Dog Food?

Hello, hello! Officially in London now! I have a question to all the pet owners out there about dog food here.  Our dog is a bit special needs in the food department as he has some serious allergies... Darn those bully breeds! Anywho, can anyone recommend either a limited ingredient dog food brand where we can easily find something to work with his allergies or any all natural brands? We looked into having Origin shipped but it looked to be about one hundred pounds plus ridiculous shipping.  We would love to have something a bit more accessible!

We get Applaws for the cats. Not because they have allergies, but because they're spoilt feckers. It's really, really nice stuff -- e.g., chicken breast not mystery parts. http://www.applaws.co.uk/

Saw in your welcome post that you'll be in NW London (I'm in NW6). There's a shop here just off the Kilburn high road (at the crossroad where the Llloyd's is on the corner) called Jumanji Pets that sells the full range (and just about anything else you might need). The staff are helpful and knowledgeable. If you're in the area right now, you could even pop in and ask for reccs -- they'll know what other brands might fit your bill.

Good luck!

I use James Wellbeloved for my dog and she loves it. We get ours from Pets at Home.

http://www.wellbeloved.com/


Most the time it is on sale 3 for 2.

We get Applaws for the cats. Not because they have allergies, but because they're spoilt feckers. It's really, really nice stuff -- e.g., chicken breast not mystery parts. http://www.applaws.co.uk/ [nofollow]

Saw in your welcome post that you'll be in NW London (I'm in NW6). There's a shop here just off the Kilburn high road (at the crossroad where the Llloyd's is on the corner) called Jumanji Pets that sells the full range (and just about anything else you might need). The staff are helpful and knowledgeable. If you're in the area right now, you could even pop in and ask for reccs -- they'll know what other brands might fit your bill.

Good luck!

Thanks! We are just around the corner from Jumanji and will pop in there with the pup this weekend.  Still have about two more weeks of food, but it sometimes takes a bit of research to find the right one for our dog. I'm sure they will help us find the right stuff.  Thanks again!! 

No worries -- happy to help. If you need any info about the neighbourhood, give me a shout. I love this part of town super-hard.

I also use James Wellbeloved. The company was founded to help pets with food allergies and digestive problems.

Hiya,

We brought our two Ridgies over in 2010. Both have some special dietary requirements- one is elderly (13!) and the other has a super sensitive stomach.  Our local pet food shop now carries Orijen, Arcana, Taste of the Wild and a new UK sourced grain free food called Canagan. http://www.canagan.co.uk/. We tend to alternate as my old fella is a bit picky as well...
 They are all fairly pricey (between £60-80 for a 12kg bag) but great quality foods.  We had no luck with the larger pet stores, but luckily several small outlets carry what we need.  One even delivers!  Hope your pup enjoys the UK as much as ours do, we just got back from a lovely canal side walk.

We also use James Wellbeloved for our greyhound.  Like MeShell said it is on offer fairly regularly. 
 

You can get Orijen here.  They are distributed by Bern Pet Foods.

http://www.orijenpetfoods.co.uk/acatalog/stockists.html

That seems like an unusually high price for Orijen, though I've noticed it going higher and higher since I moved here.

I've transitioned my dog from Orijen to Skinners recently and she seems quite happy on it.  Skinners does a working dog line that is VAT-free, so quite inexpensive.  It isn't as good as Orijen, but they have several rice based formulas that are quite similar to Burns and James Wellbeloved for about half the price.  It might be worth considering.  Burns also does a working dog range (only a few formulas) that is VAT free and thus cheaper than their regular feed--if memory serves, they have an even higher meat content.  I usually order from Berriewood Wholesale, who have really good prices on both Skinners and Orijen.  I've always had really good service from them.

Thanks, everyone! I am so happy to hear Orijen is stocked at some shops here, though I may look into the British one, as what I have seen so far, looks fairly similar.  We have a really limited choices, as he is allergic to corn, wheat, rice,, really any grain, all poultry and eggs... the list goes on.  We gave him a beef bone once, that we now assume was from a corn fed cow and he was a mess of hot spots for days after.  Thankfully, other than having to deal with pricey food, we have a great pooch.

The other option is to cook your own food.  Much cheaper and, IMO, much better for the dog.

When I moved, my dog refused to eat, so I started cooking for her and have ever since.  I cook it in a batch that will last about 4-5 days, but you can cook much larger batches and freeze portions to make it even easier.

 

The other option is to cook your own food.  Much cheaper and, IMO, much better for the dog.

When I moved, my dog refused to eat, so I started cooking for her and have ever since.  I cook it in a batch that will last about 4-5 days, but you can cook much larger batches and freeze portions to make it even easier.

I have thought about doing that, cooking for the dog and cat, though I have to say, cooking for the dog and the cat is a sentence I never thought would come out of my mouth! 
 Seriously, it is something I want look further into and maybe give it a try, to see how it goes, as after seeing the prices for some of the grain free foods,    cooking up a batch and freezing it once a week doesn't seem like such a bother!   Though, it is so easy to just pour a bowlful of dry dog food and walk away! 

I've definitely considered home cooking as well! I just am not sure in what portions I would give him.  I also am a bit against giving him table food, since with all of his serious allergies (he threw up for an entire day after eating a few pieces of popcorn) I don't want him to get used to thinking things we eat are for him, as well.  I know I can probably get a lot more for my money, though.  I just don't want him to be a beggar!  Do you have any suggestions on where I can find some solid info on what would be the proper meat-veg ratio as well as appropriate portion sizes for different sized dogs? 

I tried cooking for my cat, but he wouldn't eat it.