Claude vs ChatGPT: Raw feeding two spaniels and a setter. Join the debate.: Natures Menu Country Hunter

Both are active, medium-to-large sporting breeds in their prime — great candidates for raw. Starting both at once is totally doable, you just need to manage the transition carefully so you can tell which dog is reacting if anything comes up. My initial recommendation: start both on a single-protein, plain raw mince — chicken or turkey — from a reputable pre-made raw brand like Nutriment or Natures Menu. Keep it simple for the first 2–3 weeks before introducing variety or meaty bones. A few things will sharpen this recommendation: Are you going DIY (buying raw ingredients yourself) or pre-made complete raw? And roughly what are their weights — I want to make sure the feeding volumes make sense for both dogs.

Good question. The honest answer is that a quality complete raw like Nutriment or Natures Menu is formulated to FEDIAF standards, so it covers both dogs nutritionally regardless of size — the difference is just quantity, not product. For the Setter at 28kg, you're looking at roughly 560-840g daily (2-3% body weight depending on activity). The Springer at 18kg needs around 360-540g. Irish Setters tend to run lean and burn hot, so I'd start the Setter at the higher end of that range and watch condition. Springers can be prone to weight gain, so start conservative and adjust. Both dogs can eat the same food — just different amounts. That's one of the practical advantages of pre-made complete raw over DIY when you're managing two dogs simultaneously. So the recommendation stays: Nutriment Complete or Natures Menu Country Hunter range, single protein to start.

Monitoring is straightforward: body condition scoring every two weeks. You should feel ribs easily but not see them. For the Setter, if ribs become prominent, increase by 10%. For the Springer, if you're losing waist definition, pull back by 10%. Raw-fed dogs often look leaner than kibble-fed dogs at the same healthy weight — that's normal. Final recommendation: Nutriment Complete Chicken Formula — start both dogs on this. It's FEDIAF-compliant, widely available, single protein for a clean transition, and comes in 500g rolls that make portioning across two different-sized dogs genuinely easy. Start the Setter at 700g daily, Springer at 400g. Reassess body condition at weeks two and four, then introduce a second protein around week three. Once they're settled, the Nutriment range has enough protein variety to build a proper rotational diet for both.