Dog food prices and quality

[Harleyrider_50]

I've used this rating system. It seems well reasoned, informative, and impartial. Kirkland's (Costco) product rates 4 stars here. And thats 40lbs/$27. Reasonable for the quality. Dogs are omnivorus.

..I think so.....I try'n steer people to it fer at reason.......Kirklands is a top-shelf food/kibble.....

 

[LANShark42]

Asked my vet what to feed my Akita puppy. He said the big companies spend a lot of money on R&D and they are all good. So I picked Iams. At almost 9 months, she seems to be thriving on it.

 

[findingZzero]

IAMS comes from SIAM where they eat dogs, so they should know what makes them taste good.
Forgive me, it's early and I have to go to a funeral.....

 

[CindyE]

Our three get the Earthborn Holistic Grain Free. Before that, it was Taste of the Wild or Diamond Natural Grain Free, both can be found at Rural King. We get the Earthborn at PetSense. Sometimes they have it on sale, have coupons, etc., and we get one free after purchasing so many...think maybe 10.

 

[Dudley]

Our Dogs get Orijen, we just switched about a year ago. We were feeding them Holistic Select. Orijen is very expensive but, we feed them less. Our 15 year old lab mix has always been fed Holistic food after making the switch he quit his yearly break out in the spring.

 

[Colt]

When I process the deer I harvest, I put any meat trimmings (bloody, bruised, or too much silverskin, fat, tendon, hair, etc.) in a crockpot. Almost none of the deer meat goes to waste. I cook it a couple of hours and freeze it in quart plastic containers. Right now I have about 40 lbs in the freezer for our dog. He gets a few ounces of the venison a day to augment his dried dogfood. It has to be better for him than the dried stuff and he loves it.

 

[k12lts]

I've used the Diamond Naturals for several years with two Golden Retrievers. One had a bad skin problem and we found he was allergic to grains. We switched to grain free foods and it cleared up and the both have great coats.

 

[augdog]

I use 4 Health Grain Free from TSC .THe best I have ever found. Compact Solid stools,no skin issues,dogs love it!

 

[Gadgetmonster]

Argh!!! Tough call all around. Cost vs Benefit. And so many choices.

So I am reading these posts to my wife while holding our puppy Chloe in my lap. She is a sweet little girl. Both dogs are like our kids. I have been comparing the cost against the reviews on Dog Food advisor. Highest rated usually fall around $1.90 to $2.10 per pound. I would like to find something around $1.50.

So the wife says "Would it be worth it to you to buy the more expensive food if it allowed this sweet dog to live an extra year with you?"

Argh! Ok, OK I will stick with the concept that you get what you pay for. Zignature Trout and Salmon it is. BTW, best price is from Amazon.com

 

[Higginbo]

Not to throw a wrench in the works, but feeding dogs actual food can be cheaper, and healthier. Albeit, a bit more work. My mom's an avid dog lover, and that's all she feeds them. She buys whole chicken at Aldi (which is <$1/lb) and they eat the whole thing, bones and all. A chicken lasts her Dalmatian about 4-5 meals I think. She also throws some fruits and veggies in the blender and gives them smoothies a few days a week. Raw eggs are also great for dogs. I'm not sure what book she read about that, but if you look on amazon there are a ton of books on this topic.

 

[nocash84]

I thought it was dangerous to give dogs the small bones?

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

Our little dog always has a bowl with 4Health dry food in it.

But she gets a daily meal of what-ever leftovers my wife has in a tupperware container that she keeps in the fridge. Every day, my wife spoons some out in a bowl and heats it up. She also gets scraps from vegetables when my wife is making something in the kitchen. She loves any kind of vegetable; potatoes, carrots, green peppers.

But her all-time favorite is turnips fresh from the garden.

 

[THE BIG SITT]

We feed our pups Earthborn. We buy the biggest bag they have, and we usually switch the "flavor" every time we buy a bag. Their coats are about as good as you can expect for a couple of muts, plus the different flavors keeps them interested. We started them on Blue and we would have issues with diarrhea when we first would switch to different types to find the one that would work best, but we have not had that issue with Earthborn.

Plus, I believe Earthborn in made in southern Indiana, so thats a huge plus.

 

[mom45]

I thought it was dangerous to give dogs the small bones?

If she is feeding them the chicken raw, it is fine. It is cooked bones that splinter. My cats get venison when I have it. I prefer to cook it for them and run it through the blender. I add some calcium (powder form) to it for my older kitties. Mine may be a bit pampered. I've been known to buy baby food for the old ones. The last guy that we finally had to put down a couple of months ago was 16 and had his teeth all pulled due to periodontal disease. I had been feeding him a special diet for several months that was put through the blender. Raw egg, venison, meat broth, baby food....various things that I could make palatable for him and keep him going.

 

[Mike Elzinga]

Mom45 is right on about the bones, raw chicken bones are fine, they splinter when cooked. Bones from beef or pork are fine even after cooked, mine gets a couple bones every time my lady makes ribs for dinner and he loves them. If you wish to pay premium price for premium feed then go right for it, and i applaud you for your care and concern, but the I don't think feeding $2/lb food versus another quality feed at $1/lb will automatically give your dog another few years of life. As mentioned, the truly best diet is one that you have to cook. Ive known a couple people who only fed their dogs all natural diets that they cooked themselves from fresh chicken, pork, arsenic free rice and vegetables they grew in a garden. I love my dog way more than most people, but I've chosen to feed him a premium (but affordable) dog food, supplemented with occasional bones, fresh meat scraps, and fish oil. Don't drive yourself crazy over these decisions, and don't let anyone tell you that you don't love your dog unless you spend ridiculous money on feed.

 

[nate77]

Diamond Naturals, and they usually get an egg mixed in since we have chickens, and an abundance of eggs.

$30 for 40 pounds, with the first ingredient being chicken, and no corn; works for my dogs.

 

[nocash84]

The wal mart brand Pure Balance is grain free and rated pretty good by dog food adviser. One of our dogs is a lab-mastiff mix and has skin problems when eating any food with grains and he does pretty good on it. He weighs 150 pounds and our other lab weighs 85 pounds so we go through a lot of dog food!

 

[1911ly]

I have fed my pups Beneful for ever. Vet says they are healthy and have a health weight. Never ever sick. Well until the old man of the 2 pasted away at just shy of 15 years old.

When I got the old guy as a pup he was skinny. Threw up all the time. The people had him on a vet recommended diet. Iams. He wouldn't eat half the time. Would rather eat out of the trash bin. That wasn't gonna work. I switched him to Beneful and he was a new dog. Other then getting shots the dogs have never had a issue or a need to go to the vet

 

[Mark-DuCo]

My parents give their dogs two rat terriers Beneful and they are doing just fine. The oldest one is twelve and looks great and has tons of energy. Their last two ate cheap food from walmart and one lived to be 13 and the other 15. They also get scraps from the kitchen that they throw down in the woods.

 

[Reno316]

Still, I would like to think there is a good well balanced dog food out there that is reasonably priced. Any ideas on this?

Royal Canin. I get it via Amazon for $45/30#.

I also get "scrap" meats from the butcher (beef liver, kidney, heart, chicken backs, giblets, etc.) and add them to the dog's bowl.

If I've got any freezer-burned meat, I will give them that, too. Boiled chicken quarters are a big favorite (add the meat and a bit of the broth to the kibble.)