hello, this is my first post and sorry that it’s huge! I have a 10 yr old Sprocker, Jet and have recently got a 4 yr old rescue, Blue the Bedlington x Whippet. Jet has been on James Wellbeloved since I got him (as a rescue!) at 6 months and until I found this site I ‘thought’ it was a good quality food. He’s in great shape, although a tad on the chunky side, and his coat gleams so I don’t really see any need to change his food now, he’s also a huge fan of raw broccoli - WIN. Blue was on Arden Grange when we got him and it was obvious that he didn’t like it - it was also obvious that previously he’d been fed human food from tables and plates - a scavenging nightmare. Trust me that got sorted 
and six weeks on, he knows there is nothing to be gained from begging, our food is not his. Blue had no interest in Jets JW food either, so my husband took it on himself to get some new food for him and he likes penny pinching. He purchased Asda Hero Naturally Nutritious dry food - twice the price of the ordinary Hero Complete dry (as you can imagine, still cheap!) Upside is, Blue LOVES it. He actually eats the full portion in one go, rather than nibbling two nuggets and strolling off to play with a toy as he did before. My question is - if it’s dog ‘junk food’ (fussy kids love Mcdonalds right?) then I want to try something else, but if it’s ok and even only on a par with the JW - then I guess we continue. It’s relatively new on the market and so doesn’t appear in the directory here for me to see how it rates compared to the ordinary Hero which is shocking.
Hello and welcome to the forum.
The best thing to do would be to use the instant review generator tool, inputting the ingredients from the back of the pack. It’s not a food I’m familiar with but I had a quick look on Asda’s website and found this https://groceries.asda.com/product/dry-dog-food-mixers/asda-hero-a-complete-pet-food-with-chicken-vegetables/910003119057
Would this be the food? If so it scores 2.6 on the generator with one red ingredient-maize. Unfortunately this is also the first listed ingredient so it has more maize than any other ingredient.
It is certainly better than the original Hero which scores just 0.6 but still doesn’t score as highly as James Wellbeloved foods.
Hope this helps! 
Many thanks for the info - it’s doggie junk then right? Bugger. Back to the drawing board then I guess. I suppose that adding some raw veg won’t balance things if it has a ‘red’ ingredient? We were just so pleased that we had got him to eat properly and enjoy his food.
Don’t be disheartened-the fact he’s enjoying this food is a good thing; it doesn’t score the highest but there are much worse foods you could feed too. Maybe you could add some chicken and some veg to it to give him extra nutrients? If he isn’t intolerant to maize you may find no problem with it. Certainly it’s an ingredient that appears in a lot of pet foods.
My last dog was on Arden Grange when we adopted him and he didn’t enjoy it either so it could just be that particular food isn’t as palatable to some dogs so you may have some success trying other brands. One suggestion I would make is cold pressed food; my friend’s dog was literally starving herself and would eat nothing until I gave her some Guru cold pressed food to try. She loved it and I’ve heard other fussy dogs tend to like it. Guru, Gentle and Tribal all offer samples via their websites.
There are so many foods out there it’s all a bit baffling but it’s worth remembering that every dog is different and what suits one won’t suit another, therefore there is no “best” food as such.
Just to add, if you did want to try one of the cold pressed foods but are on a budget, Markus Muhle, works out cheaper than most and for the price, it has an excellent rating of 4.5. (the new red deer one is more expensive) Lukullus is also reasonable and you can get smaller bags if you wanted to try it first.
You can find out some information about cold pressed food here
A tricky one as it seems likely that Blue may be used to junk food. : I hope you can find something good for him that he enjoys.
Many thanks both Petmum and Tinyplanets - really helpful advice from both of you. I really don’t want to give Blue rubbish, and whilst his breed are meant to be on the ‘slim’ side, I think he has lost weight since being with us and that’s with him eating properly -(he wasn’t getting proper exercise which for a lurcher type is not good.). Tiny - will check out both of your suggestions, whilst we still have some of his current food left to mix. Will let you know how we get on! Thank you again, really appreciated 
You’re very welcome.
Another suggestion would be adding some wet food; on its own wet food can be pricey but as a topper it can help make dry food more appetising. This is how I fed my last dog who didn’t like Arden Grange. He was never a fan of his kibble alone-even when I changed it-but adding wet food (Nature’s Menu and later Forthglade) worked well and it was relatively inexpensive. When dogs have been used to eating human food it can be tricky; I think that as wet food is smellier it helps, plus they get different textures of food to eat.
Good luck, do keep us updated as to how Blue gets on, it sounds like you’ve given him a lovely home.
You could also try adding a little warm water to the dry food to release some smells and make it more interesting.
Well I like to think so Petmum and he certainly is a settled and happy boy. I do think that we are the lucky ones though, he is a diamond, such an affectionate (mischievous!) little man, and he and Jet get on so well you’d think they’d grown up together as pups! Will let you know how we get on, ordering the Markus whatzit food - worse case scenario, Blue hates it well Jet would only benefit from a better quality food and he’ll eat anything!!! Thanks again.
One bag of Markus Muhle ordered !!! If Blue turns his nose up - then Jet will eat anything, and it stands to reason it will only benefit him having a better quality food - and it’s cheaper than his JW (a 15kg sack of that has just been purchased 
) Will let you know how we get on - huge thanks for the info!
UPDATE: Food arrived this morning - and VERY pleased to report that Blue demolished his breakfast 50/50 mix of the Markus Muhle and Asda semi-junk - in fact he picked the MM out to eat first and even left some of the Asda 
YAY!!!
Thank you for the update Lisa. It is much appreciated. I hope that your dog continues to enjoy the Markus Muhle. It is good food and a bargain at the price, especially as the amounts needed are comparatively small. Once your dog is fully transitioned to cold pressed food, I am hoping that you will see a difference after a while. Poos are usually good and firm - easy to pick up, with no residue. Some people report that the coats are better and the dog has less doggie odour. As a new user of cp food it would be interesting to hear about your opinions.
Thanks for the update. That is the first hurdle. I hope he continues to enjoy his food. As Dottie says, any feedback you can give us, will be appreciated.
Further update: the 50/50 mix of Markus Muhler and Asda was quickly null and void. He is avoiding the Asda entirely and loving the MM. Despite a very quick transition (his choice!) he’s suffered no negative issues re the ‘other end’ - all is reappearing neatly and cleanly packaged. Can’t thank you guys enough for the heads up on this food, I’m so pleased to be giving him something healthy that he clearly enjoys very much. Obviously any further positive points when he’s been on it a little longer I’ll let you know. Blue thanks you too and sends happy wags
Thank you for the update. I am pleased that he is munching away quite happily. Nice firm poos are a good sign that all is well in the digestive system.
Great news! Cold pressed foods do seem to be very well received by many fussy dogs, I’m really happy Blue is loving his new diet. Thanks for the updates! x
We like timely updates…especially positive ones - Thanks