Dog Food...

[Linkovich]

Help! I fed my dog the cheap no name brand from the store that was $20 for an 18 kg bag (without realizing that it was mostly fillers). I ran out the other week, and had a small bag in my shed that I had won in an auction. So I started feeding it to him- he just gobbled it right up, and sits at the door waiting for me to feed him! So I decided i'm going to go see if I can get some more of this stuff, as he seems to like it so much...and it turns out it's over $70 for a 15 kg bag! Almost 4 times as much! I do care about my dog's health, but that budget is more than my own food budget! And now he's used to eating this fancy stuff, i'm afraid he's not going to want to go back to anything cheaper! Any suggestions on how to feed him without drilling a hole in my pocket? A good brand that isn't too expensive? Or is it possible to mix and match- dump the two kinds (cheap and ueber-expensive) together to make it last longer? I saw a thread I think here a while back on dog food, but I can't find it anymore!

[mnn2501]

Dog food has been going up and up in price and the bag sizes keep getting smaller.
You can always mix the two if you want - although I had one dog when I was a kid that could pick out what she wanted and leave the rest.

I have always been of the mind that when they get hungry enough, they'll eat whats there. I usually go for a mid priced brand that has decent protein levels -- Am currently feeding Nutro brand Senior to my 12 year old mutt

[marvella]

if it's available in your area, diamond maintenance is good dog food. i pay 22.50 for a 50# bag. i feed 6 dogs (from 150# to 11#) and it lasts about a week and a half.

at first your dog might eat a bunch of it, trying to get used to it but in a week or so he will slow down on the amount. in general, a double handful a day feeds a lab. the poops are smaller too, as there is not as much waste/ filler.

[krische1012]

I like the Diamond Naturals line. No corn, grain, etc. and is much more reasonable then a lot of other foods that tout those same qualities. I think you can get it around $30 or less depending on where you go for 50#

[Little Quacker in OR]

First of all...think this through and learn how to READ LABELS!! Jesus! Then think of this...your dog for better or worse depends on YOU for his very life! He depends on you for food, water, medications, safety and any thing else that he needs for bare survival. You own him so you owe him at least the favor of reading the blankety blank labels of what you feed him!!!!

I am honestly trying to keep my cool here but its not easy. If you cannot fulfill the(probably)unspoken contract we make with dogs before we haul them home then do think about finding someone who will. Yes, we are most all us hurting for funds..I'm a senior on a fixed income...I make sure my dogs(all three of them and sometimes a foster dog too!)all are decently fed. If you can't do anything else feed your dog what YOU cook for YOUR dinners! Dogs can survive quite well on what we eat as long as we are eating well balanced meals.

Would they do better on an excellent dog kibble fortified with frequent raw meats and bones? YES, but we do have to survive ourselves I know. Keep in mind too that just because a dog LIKES something has nothing to do what is good for them! Use your brains! Don't kids like ice cream and cake? Yeah. Should they be allowed to just live on it and not eat healthy meals? Of course not! Dogs LOVE many things! Among them POOP, theirs and any other poop they can find to eat or roll in. You are going to leave what your dog WANTS to him???? YOU are the "parent" here for that helpless dog. Its up to YOU to make the good choices here that the dog cannot make for itself. As for thinking that the dog might not eat what you decided it should eat...
PUL-LEASE! A dog cannot read! They don't look at labels like YOU are supposed to do! A healthy dog will eat what ever you provide. And please, no dumb stories from all the rest of you about how your "FluffY' refused to eat anything but "__________" ....snort! .... because as a life long Vet Tech who had to help hundreds of dogs that their owners said would NOT eat what was good for them I proved them wrong every single time! Never had a dog brought in of any breed that would not eat a healthy diet when we provided it at the clinic..NEVER! And that's well over 35 years of dealing with people and their dogs.

So, back up here and look at your dog as a partner in life, not a lawn ornament or just an addendum to your family. And please learn to read labels...is that too much to ask for a creature that doesn't ask much? Really asked for nothing? Why do you have this dog? Just wondering.

If you get onto the Whole Dog Journals website you will find a list on there of top rated and medium rated dog kibble manufacturers..... PRICE is not always an indicator of quality and if you read this list you will see that, then you can shop for a easily found product for your good dog.

LQ

Originally Posted by Linkovich

Help! I fed my dog the cheap no name brand from the store that was $20 for an 18 kg bag (without realizing that it was mostly fillers). I ran out the other week, and had a small bag in my shed that I had won in an auction. So I started feeding it to him- he just gobbled it right up, and sits at the door waiting for me to feed him! So I decided i'm going to go see if I can get some more of this stuff, as he seems to like it so much...and it turns out it's over $70 for a 15 kg bag! Almost 4 times as much! I do care about my dog's health, but that budget is more than my own food budget! And now he's used to eating this fancy stuff, i'm afraid he's not going to want to go back to anything cheaper! Any suggestions on how to feed him without drilling a hole in my pocket? A good brand that isn't too expensive? Or is it possible to mix and match- dump the two kinds (cheap and ueber-expensive) together to make it last longer? I saw a thread I think here a while back on dog food, but I can't find it anymore!

[mnn2501]

Come on Little Quacker, tell us how you really feel

[Minelson]

LQ...I like your post

[Madame]

Little Quacker,
Sounds to me as if he is aware of the problem and looking for a way to care for his dog and still be able to afford his bills. Back off just a wee bit, cutie patootie.

[HermitJohn]

I am sure high dollar diet is better (though I have read some of the high dollar dog foods arent that great), but is euthanizing a dog better than feeding a dog less than best diet available and possibly lessening their natural life a few years? There are a LOT of unwanted dogs euthanized every year. Guess you think we should only let wealthy people have pets and kill off any not adopted by the wealthy? Or should we all live on raman noodles and generic mac/cheese so our pets can eat better than we do? Thus shaving years off our own life?

Not attacking you, but just pointing out the other side of the coin. Their is a fiscal reality/limit in most peoples' lives. We cant all live an optimum lifestyle. You do the best you can with what you have and either live or die as a result.

[SquashNut]

I've been afraid of prepared dog food since the melamine scare.
so my dogs get what ever we eat. Including raw rabbit meat scraps.
Some of the higher end foods were included with Wal-mart brand dog foods in the melamine scare.
if my dogs get picky i cut back on how much I feed them till they get hungry.

[Michael W. Smith]

(Sigh) My sister works at a vet's office, and I swear they have her brainwashed that the ONLY good kind of dog food to feed your pet, is the high priced stuff they sell.

I hear over and over again about the crap dog food I buy, how it isn't good for the dogs, how it's all fillers, they will poop less, live longer . . . . . .

The ONLY food I feed is Walmart's Old Roy - the regular and the "gravy train" mixed half and half. Currently I have 4 dogs and at this point 2 of them are starting to get a tad bit overweight on it - they've really packed on the pounds the last year or so.

My Border Collie grew up on it and lived to be 16 years old. My Great Pyr grew up on it and lived to be 12.

As for the "filler and less poop" deal, all my dogs are outside dogs, so they can poop mountains for all I care!

I would assume the Old Roy is providing the proper nutrition that two of my dogs are actually getting too fat on it - and it's the only thing they eat. They are healthy, happy dogs, so I certainly don't need the high priced vet's food they want to PUSH on you.

[forfreedom]

Here's what I do to please the dog and stretch my budget:

Every time we have chicken, I save the bones, then simmer them for 2-3 hours which makes a nice stock. Add some carrots, cabbage, etc. in the end and mix with the dry dog food. Dog loves it!

[suitcase_sally]

Old Roy was one of the tainted brands. Of coarse, most brands got caught up in that mess.

We have 3 dogs, one Siberian Husky, one black Lab and then there's "Fluffy Butt", the tiny one. They eat Iams with added goodies from our dinner. When chicken is on sale for 49¢/lb, I get a bunch and can it in pints. That is added to the food along with brown rice (or white, if that's all I have). The vet says they are very healthy.

[marvella]

just an added note- do not feed your dog cooked chicken bones. they can splinter and get caught in the throat or digestive tract leading to serious problems.

[suitcase_sally]

Originally Posted by forfreedom

Here's what I do to please the dog and stretch my budget:

Every time we have chicken, I save the bones, then simmer them for 2-3 hours which makes a nice stock. Add some carrots, cabbage, etc. in the end and mix with the dry dog food. Dog loves it!

I do that also. I can the bones, though. Pressure canning breaks the bones down so they are soft. Dogs need their calcium.

[cowbelle]

OP, I have to agree with the posters who are telling you to read labels. Dogs are naturally designed to eat meat with smaller amounts of veg's and other things. As was suggested, see Whole Dog Journal - no advertising there, similar to Consumer Reports. One of the least expensive of the 10 best feeds is Canidae. I've used it for 13 years, and liked the results on my working dogs. It's about $35 for 45 pounds here. Because it's more digestible, you can feed less - therefore the smaller poops, less expense. I do feed it with as much real meat I can - get local hunters to bring you their trimmings - contact any local meat processor for their leftovers, both meat and bones. Let's face it, kibble dog food was developed after WWII to be convenient for us, not because it's the best for dogs. It's like us living on granola bars, nutrious to a point, but certainly boring and not what we were evolved to eat. The point of the more expensive feeds is that they have real meat in them. That costs more than corn. Make whatever comprimises you have too, but do the best you can for your buddy. I've had people say, "Oh, I couldn't feed my dog meat and bones - he'd get the runs". True enough for the first few days until his system gets used to some variety, but worth it.

[littlesheeps]

Once upon a time, maybe 7-8 years ago, I ran out of Pedigree dog food and had to buy a bag of Old Roy. After my first experience with OR, which was mostly dry crumbles in the bottom of the bag, I swore off that brand. This particular time, prepared to hate myself for feeding it, I found they'd gone up in quality (at least visible to my eye), so I've continued to feed it. BUT, that said, they also get my home-made dog stew ladled over their kibble. In a large dutch oven, I brown ground turkey with lots of garlic, then I add a couple of cans of kidney beans and a couple of cans of other vegetables, and top it off with a cup or so of rice. Let it simmer about 20 minutes and that's it. I freeze tubs of it and use it as needed, also top dressing with a little brewer's yeast a couple of times a week... for 6 dogs (sizes from Corgi to Pyr) it will last me about 10 days. They are healthy, active, and love their stew, so I consider it a win-win. But, I have to remember that they also love frozen goose poop. littlesheeps in NM

[freeinalaska]

We're fortunate to have tons of sled dogs up here and with that comes access to reasonably priced dog food for working dogs. I pay about thirty bucks for a 40 pound (18kg) bag of 30/20 kibbles. That means 30% crude protien and 20% crude fat. The bags are plain white with a sticker that states HR 30/20 and other nutritional information. I just looked it up and found that it comes from Eagle Pack Pet Foods, Inc. 1011 W. 11th Street, Mishawaka, IN 46544. That is a pretty high level of protien that is usually used for active working dogs. We mix it with hot water, let the kibbles soak up the water and then feed. This way they get much their water with their food as a water bowl will freeze pretty quick at forty below.

[gryndlgoat]

Originally Posted by Linkovich

Help! I fed my dog the cheap no name brand from the store that was $20 for an 18 kg bag (without realizing that it was mostly fillers). I ran out the other week, and had a small bag in my shed that I had won in an auction. So I started feeding it to him- he just gobbled it right up, and sits at the door waiting for me to feed him! So I decided i'm going to go see if I can get some more of this stuff, as he seems to like it so much...and it turns out it's over $70 for a 15 kg bag! Almost 4 times as much! I do care about my dog's health, but that budget is more than my own food budget! And now he's used to eating this fancy stuff, i'm afraid he's not going to want to go back to anything cheaper! Any suggestions on how to feed him without drilling a hole in my pocket? A good brand that isn't too expensive? Or is it possible to mix and match- dump the two kinds (cheap and ueber-expensive) together to make it last longer? I saw a thread I think here a while back on dog food, but I can't find it anymore!

You don't say where in Canada you are, but as a rule, pet food here is WAY more expensive here than in the States.

That said, if you have a Costco membership, the Kirkland brand dog food is excellent, and is running about $28-$32 per 18 kg bag (compared to IAM at $50+). We have been feeding it for more than 5 years to our boarding kennel dogs and our own show dogs and they are doing great. The ingredients in the Kirkland food are great- no corn, no soy, no meat by-products- the package reads like the top-end dog foods, just the price tag doesn't.

Kirkland is made by Diamond but it escaped the Diamond aflatoxin scare (from contaminated corn) of a few years ago, as well as the melamine scare (no corn gluten added). It's a good food at a good price. The kennel dogs get the Lamb and Rice version (it smells really yummy and no one ever turns their noses up at it-- it's like they've been given a bowl of cookies!); we feed the chicken and rice to our group.

[frogmammy]

I know a lot of breeders that use Pedigree. Seems to be good cost for good product. I don't feed it because it doesn't work well for *my* dogs.

Sam's Club also has a good (apparently) inexpensive dog food called Exceed...just saw my neighbor's dogs on it and they looked great and were healthy....don't know if you have a Sam's up there! Unfortunately, I don't know the product contents.

Mon