[BrennasMom]

I hope its OK to ask in here...I need an answer fairly quickly, I'm planning on going to the pet store to get food for my dogs within the next hour or so. Because of Canidae's recent change I'm probably going to switch mine. I'm thinking of Merrick before grain or wellness core since they are not so high in protein/fat as other grain free foods.

Anyways, my concern is the cost, both appear to be (at least online) about $50 for 20 lbs. Brenna gets 4 C. day of Canidae, that would add up quickly! I thought maybe the portion sizes are smaller which would make up for the cost somewhat...But I'm guessing they aren't since both core and before grain have lower cals/cup than the canidae.

Argh why is dog food so confusing? And why is Brenna's tummy so sensitive?

Any advice would be appreciated!! In the meantime I guess I should actually get up and get out of these PJs.

 

[arycrest]

I see you're in N VA. I can't help you with the food, but if you're close to a Booth Feeds why don't you give them a call and see if they have what you're looking for. Unless they've changed, they always had good prices and fresh products.
http://www.boothfeeds.com/dogs.html
http://www.boothfeeds.com/aboutus.html

 

[BrennasMom]

My parents go to booth feeds for their dogs' food (wellness). I've been there once but the guy behind the counter wasn't very receptive or helpful. I figure once you factor in the gas to get out there the place closer to me would cost about the same anyways. hehe

 

[Barb E]

I paid $56.99 for the 26 pound bag of Core - Probably a bit higher than most places would be.
You probably won't feed 4 cups of Core so that will help you a bit in cost.

 

[BrennasMom]

How much does your dog get? Brenna is 55 lbs but she burns it all off. She gets enough canidae for a 70-80 lb dog. lol

 

[Barb E]

I had Dante down to 3.5 cups, he weights 85 pounds (He was coming off of Timberwolf and got plump)
I had to switch foods, Dante seems to get gas on the grain free foods

 

[I_LOVE_MY_MIKKO]

someone once told me that merrick's website is much more expensive than buying it in the store, but i've never actually compared it- so calling a store might be a good idea before you rule it out.

we haven't tried core or merrick's before grain, however on other grain free food (TWO, orijen, and nature's variety), mikko eats 2 3/4 cups a day if we don't add meat (he is 70 pounds). i know every dog is different, but it seems that you feed less on grain free.

 

[BrennasMom]

Oh maybe she won't eat that much then! (thank goodness, my poor wallet is in pain)

I have no sense of smell, so I can't tell if she gets gassy, but she gets the pudding poops at the drop of a hat. I suspect she's borderline EPI, pancreas enzymes helped but I'm trying to avoid them if I can. She didn't need them while on raw or on canidae. She was on wellness RF core for a brief stint but refused to eat the stuff which is why I switched to canidae. Hopefully she'll like the regular core or BG better.

Ugh so many issues, meanwhile its all I can do to keep weight OFF of my beagle!

 

[LJsMom]

What about Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream? The price is reasonable (about $40 for 30 lbs.).

 

[BrennasMom]

I haven't been able to find TOTW around here, but that is one I was thinking of.

Thanks for the advice guys, I'm going to go check it out, hopefully they're open. The irony here is we sell some higher end foods at my work (evo, solid gold, etc.) and I'm able to go shopping since I have the day off. lol

 

[jmom288]

i live in no. va also and go to booth feeds down off pohick rd off rt one in lorton. i use evo hard and wet, the wet is pricey, marley eats one can in the morning, and then 2.5 cups of the dry barking at the moon for the evening. she does really well on it, so many good foods out there. gsd's get irratable bowel so quick with so many foods, i find beef is the best. good luck

 

[StGeorgeK9]

I use Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream, I get it at Tractor Supply, have you gone to their website to find stores that do sell it?

 

[StGeorgeK9]

There are several Tractor Supply's in N VA. I'm not sure how close you are to Winchester, but there is one there I know. My Aunt lives in Front Royal

 

[M&J]

Try Crunchies, in Crofton.

 

[BlackGSD]

Originally Posted By: I_LOVE_MY_MIKKOsomeone once told me that merrick's website is much more expensive than buying it in the store, but i've never actually compared it- so calling a store might be a good idea before you rule it out.

That is what I have found.

BUT it depends on if you have to pay tax or not and how far you have to drive to get it.

For instance I would have to drive OVER 100 miles ONE WAY to get it, then there is almost 8% tax. So even though it costs roughly $20 MORE a bag to buy it online from Merrick, there is NO way I could drive to get it cheaper. Because it would cost me roughly $80 JUST FOR FUEL to get there and back, then there is tax on top of that!

But if I still lived in Vancouver, I would have only had to drive about 10 miles. So it would have been quite a bit cheaper to buy it at a store.

I must say, that this was for the "regular" Merrick kibbles. Looks like the B.G. probably isn't that much more expensive on the Merrick site. The 25lb bag of the Chicken is $58 (and some change) in the Merrick site.

 

[BrennasMom]

Ok wish Brenna luck with the BG. I ordered some from petfooddirect.com. Someone gave me a 22% off coupon code

so with the food, shipping and 2 medium antlers included it came to be $54, about what I'd pay in the stores anyways. Hopefully Brenna does well on it and I get another 20% code before the 25 lb bag runs out.

I called around to places listed on the merrick site and some places were closed, most didn't carry the food, a couple offered to special order it but it would be in the 50's for the bag anyways.

 

[mikaK9]

Good luck with the BG - hope it goes well!

Got a question for ya too - you wrote that your dog did better with the enzymes added in b/c you thought she was borderline EPI. Why not use the enzymes if she has EPI?

Just curious because I think I may have the same issue with one of my dogs. We're waiting on the EPI test results now. We don't think he would be an extreme case...more borderline like yours. He's fairly stable if I find the right food, and has normal stool each day. However, he also usually has a little soft stool each day and he stays VERY lean. So I'm just wondering if there's a benefit to trying to manage things on your own versus using enzymes and having perfect digestion/stool.

 

[BrennasMom]

I was using enzymes with her food before and without them she would get pudding poops, with them they were usually pretty well formed but a bit soft. I switched her to raw food and couldn't really effectively mix the enzymes with the whole pieces of meat so I tried it without and she did absolutely fine. I was amazed! I only took them off of raw because I don't have the freezer space to buy in bulk and couldn't afford to buy a few days worth every couple days.

When I went back to kibble I started off with no enzymes, for whatever reason she did fine without them after the raw diet, though still sensitive to change. I have no proof that she has or had EPI, and I also have no way of knowing if or why the raw helped her, but I would highly recommend it if it's a possibility.

Another difference is I pay very close attention to fat content in food, even while on raw, I would strip off all the skin and fat I could. This is one reason I went with the BG since it has relatively low fat compared to other grain free diets.

 

[SaddleGSD]

Originally Posted By: M&JTry Crunchies, in Crofton.

Hah! I was just there with my pup today. (GSD - 9 weeks old)

 

[mikaK9]

Makes sense with the raw. It would be nice if I had the option of raw, but it's just not gonna happen right now. I've found a kibble that works very well for my dog (Orijen), and together with a probiotic, he's doing very well. But we still have a little soft poop each day and I know he can do better. We'll see what the vet can figure out. Have you thought about having your dog tested for EPI?