I am switching...

[heathea]

Alright, after much soul searching and thinking, I have switched my dog food. Admittedly, I have switched it from one unapproved food to another, so it probably isn't big news to anyone else. But here is my story...

I had been using Beef n More dog food for a few years. Dogs were doing well on it, however they recently started to get more dandruff. Now, I would swear when I started to buy this food their whole slogan was no fillers. However, I don't know when that changed but corn became the 2nd ingredient (I found this out while looking online, etc.). This didn't seem like a good idea for me and not worth driving well out of my way to get it. So, off to the pet store I went to look for an approved dog food. Well, there is no way with my salary I can afford an approved food. Not with 2 dogs that weigh between 60 and 100lbs. So, I bought Nutro. I am in the middle of the change over (mixing the food in increments) and I will let everyone know how my dogs are doing during and after the switch. They have been getting some Nutro for 5 days and things are going well. The only reason I can afford Nutro is that the 10th bag is free. Which puts it into approx. the same price range the other food was. The funniest thing was my large dog pawing through her food and taking all the Nutro bits out and eating those and leaving the other stuff.
Have a great day and I will let you all know how it is going.
Take care,
Heather

[Hee Yung Lee]

The funniest thing was my large dog pawing through her food and taking all the Nutro bits out and eating those and leaving the other stuff.


LOL! That is so cute!

[Rebekah Hartman]

Heather- You don't happen to have a Costco membership, do you? Just a thought, but I think their chicken & rice or lamb & rice is a bit better than Nutro and I think it costs significantly less. I'm pretty sure it's $17.69 for a 40 lb. bag. It's also not an "approved" food, but it's better than a lot of what's out there and some have had success with their dogs on it.

You can find lots of people who've had good success with Nutro, too - I understand the need to keep it less expensive (believe me). I'm feeding Innova right now to our puppy, but he eats less of it, so it's actually probably not any more expensive than Nutro would be (right now, I feed 2-3/4 c Innova, but I'd need to feed almost a cup a day more of Nutro to make up the calorie difference). I also lucked out and found someone in the area who sells the food for $5 a bag less than other retailers.

I'll probably switch to something more economical when he's full grown. All we can do is give the best we can afford (especially if you have a large breed) - I worry more about what he eats than what I eat myself!

[Jody Hayes]

I too am a Nutro feeder and my dogs LOVE it. And they look great and maintain weight...the list goes on! The bonus 10th bag is an added bonus that I like too, not the reason I buy it, but a nice bonus.

[Eric Vecc]

How do you go about getting the 10th bag free. I feed Bailey Nutro and he gets 4 full cups a day. He is very healthy, has a great looking coat and loves it. I will probably stay on Nutro as long as they offer it (unless the price goes up). I get mine at PetSmart and occasionally buy 2 bags if they have a rebate or 10% free (a 50 # bag for same price). But I would love to be getting the 10th bag free.

[heathea]

this is the link to the Nutro frequent buyer program. I am getting mine at Petco and theirs is automatic, but this is another way to get it. 10th bag free is a great feature.

http://www.nutroproducts.co m/fbpnutroReg.asp

I do not have a costco membership, although I think that is the membership I will be getting once my Sam's club expires. I visited a costco and was happy with their selection, however the same problem exists in that there isn't one very close.

If you go to the above link and sign up, they apparently send you a bunch of coupons along with the frequent buyer program for Nutro.

Thanks for all your replies. I can't wait to see how my dogs do on Nutro, I have read all the controversy :) and I will find out how it works on my dogs and will get back to you all.

Take care,
Heather

[Jill Ramsey]

Heather,
finn does great on it, and when I get the new puppy, he will be switched to the puppy food also.

[Eric Vecc]

Thanks for the link. I am all signed up and figure that I should benefit 1 free bag a year. Thats $34 more dollors I can spend on dog toys! I think Bailey will appreciated that.

[Jill Ramsey]

I signed up, too. Thanks Heather!! :yourock:

[heathea]

You are all more than welcome. Dog stuff is pricey, we all have to save money where we can.
Take care,
Heather

[heathea]

Well, all is going well in the switch. No stomach problems, poop is good. Still picking out the nutro first and then eating the old stuff. Getting to the end of the mix and will soon be all Nutro. I will keep you all informed.
-Heather

[Liz Gilbert]

Thanks for the link too! Cocoa's previous owner fed him Nutro too, and we've just kept him on it. He seems to like it and is doing really good on it (he has such a beautiful shiny coat).


Thats so funny about your dog just picking out the pieces he wants :) The dog I grew up with would do that too, when we'd mix in something with his food.


~Liz

[Amber]

That's funny, because both of my dogs pick out the Nutro first and then their old stuff! They used to like their old stuff too! lol I'm almost done switching them over so they won't have to nit-pick anymore...geez...

Thank you for the link also, Heather. I'm about to sign up!

Side note: Good for you for switching to Nutro, Heather! I'm a strong advocate for Nutro and have loved the food, both Nutro Natural Choice and Nutro Max, for quite some time.

~Amber~

[heathea]

Well, we are on 100% Nutro and everything seems to be okay. Poops are okay, energy level seems to be up, but that could be because of spring. I will keep you all informed.
Heather