Happy Tails dog food- opinions

[grey_girl]

Am considering getting Happy Tails dog food, just saw it at my local natural food store. The feeding guidelines say: 60-80lbs 2-3 cups/day. This seems very low, does anyone have experience with this food and are the guidelines accurate or do you have to feed way more?

[rainbow]

I've never heard of it so I googled and was surprised to find out that it's made right here in BC.

http://www.happytail.ca/ingred-complete-dog.htm

NEW ZEALAND LAMB Formula

Lamb (NZ lamb meal), Brown rice, Tomato Pumace, Chicken Oil, (preserved with Vitamin C & E), Pacific Fish (herring, anchovies, sardines) Chicken Liver, Organic Carrots, Organic Spinach, Organic Apples, Cranberries, Raspberries, Blueberries, Organic Parsley, Organic Garlic, Sea Salt.

Supplements: Yucca Plant Extract, Choline, Potassium, Natural Vitamin E , Iron, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Vitamin B12, Niacin, Vitamin A, Calcium Pantothenate, Manganese , Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Thiamin, Vitamin D3, Calcium Iodate, Biotin, Folate, Natural Vitamin K1, Cobalt, Selenium Proteinate, Probiotic Acidophilus.

I would prefer to see more meat and I'm not a big fan of tomato pomace.

Feeding guidelines are just that ...."guidelines". I feed my dogs Acana Provincial Grain Free and the sibe (60 lb) gets 3/4 cup twice a day and the lab (95 lb) gets 1 1/2 cups twice a day.

Have you checked out Orijen or Acana Provincial ....they are both made by the same company at their own manufacturing plant.

www.championpetfoods.com

[kandy]

So I'm confused. If lamb meal is the first ingredient, why is it in parantheses?

I agree that having tomato pumace 3rd on the list is a concern - its a stool hardner, and a cheap filler. And what is "chicken oil"?? Chicken fat I understand - is this rendered fat then?

If the first ingredient is truly lamb meal - then the only real problem I would have is the tomato pumace. The rest of the ingredients look pretty good, although since the fish is in a wet form, it's going to drop further down the ingredient list after processing. I'd also prefer to see another meat protein source in the first 5 ingredients.

[grey_girl]

I currently feed Orijen, but it ends up being quite costly as I have to feed at the high end of their "active dog" feeding guideline (in order for him not to lose weight). My dog is very NOT active so I don't find the guideline accurate for my situation. Anyway, am looking for something cheaper but need to know how long a bag will last...

[rainbow]

I was feeding Orijen but had to switch to Acana Provincial because of our financial situation now. It is about $8 a bag cheaper and the ingredients are still basically the same but a little less meat protein. I always add leftover meat from our supper meal to their food anyways.

A large bag lasts me about 20 days feeding my 95 lb lab (3 cups per day) and my 60 lb sibe (1 1/2 cups per day) and it costs $56. The last time I fed Orijen it was $64 for the large bag.

How much does the Happy Tails cost for a large bag?

[grey_girl]

good idea, will look into Acana as an alternative to Orijen. Happy Tails is $42.39 for 7.5kg, the store didn't carry larger bag, maybe I could special order it. It contains 600cal/cup which is very calorie dense, that's why I'm entertaining the idea that I could feed less than with Orijen (470cal/cup) and end up paying less in the long run. Guess I should just go ahead and try it a couple months and see...

[rainbow]

It's $42.39 for a 7.5 kg bag. So you're looking at least $70 for the large bag if it's a 13.5 kg bag like Orijen and Acana Provincial. It's def not worth the price imo.

Btw, what breed is your dog ...I don't think I've seen any pics.

[rainbow]

Oh, one more thing ....Champion Pet Foods makes both Acana and Acana Provincial plus Orijen. The Orijen and Acana Provincial are grain free but the regular Acana is not and the regular Acana is probably around $49 for a large bag.

[grey_girl]

What, the name Grey_girl didn't give it away?
Hopefully this works
didn't work, lets try again
oh boy, more complicated than I thought. Once again
that's tiny, ok, last time!
there!

See what I mean by very *not* active?
OOps, it link to website.
OK, I can't figure out how to insert image without it linking to my website. He's a greyhound. Sleepy, lazy greyhound. True to his breed

[rainbow]

Originally Posted by grey_girl

What, the name Grey_girl didn't give it away?

Well if I had to take a guess that would have been my first choice but at my age it could also mean that you're in the same age bracket.

[IMG][/IMG]

See what I mean by very *not* active?

Oh my, he is a very handsome boy and greyhounds are supposed to be couch potatoes.

Is he a retired racer from a rescue?

It's hard to tell in that pic but he doesn't look too thin ....just lean.

[rainbow]

Originally Posted by grey_girl

OOps, it link to website.
OK, I can't figure out how to insert image without it linking to my website. He's a greyhound. Sleepy, lazy greyhound. True to his breed

The pic showed up here for me.

[rainbow]

I got to check out for a bit. If he really is thin then you could always feed him satin balls to put some weight on him.

There's recipes here if you do a search or else just google.

And, hope you post more pics of your gorgeous boy in the photo forum here.

[Dracko]

I just purchased a health food store and the previous owners carried the Happy Tails brand. We have lots of repeat customers so I have to continue carrying it, though, I must admit I don't have any experience with it on my own animals. What I can tell you is lots of people who's animals can't have any gluten buy it cuz the labels now state gluten free.

[rainbow]

The gluten free label is just a marketing tactic ....any of the grain free brands would also be gluten free as would all brands that do not include wheat, barley, rye, bulgar and some people even say oatmeal.