[Bobby dog]

Hi, congrats and he is gorgeous! As far as how much to feed your kitty, if you are going to feed wet and dry food I would suggest you check out the feeding guide on the dry food you are feeding him. For example, Wellness has a guide on their bag suggesting how much to feed your cats if you are feeding only dry or a combo of wet and dry according to your cat’s weight. When you decide on an amount just observe your cat’s body condition and adjust your food amounts accordingly.
I have had cats ever since I can remember and still have lots to learn. I have two 15 yrs, one 14 yrs, one 11 yrs, and one 6 yrs, all stray cats. I wish I never fed them wheat, corn, soy, fish, or dry food. I lost two that were 15 years old about four years ago to illnesses that bad nutrition surely contributed to; digestion problems, obesity, and the male had urinary tract issues throughout his life. I have one cat that was diagnosed about five years ago with a hyperthyroid; he requires daily meds now. I have slowly changed their diets over the past five months, but at their ages change is difficult so they still need their fish and dry food fixes. Most importantly I have weaned them off of Friskies. I might not ever be able to completely ween them off of fish or dry food. If I paid more attention to their diets I truly believe I would not have had the vet bills I had over the years. About four years ago an emergency room visit in the middle of the night for my male cat’s urinary tract infection cost me about $2,000 to get him well.
My advice is to feed them the best wet diet that fits your budget. Avoid soy, wheat, corn, and fish. Stick to poultry, lamb, rabbit or beef if possible. If you are going to feed dry find a good quality GF dry.
I am with Crazy4cats, my go to website is catinfo.org. My other favorite is the naturalcatcareblog.com. They have a great list of dry and dehydrated foods and the reason they recommend them. I feed wet three times a day (totalling about 3-5 oz./cat) and give them a small scoop of dry once a day. I am on a very tight budget as well so I only buy food that I either have coupons for, on sale, or on the 50% off shelf. I feed Natures Variety raw (when they e-mail coupons), 4Health from Tractor Supply, Merrick, Wellness, Tiki Cat, Weruva, Soulistic (chic only, K3 is in the other varieties), Blue Buffalo, and Evo. I am always trying new canned foods using the information I learned about food from catinfo as a guide. I also feed them boiled chicken two or three days a week as one of their meals to help keep costs down. For dry I have been feeding Wellness GF Turkey & Duck meal (bought with the $5 coupon from their site of course) because there is no fish meal in the recipe. I just bought a bag of Merrick GF chic on sale which they seem to like.
Sorry for the long post, maybe something I have written will be helpful for you. Good luck, he’s one lucky kitty!

[Akari_32]

Thats an interesting idea!

So I’ve been experimenting with “training” him to not eat like a lunatic, and we’re actually doing pretty good! I’ve been going between just giving him is food, adding various amounts of water to his food, and just giving him a little bit at a time. As long as he has a different way to eat every night, it takes him several minutes to eat. However, I think I’ll be trying something with a larger kibble size next. When he has something larger to crunch on, he tend to take a few pieces out at a time, set them on the floor, and then eat them one at a time. Any suggestions on a grain free food with no chicken with larger pieces? (I was thinking, even though he hates it, the fish Wellness CORE, as well as the Wild Game. I was also wanting to try, so the sake of budgeting, the grain free Pure Balance, but I hear the pieces are tiny.)

[DogFoodie]

Hi traceearsena,

Are you kidding? The best part about all of this snow is that it covers up the poop! I figure it’ll be there when the snow melts. Tell your hubby to have some hot chocolate and chill. ; )

I tend to agree with Sandy, maybe it’s just that the food doesn’t agree with him. If I were you, I think I’d try a different brand altogether. While there are obvious differences from one Earthborn variety to another, there are still a lot of similarities. And, I’ll second the Victor recommendation Melissa made. I have a Golden with a sensitive system and a fish / fish oil intolerance. He needs just the right amount of fiber or he ends up with loose stools. Right now, he’s eating Victor Grain Free ALS (the one in the red bag) and its doing great on it. It’s fish and fish oil free, the fiber is right and it contains montmorillonite, a natural stool hardener.

My Sam was having a reaction to his previous food, so I made a quick switch to the Victor and his stool has been perfect. Plus the upside, it’s very budget friendly.

[Naturella]

Hello, budget-conscious people (like myself)!

So, early this year my now husband and I purchased this calendar from PetCo with a TON of coupons inside.

I have clipped all of them except the small animals coupons, but I intend to clip them too. Of all the coupons, there are some I would not possibly be able to use, so I am putting them up here for grabs.

Shout out to Akari – I know you have some reptiles, maybe fish, plus the 3 dogs, so you can have dibs on the coupons, IF you want them!

They are for:
$5 off Beneful – one bag, any size
$5 off Canyon Creek Ranch – one bag, any size
$5 off Purina One – one bag, any size
$5 off Purina Pro Plan – one bag, any size
$5 off Eukanuba – one 14lbs or larger bag
$5 off Eukanuba EXCEL – one 14lbs or larger bag

Plus some more coupons for non-food related items.

Also, I can mail the small animal coupons since I have no friends with small animals, but they are a lot, so I don’t want to list them all…

I promise I am not a creeper (I will need an address to mail the coupons to), I just want to share some deals if anyone is interested. Now, I know these foods are by far not the best out there, but they COULD be a good deal if coupon is combined with other sales in the store (or matched by another store), and when mixed with a better food, it may be ok. As I said, up for grabs, if anyone wants them.

If anyone does, feel free to email me at: [email protected] or contact me on Facebook – my name on it is Aleksandra Ninova.

Thanks, guys, and let me know! If nobody on here wants them, I can find a local shelter or something to donate them to, if they will take them.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Akari-
Yippee, cats, one of my favorite subjects! I have four right now. 15, 5 and two 3 year olds. I hope the kitten is fairly tame. He might be tough to catch if she isn’t. I am first going to give you my go-to website for cat food nutrition. It is catinfo.org. I have rescued a handful of semi-feral kitties. They sometimes are hard to get to eat wet food at first, but keep trying if that is the case. I also feed both canned and dry. My favorite budget canned food is Authority only found at Pet Smart. I think it is the best for the least. I also have and do feed Chicken Soup, Fancy Feast, Nutro Max and Friskies. In addition, they get Weruva Cats in the Kitchen every now and then as it is more expensive, but very good. I rotate dry between Taste of the Wild, Wellness Core, Earthborn and right now am feeding Premium Edge Healthy Weight because they are getting a little chubby. Yes, the Premium Edge and Taste of the Wild are Diamond products, but I keep an eye on recalls and so far so good. You actually have to be aware of recalls for every brand. Very concerning matter! Check out the site I mentioned above. It is full of all kinds of cat health information and has two different charts with several types of canned food sorted by protein, fat, carbs and phosphorous. Good luck. It can be a very rewarding experience to save a kitty. It certainly will not survive for more than a couple of years if left in the wild. It might take a while for it to warm up to you. My 15 year old kitty was feral and it took three years for her to come to me. Now, she won’t get off my lap! LOL!

[Sheltie_Pom]

Thanks for the advice. I am considering just going all natural and making the food for him, but I guess my thinking is what if I get hurt or we go on a trip and he can’t come? I doubt my family would want to go through all that trouble just for him. Especially since none of the are big cooks, in fact they hate to cook.

I don’t want to sound like I’m making excuses (I know I sound like it), but I need to do what is best for my dog and budget. Money is kind of tight especially since my last $500+ dog bill.

[blizhagan]

We are seeking help! Our dogs have progressively been having worse and worse stomach issues.

We adopted our 1.5 year old Chocolate Lab in October 13 and we also have a 25 pound 3.5 year old Basenji Mix. We wanted to put the dogs on great food when we got our lab. Our Basenji previously had been on Trader Joe’s Lamb and Rice Formula. He has been fine on that since we have had him however when I researched the food when we got our lab I was disappointed by the quality. Our lab was adopted from a family who could no longer care for him and he was on Kirkland Lamb and Rice Formula.

First we tried out the Kirkland with the dogs but both dogs were constipated and were having hard stools. Our lab was also going through 5-6 cups a day.

So we went to a local natural dog food store and they sugguested for our budget and needs to put the dogs on Diamond food and they said to rotate the flavor every bag so that their stomachs will strengthen.

Well our lab was flying thru the Diamond food and looked like he was losing weight so we were supplementing with wet food for more protein for him. The basenji still had constipation.

So we decided we need to go to Blue Buffalo for all the ratings. They have been on Blue Buffalo since mid November. We feed the Basenji 3/4 cup of food twice a day and the Lab (80 pounds) 2 cups twice a day.

They did ok with the Adult Lamb and Brown Rice and the Adult Salmon and Sweet Potatoes however they had the occasional diarrhea and or constipation. Now we got the Chicken and Brown Rice formula and every day for the past week both have been either throwing up or having diarrhea. They aren’t lethargic or have any other symptoms. They are both very active still and their coats look great except our lab has a bit of dandruff.

I am wondering what other food should we try? Would going grain free or getting the wilderness blend be better? Or should we switch brands entirely? Is switching the flavors what is causing this even when we transition the foods? Just looking for some advice.

We live in the mountains and this time of the year they have to be inside while we are out so their stomach issues are much harder to deal with and I just want them to feel better!

Thank you in advance!

[Naturella]

I second both Shasta and dchassett. I have fed Blue Buffalo Wilderness with no problems and really good results, but it is a bit pricy. I do recommend stocking up on food, but watching the “Best by:” dates. The bigger the bag, the less per pound it is, as Shasta noted.

Here is another link for Victor foods that should be right on the money: http://www.victorpet.com/#!buy-organic-dog-treats-online/c13qg

Make sure you do some research as well, visit local feed or pet stores, shop online:
http://www.chewy.com
http://www.petflow.com
http://www.wag.com

Have good deals and sales often.

And do try to get a 4-5-star-rated food. It IS possible, even on a tight budget, we promise! 🙂

[Shasta220]

I will deeeefinitely say a HUGE no no to Science Diet. It is not much better than Purina dog chow, despite the high price. Blue Buffalo is alright, but it’s more expensive than the quality is worth. The link given for Victor foods was good, too. I’m on a big-time budget with my 3 pigs (oops! I meant dogs!) I buy 40lb bags of Diamond Naturals (some dogs do great on it, others do terrible…luckily my dogs are fine) for about $35

That being said, I’d imagine it’ll be harder to find something around $1/lb for a small dog, as small bags tend to be more expensive per pound, and I honestly don’t know how well a large bag of kibble would last. Possibly going for a 12-15lb bag? Really though, the bigger the bag, the cheaper the food will be per pound.

Hopefully you can find something that works! Oh, and try to make sure it’s a 4-5 star food on this site 🙂

[crazy4cats]

Hi Leah-
Just to add to my last post. If I had a bigger pet food budget, I’d definitely be checking out the Nature’s Variety Instinct kibble and possibly trying to feed more fresh and/or raw foods. Have a great day!

[crazy4cats]

Hi Leah-
Congrats on the new pup. How fun, but very stressful. They are almost like having a new born baby! Have you checked out the 4 and 5 star limited ingredient foods on the review side of this site? I’ve heard many experts on this site say that Natures Variety Instinct is a great choice. I have not used it as it is not in my budget, but many have had excellent results with the smaller less frequent poops with this food.
However, if you are willing to cook for your pet, it is probably even better. I’m hoping to “bump up” your post, so others may chime in. Good luck!

[Shasta220]

Polemos, that looks like a great food! If it is easy to access and easy on the budget, then I’d go with it.

Slvet2, GizmoMom gave you the truth. I would honestly rather feed my dogs Purina Dog Chow than Hill’s garbage…at least Dog Chow has a price to match the quality, Hills doesn’t. “Veterinarian recommended” honestly means nothing to me… Just because my vet tells me it’s good doesn’t mean the ingredient panel, and my dog’s health agrees! I was stupid enough to listen to my vet on that. Poor Cassy was looking awful honestly! I’m gonna say anything with corn and by-product is FAR below “good quality”.
Edit: “Hills is the most copied…” Hrrrmmm. Dog Chow, Beneful, and Ol Roy did a pretty good attempt, and /almost/ matched the quality, LOL!

• This reply was modified 11 years, 10 months ago by Shasta220.

[Akari_32]

Good news! I dug up a coupon for the Nutrisca that good for the rest of our lives (ok, 2015, but close enough), and after some calculation, both the EVO and Nutrisca will last about 2.5 months for the 13.2 pound bag (EVO) and the 15 pound bag (Nutrisca), and after coupons are applied to each food ($4 off $20 for the EVO and $3 off any bag of Nutrisca and $4 off $20 for the Nutrisca), it would cost the same to feed him each. So we have two foods that I’m comfortable with mom feeding him, and mom is actually happy with the price after doing the math. Does anyone know if EVO puts out coupons?

I used this website to help me figure the over all costs, using the price per bag as tax and coupons applied. http://www.goldendoodles.com/care/food_calculator.htm It’s not perfect– it has the other dogs eating TWO TIMES as much as they actually eat, but its a start, and Bentley does actually eat what the bag says, given his activity and young age.

Also forgot to add earlier, the reason I’m putting this off on mom (I’m in charge of the dog food for a reason– she figures dogs do fine on corn based foods and expensive food is a waste of money) is because she is sick of watching Bentley scratch himself raw, and I don’t have the money to buy Haley special food AND Bentley special food, and still feed my 130 pound beast that is Dweezle. I told her she’d have to pay for his food, and she ok, what ever it took to get him to stop scratching. As I said earlier, I took her to the store today to scout out prices and whatnot, and she was very put off by the price of good dog food. Me doing the math just now for her actually seemed to lighten her up, and she seemed pleased about how long the food would last, given the price. I told her she could go back and forth between the EVO and Nutrisca and she didn’t make a fuss, and sounded ok with it. I’d still like to try him on the Pure Balance as a just in case food.

The good news for me is, I no longer have to feed her dog (why am I, a 20 year old college student, feeding my 40 year old mother’s dog?? I’d rather be broke than see him on dog chow.). Not feeding him means once I’m done with the Purina ONE Dweezle is on (long story short, coupons got me paid $7 for every 3 of the 3.5 pound bags I hauled out of the store), he too can go on grain free like Haley. With coupons, as high calorie food as I can find (and afford), and some major budgeting, I can make it work.

Anyways, with a little work, I’ve made mom see how its actually really cheap to feed a better food. Now if only it was that “cheap” to feed such large dogs on a college budget…

[crazy4cats]

Hi Shasta-
Have you had a full blood panel done on her? There are at least three very common conditions that I know of that can cause that. I have experienced or have had friend’s cats have these symptoms and it has turned out to be either hyperthyroidism, kidney disease or diabetes. I really hope that isn’t the case for sure. But, a possibility. I use a lot of the budget friendly Authority canned food for my crew. Good luck.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Akari 32-
You could click on the recalls tab above and bring up the previous recalls to see which states were usually involved. I know what you mean. The Diamond products are so tempting. Most appear to be great budget friendly foods. I work for Costco and we sell hundreds of bags of the Kirkland and Nature’s domain foods without incident. I live in the NW and we have not been affected by most recalls (supposedly). I’m still a little leery and still have not started using it again. But with it being almost two years, I’m tempted. Not sure if that means they’ve figured it out or are about due for another one! Hopefully, they have tightened their quality control because I know thousands of dogs are eating it. I think Taste of the Wild is one of the most popular foods along with Blue Buffalo sold in our area. Good luck, but I think you are right about Florida being one of the states affected in the past.

[DogFoodie]

Hi lonimck,

Several foods I think are great and are budget friendly are NutriSource, Victor and Dr. Tim’s. All are made by reputable manufacturers as well. If you can buy Victor locally, it’s less than $1 per pound! It’s more than that on Amazon, but that’s about the best place to buy it online.

Also, think about it like this, when you rotate foods, you might still be able to buy a more expensive brand occasionally and have a lower food bill over all.

Good luck! : )

[Polemos]

Thanks everyone for the replies! These are the other brands that I could find only from ordering online that seemed ok:

Acana Puppy and Junior
Hill’s Science Diet Puppy Healthy Development
Barking Heads Puppy Days (British Brand)
FROMM Puppy Gold Large Breed

There is also Orijen Puppy but it’s a little outside of our budget at the moment.

Thanks again everyone!

[pugmomsandy]

For mid-priced quality kibble, I use Nutrisource grain free ($49) and alot of folks say Victor is mid-priced as well. Are you talking about B2B high-protein or B2B grain free because the latter is medium-protein and lower in calories than the original B2B. Some dogs don’t handle a high organ meat food well but can adjust. Maybe you can mix it with the food they do well on. I have 2 out 6 that haven’t taken to Merrick well. They had no issues with Nature’s Logic and Core Wild Game. There is also Nature’s Select (home delivery) which has a Grain Free formula, 30 lbs for around $65. And Whole Earth Farms (by Merrick) has new grain free formulas as well out in stores now. It’s their budget brand. I rescue and use ALOT of foods! I have 4 open bags of kibble right now. I’m not opposed to using a “questionable” brand occasionally and I rotate foods so (1) the dogs don’t get used to one brand, (2) they build up a stronger gut, and (3) the dogs get a variety. And I always have something open that they do well on that I can mix in some other kibble. I hear you about price. Now that I have connections, I realize what the mark-up is!

[Bracha]

Hello,
I am new to this site (it was recommended by our pet shop owner). We live in Australia and thus spend a bit of time outdoors; bush and beach – lucky us. I have a very healthy German Shepard (as endorsed by my vet and every man that sees her walking the street – she has a large fan club, small town). She is de-sexed, large frame, straight back, 41Kg, 4 year 6 mnth. She has been with me since a puppy, 9 weeks. I initially fed her two different brands, but from about 2 months old she has been fed Dry Holistic Large Breed puppy than transitioned over to Holistic adult large breed. She thrives on it. Currently we are trying the Holistic Grain free large breed food and so far (2 weeks) all is well; her stools are a great shape, smell good and regular. Personally this is the only way to tell if your dog is responding to their feed in a positive way, check the pool daily!
I appreciate everyone has a budget, but am in total agreement with other members 4+ stars is the way to go.
I am currently researching the Raw diet option and will consider this diet. But the dry food is convenient. It is supplemented with 100 grams, human grade beef mince. I would be interested to hear members view on this combination of beef with dry turkey based feed; do they think it is self defeating? Enjoy reading the comments from like minded dedicated dog owners. Thanks

[Shasta220]

You can buy expensive, special-formulated supplements (I’m sure the vet could help out), but I’m always on a tight budget. If fish oil doesn’t work out for a dog, then I use either flax oil or ground flax. Flax oil is about the same price as fish, and has pretty much the same amount of nutrients. I’m not sure how much ground flax would match up to say a tsp of fish oil, but it certainly is cheap. You can buy bags of flax for 1-3$ and grind it yourself.

I hope you can get onto something that works out for your dog! Don’t go overboard, either… I know a dog owner who takes WONDERFUL care of her girls, who are 12 and 13y.o. But they still go for daily runs, and they get NutriSource GF. She makes only one mistake with them: I always notice they’re virtually odor-free when I pet them – a sign of a good diet – but they tend to feel a bit oily. The reason for that is they get 1tbsp olive oil daily AND 4 fish oil pills…(her dogs are average size too. Collie and lab/b.collie) I’d never feed more than 2 fish oils to my dogs daily.

[Shasta220]

I totally feel you. Our lab gets almost the same problem. Her condition is called Otitis (basically inflammation/infections caused by environment and/or food). It was always manageable…we had to wash her ears weekly, and just deal with her horrible odor. I always figured it was due to her cheap-quality food (poor girl, she had Dog Chow, Pedigree, and even store-brand foods!)… So I finally saved up and bought a bag of NutriSource senior, hoping it’d help. What did it do? It made EVERYTHING worse! She would gnaw at herself so much…about 50% of her skin would be raw bald spots that she chewed at. I tried hot-spot spray, but obviously it didn’t work at all.

I don’t remember what exactly the vet ended up giving us… A couple different pills, some ear treatment, and then a shampoo. Now Cassy is a brand new dog, and she’s off of NutriSource for GOOD (I was so disappointed to have such a high-rated food react so poorly with her. I honestly have no idea what the ingredients in it were that made her irritated…especially considering she did /better/ on the cheap stuff!).

Anyway…that’s my story of a similar pooch… I’d definitely agree w the others to talk to your vet about a blood test to see if it’s an internal problem. Try to list ingredients of all her foods…maybe conduct an experiment: try to get her off /all/ grains and chicken, then if she improves, try to bring either chicken or some grains back into her diet. It might help you see if she reacts to specific ingredients.

Once you’ve found the problem and gotten proper treatment for it, I’d advise some skin-and-coat supplements (if you’re on a budget, you can buy bags of flax and grind it. Excellent source of Omegas) to help out her fur when it tries coming back in.

I’m really sorry your poor pooch has to go through this. It’s really no fun for ANYONE :/

[Shasta220]

Shasta is about 6y.o. He never used to smell bad (other than an average “doggie” scent, of course!)… But the past few months, he’s had a constant odor. Bathing helps a little (I usually use Dawn mixed with some organic rosemary-mint shampoo, then follow w a conditioner so his fur doesn’t get flaky), but even if I let the shampoo sit for 5-10min, I can smell faint amounts of the foul smell. I also doubt it’s anything to do with his food, he was on dog chow back when he didn’t stink at all…now he’s on Diamond naturals and still stinks.

Are there any supplements that help with odor? We tried Brewers yeast, Fish oil, and raw eggs. None helped any.

I also can’t afford much to be honest, I already have 3 dogs, cats, a cow, a pony, chickens, and ducks to feed…not much wiggle room in the budget.

[theBCnut]

If you have a Costco membership, Kirkland is about the cheapest quality food around. Find out what your local feed stores carry too. I’m not good on knowing cheap foods because my with issues seems to understand price tags and only does well on the really expensive ones, but I am boosting this up where more people will see it. Also, there is a thread somewhere here already about good deals on dog food.
Ah, here it is.
/forums/topic/budget-friendly-dog-foods/

[Jackie B]

Dr. Mike plans to come out with a Cat Food Advisor someday. Cats are easier than dogs though. They are obligate carnivores. The more meat in the diet, the better for them. And if they will eat wet food, that is preferable to dry (especially raw wet food but cooked should be OK. People say raw preserves more nutrients and I’m sure it does but cats are picky.). You should at least supplement dry cat food with the wet food several times a week to help prevent kidney issues and other problems down the line.

My friend who is a cat expert feeds Authority wet food from PetSmart. She fosters cats so she has to pick a budget friendly but still good food. If I had a cat I would likely feed a frozen raw product.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Sue’s Zoo –

Yes, the calcium to phosphorus ratio is still important when feeding a homemade raw diet. When feeding a “grind” such as those sold by My Pet Carnivore there’s really no way of knowing the “exact” C:P ratio although it is assumed that it’s balanced. However, as we know, the concern with large breed puppies is not only that the C:P ratio is balanced but also that it remains relatively low. My suggestion (and what I did with my pups) would be to mix in about 25% green tripe with any grind that you feed (MPC does have a great grind called “Ground Beef Tripe Supermix” which is 50% green tripe/40% muscle meat, bone, organ/10% trachea and gullet which would be a good choice). Green tripe has a balanced calcium to phosphorus ratio of 1:1 but the levels of each mineral are relatively low (only about 0.3%) this way you can “lower” the overall ratio without the risk of throwing it off balance.

It’s also perfectly fine to start young pups on RMBs (it’s easiest to start small – chicken necks, etc.) but I would recommend feeding some muscle meat at each RMB meal. RMBs do have a balanced C:P ratio but it is very high (usually close to that upper 2:1 limit) so I would say feed about half as much muscle meat as you do RMB. So, for example, if you feed 8 oz. of chicken necks also feed 4 oz. of muscle meat.

As far as ordering – you’re going to be going through A LOT of meat with two large dogs. I currently have two female bloodhounds and we go through about 150 lbs. of meat per month. When I had my large male (who unfortunately passed last summer) we were going through closer to 250 lbs. per month. My suggestion – especially if you’re on a budget – would be to try and locate a wholesaler. I get my meat delivered right to my house by a wholesaler that sells to grocery stores and restaurants. They butcher all their own meat so they do have items like chicken backs, gizzard, hearts, organ meat, etc. and will deliver to kennels that order at least 300 lbs. at a time. You will likely have to place a large order if you go this route but if you invest in some freezers it’s worth it in the long run – I pay <$1 per pound for everything I get. The only meat I order outside of my wholesaler is green tripe and I get this from Hare Today – with the shipping it’s the most expensive thing my dogs get. You can often find good deals on used freezers on craig’s list or in the free trader.

Do you know how to create a balanced diet from scratch? There are some great books out there and also some pre-mixes if you’re not sure about what you’re doing.

[Akari_32]

Hey guys!

I’m in the homestretch of food (got about a month or two worths left). In the mean time, I’ll be saving up to try my first round of Nutrisource Super Performance. If they do well on that, I’ll start going between my * and ** foods listed above (money provided), and whatever goodies I can get with coupons. My LPS sells NutriSouce grain free for the same price (more or less, as their prices vary with each flavor) as PetFlow. I also asked if they could order the Super Performance, and they said they likely could. If they can’t, then I’ve always got the grain free options. 🙂

[dean ousterhout]

I am wondering how “The Honest Kitchen” food compares to a normal kibble in terms of quantity? At $10 per lb for a 10 lb box, this sounds pretty expensive, compared to Natures Variety at $2.33 per lb for 27 lb bag.

Does one cup of THK go farther than one cup of NV?

Thoughts? While I would like my dog to have the best, we do have a budget to work with.

[RescueDaneMom]

Hi crazy mom- There are some affordable, high quality foods out there. I have an almost 8 year old Great Dane and I understand how pricey it can be to feed them.

Annamaet Ultra from HDM’s list is $70 for a 40 pound bag which comes out to $1.75/pound. It has 480 calories/cup so you’ll feed less of it than you would other foods which will also make it stretch further- a good bang for your buck. http://www.chewy.com/dog/annamaet-ultra-32-dry-dog-food/dp/41926

Annamaet Extra is also a possibility. It is lower protein at 26% instead of 32% (I prefer higher protein for my dog). It is $53 for a 40 pound bag ($1.33/pound). It is not as calorically dense as the Ultra at 425 cal/cup so you would need to feed a little more of it. http://www.chewy.com/dog/annamaet-extra-26-dry-dog-food/dp/41927

Dr. Tim’s Kinesis is good too. It’s $61 for a 44 pound bag ($1.39/pound). It has 415 cal/cup and 26% protein. http://www.chewy.com/dog/dr-tims-kinesis-all-life-stages-dry/dp/37810

Victor Select Chicken Meal and Brown Rice or Lamb Meal and Brown Rice are also affordable. The chicken is 391 cal/cup, 24% protein, and $55 for 40 pounds ($1.38/pound). http://www.amazon.com/Victor-Dog-Food-Chicken-40-Pound/dp/B00COVMFW4/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1389619583&sr=8-6&keywords=victor+select+dog+food
The lamb is 381 cal/cup, 24% protein, and $59 for 40 pounds ($1.48/pound). This would be good so you can alternate proteins and not feed just chicken all the time. http://www.amazon.com/Victor-Dog-Food-Chicken-40-Pound/dp/B00COVSBL8/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1389619583&sr=8-9&keywords=victor+select+dog+food

Those are all grain-inclusive foods. Grain-free cost a bit more and I don’t know exactly what your budget is. I think Earthborn Holistic is the most affordable and high quality grain free food out there. Meadow Feast and Coast Catch are on HDM’s list. They are both $47.99 for a 26 pound bag ($1.85/pound). The MF is lamb-based, 26% protein, and 400 cal/cup. http://www.chewy.com/dog/earthborn-holistic-meadow-feast/dp/36414
The CC is fish-based, 32% protein, and 435 cal/cup. http://www.chewy.com/dog/earthborn-holistic-coastal-catch/dp/36406

As far as your Danes putting weight on, as long as their not ribby it’s ok for them to be on the lean side. It’s better to be lean than overweight. You don’t want added stress on the joints.

I hope I helped with the food recommendations. If you can afford it, I would try alternating the grain-inclusive foods with grain-free foods. You could do Annamaet Ultra, Earthborn Meadow Feast, Dr. Tim’s, Earthborn Coastal Catch. That way you rotate protein sources (chicken, lamb, and fish) as well as protein percentages (32% and 26%).

[InkedMarie]

I don’t know what your budget is but dr Tim’s & Natures Logic are great foods, great companies. So is Annamaet but a little more money. You could look at Fromm if you want grain inclusive but I’m not so impressed with their grainfree. Earthborn is a good choice as well.

[Kcatlady]

Hi, I am looking for a recommendation for type of food to feed my rough collie (and other dogs) due to my collie’s skin condition. Over the past couple of years he has developed seborrheic-smelling skin with a thickened scaly type skin near his rump with crusty mostly circular type lesions all over his body. I do have a background in vet medicine as of working in several different vet offices over a 10-year period. My vet prescribed antibiotics for a skin infection which I am sure he did have at that point. After that though the lesions did not go away. We have bathed in chlorhexidine shampoo and it seems to help for a short time and then the lesions return. A grain free diet was recommended so I put them on BB Wilderness. Oh, I have him shaved so I can see his skin issues, although I don’t typically recommend shaving a dog with a double coat. The BB seems to be doing quite well, but I am wondering if anyone has seen this issue before and if so what they did. I’m all about the nutrition coming first and then treating medically if it’s not cleared up by diet. I do have to be budget conscious like most of us as I have 4 kids and 4 dogs and 12 cats. I am involved in cat rescue as well but the cat food will be for another forum, lol. Thanks very much for any comments.

• This topic was modified 11 years, 11 months ago by Kcatlady.

[Naturella]

Hello, all, and Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it!

Just wanted to pitch in with my happiness and joy of a Christmas “gift”!

This month I was so happy to collect my local Petland’s coupons from the trash that people did not want – I got over 20 I am sure. They have $11.99-off a bag of Vets Choice Holistic Health Extension and also $10-off $25-and-over purchase store-wide. The thing is, they expire in February. So, I just gave them as gifts to my friends with pooches, hoping that they would switch them from the lower-quality food they feed to the 4-star Vets Choice and Earthborn Holistic.

Speaking of, I kept 3 of the coupons for myself so I will be getting 14-lb bags each of Earthborn Holistic’s Primitive Natural, Coastal Catch, and Plains Feast, and 4-lb bags each of the Vets Choice Original, Lamb and Rice, and Grain Free. This way Bruno will be set for all of 2014, should the expiration dates on the bags permit! I am so excited! 🙂

Happy Holidays!

[neezerfan]

I feel the same way about dog food. It’s always exciting when supplies get low and I can buy something new! Aren’t we a bunch of weirdos! LOL!

[Akari_32]

Good news! My local fish/pet store just started carying NutriSource! They only have grain free right now, but I asked the guy (known them for years– been buying fish from them for 15+ years) if they could get the Super Preformance and he said yes. However, I’d probably have to buy the whole case. I’ll have to work that out LOL

Anyways, the 30 pounders are $30-40 depending on the flavor, and I scored one of each flavor of the grain free samples, and a couple $2 off 15 pounds and larger coupons. Whoop whoop! When I actually need dog food, I’ll investigate further. I can also take advantage of their frequent buyer program (buy 12 get 13th free). I’m pretty psyched to try this food out on the dogs! Can’t wait till I start to run low on the Purina One 🙂

[Akari_32]

I’m having trouble keeping weight on Haley, my 11 year old lab/retriever mix. Ever since I switched from Wellness Core to RR (Zero Grain and Just 6 mix), she’s been droppig weight like crazy. She’s currently on about 1/4 RR and 3/4 Purina One, and that’s helping tons now. I had the dogs on all RR, then got a really awesome deal on the Purina One, and I’m just about out of the RR now, I have maybe 15 pounds left.

Unfortunately, we’re at a financial point were if we buy it, we use it. Throwing out or giving it away won’t do us any good. Since I’ve got lots of the Purina and few other random small bags of food, I’ve just been giving a small amount of the RR. I always mix in canned food (Haley can’t do straight dry food in meal size quantities, as her stomach can’t handle it and it makes her miserable), and usually a raw egg. I’ve stopped walking her almost completely, and upped her food to 6-9 cups a day, depending on if we walk or not. This has helped a lot, but she’s not a big eater to begin with.

My plan is to get at least her back on Wellness ASAP (I have about 15 pounds of that that I bought recently with coupons, and will get more as soon as I have the funds and time), as well as buy some good, all beef hot dogs to add some extra calories and protein to her diet (I have 10 free packs lined up as soon as they get in stock). She’s currently on vitamins, glucosamine, and fish oil as well. The fish oil has helped her put some weight on, too.

I’m positive the switch from the Wellness Core foods to the lesser RR, and then even lesser Purina One has got her system all in a fit, but it’s been months since she’s been off Wellness. RR is only 313 calories per cup, which I only found out recently, and that’s when I started feeding more, realizing it was partly not enough calories. Other than that, I don’t think she digests food very well, which is why I always wet her food– makes it easier on her tummy. She did great on Wellness and I only fed her 2.5-3 cups. My Rott mix has not needed an increase in food since the switch, and neither really has moms terrier (only on days he’s particularly hyper).

I also plan to buy some Nutri Source Super Preformance off PetFlow, but I’d like to get her back on Wellness and get weight back up first, and see if any certain ingredients have anything to do her weight loss, and see how she does grain free vs grain inclusive. The dogs were all on corn based foods until I took over the dog food buying a few years ago, and I’ve more or less kept them on grain free, and anything that wasn’t, they weren’t on for any length of time. Then when I started with the RR Zero Grain as the bulk of their diet a few months ago, it’s been an uphill battle >.<

Any changes to my plan, at all? Anything to add, or take away? Any other ideas, period? Budget is extremely tight, so don’t get too crazy on my, but I need to get some weight on my girl that doesn’t involve shoving food down her throat.

[Akari_32]

By “some” I meant the set, sorry lol But if you’re friends with your neighbors you can always use their addresses and have them give them to you.

[kortney812]

I just have one gecko for now she’s a blizzard but I plan on getting another just waiting to find one for a good price again. How did you get multiple coupons for BB in the mail? I was only able to get one of each.

[Akari_32]

I’ll get the dry Pro Plan every now and then. They send out great coupons for it, up to $5 off. And then PetCo usually has $3-5 off coupons on it as well. Combine with a sale, and you get it SUPER cheap! The trick is buying small bags, instead of bigger ones.

Reptiles really are much cheaper and a better quality at shows. I would only buy from shows, but I made a joke about a cute lizard I wanted at PetSmart (Rex) for Christmas, and my parents got him for me LOL Thus, I started into reptiles with one of the worst starter reptiles on the planet XD But I love him and don’t mind dumping all my money on his UV bulbs and crap. Two years after I got him, I got my first leopard gecko, a female Dreamsickle I named Amelia, and then this year, I got my second in my march, a male Snow named Rowen, and another male in September at the FirExpo (where I also got Amelia), a tangerine lavender, Raven. Love my “yizards” to death :3

I just tried to use one of those cricket coupons yesterday LOL I didn’t realize it had expired on the 1st. Whoops! I’ve actually started breeding my own meal worms for my guys staple, and then I’ll still by crickets, supers, roaches and waxworms as a treat. I’m spending so much on feeders that I don’t have money money left at the end of the week for, you know, bills and gas and stuff? LOL

Most companies don’t check if you’ve gotten a coupon before or not, except by tracking your ip address, so you can print multiple coupons on various computers, and then you can also email them and ask for one in the mail. Did you get that BB $5 off any bag, $1 off any can, and $0.50/$1 off any treats thing in the mail? I’ve got some of those I need to use, as they expire at the end of the year….

Because I tend to buy several months worth of dog food over a week or so period, I only print the coupons out a few times a year, 10 at a time. But I’m pretty sure they are reset monthly. Just try every couple weeks, doesn’t hurt! 🙂

[kortney812]

I like Core more than just about any food out there and my dogs look fantastic on it but I do like to rotate and BB is really the only other brand except maybe Castor and Pollux but there never seems to be any deals/coupons or anything on it.
I have a big fat female Mali Uro 🙂 I got mine from a friend who got her from a show. I try to get most of my reptiles from shows, they are much cheaper! Im in Lake County area, Ive been thinking about ordering the insects online and see how that goes, I get some coupons from work for like buy so many mealworms get crickets free and things like that but its still pretty expensive.
If only I could find more coupons for BB! Their website seems to remember if youve done the comparison thing for the $5 coupon. How often do you do the wellness one?

[Akari_32]

The only reason it’s in the garage is because it’s cooler out right now. It’s usually in the pantry, but it’s full of human food ATM (for once LOL). Since I buy small bags, it’s usually fits right in the cabinet over top the human food.

Hey, another FL person! That’s good you guys get a discount! I wish we got one at Publix lol I would go with Core over BB, personally. But as I said earlier in the thread, Core is my favorite grain free food. But I like to switch it up, so I do try most everything. I’ve not used the dry BB, but I’ve used some of the cans. The dogs seem to like Pro Plan cans best, plus I get them free, so that’s what they mainly get for canned mixers, but I like to have fun with my dry food purchases.

Seems we’ve got a similar line up of pets! I’ve got the three dogs, a Mali Uromastyx, three leopard geckos, about two dozen goldfish (I have a goldfish problem… I have a 150+ gallon tank in the works for my 6 indoor fancies LOL), and several tropicals. Between the fish, I have almost 400 gallon of water worth of ponds and aquariums.

What kind of Uro do you have? Did you get yours at PetSmart or a show? We got Rex about 4 years ago at our local PetSmart. My Leos all came from breeders at various Repticon conventions :p Are you near the Pinellas County type area? I buy all my feeder inscects at White Hot Dragons, in (what I call, but may not actually be) St Pete. They are super cheap, and have better quality bugs, as well as a variety 🙂

Use those coupons, girl! Save some money! 😉 I bought $25 worth of etcetera for $8 today at PetSmart Lol

[kortney812]

This is an awesome thread! I am so glad I stumbles upon it!
I work at a PetSmart in Florida so I try to stick with foods from there to take advantage of my 15% discount. The only brands we have that I really consider is the Blue Buffalo Wilderness and Wellness Core. But both are SO expensive! I was actually looking more into all the foods we carry to see if there was something cheaper but I am really not a fan of anything else :/. I never knew about the Wellness $5 off coupons though, that’s awesome! Also, for anyone who buys big bags, PetSmart is doing the $5 off bonus bucks right now so if you print the online coupon and buy a big in store you could get $10 off a bag, plus if you get the petsupermarket coupons or others as well that s a good deal!
Akari, you are extremely helpful I may be able to keep my dogs on the two foods for now thanks to all your coupon info!!!!! I only go through 3 1/2 cups a day with my to dogs but I also have a Uromastyx, snakes, leopard gecko, guinea pig, a cat, and a horse so it all adds up! You guys are awesome!

[theBCnut]

Just remember that dog food should be stored in an air tight cool dry dark place, because environmental factors affect the quality of the food. Heat, fresh air, and light in particular break down the fats in dog foods. So the best way to store it is under air conditioning/indoors in it’s original bag with the top rolled down and all the air squeezed out. In the Winter heat is not so much a factor, but over the Summer, the garage is not a good place to store dog food, and here in FL that’s 3/4 of the year.

[Akari_32]

I’ve got about 20 pounds out for use right now (hurray for garbage cans!) and twice that or more in the garage. Safe to say we’ve got plenty for a while LOL

[theBCnut]

I have 3 25 lb bags and a few 5 lb bags, so I shouldn’t have to shop for a while, but 2 of those 25 lb bags are foods that Micah can’t have, so I still have to buy more.

[Melissaandcrew]

LOl. I try to buy food for the upcoming month to be at least 30 days ahead. I counted food bags yesterday and realized that except for a bag or two of “new try” products, I really don’t need to look until mid Jan or so. Especially now since I switched from premade raw topper to 50% homemade raw.

[Naturella]

Akari,

Thank you, yeah, I will see what will get Bruno under a cup calorie-wise, but I will have to play with foods and mixes.

Also, OMG, thanks for the heads-up on the Vets Choice sale! Wish I had some money and needed dog food, but I won’t be shopping for that till like February, lol! 🙂

P.S. Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate it! 🙂

[Akari_32]

So I figured out why Haley is loosing weight after switching off the Wellness. The RR Zero Grain is only 313 calories per cup. Wholy cow!! I can’t possibly shove any more food down this poor dogs throat, she just can’t eat that much. The fish oil, doggy vitamins, and probiotic (expired in July, but I figure they can’t hurt) mix seems to be helping though. At least the Purina One and Pedigree are in the mid to high 400’s calorie per cup. Maybe I should get over myself and get a higher concentration of them into that RR. They’ve been on much worse when my parents were in charge of their food…

Side note, 4 pound bags of Vets Choice on sale on PetFlow for 3.99 right now! I was tempted, but I’d rather make a large order and get the free shipping. I’m in a financially tight spot at the moment– food and gas only! No play money :/ As much as I love jumping on deals, I don’t need dog food. And mom would probably murder me if I ordered crap tons of dog food online right now anyways LOL

[OhBichonPlease]

I also think Chewy.com has great prices and I have purchased a bag of Wellness Core from them for my rescued 15lb Bichon Frise. She is not an enthusiastic eater of kibble, but the bag seemed like a good value and has lasted quite a while with her less-than-1/2-cup per day eating habits. I have just ordered for the first time and opened a bag of Dr Tim’s grain free, which was even less expensive, and both are 5-star foods enthusiastically recommended with everything I was personally looking for [all life stages standards, vitamins, chelated minerals, pre and probiotics, fatty acids, superfoods]. I wish Dr Tim’s didn’t have added salt, but that’s my only issue and it is a small one. His ingredient list includes several impressive additions, although Wellness also seems like a great product. Dr Tim’s appealed to me personally as a way to save money – even though I buy the smallest bag [I only have one picky mouth the feed, but I want to feed the best I can mostly afford]. Dr Tim’s was 2 dollars cheaper for a pound more – 12.99 for 4lbs of Wellness Core vs 10.99 for 5lbs of Dr. Tim’s grain free. You pay for quality, but those seemed like a good value for my small dog at an online retailer with consistently lower prices on reputable items. The site also features user reviews so you can hear even more opinions/testimonials.

You may also want to hit up local pet stores in your area for free samples, or request some from the companies themselves – a good way to experiment, add some variety, stretch your resources and save money!

[Akari_32]

I love Core, quite honestly. It’s just sooooo expensive! The other Wellness foods are crap compared to Core, IMO. I don’t know why I think that, but I do! Lol I’m really liking the Nutrisource Super Preformance. It has 500-something calories per cup!! I about flipped a lid when I saw that LOL We’ll see how it makes the list after I’ve tried the dogs on it. I’m still kinda weird about Canidae, but I’ll give it a try. I’ll treat it like I do TOTW, and go at it carefully. With out much digging, I’m still unsure which of the Canidae foods are made by Diamond and which aren’t.

Bentley went through a state of eating less than a cup one day, more than a cup the next. Just over all really all over the place in how much he would eat. We seem to have finally settled, now that he’s done growing, on 3/4-1 cup, depending on his treat intake and activity for the day. See if you can find a mix that gets you under a cup. It’s a pretty fun challenge LOL

[Naturella]

Akari,

I see, those foods sound good! I really want to try Canidae GF, Wellness Core, Back to Basics, Victor, Earthborn Holistic, Wysong 60 or 90, sometime soon, lol! But small dogs take a bunch of time to eat through big batches. I have introduced him to Nutrisca today and he seems to enjoy it quite well. I will bring in Vet’s Choice Holistic Health Extension GF tomorrow, and Dr. Tim’s on Wednesday. Then mix them all in a small batch and feed him that for 1-2 weeks to make sure he is good on it, and then mix the rest of the bags together.

I actually took Bruno to the vet today and they said he is in tip-top shape. He is at a good weight, which may just be his ideal weight, with maybe a pound, 2 max in growth potential, so when I used the Dog Food Advisor Dog Food Calculator for his ideal weight for 11/12/13 lbs, for an Active dog, the discrepancy was between 1.03 of a cup to 1.10 of a cup, for a 404 kcal/cup for his upcoming food mix. He is a fairly active little guy and goes to the dog park at least 3 times a week or more, and runs around the house and goes on walks/jogs on the days he doesn’t go to the dog park. He usually doesn’t always finish his full cup anyway, but sometimes he does, so I think about a cup for him should be ok… I will keep watching his weight and development, though, and adjust as necessary.

[Akari_32]

Sure thing!

I think if I were to pick three foods off this list, I’d pick

Canidae Life Stages All Life Stages
Merrick Classic Puppy Real Chicken, Brown Rice and Green Apple
Nutrisource Super Performance
Nutrisource Grain Free Lamb

Ok thats four, but whatever LOL

For your guy, I think I’d aim for less than 3/4 of a cup. I don’t really know how much a dog that size is actually supposed to eat, though, because less face it, my Bentley eats like a freaking pig. Stupid dog and his crazy eating habits >.<