It seems that I have missed a cold pressed dog food. It is Healthy Dog. At the moment it is not reviewed on the Dog Food Directory. Link.
1 Like
Hi. How are you dog’s weight on cold pressed food? My dog has an enlarged gallbladder and I’m seeking out a new food. I’m particularly interested in Gentle or Lupo as they seem to meet his health requirements. He has also experienced a steady weight loss over the past 6 months or so and therefore I am looking for a food which may help maintain his weight or even help put some on. Would be welcome to hear any experiences with dogs weight on this diet. Thanks
The recommendation is for 1% to 1.2% if body weight for adult dogs. However, they do say that it can vary according to the dog’s requirements. For instance, puppies and bitches in whelp or nursing would get a lot more than this.
From my own experience, two of my dogs have problems with weight control - they easily put it on. At the 1% of body weight it would be 85g RDA but they only get 65g in the bowl and about another 10g in a Kong so it is below this. However, I am finding that it works for them. I have just weighed them this morning and they are holding their weight very steady indeed so I am pleased.
With your dog needing to put weight on you would probably need to start at the 1.2% of body weight and then monitor weekly. You can add 10% as needed. A word of warning though - always weigh the food accurately and don’t be surprised if it doesn’t look much. It’s very easy to overfeed using cold pressed food. I’m used to it now but I still feel that it looks a tiny amount in comparison to kibble. If you are on Facebook check out the Gentle page and there is a photograph of two glass bowls, one containing Gentle and the other kibble. You will see the difference immediately.
If you do switch I would be very interested to hear how it goes. Don’t forget that you can always email the company or give them a call for advice.
Thanks Dottie. Think Harvey would actually prefer a ‘smaller’ bowl of food. He eats small meals throughout the day and doesn’t always finish in one go so a smaller meal might just suit him better.
Mine get the daily allowance divided into three. This particularly suits my little one because like your Harvey, she prefers little meals. Might be wrong, but for dogs who don’t have such a big appetite cold pressed food is maybe something worth considering because of the smaller amount needed.
In reply to Dottie at the top of the page (Sorry it won’t let me quote for some reason) I posed the question of why a UK business hasn’t started manufacturing it here yet at Cruft’s to some kibble manufacturers and fears of the sterility of the food seemed to be the answer. What i was told was that because the food isn’t cooked at a high temperature for a certain amount of time like in extruding there are worries about salmonella etc, not so much affecting dogs, but if peoples kids etc get hold of the food.
They all did say it’s definitely something that will be happening in the future though.
And hi everyone, first post! 
1 Like
Welcome to the forum Greg and thank you very much for asking about that and for telling us about it. I have to say that I had no idea that sterility was an issue. TBH I have never even thought about it, particularly as there are products for human consumption that are cold pressed. However, they are oils, not meat and fish. It would be interesting to hear what the company’s take is on this. On the Scampers website there is an article about a visit that the owner made to the manufacturing factory in Germany. He mentions actually tasting the food himself so I would imagine that if there was any risk that would not have been allowed. BTW there is an article in the March issue of ‘Dogs Today’ by the holistic/natural therapy vet Richard Allport. He talks about diet and mentions Gentle as a good quality, minimally-processed food. It is one of the three that he recommends if the owner cannot, or does not want to feed a raw diet.
Which are the other 2 Dottie?
I was the same Dottie, i hadn’t considered it either, one of the companies i spoke to said that they were excited about the idea and that everything looked great in theory but when they looked at the practical side of things those sort of problems started popping up.
I didn’t get a chance to go to Farm food’s stand because i would have asked them how they get around it, i’m assuming there must be a certain level of cooking at some point to kill bacteria? Or maybe freezing perhaps? would that work?
Also, does anyone know why it won’t let me quote? It says i’m not allowed to post external links but all i’m trying to do is quote, the posts i’m trying to quote don’t have links in either?
David - they are ZiwiPeak (he prefers air dried version as it is the least processed) and Orijen - available as a dry food and in a freeze-dried range.
Greg: I think that FarmFood HE (cold pressed) is made in the Netherlands. The distributor is in fife, Scotland. I don’t know why the forum is not allowing quotes. I tend not to use them much but when I do I type it myself in brackets and end with the same but / in front of the word quote. I will leave a message for David about this.
My guess would be that in order to meet safety standards there would need to be quite an investment in the initial set up of a processing plant which might put people off. The big companies making kibble may be throwing out scare stories too. I am not particularly into conspiracy theories though, so there may be possible problems. I would expect the German and Dutch authorities to have regulation in force to ensure manufacturing is safe.
My only slight concern with cold pressed is the density of the pellet. I foster rescued dogs and my current jrt cross was very underweight with therefore a small tummy and he threw up his first couple of MM meals, he was fine after that but I should have introduced it over a longer period than I did.
1 Like
I didn’t have any of the old kibble left when I changed to MM so a gradual change wasn’t possible. However I didn’t give more than the recommended amount and we had no problems. Trouble is the recommended amount did look small due to the density and it would have been tempting to add a bit more. Having seen how much it swells when you add water, I can see why too big a potion may be rejected.
Somebody I know has just started her older dog with hit and miss appetite on Gentle. The smaller potions are good for her as she can be put off by larger amounts. Initially she was looking for more after her breakfast. When a little more was offered a while later, she left it. I am guessing she felt full as the food expanded in her stomach.
Hi. We are waiting for our first bag of Gentle to arrive. Ordered it Sunday night after trying a sample. My dog currently eats a mix of kibble and canned food. We will have finished the canned tomorrow so hoping to do the changeover using just the kibble. Is there a specified/suggested number of days for the changeover to this food. Just worried as current food is low and Harvey won’t like too much dry kibble for long!
Also, Harvey enjoyed the sample but worried about him facing a meal of it as he does like his canned food. How mushy does it get with added water? Any experience and advice would be great. Thank you.
I didn’t transition mine - just started it and they were absolutely fine. AFAIK there is nothing in it that should cause any violent reaction and brown rice is often recommended when a dog has had digestive problems. As I’ve already mentioned, remember to weigh it accurately so as not to overfeed. If you want to soften it just pour a little warm water over and it will be nice and mushy within about 10 to 15 minutes. You get used to how much to add to get it to the consistency you require. I soften Gentle for their Kongs but do it by guess. Really I ought to have a go weighing it and measuring the water properly - will do that next time. I do hope that your dog does well on cold pressed food.
Thanks Dottie. Hoping it arrives in the next few days so we can see how Harvey does with it.
I also only add a little water to stuff kongs . Initially I used to pour a little warm on to release the smells from the food and serve it straight away but my dog will eat it however it comes. She is still enjoying it and has been fed it (amongst other foods ) for a while now.
Although she mostly has it for treats and kongs, she is happy to have it for a meal as well. She is mostly having wet food and raw for meals.
Thanks Dottie, i think i’ll message a few of the cold pressed companies and ask how they make sure their products are sterile. I’ll let you all know what i’m told.
1 Like
Just spoken to one company that do cold pressed, they’ve said that meat products are ‘…cooked in way that salmonella and bacteria are destroyed and that the food is later cold pressed at no more than 45 degrees celsius.’ although she couldn’t tell me what that cooking process is, so cooked meats are then being cold pressed. Does that not defeat the point a little, although the videos of the extruded vs cold pressed digestion make it look a much better prospect regardless, but is the difference between the nutritional values being saved that noticeable?
Certainly doesn’t answer why a UK manufacturer hasn’t done it yet if it’s as simple as cooking the products first before cold pressing?
Is this where pasteurization comes in ? I am no expert but raising to and maintaining sufficient heat to kill off bacteria as with dairy products produces “safe” food without the nasty chemical effects high heat produces. I tend to slow cook without searing after reading about the controversy over grilling etc. The colour of the product kinda suggests it is not raw.
My Dog is 14 with liver problems caused by an enlarged gallbladder. Sorry been on here a lot recently so you prob know already!
I wanted to place him on Gentle as it’s good protein, low phosphorous, and natural. It seems to fit the requirements for his health problems. I was concerned about the lowish fat content as my pooch is losing weight so contacted my veterinary surgery.
I was told today by the nurse that they did not like the look of Gentle for the following reasons:
It caters for all dogs and is not specific for seniors
The feeding guide was I think they thought “too vague”.
The idea that the analysis was not dry matter.
Overall they said it was not good quality and they could not “put their name to it”.
Came out of course with a recommendation to call ‘royal canin’.
I am going to ring the Gentle company for their response to this but anybody got any views on what my surgery is saying about this food?