Autarky Dog Food - A Comparison of Hypoallergenic Dog Food

 Jack Russells, in common with many terriers, tend to have sensitive stomachs, as we quickly found out a few months after having Zebedee.  Every few days she would have green diarrhoea with mucus and blood, and so began a long process of trial and elimination of various dog foods.

We did a lot of research in local pet shops and online, and eventually discovered what worked for Zeb, but it was a costly process in the meantime.

We tried all the free samples we could get our hands on, but often Zeb would eat the sample for a short while, then after we'd bought the big bag of dog food, she would stop eating it, so it was plain that not only would the food have to be hypoallergenic dog food, but it would have to pass the fickle terrier test. However, friends were generally grateful for the giveaways, so nothing went to waste.

We did try just toughing it out to see if she would go back to eating whichever food it was, but she would rather starve, and as she's a small JRT there's only so much weight we'd want her to lose.

We stumbled upon Autarky dog food after a friend gave us a little bag to sample. It passed the Zebedee test, and cured the diarrhoea. In for a penny in for a pound we thought as we bought a big bag of the stuff, fully expecting to be giving this one away as well. But no - Autarky dog food really did pass the fickle terrier test, and six years on she still eats it every single day.

Autarky dog food is specially made to provide optimum nutrition and energy requirements for working dogs (Autarky means exact requirement). It is an hypoallergenic dog food made with natural ingredients, and is free from artificial colours, flavours, preservatives and GM foods. It contains chicken, vegetables, vitamins, herbs and trace elements, plus the bags have a full ingredients list.   The range also offers puppy, adult and senior foods.

The food tends to be a little cheaper than other hypo allergenic dog food because, as it is marketed for working dogs, it is VAT free. A 15kg bag usually costs us a little over £17 from our local suppliers. Whereas the other brands mention in this article are usually over £20 per bag. I think we use three to four bags a year for our two Jack Russells.

James Well beloved dog food was another brand that we tried initially, and admittedly, The fussy one did eat this for a few weeks before turning up her nose at the very idea. James Wellbeloved dog food is also hypoallergenic and made from natural ingredients. It is free from artificial colours, flavours and preservatives and has the added benefit of being gluten free. The range contains no beef or pork, wheat, dairy, soya or eggs.

James Wellbeloved dog food is based in Castle Cary, Somerset, and the range offers Dog food, puppy food, cat and ferret foods, plus snacks and titbits. They also have a senior food called, funnily enough, James Wellbeloved Senior Dog Food. There is also an in-house magazine, which has nutritional advice, a breed profile and all sorts of features. We found that this food retailed at a little over £20 from most suppliers.

Oscars dog food is often thought of as the Rolls Royce of hypoallergenic dog foods. Again it is free from artificial colours, flavours and preservatives and is made from natural ingredients. It is one of the more expensive ranges, but their follow up care and support is second to none. Oscars offer advice from a nutritionist, a behaviourist and a practitioner. Their local advisers (franchisees) are well trained in their products and will deliver to customers.

The range offers various types of pet foods, puppy, adult, senior dog ranges and pet snacks.

It's just unfortunate that the fussy one turned up her nose a few weeks into a bag of this. We occasionally buy a pot of Oscars dog snacks, which she enjoys at first, but if we do it too often she looks at us as if we were feeding her poison.

Magenta Pet Store, the online store for dog toys, natural remedies, books and more.  Click here to view the store.

 These three hypo allergenic dog foods are available online, from various sources, but we tend to support our local pet store, Animal Crackers in Moretonhampstead, who supply pet foods, equine products, livestock food, calor gas and coal.  The proprieters Lucy and Jason also deliver, as they are Oscars franchisees.

There are other hypoallergenic dog foods, such as Eukaneuba and Royal Canin, often supplied by veterinarians.