Dog Food Guides
Everything you need to know about feeding your dog well — grouped to help you find the right guide fast. Working out portions and what feeding costs? Start with Cost & Portions. Worried about a symptom or a specific ingredient? See Health & Science. Changing brand, flavour or food type? Head to Choosing & Switching.
Everything here comes from the same homework we do for our own dog — analysing labels, running the portion maths, and reading the actual studies rather than the marketing.
Cost & Portions
How much to feed, and what it really costs.
Dog Food Finder — Answer 4 Questions, Get 3 Picks
Not sure where to start? Tell us your dog's size, life stage, budget and what matters most, and the finder matches three grain-free foods to your dog — instantly, with a shareable result link.
Open Finder →Dog Food Calculator — How Many Grams a Day?
Enter your dog's weight, life stage and food type to get an instant estimate of its daily calorie need and how many grams of kibble, wet or fresh food that is — the interactive version of our portion-guide tables.
Open Calculator →How Much Should I Feed My Puppy?
Estimate your puppy's growing calorie need with the RER × growth-factor maths, convert it to grams, and see why the daily amount barely changes after three months — with a growth-curve feeding table.
Read Guide →How Much Should I Feed My Senior Dog?
The portion question, answered with maths: estimate your old dog's calorie need, then convert it to grams of kibble, wet or fresh — with a per-weight feeding table and a body-condition check.
Read Guide →How to Add a Topper Without Overfeeding
A fresh or wet topper adds moisture and appeal to a kibble bowl — but it's extra calories. The simple displace-don't-add maths, the 10% rule, and how to do it safely.
Read Guide →Fresh vs Kibble Cost for Large & Giant Dogs
Fresh food is priced by your dog's weight — so it gets dramatically pricier the bigger your dog. We run the real UK monthly and annual numbers and show the hybrid big-dog owners actually use.
Read Guide →Senior Dog Food: Cost vs Value
Older dogs eat less, so the maths that makes fresh food expensive for big dogs runs the other way. Why premium and fresh feeding get better value with age — and why a topper is the smartest senior spend.
Read Guide →Health & Science
The nutrition science behind the bowl — and when food is (and isn't) the cause.
Is My Dog's Food Causing This? Itching, Loose Stools, Gas, Dull Coat & Weight
Itchy skin, soft stools, smelly wind, a dull coat or creeping weight gain can all trace back to the bowl — but not always. A symptom-by-symptom router that tells a food problem from a vet problem, and shows exactly what to change if it really is the food.
Read Guide →Food for Canine Cognitive Decline — the "Dog Dementia" Diet
When an old dog's mind slows — disorientation, night-time pacing, forgotten house-training — nutrition is one of the few levers with real evidence behind it. What MCT oil, DHA and antioxidants actually do for the ageing brain, what the science shows, and how to feed a dog with cognitive decline.
Read Guide →Is Grain-Free Dog Food Actually Good?
We dig into the science, the FDA investigation, and the real-world evidence to answer whether grain-free is worth it for your dog.
Read Guide →Elimination Diet for Dogs — Find the Ingredient Causing the Itch
The gold-standard way to identify a food allergy or intolerance: how to run a proper 8–12 week elimination diet at home, which novel proteins to use, and the mistakes that invalidate the whole test.
Read Guide →Pug Skin-Fold Dermatitis — Why Food Isn't the Fix
One of the Pug's most common skin problems isn't a food allergy at all — it's a conformation problem in the facial and tail folds. What the VetCompass data shows, why no diet cures it, and the only honest food lever: keeping your dog lean.
Read Guide →French Bulldog Skin-Fold Dermatitis — Why Food Isn't the Fix
The French Bulldog has the second-highest odds of skin-fold dermatitis of any UK breed — but it's a conformation problem in the facial folds and screw-tail pocket, not a food allergy. What the VetCompass data shows, how to tell it apart from the breed's very real allergy risk, and the only honest food lever: keeping your dog lean.
Read Guide →Grain-Free vs Regular Dog Food — What's the Difference?
What actually changes when the grain comes out of the recipe, which dogs genuinely benefit, and how to compare the two fairly on protein, fillers and price.
Read Guide →Taurine and L-Carnitine for Dogs
A plain-English science explainer: what these two heart nutrients do, whether your dog makes its own, which foods supply them, and when supplementing actually makes sense.
Read Guide →Dog Insurance Explained (UK) — Cover Types, Traps & Questions to Ask
A plain-English guide to how UK dog insurance actually works: the four cover types, the per-condition and annual limits that ration your payout, the exclusions that catch owners out, and the questions to ask before you buy. Information only — we don't rank or sell insurance.
Read Guide →Dog Insurance Terms Explained — A Plain-English Glossary
Lifetime vs maximum benefit, per-condition vs annual limits, excess vs co-payment, pre-existing and bilateral conditions, waiting periods and exclusions — every confusing UK pet-insurance term, defined in plain English. Information only — we don't rank or sell insurance.
Read Guide →How Much Do Dog Vet Treatments Cost in the UK?
What real UK vet bills can reach and what the published claims data shows: the ABI's 2024 figures on record payouts, the £685 average claim, illustrative bills into the thousands, and why vet-fee inflation keeps costs rising. Information only — we don't rank or sell insurance.
Read Guide →IVDD & Dog Insurance — How Cover Works for a Dachshund's Back
Is IVDD covered by pet insurance? How hereditary and pre-existing exclusions make back cover tricky for a predisposed breed like the Dachshund, and the policy wording to read before you buy. Information only — we don't rank or sell insurance.
Read Guide →Choosing & Switching
Picking the right food type and protein — and changing over without an upset stomach.
Wet vs Dry Dog Food — Which Is Actually Better?
Neither wins outright. The real trade-offs — cost, hydration, fussy eaters, and the "dry food cleans teeth" myth — plus why most UK owners quietly end up feeding both.
Read Guide →Best Fish & Salmon Dog Food — When Fish Is the Right Protein
Salmon and oily fish bring omega-3 no land meat can match, and are a true novel protein for chicken-sensitive dogs. When to choose fish, how to spot the label trap (4% salmon can still say "salmon"), and where the best UK fish recipes really live.
Read Guide →How to Read a Dog Food Label (UK)
Decode UK pet food labels like a pro: composition order tricks, "with salmon" vs "salmon", analytical constituents, and the red-flag phrases that hide low-quality ingredients.
Read Guide →Cold-Pressed vs Kibble vs Raw — Which Format Suits Your Dog?
Three very different ways to fill the bowl. How each format is made, what that does to digestibility and safety, and which owners each one actually suits.
Read Guide →How to Switch Your Dog's Food Without an Upset Stomach
Changing food too fast is the top cause of diarrhoea and a refused bowl. The simple 7-day transition schedule, when to go slower, what to do if the stools go loose, and the red flags that mean call the vet.
Read Guide →How to Switch Your Dog's Food Flavour
Swapping chicken for salmon in the same range is easier than a full brand change — often just 3–4 days. When you can go fast, when to still take the week, and why a protein swap isn't an allergy test.
Read Guide →Holidays & Travel
Taking your dog away with you — planning a break that works for both of you.
Dog-Friendly Holidays UK — Planning a Break With Your Dog
What "dog friendly" accommodation actually means (charges, dog limits, enclosed gardens, house rules), the best UK regions for dogs, a pre-trip checklist, car-safety basics, and how to settle an anxious dog somewhere new.
Read Guide →Dog Travel Packing Checklist UK — Everything Your Dog Needs on Holiday
A printable-friendly checklist of what to pack for your dog's holiday — food and water, health and ID, car-safety restraint, comfort and hygiene essentials, plus what to leave at home.
Read Guide →By Breed
Breed-specific feeding guides — we've reviewed the UK's most popular breeds one by one, each with its own dietary brief plus puppy and senior guides where relevant.
Best Dog Food by Breed — Browse Every Breed Guide
The full index of our breed-by-breed guides, grouped by size — from toy and small breeds to giant. Find your breed's specific food needs, plus links to its puppy and senior feeding guides.
Browse Breeds →Best Food for Doodle Crossbreeds — Cavapoo, Cockapoo & Labradoodle
Doodles top the UK crossbreed charts, but you can't feed a label you can't predict. Why the smart move is to start simple and watch — feeding by adult size, the near-universal curly coat, and the Spaniel- or Retriever-side sensitivity lottery.
Read Guide →Joint Health in Gundog Breeds — Springers, Labs, Goldens & Cockers
Working gundog breeds share a joint-health story: hard field work, water retrieves and, for the big retrievers, size. The shared mechanism, the food levers that genuinely help, and the right per-breed feeding guide for your dog.
Read Guide →