Eden verses Tribal?

Dog food and feeding Dog foods
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[color=black]Hi everyone,

My dog is currently on Eden, but I am wondering about switching him to Tribal PetFoods and have a few questions.

Firstly, I am not exactly sure why Tribal only gets a 4.5 out of 5.

Note I am a screen-reader user, so there may be something on the review page that I am not able to access, that makes this very clear.

I amm guessing it is becausxe the Sugar Beat Pulp is a bit debated as to how natural it is (I.E a dog wouldn’t be able to find that if it was out in the great wild).

But if anyone can clarify, I would really appreciate it :slight_smile:

My dog has some low level allergies, but I don’t yet know the cause.

Guide Dogs did some tests before I got him, butt they were inconclusive.

They do seem to be more seasonal than anything though.

I would however like to keep him on a grain free diet if possible, which is why I like Tribal over some of the other cold pressed foods.

He is doing quite well on the Eden and likes it a lot, but his poops are not always that ferm.

He also seems to be a bit itchy in the hot weather, after he has pooped. This is not always the case, and I know he doesn’t have worms.

I was wondering if the richness of the food may be contributing to this, even if it’s not necessarily the cause.

I have spoken to other Guide Dog owners who have had this issue when using Eden, and needed to switch their dog to something else.

Also I like the idea of cold pressed food over extruded, but that’s just a personal thing.

I haven’t been able to use the ‘Compare’ feature on the site yet, but I will compare the ingreedient levels in the foods myself.

My dog does between 2 and 7

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Hi Jen,

My guess would be that Tribal scores lower than Eden due to having a lower meat content-Eden has a very high meat content which would score highly but could also account for it being a little rich for Stamp. Also, as yet, so far as I am aware, the review generator doesn’t take into account the production method of food ie; cold pressed over extruded. I am only surmising though; there are other members of the forum far more knowledgeable about the ratings and how they are calculated, I’m sure they will respond to your query with more clarity!

Like you, I favour cold pressed over extruded and although I’ve fed Guru and Gentle, I’ve now opted for Tribal as I like it being grain free and also prefer their recipes.

My dog loves the food and poos are usually quite firm-she does only eat this for lunch though as I feed her Butternut Box morning and evening.

I do think it’s an excellent food and Fatima at Tribal is very helpful and informative if you wanted to get in touch with her. They sell samples of both the fish and turkey varieties on their website.

You may find the turkey variety best to try as turkey is often better for dogs with allergies, though obviously as Guide Dogs didn’t find conclusively what the cause was it may not be food related and, as you say, could be seasonal.

My last dog had skin allergies, we never got to the root cause of them but they were worse in summer. I used to add Yumega Itchy Dog oil to his food and this worked wonders for him.

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Hi Petmum,

Thanks for the reply, it was very informative.

I’m glad Tribal is working out well for you.

Stamp gets fed twice a day. As he is out working, it’s quite important for me to keep a good handle on his spending pattern, so I can have clean walks with him, avoid him going in public places randomly etc.

When I got him he was on Royal Cannin, which is what GuideDogs feed all their dogs on these days.

There are worse foods out there for sure, but still, I think they could do better.

But I suppose they have to balance the books, and if I was waiting for a dog because there were less due to high feeding costs, I probably wouldn’t be very happy about that.

He sometimes did not eat his breakfast and seemed to really not like his food, but I was told that was because he was part GS.

I do wish GuideDogs would try a little harder when dogs don’t like the standard food they provide.
I believe they are conducting some research in to puppy joint health.

Depending on the outcome of that, I guess they may look again at food.

Anyways I put him on the Eden and he loves his meals now.

I sometimes put a bit of warm water in it, to bring the oils out.

As I can afford to and do pay for his food, I can feed him what I want when it comes to dry.

Raw is not possible for me due to my life style, and I believe that there is some ruling from Environmental Health (who certify that Guide Dogs can go in to restaurants etc) that states they can not be raw fed.

Anyways that’s another topic, not for this thread!

I would like to feed Freeze Dried Raw, as I think it would get around most of the complaints EH and other bodies have re bacteria, but it’s far too expensive for me.

For the record, a smaller provider of Guide Dogs in the UK (Path Finder Dogs) feeds raw, and provides a freezer for the client.

I gave Stamp a few of the Tribal biscuits today, in a Chase and Chomp bone he has, to keep him occupied while I am working.

He seemed to really enjoy them.

I have quite a lot of Eden to get through, but when he is done with that I may get a 2.5 KG bag of Tribal, to see how he goes with it.

Best,
Jen.

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I hadn’t really considered that re: raw feeding and guide dogs (foolish really as I was aware of the issues with PAT dogs being raw fed!) but it’s interesting to know that Path Finder Dogs do feed raw.

It’s good to hear that Guide Dogs are looking into researching puppy joint health and I hope that the way their dogs are fed is reassessed in the future. I imagine Royal Canin offer sponsorship etc which makes it too cost prohibitive to look elsewhere but guide dogs are such amazing animals they really do deserve the best of everything!

I really hope Stamp gets on well with Tribal, it’s just great to know that he’s now enjoying his food!

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Hi Jen
I have puppy walked for guide dogs, when I decided to get my own dog a few years later, and did lots of research ,on dog food it surprised me that the food they were on was very bad. I am so pleased that you have decided to change your dogs food as he is your best companion and deserves better food. I hope that you can sort out your dogs food . :slight_smile: