I have been feeding the new Adult formula for over a week and everything is fine. Tonight I added the 6 fish, Tony did great on their last 6 fish, so I am thinking the same goes here. Lucky for me/Tony I found some super meaty chicken hindquarters at our butcher shop, so he'll be getting some of that added. Funny I got those for 1.29 a pound and Orijen 6 fish, is a tad over 2.90 a pound and the adult about 2.45. Has dog food prices just gotten totally out of control. Orijen isn't the only manufacture that has or is getting out of hand. But when I can get burger for 2.05 pound, pollack clean fillets for 1.98 a pound, it's time to rethink how a guy feeds his dog. Now, it is certainly easier to pour the kibble into a bowl, then to have to repack and freeze some of the meat products, along with heating it up. I guess there is some trade off, but for me Tony is about 1/4 fresh meat and the rest Orijen. LOL, it won't be lond before it is 50-50.
Has dog food prices gone to far??
3ToesTonyismydog
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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.
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.
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They are trying to say that sometimes going a little higher in quality is actually CHEAPER in the long run due to feeding less. And its true. In a more nutritionally dense food you feed less cups per day so the cost per month is frequently cheaper than feeding a crap food. Most of the bargain foods are NOT bargains. If you're feeding 8 cups a day of something that costs half the price per bag than something you feed 4 cups a day, you're paying the same amount and not getting the benefits. You can't go by strictly price per lb of food.
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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.
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5,287 Posts
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.
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I guess if you can't get Pulsar, Kirkand, Fromm or Whole Earth farms and those were my only choice's, I would lean towards Authority. I noticed awhile back when I was in Petsmart the food had improved. Like one poster said you well have to feed more. I would certainly add fresh meat if I were you.... Busy watching Pac12 wrestling!!!!!
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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?
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Great choice. Diamond Naturals Extreme Athlete is rated 5 stars on the Dog Food Advisor site.
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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 $110 for about a month and a week of food for all four of them. It could be worse, but if it went up, I'm not sure how we will do it. If you think about it though, the price of EVERYTHING keeps going up.
I never thought of it this way. Brilliant post! :thumbup:
I sat and did the math real quick. A 40# bag of Kibbles and Bits lasted approximately 3 1/2 weeks and cost about 35$. We were feeding approximately 6-8 cups of food a day for an 80# very active GSD and a 50# very senior Collie. We also supplemented with a can a day of Alpo split between the two through the day. We bought a case of 28 cans for 15$. The Alpo would also only make it for the same amount of time as the dry food.
Their poops were INSANE. We're talking not being able to use a little poop bag on walks. They would also get sick if they ate anything close to the recommended amount, which resulted in a vet trip for each of them due to the vomiting/diarrhea to the tune of 400$+
When Chey was alive, we bought 1, 24# bag of BB Wilderness at between 50-60$ The food lasted for the entire month, maybe a day or two off. Both dogs ate very well without getting ill and their poops shrank almost overnight. Coat condition improved dramatically and their general look improved as well. Neither of them had any gastro issues and they really enjoy it.
I guess, in the end, the more expensive food wins out, but we are hoping to add another GSD soon, so at first, we'll be buying another 55$ bag of puppy food, but once we switch to adult, a 24# bag will not make the entire month trying to feed 8-10 cups of food a day. I have no issue spending over 100$ a month on a premium food that I've had succeess with, but if I could find a food that is just as good in quality or better, but at a lower price...
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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
Amazon.com: Canidae Dry Dog Food for All Life Stages, Chicken, Turkey, Lamb, and Fish, 35-Pound: Pet Supplies
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30,303 Posts
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.
That's odd. Maybe a GSD thing. I've never fed it to a GSD so I can't speak from experience. But I have a Sib. Husky with a very sensitive stomach, and Canidae Chicken Formula has been his food since we finally found that it worked for him at around 5 months old. They have a number of different formulas, so if they have issues with one, someone could always try the other. I think it's in the same "realm" as the Kirkland foods. high quality, but cheap.. because they don't spend on their money on advertisement and packaging.
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$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.
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.
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I'm sorry that happened to you. If you have to switch, just try to research Ingredients and prices!Everyone's hours got cut again at work today I'm not going to have much of a choice if I want to keep everyone fed. The food I've been feeding went from 34.99 a bag to 39.99 a bag and was up to $44.99 a bag this last time. While my hours have gone down to only 10 a week. That barely covers my gas to get there.
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Thanks we did switch to Diamond Naturals. So far so good. We are mixing in a little more every day. Took Buddy to the vet Monday to get weight. He has put on a few pounds which is good since he lost so much so rapidly when he was sick. Now we just have to figure out the right amount to give him to maintain and not gain.
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OH,no I was just in Petsmart and I was wrong about Authority. 2 types of corn, right off the bat. So it is very corn heavy and heavy in low grade corn. But they did have a couple in the 50 dollar range that were, OK.
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