They keep raising the prices and making the bags smaller, they are going to push me right out of the decent stuff and back to the pedigree.

 

Don't do that, that cheap crap killed one of my dogs. Just keep your eyes open for different ways to feed your dog. Asian and mexican markets, usually have some cheaper cuts of meat. Check out your local butcher shop's, some carry frozen pet food which they make out of older meat that gets close to going bad. Just don't go and feed cheap dog food, don't give up, you could be sorry.

 

I think the right way to figure that would be to determine the amount of meals you can get per bag -vs- how many pounds of raw and the cost per pound of that. Unless you are feeding your dog 2lbs of kibble you can't really compare that to 2lbs of raw. Hope that makes sense.

 

You also have to look at the source quality of the meat. I would rather feed dry food with antibiotic free chicken and grass fed beef than raw food with hormone infused antibiotic laden beef - grain fed (or hamburger from dairy cattle who have been pumped full of the same garbage all their short productive life) or antibiotic laden chicken leg quarters that may or may not have been irradiated because they don't "have" to tell us.

To me, the ideal is scrap from the folks who process quality local meats fed naturally; that is my goal.

 

I found acana online for $62.99. The store I usually get it from upped the price for the Pacifica from $63.99 to $74. If the prices go up online as well I'm going to have to find something else. If I had a freezer I'd feed raw.

ETA: just checked the place I ordered food from, the upped the price to $77.99 a bag.. Looks like I will be in the market for a new kibble. And I hope when the food gets here it isn't bad because they sent me a 29.7 lb bag and the new bags are 28.7lb. No wonder it was the normal price. Ugh.. I'm not sure where to go from here

 

chewy has acana for 67 with free ship. Maybe you can try there?

 

Hubby and I were just talking about this while shopping for dog food. I paid 30$ for an 8lb bag of BB. We could buy a 30lb+ bag of Kibbles and Bits, plus a case of Alpo and still have some change left over for a bag of treats for what I paid for that food. I refuse to go back to that type of food, but it does make RAW feeding, or at least 50/50 look much better.

 

Oh my gosh don't feed that crap to your dogs. I'll try in the future to make up a list of good food's for a decent price. Pulsar is only 40 bucks for a big bag and in my opinion is way better than BB. Whole Earth Farms and Kirkland are also decent dog food's for a decent price, Costco also carries another brand for a decent price which the name I can't remember.

 

I don't buy kibble for the dogs but do for my cats. For 1 bag of Origen it's almost $90 and that will last my 2 cats about a month (they also get wet food).

For Acana, it's about $70 for a bag and lasts the same amount of time.

It's insane.. add in the cost of the wet food that they get once per day (1 can each) at $2.29 a can (remember x's 2! per day) and the amount I spend in cat food is probably more than I spend on myself!

The dogs are cheaper because I do raw and buy from butchers and farmers but still does add up when feeding 2 large and very active dogs!

 

:wild: NO way! Holy cow. That kibble price is outrageous. I think 1.5-2x more than here maybe? That's too bad.

I wish my cats liked the Primal raw for all the time, but they just want 1 every other day. I've been using Wild Kitty mix too to make my own - I cook the meat but it's for raw food. There are a couple of other mixes like that - one is made in Canada. I have websites if you want them.

 

1.29 is alot for raw dog food. Find your local ethnic market, theyll have it for less. Plus they have the stuff dogs love like feet, backs, necks, organs.

 

You can't compare raw and kibble lb per lb, raw has high mositure content and kibble doesn't. So kibble is much more concentrated, you're not going to feed the same amount daily in lbs of kibble to a dog that you would lbs of raw.

That said, feeding raw for me has been much cheaper than when I was feeding Natures Variety kibble.

 

Costco
Natures Domain - Salmon & Sweet Potato
35lb bag under $45

Fair price, quality ingredients, dogs love it and do well on it.

 

Tbh, I think $1.29/lb for chicken quarters is ridiculous! :shocked: I just stocked up on a couple months worth that were on sale for 69c/lb. Regular price is 79 cents. That adds up to a big price difference pretty quick!

 

Kirkland is made by Diamond and very similar. Diamond Naturals is 29$ for a 40# bag, 38$ for a 40 pound bag of the Extreme Athlete. These have good ingredients at a decent price.

 

4health is another Diamond brand privately labeled for Tractor Supply Co. They have some grain-free foods that have some less than desirable ingredients, like Turkey, Turkey meal Potatoes, Poultry Meal, and then Poultry Fat. I guess you have to cut corners somewhere. But that stuff is about $38 for 35 pounds.

 

The grain-free versions of 4Health are not made by Diamond. They are made by Ainsworth. Only the 4Health foods with grain are made by Diamond.

 

I pay $43 dollars for the big bag of Fromm for the dogs, which I think is reasonable and it lasts about a month. The cats are on the basic Blue Buffalo with limited ingredients, 11 pound bag is $36.00. I buy two and it lasts about 2-3 months for 5 cats. No more vomiting, hairballs, and poop is good..so its worth the price to me

 

The top ones I recommend for money savings were mentioned. Its the Diamond/Kirkland/4Health ones. They're all made by diamond, 4Health is exclusive to tractor supply co and kirkland exclusive to costco. I think they're high up there in quality per cost. Lower quality foods than the likes of Blue Buffalo, but much better than Purina/Iams/etc.

 

Victor, and Dr. Tim's both come to mind as less expensive but still very good foods. Dr. Tim's is one that I would very much consider if I was to switch to a less expensive food. It's made by an excellent manufacturer, and Dr. Tim's has some of, if not the best customer service I have seen. Many of the questions I've posed to them were answered by Dr. Tim himself.

 

Are Victor and Dr. Tim's available in NY? I haven't seen them anywhere.

 

I just started switching the puppy over to Dr. Tim's Kinesis grain inclusive for the pup who decided she didn't want Fromm anymore. I paid $53 (with a $10 coupon) at Petflow for 44 pounds. If you want the grain free Chewy has a good deal on that.
Hi-Tek recently changed their grain free chicken formula and I like the way it looks. I think it's around $47 for 30 lbs.

 

I thank you for trying to help, but if $44.99 for a 30 # bag of Natures Recipe is already pushing the limits the $47 and $53 dollar bags are just out of the question. I need to know which is the best of the cheap dog foods.

Science Diet
Purina
Authority
Iams
Eukanuba
Pedigree
Loyall
Ranchers Choice
Diamond - can't put Buddy on this one makes him sick. I am thinking about keeping him on the good stuff and switching everyone else to this. He also used to do really well on he Science Diet Large Breed so I may put him back on that one as he has been losing weight with the Natures Recipe. Even with putting raw egg and other good stuff suggested here.

and there are a couple of other high pro big bags that say lots of protein for working dogs at Big R but I can't remember the names I will check it out and post them as well.

I live in the middle of nowhere Nevada so my choices are limited. My options for getting food are Petsmart, Big R, or Cal-Ranch. Ordering online is not an option as delivery out here is spotty at best.

 

The thing that you should keep in mind, is that with the cheaper foods you are going to be feeding more. A higher calorie and higher quality food like Dr. Tim's may be more expensive per bag, but you feed less so the bag goes farther. In the end you may end up paying less per day of feeding with something like that than with any of the foods you mentioned.

 

Pro-pac is another one that is reasonable cost wise. It does have corn but seems to have a decent amount of meat. It rates a 4 star on dog food advisor. Here's a link to one online retailer. They are made by the same company as Earthborn.
Fromm classic might be another one to look at. I'm not sure of prices.
Since you are i NY do you have a Wegmans around you? Here they just started selling Evolve Maintenance chicken, which looks like an ok food. Here it is $28.99 for a 30 lb bag.

 

Well I think the dog food analysis sites do a fairly good job - this one is pretty good and kept up to date (some other sites have not been updated for years)
Dog Food Reviews and Ratings | Dog Food Advisor

Even if you are cutting corners, look at the calories per kg and how many kg in a bag to get the calories per bag. That helps you compare better.

It's not just calories either it is how much is actually digested - how much do you have to feed..how much is lost in stool because it is NOT digested?. My kids give their dog Beneful. I opened the bag and the rancid smell about knocked me over. Their 40lb beagle mix gets about 6 cups a day and is not as active as my 75lb GSDs who got 3 or 4 cups a day of a higher quality food.

I really think that is what Ken is saying is there is a balance point where a mid quality food may come in cheaper in the long run.........like 4health, victor, blackwood (non corn varieties) etc.

 

Well I think the dog food analysis sites do a fairly good job - this one is pretty good and kept up to date (some other sites have not been updated for years)
Dog Food Reviews and Ratings | Dog Food Advisor


I really think that is what Ken is saying is there is a balance point where a mid quality food may come in cheaper in the long run.........like 4health, victor, blackwood (non corn varieties) etc.

I agree adviser is the best out there, dogfoodchat isn't as good but they are dedicated. Dogfoodproject offers another way to rate dog food, but I'll be the first to admit that I don't agree with her 100%.

The Dog Food Project - Grading kibble - easily?

 

I'm switching the boys off Victor back to Precise. Victor looks good on paper but I can't ignore Rocky's foot-licking thing and the 10 pounds Kopper has lost. I found a place where I can get 44lb of the Precise foundation and 40lb of the 30/20 Endurance shipped to my door for $100.

 

I understand you can't go entirely by price however I could double the amount I'm feeding now and still save $$ there was a high pro dog food that was $30 for a 50 # bag.

I went with a 40 # bag of Diamond Naturals extreme athlete for about $40. I will start mixing it in tonight and see how that goes. I want to feed my dogs the best I can but I also have to take into consideration basics like mortgage, electric and food for us.

 

I went with a 40 # bag of Diamond Naturals extreme athlete for about $40. I will start mixing it in tonight and see how that goes. I want to feed my dogs the best I can but I also have to take into consideration basics like mortgage, electric and food for us.

Great choice. Diamond Naturals Extreme Athlete is rated 5 stars on the Dog Food Advisor site.

 

Please don't tell me the prices went up! I am almost out of food, for all the dogs, and the prices were already ridiculous. When I think about it in terms of how much it costs for a human to eat, they are cheap. It costs us about $110 for about a month and a week of food for all four of them. It could be worse, but if it went up, I'm not sure how we will do it. If you think about it though, the price of EVERYTHING keeps going up.

 

Prices went up here.

 

If you all are looking for a good dry kibble that's well made and of good quality, I think you should look into Canidae. It hasn't been mentioned a lot on this board, I'm not sure why, but here's a link to amazon. $46 for a 35lb bag...

Amazon.com: Canidae Dry Dog Food for All Life Stages, Chicken, Turkey, Lamb, and Fish, 35-Pound: Pet Supplies

 

If you all are looking for a good dry kibble that's well made and of good quality, I think you should look into Canidae. It hasn't been mentioned a lot on this board, I'm not sure why, but here's a link to amazon. $46 for a 35lb bag...

Amazon.com: Canidae Dry Dog Food for All Life Stages, Chicken, Turkey, Lamb, and Fish, 35-Pound: Pet Supplies

I have used it and had some really bad luck with it, before and after the formula changed. One of the people that I talked to there, said she didn't know why but Great Danes and German Shepherds seem to have the most trouble with the food. Lots of nasty colitis and weight loss. Switched foods and colitis stopped completely -- no more bouts of colitis and slowly I got the weight back on.

 

$46 for a 35 pound bag really isn't all that cheap for the ingredients listed. The ingredients look pretty good, chicken meal, brown rice, white rice, rice bran, rice flour, brewers rice, rice something or other -- why do they break their rice down into 4 or 5 parts, when brown rice has the most nutrients?

Diamond Naturals is $29 for a 40 pound bag for adult chicken and rice, and $38 for a 40 pound bag for the extreme athlete. I feed 50/50 of these two, and am having excellent results. It is similar to kirkland but I am not sure how much that stuff costs.

My problem with Canidae was a nightmare because it was a 5 star food and I couldn't believe it was the problem. I tested for everything on the dog that was effected the worst. Finally the vet threw up his hands and said it has to be the food, we've tried everything else. So I switched. I am talking colitis bouts once or even twice a week. It was awful. Sometimes it was one dog, sometime three or four dogs. But the one dog it was all the time with her. I fed the food about a year before the change and a year after -- then all my dogs lost 5-7 pounds all at once. I figured it out that every other bag was giving me issues.

 

Canidae Grain Free is a 5 star food. The rest of the line - in particular ALS is 4 star. Quality control can be an issue with some pet food manufacturers. Ask to speak with their customer service department. Your dog's health shouldn't be affected by the food he eats.

 

we live in NY. we get victor from sportdogfood.com. We have our guys on Grain-Free $38/30lbs. and Hi Engery $32/40lbs. sometimes they have coupons. good luck.

 

The shipping charge is high for what you get! Look for an online pet food store that offers free shipping when you buy big bags. And with some of them autoship option can save you money over time.