With a wagging tail and an eager sniffer a white envelope was soon demolished this morning soon after it popped through the letterbox.
Once opened, or should I say ripped apart, a number of small foil packets were revealed all smelling of lusciousness.
‘The serious brand with the humorous twist’ is how the Barking Heads brand of dry dog food describes itself and I was soon to find out why.
Taste test – Quackers
One of the first things that you notice with this range of pet food are the unusual product names. Quackers, Bad Hair Day, Fat Dog Slim and fusspot all feature in the extensive line up.
And before you ask, they do not all refer to my persona, but to what they contain and at what stage in a dog’s life they are best for.
Made of 50% duck the Quackers recipe contains sweet potatoes, peas and lentils. It is also grain free which may help some colleagues who are sensitive to wheat or barley.
Antioxidants and joint care
This was my first taste of this new dog food and I have to say I am impressed. The mild smell meant that without a second glance, or walk around my bowl, the smaller than average lozenge shaped morsels were onto the licker and in to my tummy.
Whilst I munched away, mum took a closer look at the technical product contents. All the long words and numbers stuff she learnt at school many decades back. Well she is really old!
She soon spotted that Quackers also contains stuff to help our joints such as Glucosamine and Chondroitin. It is also rich in antioxidants, it stabilises blood-sugar levels and lowers insulin resistance.
Mum noted that sugar and sugar beet were not included and she was pleased to see that they were listing “freshly prepared and de-boned” meat and fish ingredients while many others just list these as “poultry meal”, “fish” or “meat”.
She also says that the analytic constituents, trace elements and metabolic energy levels all equate well with brands often preferred by Veterinary practitioners and nurses.
You can read about all the ingredients, and why they have put them into our food on the Barking Head website.
Also whilst on the Barking Heads website, take a look at some of the great cartoons featuring Bailey, Brambles, Gramps, Milly, Stanley and Phoebe. Some of them were done by Aaron Wood and Katie Steed at Slurpy Studios.
So not only is it tasty, it is good for me. So bring on seconds.
Daily suggested feeding amounts
There is a very easy to use suggested feeding amount table on the Barking Heads website and the Quackers variety suggests about 140-250gm of food for a 10-20kg animal.
For me it gets a full four paws and as such I will be asking mum to get me some from the shops next time she is out or online via the Barking Heads store.
Pricing:
All of the good ingredients are reflected in the high cost, making it one of the pricier premium dog foods on the market. Although prices will differ between retailers.
Quackers, grain-free, is available in the following product sizes from Barking Heads direct:
- 2kg = £13.49
- 6kg= £33.99
- 12kg= £63.99
A selection from the Barking Heads range is also available at major pet food outlets.
Barking Heads dog product range
Bad Hair Day is a complete dog food made with 50% lamb. It tastes delicious, can make our coats shiny and skin healthy and gives us that certain ‘Saturday night, best clothes, feeling confident PIZAZZ!’
Fat Dog Slim (it does what it says on the pack) is a light yet complete balanced dog food with 30% chicken and trout that helps us to not only lose weight but to maintain our correct weight. Barking Head boffins have even put a small hole in the middle of the kibble so we think we are getting more than we actually are! Crafty me thinks…
Fusspot is made with 45% premium Scottish salmon and added sweet potato. It’s gentle on our digestive systems and tastes deliciously scrumptious! Fusspot has been specifically formulated for adult dogs and includes tomato. A great natural source of lycopene and vitamins A and C.
Golden Years has been specially formulated to suit the more mature pooch. Packed with 35% chicken and trout, they are easy-to-digest proteins and are great for promoting joint protection and mobility. Low GI foods like brown rice, barley and oats release longer-lasting energy levels and along with potato, contain good quality fibre, are gentle on digestive systems and help to keep cholesterol low.
Fish-n-Delish is fantastically full of fish, to the tune of 50% salmon and trout! It’s designed for all types of dogs and the best bit? It’s grain-free!
Puppy Days Grain Free is free of grains, which can be harder to digest for some puppies, and full of protein-rich salmon and trout. There are lots of other awesome, nutritiously-positive ingredients that promote mobility, protect joints and taste delicious!
Other stuff
The Barking Heads range of foods also include biscuits and treats, large and medium dog food varieties and a range of food and products suitable for cats, called Meowing Heads.
The company behind the brand, Pet Food UK, started in 2008 and features British sourced ingredients. They even have a short video explaining how the company came about. you can see it to the right of this page.
You can follow the brand on Twitter @BarkingHeads.
Product reviews
Do you have a dog related product or food you would like me to review ? Please get in touch via the contact-us form and we can sort something out.