Just wondering if anyone could offer me advice. I’ve been looking for a not too expensive decent food, without any rubbish in for my two staffy/labs. Autarky White Fish and potatoe looks very good as far as ingredients go. But as it’s designed for working dogs would it be okay for pet dogs? And if so would I feed them less than the recommended amount or supplement? What are the key different needs for working dog and pet dog? Thank you
Hello and welcome to the forum. That particular flavour doesn’t seem to be in the dog food directory yet. I put the ingredients through and it came out with a 3.5 rating, so average. Working dog food is often higher in protein but it has 27 percent which isn’t too high compared with a lot of dog foods.
I would recommend that you use the filter to give you some ideas. You can enter your dogs details and your budget and search by highest rated. This thread says how to use it.
Good luck
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Re differences between working and non working foods…
Foods labelled working do not attract VAT. They are exempt but by letter of law should be fed to working dogs…that means dogs of any breed used as working sheepdogs and dogs of any breed used as working gun dogs (use of dog is the factor- not the breed).
Keping the use of your dog out of the equation…working dog food status should not present dietary issues by virtue of it’s vat status.
As for content of working dog foods…
Some foods made by particular manufacturers may typically have a slightly higher protein content than similar composition foods made by same company which are retail sold as pet dog food & with VAT. To confuse matters more, some higher end pet food which include VAT can have higher protein levels (I know of one that has 38%) than some working dog foods of lessser quality.
I have not fed it myself, however, of the cheaper priced kibble brands it can be worth taking a look Autarky. Other brands worth taking a look at might include Simpsons or Skinners or Chapel Farm (I have fed the kast two) Do bear in mind ingredients can vary widely…it is a common mistake to assume products of same brand name are broadly similar.
Main issue re compatability likely to be if the dog changes onto new food ok or not.
No need to discuss your use of your dog on here if concerned re disclosing your VAT compliance.
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when I fed my dogs on kibble I always choose the working dog VAT free varieties just because it was cheaper, might as well save paying tax if you can.