Best Food for Least Money

[Rebekah Hartman]

Okay, I've read about every different "great" dog food out there and we've tried many of them, but what I'm interested in knowing is what people think is the best food out there for an economical price. I'm sure Nutro will come up, but since it has a lot fewer calories per cup than many "super premium" foods, it isn't as inexpensive as, say, Canidae. What are everyone's thoughts?

We've tried Chicken Soup Puppy (resulting in many [7-8] runny poops per day), Innova Puppy (which did well for a while, but is pricey) and we are transitioning to Kirkland Chicken & Rice (which is decent for the price, but I'm not in love with all the ingredients).

Thanks in advance for the input!

[Priscilla Cronholm]

That's a tough question. I feed my 5 month old puppy Solid Gold Wolf Cub. He loves it and his coat is super shiny. It's definitely not the cheapest; I pay about $30-$40 for the largest bag which I can't remember how big it is. I can also only get it at a specialty shop which is not so convenient.
When we first got him I tried Nutro Natural puppy, but he got diarrhea from it and the vet told me to give him Science Diet large breed puppy. I researched dog food and learned a little more about the order of ingredients and what not and I switched to Solid Gold which I'm super happy with. He's been on Solid Gold for about 2 months.
These are the ingredients:

Protein, Min 26%
Fat, Min 12%
Fiber, Max 4%
Moisture, Max 10%
Calcium, Max 1.5%
Phosphorus, Max 1.2%
Calories per cup, 375


Ingredients
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bison | Salmon Meal | Brown Rice | Millet | Cracked Pearled Barley | Rice Bran | Canola Oil | Flaxseed Oil | Garlic | Amaranth | Blueberries | Yucca Schidigera Extract | Taurine | Carotene | Choline Chloride | Vitamin E Supplement | Iron Proteinate | Zinc Proteinate | Copper Proteinate | Manganese Proteinate | Potassium Iodide | Thiamine Mononitrate | Ascorbic Acid | Vitamin A Supplement | Biotin | Calcium Panthothenate | Selenomethionine | Pyridoxine Hydrochloride | Vitamin B12 Supplement | Riboflavin | Vitamin D Supplement | Folic Acid |

[Ann Morscher]

We feed Solid Gold wolf cub too. Misty has been on it for a few weeks now and just loves it. I did lots of researach before deciding which brand to use and I am very happy with Solid Gold.

Ann

[Priscilla Cronholm]

Ann, your puppy is beautiful!

[Vanessa Lee]

Pro Pac is a good, high calorie food and is decently priced (around $12 for 20lbs here). If you can get an idea of the cost to feed per day on various brands it may help you determine which is the most affordable for you.

I use Timberwolf Organics...it costs me about $.58 per day to feed 2 dogs (one medium, one small).

[Deb Rompen]

Hi Rebekah... I'm new so sorry for the late reply.

I live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.... the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association publishes a list of its approved dog (and cat) foods available in grocery stores (as opposed to pet specialty stores). I'm sure there is a similar Association in the States and should have a similar listing of approved foods. If you wish I can "Post" a copy of the listing but I'm not sure if the foods listed are available in the US.

Hope this is helpful.

[Rebekah Hartman]

Thanks, Deb. I'd love to see the list even if I can't get the food here. I've found some good options here and I think I'll rotate through them over time since it's better not to keep the same food for a dog's lifetime. I think I'd be inclined to switch more often than necessary, but I'm always learning more about what's out there....

[Nikki Jackson]

try a baked food, it will help make a nice solid poop.
wellness
natural balance
few others, ask at the pet store.

[Dave Kersh]

We're in the process of switching from Iams (I know, I know...) to California Natural. We chose CN because it was about $5 more for 20 lbs. as opposed to $10 more for 16.5 lbs. of Innova or Evo. They seem to like it...

[Grace Erick]

Hello,

A note to hard food and canned food feeders. Check the Kcals which are the calories listed on the bag per cup or however they list them. With canned foods, it's listed per can. You may find that some better foods may be higher in calories, which would result in feeding less and bring the two prices of the less expensive and more expensive foods closer together.

I brought this up on another food thread, but Proctor and Gamble who make Iams and Eukanuba were sued for showing their food was to be served in smaller servings which made it appear a better value than other foods. It's overpriced anyway for what it is, by products and other crappy ingredients.

My canned Innova which is turkey and chicken is 540 calories per can and Pedigree's chicken dinner is 398 calories per can. Pedigree is terrible food anyway, but I just used it to to show there are differences and with a big bag of hard food the difference may even be bigger in the long run of how much you feed your dog each month. I would be getting at least two extra servings per day out of my Innova.

Dave, you probably already know Evo is a grainless food, so you are paying for better ingredients if you are of the mind that dogs do not need grains in their food. They also claim their food is not overcooked as with other hard foods, so the ingredients retain more of their vitamins. So that is why you would be paying more for Evo.

I think if everyone wanted to do an actual comparison of what foods are the better values, you would have to take ingredients into consideration inorder to compare "like" products. You can compare both high end and middle quality foods, but not to each other, because the high end will always most likely be more expensive, but you can compare middle to middle and high end to high end to find the best values in each category.

Rebekah did start this thread with the intent of probably comparing good quality foods to each other and not the highest quality more expensive foods anyway.

Bye, Grace

[Rebekah Hartman]

Actually, I was feeding Innova but was just looking for ideas on foods that are a good deal for the money. Innova is a high calorie per cup food, so it is less expensive than it appears on first glance. I have a puppy, so he eats A LOT right now (because he's growing). Canidae has comparable calories per cup to Innova, but costs around $8-10 cheaper for a 40 lb. bag. Both foods would last for around 5 (maybe more) weeks, so $32-40 for that amount of time really isn't too steep. California Natural also has a lot of calories/cup (511 for the chicken & rice blend) and I think is a little more economical than Innova regular (though from the same company). I actually may try it next because he seems to do better on the "simpler" foods without so many protein sources, etc. Otherwise we have runny stools 90% of the time. Thanks for the input!

[Grace Erick]

Hi Rebekah,

Is your dog having runs on Innova which is a word (runs) I tend to use since I can't spell the technical word for the runs? I have seen at other dog sites that even with mixing the old food with the new, the dogs can have the runs on Innova and Innova Evo which is like 42% protein and that is very high.

My Capri loves the canned Innova which is turkey, chicken, herring, spring water, alfalfa sprouts and other good stuff. The brat did not eat her Innova this morning because I put it in a different dish that she has been used to seeing for 2-1/2 years!!!! They can be such creatures of habit!

Bye, Grace

[Eric Vecc]

Personally, I am a big Nutro fan. I pay $31 for a 44 pound bag (they always have the 10% free on a 40# bag = 44#). As an alternative, Petsmart makes a generic brand called Authority. They have the same ingredients and it was made by PetSmart to compete with Nutro. It is about $24 for a 40# bag but is only sold at PetSmart. Yeah, it may not be the best but I don't eat Filet Mignon every night either. I look at it like buying Sam's Club pop for kids. They just want the pop and don't care if it's not Pepsi or Coca-Cola brand.

I plan to stay on Nutro Large Puppy Breed until he is 1 year old and then switch to the Authority.

It will save me $135 a year and I think he will enjoy it just the same. I will then budget that $135 and spend it on toys or training classes for him.

[Kendall Aliza]

I am currently feeding Artemis as my dry and Shaddy has been doing well on it. It is about on par, cost wise, with CS. I think I pay about 2 dollars more. They also have a new Holistic line and I think that costs about five bucks more than the regular. I actually found out today that one of my local pet stores now carries the holistic line. Not sure if I am switching though...
www.artemis.com
They are also very helpful on the phone.

[Lesly Stevens]

Wellness by Old Mother Hubbard is great!

My two are spoiled, and can hold out longer than I can, so when they won't eat their plain, dry Wellness, I cave in and mix the Chicken Soup brand! They love it, and it is less expensive than the Wellness canned, and has good-for-them ingredients.

I've found that I can give the Chicken Soup canned with the Wellness dry, in small amounts (half a can for each dog, so no waste), and avoid the goopy poop. OR, mix 3/4 Wellness dry with 1/4 Chicken Soup dry, and maintain a firm stool. My male has a very sensitive stomach (came to me with severe gastrointestinal issues which required hand feeding 6-7 times/day), and he does well on this. I give this when I'm pressed for time and can't poach ground lamb and add brown rice and green veggies. Sooo easy to pop open a can as opposed to poaching meat and steaming veggies and rice! LOL! (Though I think I was spending less by cooking for them and adding to their dry Wellness!)

Lesly, Maddy & Bo (Don't forget pizza!)
SHHHHH!

[Deb Rompen]

Dear Rebekah: Sorry I'm a little late getting back to you on the dog food list.. I've had some problems inserting the list from the website so instead I will direct you to the Canadian Veterinary Medical Assocation website and click on the Pet Food Certification Program link. Go to...

www.animalhealthcare .ca

IMPORTANT : Please remember this is a Canadian organization... our standards may not match US standards and products which are available in the US probably won't care the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association seal. In fact, similar named products available in the US may not be the same formulation owing to different regulations governing what goes in pet food and how its labelled. If you've got real concerns about your dog's nutritional needs talk to your vet. However it is a start.