The kibble test

As a newly-owned-by-staffy and canine novice in general, I've been performing certain experiments with the kibble.

Soaked kibble test - as the title describes, soak kibble in water to imagine aspect in stomach. Don't forget to compare to dry kibble for reference.

I was horrified to see that breeder-recommended Pro plan kibble had not only changed in volume and consistancy but also in colour. The greasy/shiny dark brown kibble now resembled soaked cornflakes, colour 'n all ! Normal, that's the cereal content.

Then we went cereal-free with Vigor & Sage. Aspect was better but reseach was saying that potato wasn't necessarily better than cereal as filler.
This kibble did better in the soak test but was still somewhat deformed.

Took the plunge and tried Orijen.
Much better and completely recognisable after soak test.
Nifty is thriving and although concerned about feeding less (3x50g orijen vs 3x70g Pro plan), she's changed alot for the better, no only physically but mentally too. It's difficult to describe and I know it isn't just the growing up.

It's really quite surprising what happens to kibble when you get it wet. Well worth experimenting to find what's suits any particular dog as they are all different.

I do like your approach. Don't just accept what's on the advertising blurb, back of the packet, do your own research and make sure you're happy with it. Engage brain time, well done!

If they're changing in volume so much I can't imagine they're good for bellys. Burns just goes soggy, looks basically the same but wet and mushy so I guess that's not too bad.

I can't remember what the brand was, but the first lot of kibble we got Gizmo (post-Bakers catastrophe) he refused point blank to eat.
We left it outside for wildlife.

Hens, foxes and misc animals ALL refused to eat it. The rain came. It turned gray and we buried it.

I am willing to experiment but will not try the taste test

They say you are what you eat and I appreciate that everyone has their own budget. But to have feed change so much once humidified is worrying. I am also very concerned about the bloat factor - I can say that Nifty is definitely less gassy too, I now know why.

Goblin - the fact that no one was hungry enough to eat that grey kibble is just so worrying. How do manufacturers manage to get this stuff onto our shelves ?

Orijen's a pretty good food, and the better the food the less you need to feed as there's less crap in it!

i'm told that Millie's Wolfheart is a good 'un.

We use Millie's, it comes up slightly less well on the 'All About Dog Food' ratings than Orijen's but it's distinctly less pricey.

Thanks for the alternative option with Millie's.
I've had a quick look but it seems even harder to find than the orijen over here.

I didn't think the food coukd give such a big difference but it confirms what happened when I changed the horses' feeds too.

Sorry, I forgot you're 'over there'!

The difference is really pretty shocking. Gizmo went from absolutely loopy to just excessively hyper staffy-style puppy when we finally found something that suited him.

Remembered the name, it was "Burgess" I got it by mistake because I knew there was a good brand that was a surname starting with B.

Thats interesting