Royal Canin Maxi Junior

[Roge]

Been there done that !!!

Just keep in the back of your mind that before dogs were domesticated they were meat eaters FULL STOP .. No wheat no rice no nothing .. The grain is put in dried food as a filler . What costs more wheat , rice or beef , chicken or fish ??? So you buy Your 15kg of dried food how much of it is actually meat ?And I think that the oils and the good stuff is added because nutrients are lost in the drying process .
In an ideal world I would feed Roge raw but he drew the short straw when he got me because I am not good with raw meat !! It would make me heave watching him chomp down on it ..
It may turn out that you dog can tolerate grain If so then happy days but always buy the food that has less fillers

 

[luvmyboy]

My Tucker has allergies... environmental and food. I have to read every label so I don't expose him to allergens. We were successfully feeding kibble, but that company decided to change some of its components. That was the impetus to change him to raw. We haven't looked back & he is doing well!

 

[brodieboxer]

You might want to look into Farmina N&D (http://www.farmina.com/?q=en/product-dog/view-line), an Italian company who has just started exporting to the U.S. It's getting rave reviews on a dog food forum I'm a member of. It comes in grain free and low grain varieties. You should be able to get it in the U.K.

 

[Bathel]

The main "grains" that will cause problems are the corn and wheat. Rice CAN be fine, but keep in mind that it is mostly a filler. I try to find foods that don't have any rice in it; that that can be a personal preference. You'll find that a lot of people feed their dogs a rice/chicken diet when they have upset tummies...

Anyway, I have used Orijens (my favorite, but my office mates don't like the gas it produces from my little pup and since she comes to work with me I had to change), Arcana (made by the makers of Orijens and IMO is as good as the Orijens and a little bit lower in protein to help with the "richness" that can be associated with Orijens), Merrick Grain Free (my current kibble that is both high quality and reasonable priced), Blue Buffalo, Pura Vita, Fromm, Wellness Core, Victor (another one I really like, but it's harder to find).

I rotate the Merrick between the Duck and Pork (am just about to add in the new salmon formula to see if my pup likes it)... I buy from Chewy.com and I can say that they have great customer service (twice I've had an issue and they have resolved BEYOND what I would have expected and deserved)... and I pay no tax and no shipping. When taking that into consideration the pricing is normally cheaper or in line with what you can buy locally. I'm sure there are others like petflow (I think my sister uses them and is very happy) and wag that do the same thing. Now as for shipping to the UK... don't know, but I would bet they have similar services for you too... just need to do some research to find one you trust (google online dog food UK or something).

 

[Bathel]

Also keep in mind, when pricing food... how much it cost per gram being feed. IE, if the Orijens cost 1/3 more in price than option B, but you end up feeding 1/3 grams less per serving than option B ...you're paying the same price for the Orijens and Option B when calculated to each serving by weight.

I find here in the US that makers like to play with the "size" of the kernels to make it look like you're feeding less (IE they make a smaller kernel so you use less "cups" per serving)... however, but if you look at the serving by weight then you're feeding the same or more. Since you buy your food by the weight of the bag, you should compare your cost by the cost/serving in terms of weight and not volume... just an FYI. I find Orijens to be a much more reasonably priced food compared to some of the cheaper foods when you look cost per serving in terms of grams or oz.

 

[Bathel]

Ok... one last post...

In regards to breed size...

The Maxi Junior is listed for 26-44 kg... the breed standard for Boxers in the US is Female 24-29kg Male 27-32kg. If the UK standard follows the US, then I would say that your pup would fall on the smaller side of the charts and would require a bit less than what is show (keep in mind the suggested feeding is just a starting point). What I would do is weekly weigh your pup to make sure there is a weight gain from week to week and not a weight loss. I personally would not choose to feed the large breed formulas, but for that brand, you pup seems to be within range to use it. Personally, I would feed Royal Canin if it was given to me for free for the rest of my life... but that's my opinion, others may have a different view

 

[Bathel]

Ha... just re-read my post above.... the last line SHOULD HAVE BEEN....Personally, I WOULDN'T feed Royal Canin if it was given to me for free for the rest of my life... but that's my opinion, others may have a different view

Hope there was no confusion...