Good quality dog food in….good quality poop out.

It’s no secret that Skinner’s has been the dog food of choice amongst breeders, dog trainers and owners for over 50 years. Our diets have stood the test of time and continue to be firm favourites with new puppy owners.

We believe that choosing the right food for your dog is crucial to the growth and development of your future gundog. That’s why we have chosen to use carefully selected functional ingredients in all our wet and dry dog foods. Every diet in the Field & Trial range only uses ingredients your dog needs and have been proven to support their health and performance.

We also understand that the ingredient listing found on the back of any bag or carton can often be overwhelming. With many new dog owners feeling like they need to learn a whole new language to ensure they aren’t feeding ‘fillers’ or the ‘bad stuff’. It’s time to take a deeper look into some of the ingredients included in our dry puppy food range…

What are dog food fillers?

One of the most common misconceptions with dry dog food the term “fillers”.

THE MYTH

The perception is that dry foods use lots of fillers to bulk the food and because of this, dry food leads to bigger stools.

THE FACTS

There is no such thing as a “filler” as this implies an ingredient with no nutritional value. All the ingredients used in Skinner’s recipes have nutritional value.
Bulkier stools aren’t necessarily a bad thing as this helps to express the anal glands as dogs go to the toilet.
A good level of fibre in the diet can also support firmer, healthier stools and gut health and that’s why we use ingredients such as rice, oats and wheat as a fibre source.

What ingredients support my puppy’s digestive system?

There are a number of factors to consider, when choosing a puppy food. One thing to consider is your dog’s digestive health.

Two terms often referred to at this point are prebiotic and probiotic, but what does this actually mean?

What is a probiotic?

A substance which is ‘alive’ which has a positive impact on gut health. For example, yeast or bacteria.

What is a prebiotic?

A substance which is not alive, but also has a positive effect on gut health.

The prebiotics we’ve chosen to include in our puppy range are:

• MOS (Mannanoligosaccharides), GOS (Galactooligosaccharides) and FOS (Fructooligosaccharides). These prebiotic fibres are critical to “feed” the microbes in the gut, thereby promoting a healthy gut microbiome.

• INULIN – a prebiotic that is critical to “feed” the microbes in the gut, thereby promoting a healthy gut microbiome

What is gut microbiome?

The collection of bacteria and other microbes that live in a dog’s digestive system. A healthy microbiome is really important for your dog’s health and wellbeing.

Other ingredients good for a puppy’s stools are:

• CLINOPTILOLITE CLAY – a mineral salt that promotes digestive health, especially where loose stools are an issue. It also promotes the formation of a protective layer in the digestive tract, absorbs excess water (improving stool quality) and absorbs toxins. Such clays can also enhance calcium uptake and thus skeletal development.

• YUCCA – improves faecal odour and stool quality.