Dog nutrition FAQs

All of our products are formulated as complete, balanced foods that do not require supplementation. However, we know that people like to treat their dogs and so if you do give them anything extra throughout the day then you must make sure that you reduce their daily serving of Vitalin accordingly.

feeding guide is printed on the reverse of each bag of Vitalin, which provides instructions as to how much food to offer your dog. Feeding amounts should be based on the ideal adult body weight for your dog and spread across two meals for adult dogs. For puppies aged 2-3 months you should feed 4 meals, 4-6 months of age 2-3 meals, 6+ months gradually reduce to 2 meals a day by the time they are an adult, all meals should be spread throughout the day.

Please be advised that this information is given as a guide only and exact feeding amounts should be varied according to your dog’s age, sex, breed, condition and activity levels. Additional help and information can be found in the feeding advice section of the website.

Below you can find the calorie count in each of our recipes (predicted ME – Kcal/100g):

Vitalin Puppy Chicken with Thyme & Root Veg: 372 kcal

Vitalin Small Breed Adult Chicken with Thyme & Root Veg: 367 kcal

Vitalin Small Breed Adult Lamb with Mint: 366 kcal

Vitalin Adult Chicken with Thyme & Root Veg: 362 kcal

Vitalin Adult Lamb with Mint: 357 kcal

Vitalin Adult Pork with Apple: 351 kcal

Vitalin Adult Farmhouse Chicken: 361 kcal

Vitalin Adult Farmhouse Supper with Beef & Veg: 362 kcal

Vitalin Adult Vegetable Medley: 346 kcal

For further help and advice, please complete or nutritional enquiry form or call us on 01522 778001.

Our Vitalin Puppy Chicken with Thyme & Root Veg is suitable for puppies of all breeds and should be fed until they are an adult. The age at which you switch to an adult food will be individual to your dog and will depend on their breed and size. For further help and advice, please complete or nutritional enquiry form or call us on 01522 778001.

Please note that when introducing a new Vitalin product into your dog's diet we advise that this is done gradually over a period of 10 days until it replaces all other food in order to prevent any potential digestive upset. Further guidance on how to switch products is available in the feeding advice section on the website.

Our products formulated without grain do not have any cereals or gluten (a protein found in some cereals such as wheat) added to them.

Our recipes formulated without wheat gluten don’t have any wheat added to these. Instead, we have added other grains such as oats and barley.

The use of high quality proteins and oils, easily digestible carbohydrates, botanicals, and an inclusion of 10% fresh meat (except in our Vegetable Medley recipe) and a tasty gravy make all of our foods highly palatable. This can be further enhanced by soaking the kibble in a little warm water to help release the natural aromas. As the products are higher in protein and oils than some foods, dogs will not need to eat as much to receive a sufficient amount of energy and nutrients.

However, fussy eating is sometimes a behavioural issue that requires modification. It's a good idea to combat this, as it helps avoid making frequent changes to a dog's diet, which can cause upset to their digestive system. Please contact your vet for advice on how to approach tackling this. They will be able to rule out any underlying medical conditions first.

We would advise against adding extra meat or other treats to try and encourage your dog to eat more, as this could lead to unwanted weight gain.

Our recipes have been formulated using a holistic approach to nutrition which considers the dog's overall health and wellbeing. Our foods are complete and balanced to deliver all the key nutrient requirements. These products also benefit from being hypoallergenic, which means that they have been formulated without some of the ingredients commonly associated with allergic reactions in dogs, such as wheat, grain, dairy etc.

Our products have been formulated using a minimum inclusion of 26% meat, for example in our Pork with Apple (14% dried pork, 12% freshly prepared pork) recipe. Our formulation with the highest meat inclusion is our Small Breed Chicken with Thyme and Root Veg recipe with an inclusion of 40% (29% dried chicken, 10% freshly prepared chicken, 1% chicken gravy).

We have included the power trio of Glucosamine, Chondroitin and MSM in all of our adult recipes. These have been added to help support healthy joints.

All of the ingredients in our Vitalin recipes have been carefully selected to make our products nutritious and complete.

Our botanicals are rich in nutrients whilst our paraprobiotics and prebiotics have been added in combination, to work together to help to support your dog’s digestive health.

We only add natural antioxidants such as tocopherol rich extracts to our foods.

If you cannot find the answer to your question here please email info@vitalinpetfood.co.uk.

Vitalin is made in our own factory on the Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire border.

Vitalin has a strong heritage dating back to the 1950s when the first product ‘Vitalin Original’ was made by Arthur Mills in Ripon, Yorkshire. The success was immediate! It was one of the first commercially produced complete dry dog food in the UK, which then led to the production of other traditional muesli- style foods.

A few years later in 2010, Vitalin moved to South Leverton on the Lincolnshire – Nottinghamshire border, and in 2016 we moved to our current home, Lodge Farm, just a few miles away in Lincolnshire. Since then we have gone from strength to strength, bringing out new products such as the Vitalin Natural Range and now it’s time to bring Vitalin to the next generation.

We have been mindful of our legacy when creating our new recipes, Vitalin still has vitality at it’s very core, as has been the case since 1953.

We source locally, then from the UK, then Europe and then globally in that order. That’s not to say that we can always get every ingredient from down the road, but we are in Lincolnshire and a lot of things grow here!

We only source our meats from the UK, as UK farming has some of the highest welfare standards in the world. We work with trusted partners who we have had relationships with for many years and we are extremely proud of this, it also helps us keep our food miles down and quality high.

The Soya used in our Vegetable Medley recipe is sourced from Europe, This is to help us avoid excessive food miles and to help against deforestation.

Products can be purchased directly from us on the website and Vitalin is all good independent pet shops and country stores. Please contact us at info@vitalinpetfood.co.uk for help in finding your nearest stockist.