whose feeding advice is truly well informed as a professional (see her website www.monicasegal.com). Cavaliers are no different from pit bulls or great danes when it comes to taking the time to read up on dog nutrition and select a food. They are no better and no worse that any other breed or mix . Many of us have a mix of different dogs, now or in the past, and I don't think we treat those other dogs as less important or their nutrition as less important.

There is plenty of info in the Library section on selecting foods, feeding raw, feeding cooked, feeding canned or kibble, and a search on the board will produce dozens of threads and most importantly: there is no concensus nor should there be on what people feed their dogs. Probably everyone on this board has a different opinion on food. That means there are no 'right' answers. Any dog food sold has to meet minimum nutritional guidelines so what you decide to go with really depends on personal preference more than anything else. I always advise looking for a food with quality ingredients but I see no point in spending a premium for trendy ingredients. I won't buy the most expensive foods and I think 'real food' is a better addition to my dogs' diets than buying processed or prepared foods alone, of whatever type. But that is what suits ME -- your mileage may vary, as they say. I don't see any point or benefit in coming to a recommended list of 'approved foods' when there is such a massive range of choice of foods that are all pretty much going to accomplish the same thing -- and when this is an international board with a huge range of differences in what is available in different countries, as well.

This is a good gathering of links to help people find a food that suits them:

http://board.cavaliertalk.com/showthread.php?t=9118

I don't think any one food or small list of foods is ever The Answer anyway. I tend to alternate between two brands, Royal Canin and James Wellbeloved, but that is ONLY because we have a far more limited choice of foods in Ireland, those are quality foods that I personally like and are easily available at pet shops, and waiting for Zooplus shipments is for me, a bit inconvenient, though I sometimes do order food through them (especially the Rinti tinned tripe). In some areas of Ireland, Arden Grange is easily available, and that is another excellent food. Likewise with Burns. i cannot easily get either of those two.

Take website and media rankings with a grain of salt. It always amazes me that people will obsess about corn gluten in dogfood and sit at home eating barbeque flavoured potato chips and ready meals, cookies/biscuits and chocolate, cans of Coke and all the other things that are far more processed and have ingredients we'd object to in a dog food. And dogs live a decade+, we hopefully! will live 8 decades+, so whose diet has more opportunity to affect health over a lifetime...? icon_nwunsure

Brian M said:

Hi
After again reading all the plus and minus comments on types of complete dry foods i noticed recently in the post on R C that Karlin rates it quite highly and feeds her dogs on it ,i must agree as i do the same but cavymum is not so keen as she reckons it has too much filler .Surely to a newbie who seeks advice from forum members this is a tad confusing equally i am sure they dont want to be pointed to some article written by research people about the pros and cons of all foods it will probaly be quite paddy and a bit stuffy and after all we are talking about cavs not pit bulls terriers or great danes i think sometimes the experts generalise too much as we cav owners must all want similar food that is the best just for our breed. So if we look just at premium foods like RC, JWB ,Burns Orijen ect and on the presumption if people can afford a cav they also can afford and want to feed the best ,and excluding the barf diet and food not available in the uk and eire i am sure we can form some census of agreement on food for our ever increasing fan base of King Charles Cavalier Spaniels, i look forward to members thoughts.In the past a lot of members have stated what their dogs are fed but not why i hope if i am feeding wrong somebody will pls tell me and i will correct striaght away

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I think its good for people to read up on nutritional information for feeding their dogs... regardless of the type of dog. Even if some articles ARE a bit "paddy and stuffy" as you say... I think many newbies would have no qualms in reading it if they are genuinely interested and responsible, and dont want someone to just say "Feed this.. its the best". I done a lot of reading before we got Holly, and still continue to read up on it all. Even at that.. all I would be offering on the forum is my opinion and preference for a certain type of food. I wouldnt say other brands of kibble other than JWB are less superior... I just chose JWB as it seems to suit Holly, keeps her colitis under control... and Acorn pet store up the road sells it! I also feed Holly some raw as well. I feed her that because i read up on it, and she loves it. Thats it really... just my opinion and preference... which i in no way think is superior to anyone elses'.

Also when people have said what they feed, it is probably similar to the reasons I stated for my chosen forms/brands of food.

Karlin said:

Take website and media rankings with a grain of salt. It always amazes me that people will obsess about corn gluten in dogfood and sit at home eating barbeque flavoured potato chips and ready meals, cookies/biscuits and chocolate, cans of Coke and all the other things that are far more processed and have ingredients we'd object to in a dog food. And dogs live a decade+, we hopefully! will live 8 decades+, so whose diet has more opportunity to affect health over a lifetime...? icon_nwunsure

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LOL yip!!! I do spend more time looking into what I feed Holly than I what eat myself, and she probably eats better than me!!!! Haha... Mmmm bbq flavoured potato chips!!!:winkct:

I must agree with Caraline. I don't think we will all ever agree. My mum has fed her goldens on supermaket stuff and they have lived many years. She tried Burns for Tell and he struggled to poo - it didn't have enough "fillers" to make it easiy for him to poop - Our cavaliers of course being small dogs are prone to soft poop and anal gland problems which is why I found Burns really good - they like it and their poops are firm. They did like RC but again somethimes I think it was a bit rich for them as their poops were more often than not soft. I have fed them Bakers - this too gave them soft poop - in more volume. I stopped feeding this after I found out what they preserve the kibble in.

I think you should feed whatever your dog is happy to eat and keeps your dog healthy Just my opinion.