Good job, Akari! I have also started looking into that (not that it would make much of a difference for my 11-pounder, who is also still a puppy), but it would be a good thing to keep in mind for the future, so thanks for using this technique too and compiling those lists! 🙂
YES (those on this list are definite options)
California Natural Chicken Meal and Rice Puppy
California Natural Lamb Meal and Rice Puppy
*Canidae Life Stages All Life Stages
Dr. Tim’s Kinesis All Life Stages
Dr. Tim’s Pursuit Active
Eagle Pack Puppy (yellow bag)
Eagle Pack Pork Meal and Chicken Meal (large and small bites)
Eagle Pack Power
Earthborn Puppy Vantage
Earthborn Small Breed
Earthborn Costal Catch
Earthborn Great Plains Feast
Earthborn Primitive Natural
Fromm Gold Small Breed Adult
Fromm Gold Puppy
Holist Select Radiant Adult Health Lamb Meal
Horizon Pulsar Grain Free Fish
Merrick Classic Real Chicken, Brown Rice and Pea Adult
Merrick Classic Real Lamb, Brown Rice and Apple Adult
*Merrick Classic Puppy Real Chicken, Brown Rice and Green Apple
Merrick Classic Real Chicken, Brown Rice and Pea Large Breed
Healthwise Chicken Meal and Oatmeal
Nature’s Variety Prairie Kibble Chicken and Brown Rice
Nature’s Variety Prairie Chicken Meal and Brown Rice Puppy
**Nutrisource Performance
**Nutrisource Super Performance
Nutrisource Adult Large Breed Chicken and Rice
Nutrisource Small and Medium Breed Puppy Chicken and Rice
Nutrisource Grain Free Heartland Select w/ Bison
Nutrisource Grain Free Seafood Select w/ Salmon
**Nutrisource Grain Free Chicken
**Nutrisource Grain Free Lamb
**Nutrisource Grain Free Chicken Large Breed
Nutrisource Grain Free Lamb Large Breed
Precise Endurance Formula
Precise Natural Grain Free Chicken
Vets Choice Health Extension Little Bites
Vets Choice Health Extension Original
MAYBE (foods on this list are more for sale watches or when I have a bit more money to spend)
By Nature—Pork
Castor and Pollux Beef and Barley
Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lovers Soul—Large Breed Puppy
Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lovers Soul—Puppy
Eagle Pack Original Lamb Meal
Eagle Pack Large and Giant Breed Adult
Earth Born Vantage Adult
Earthborn Ocean Fusion
Earthborn Meadow Feast
Fromm Gold Adult
Holistic Select Radiant Adult Chicken Meal and Rice
Holistic Select Large and Giant Breed Adult
Merrick Whole Earth Farms Puppy
Merrick Classics Beef, Whole Barley and Carrot Adult
Natural Balance Ultra
Nutricource Adult Chicken and Rice
Nutrisource Large Breed Puppy Chicken and Rice
Nutrisource Large Breed Adult Lamb and Rice
Precise Sensicare Lamb Meal and Rice
Precise Chicken Meal and Rice Foundation
Premium Edge Weight Reduction
Wellness Complete Health Chicken
Acana Chicken and Burbank Potato
NEED MORE INFO (these need more digging to find calorie counts)
Nature’s Recipe Easy to Digest Fish Meal and Potato
Nature’s Recipe Large Breed
Nature’s Recipe Easy to Digest Chicken Meal, Rice, and Barley
Nature’s Recipe Healthy Skin Venison Meal and Rice
PetGuard LifeSpan
* Just over 4 cups for Dweezle
** Less than 4 cups for Dweezle
Will do! Wellness goes on sale quite often. Also, PetSmart will price match any competitor non-sale price (for example, Pet Supermarkets small bags of Original Core are $13.99, where PetSmart’s are $16.99. Bring in your smart phone or printed web page, and PetSmart will match it at the register).
Just a little update– I’m absolutely head over heals for Nutrisource right now. Like, you have no idea. Especially the Super Performance and Grain Free’s. I’ve started a new system where I bold anything that keeps me under 4 cups :p Gotta go back and do it with the top part of my list, though. OMG kill me -_- LOL
Akari,
I see. I will keep an eye out for other sales, but please feel free to fill us (me) in on any that you notice since I know you are often on the hunt for good deals!
Thank you and I will be sure to let you all know how Bruno does on his new food. He is a pretty good eater (not picky at all), so I think he should like it, I HOPE! 🙂
Yes, I’m using a combination of PetFlow, manufacturer websites, and DFA’s Dog Food Calculator to determine whats available, how many calories per cup it is, and how many cups it’d take to feed 130 pound, fixed, senior, lazy bones Dweedle-weedle. Him and Haley have the same activity level (almost negative :p) and Bentley’s one-ish cup a day doesn’t really add up to much compared to them, and I barely even notice any extra in the food bills (taking into account my couponing, as well).
The Wellness sale ended about a week ago, I think. The ProPlan sale at PetCo ended on the 23rd.
Good luck with your new food mix 🙂 My guys tend to not care, as long as its just a tiny bit eatable LOL
Akari,
This is exciting – are you looking at calories in order to determine the number of cups you will feed him (I assume Dweezle is a boy)?
Bruno is almost done with his Blue Buffalo Wilderness Puppy-Vets Choice Holistic Health Extension Original, he should be done by the end of next week. I will start mixing in his new batch of Dr. Tim’s Kinesis GF-Nutrisca-Vets Choice Holistic Health Extension GF starting tomorrow, and see how he likes it. I’m excited to get him on it! 🙂
I also checked Wellness Core prices at Pet Smart, but they don’t have it on sale now, so I will wait. I have at least 3 months to go before I have to worry about more food for Bruno.
I’ve actually got two lists going. One for definite yes’s (up to 4.5 cups for Dweezle), and one for maybe’s (4.5-5 cups for Dweezle). Only have 7 foods total. I’ve sure got a long way to go! >.<
Be strong Akari, be strong!
So I think I’m going to go through my list and narrow my options down to foods that have me feeding Dweezle less than 4 cups. I don’t envy myself AT ALL, but I think it will, over all, help me cut down my feeding costs even more. I’ll post my updated list later… If I never come back, its because the task killed me @.@
Hi everyone…
I’m hoping to get a little advice/opinion on which is best. We have 3 dogs – 2 Jack Russells (ages 14 and 8) and a Lab/Golden Ret mix (age 7) – so all Sr dogs, all indoor spoiled babies. We had been feeding them Purina One for the last 5 years until I came upon this sight and realized what a fool I was. They are stinking little furkids…always farting. We had tried at one time the Kirkland brand that got 4 stars but the farting was the stinkiest and worst ever so we did not buy a second bag. I narrowed our choices down -due to budget – to:
-Whole Earth Farms Senior
-Healthwise
-Premium Edge Lamb/Rice/Veggie (no Sr because it got less stars)
-Diamond Naturals (I like this because it comes in the largest bag)
I bought the Whole earth farms for the last 2 months and the dogs like it but it hasn’t helped their gas problems. They do eat less of it, which is nice though. So I thought I’d go with my second choice – which was Premium Edge – and see what effect that has on them.
So- My question is: Which of these 2 (or even 4) are better? They all seem pretty comparable to me but any wise opinions would be helpful! Thanks!!
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This topic was modified 12 years, 1 month ago by
jas84047.
I see. Chicago is neat too, it is one of the places my boyfriend and I have thought about moving to.
No, he moved up to Northern Chicago quite a number of years ago.
Patty, this is neat! Does he still live there? If not, is his house up for rent by any chance, lol? We are looking for a house to move into this December. But yes, the area is nice, close to KSU where a lot of my mental efforts are directed to, lol!
My brother lived in the Northwest Atlanta area for many years. I love Kennesaw!!!
Btw, Kingsland, GA is the total diagonal point from Kennesaw, GA, which is where I live, lol… But I’ve been to Cumberland Island, GA, and it seems like a nice area! 🙂
OOOH, more pets!!! My boyfriend and our roommate are moving into a house in December, so we should have enough space! Do consider! 😉
I come with 365 gallons worth of aquariums and ponds, 3 leopard geckos, a Mali Uromastyx (google it!), and two very large dogs LOL
My brother and his family live in Kingsland, btw!
Akari….
THANK YOU!!! I am in awe of your skills!!! Can we be roommates? Please? Maybe? Move to GA, we have great schools!!!! 🙂
I always look for bags nearing their expiration date when couponing. Even torn bags. PetSmart gives me 20% off torn bags if I just ask.
I went food shopping last night and happened to find a 5lb bag of Merrick Classic Beef, Barley & Carrot for 50% off- so under $10. I think it was because the “Sell By” date was coming up in just a few weeks. But- my dogs will go through it in plenty of time for it to still be good. I was excited! I also got some of the Merrick Grain Free (Buffalo), which is not as budget friendly, but IS 10% off right now at PetCo… and I’ll probably mix with the Whole Earth Farms for awhile and see how they do.
Another good option for coupons online is retailmenot.com Before I checkout on any site I check there to ser if there a promo code or coupon.
Yeppers! 😀
I don’t blame you on the Purina. I stick with the One and better if I have to. The ProPlan I don’t feel *so* bad about, but the One I don’t like at all. But I have to get what I can, at the moment. I’d rather not resort to like Kibbles and bits or some off brand from Dollar General or Ol’ Roy or something @.@ So, I get the cheap brands really cheap/free/paid to take, and I mix in the better brands, like the Wellness. This is only when I don’t have money for all better brands of course. Though, because I made $7 for every 3 bags of Purina One I bought, I have a lot of it! So I need to stock up on something better before the RR runs out. I’ve got about 3 weeks of the RR mix left as it stands, but I do plan on diluting it down to 50/50 before I open the Core, simply because I ain’t made of money lol
Wow, Akari, you got all that for $10? I have one dog that can eat anything (I do draw the line at anything Purina, no offense) so I’d take those Wellness bags in a heartbeat!
You’re welcome! Happy couponing! 😀
You’re welcome 🙂 You may even be able to solicit coupons or samples from companies. Doesn’t hurt to try! Email any company you may want to try, and see what you can get! 😉
*stares in awe* Yay, so much knowledge about coupons, thank you! 🙂
Coupons.com and printablecouponsanddeals.com (maybe net? Something like that… It’s a grey and blue blog style website) are good places to start. If you don’t mind Purina products, projectslimdownpets.com has good ProPlan coupons too. They reset every so often. Some of the coupons on their are currently unavailable, but check them often any ways.
You can also just look right on the retailers websites. If don’t mind it, Pedigree is doing an adoption drive event, and of you print out a form, fill it out, and send them a copy of a vaccine receipt (among other options), they will send you a coupon for a free bag up to $10 (I opted to get the sensative systems one, the better of their craptasic foods– paid like 2 bucks for it after the coupon) and free any four cans up to $5 (for the best value, get the big cans! ;)).
Akari,
Great!!! Thank you, coupon guru! 🙂
Oh and go to Wellness’ web site and do the check your bag thing for their coupons. These are reset monthly, and you can only click print ONCE. Luckily, it comes up and asks how many you want to print. I usually do 10.
Gotta got on google and just search every way possible. I have several sites I frequent for my manufacturer coupons. For the petco coupons, you just go to petco.com/coupons, and also just search around the site. Petsmart has good coupons every now and then, and you get those by being a PetPerks member. If you have a Pet Supermarket, sign up for their VIP program to get $4 off $20 coupons, and get mailed $5 off $25 coupons. The $2 off $10 are found in the Sunday paper, and occationally through the Internet. Like someone else said above, the ProPlan coupon this month is not on the coupon page, but on the featured brands thing at the bottom of the main page. When I’m on my computer again, I’ll post links to the sites I use 🙂
Is all of this online (the coupons)? I need help on where to even look…. :/
Thanks! I did the same thing I told you, only I have $2 off $10 Pet SuperMarket coupons and happened to find the $5 off PetCo Wellness ones lol In total, I got $12 off each bag, as well as them being on sale for $3 less than PetSmarts usual price 🙂 Sale ends this weekend, so if you want it, you better hurry! PetCo also has the 4 and 6 pound bags of ProPlan for $9.99, with the $5 off any size coupon 🙂
Oh my goodness, Akari, your couponing rocks! Great job!!!
Thanks! You should try it! It’s fun 🙂 A little too much math for my liking, but it’s worth it LOL
These are going to be stored until my Rachael Ray mix runs out. I’m down to about 75/25 Rachael Ray to Purnia One 🙁 Then I’ve got about 40 pounds (maybe a little less) more of the Purina One, and about 20 pounds of Pedigree (Sensitive Systems and Puppy Complete or whatever it is), so I need to stock up on more good food so that they don’t get all cheaper food… lol
I did go to PetCo to get the ProPlan, but they were out of the three I narrowed it down to (Select Sensitive Skin and Stomach, Lamb and Rice Puppy, and Grain Free– all 6 pounds and rated at 3 stars), so I went to PetSmart and got the Wellness instead. Got to break in a cute new cashier, too 😉
YAY!! What a score! I envy you coupon goddesses.
My $1 per pound isn’t applied toward cheaper foods (such as Purina, etc). It’s applied to 3 star rated foods and up. For example, tonights shopping trip…
http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/securedownload_zpsceedb94d.jpeg
Less than $10 for these four bags! If this was a lesser brand, I’d have not gotten it unless I was either getting paid for it, or paying less than 1/2 of what I just paid for this. So, I have a standard of quality when it comes to what I pay vs what I’m getting. Thats just me, though. Can’t vouch for other people 😉
I will fully admit to gratefully taking advantage of the free whatever-size-bag coupons Pedigree and Purina have sent me. I plan on mixing these lower quality foods with something much better, like this Wellness. I can’t bring my self to feed JUST one of those yucky corn filled foods (if they can even be called food!)… But right now I’m in a do what you have to position. We’ve all been there!
I will suggest – you should try to do a “price per day” comparison rather than per pound. I have found that certain brands differ a lot on how much you have to feed to maintain weight. Also, most dogs I have owned I have had to feed less than the recommended amount (not so anymore with two 1.5 year old cattledog mixes, who I have trouble keeping weight ON). A 30lb bag isn’t necessarily comparable to another 30lb bag in how long they will last your dog(s). That being said, of course, it will probably still be more expensive to feed the expensive food. I really like the idea of mixing a mid-level food with a more expensive one (or rotating) to keep things affordable. I might actually have to try that with some of the Honest Kitchen mixes I am starting to try.
Another suggestion – right now, Wag.com has 25% off your first order for new customers, with up to $20 off!! I plan on purchasing something tonight, and probably making my boyfriend and mom both order some for me as well (it says 1 per household). Also, I have been looking at the Petango store, which has an awesome 15% off recurring orders. You can choose how often they ship something to you, so I am considering eventually having things spaced a few months apart, to get a rotation going (shipped to my door too!). I live in a smallish town, where the only dog food available is grocery store/walmart brands (the local farm and fleet does carry Taste of the Wild if I am ever in a pinch), so online shopping is very convenient for me.
Other suggestions – for Minnesota/Colorado, Chuck and Don’s Pet Food Outlet has quarterly sales (usually something like $15 off a $75 purchase) as well as quarterly newsletters with a TON of coupons. I highly recommend their stores! For those in Iowa, Theisens (a farm store, but with high quality food including frozen raw) has a twice-yearly 18% off anything you can fit in a bag sale. We have successfully fit 35# bags of Nutrisource/PureVita/Merrick in their brown bag for the discount before. Also, a LOT of brands have “Buy X number of bags, get the Xth bag free” programs at participating stores. Honest Kitchen just started one actually (buy 12 get one free), I just picked up an envelope last week.
Good luck!
I’m always on PetCo’s coupon page. They put out some really good ones, but their coupon policy sucks, so I take them to PetSmart LOL I may take up that deal, actually. Anything is better than having to rehome your pets because of money issues. $1 per pound is hard, but match coupons with sales, and you can most certainly make it. Shop around and plan, plan, plan!
PetCo’s main page on the bottom has a tab called “Brand Spotlight”. If you click on the Purina ProPlan one you can print out a coupon for $5.00 off any sized bag of dog or cat food (valid until 12/31/13). Right now at PetCo ProPlan is on sale for $9.99 for the 6lb. bags, use the coupon, get a bag for $4.99 plus tax. Ok, ProPlan is not the most nutritious food, but the Chicken and Brown Rice is rated 3.5 stars here and you could mix it with a better food. I always check PetCo’s website every month because they have a coupon for a free can of cat food (it’s Friskies this month).
I agree, very difficult. I went ahead and bought the 40 pound bag of Victor, i’m not sure if that type of deal will always be available, but i’m crossing my fingers.
A dollar per pound for good foods is about impossible, but you sure have found a real bargain in Victor.
Thanks for the Dr Tim’s recommendations! I checked them all out and found Victor to be my favorite option. You can get a 40 pound bag for around $50 bucks! That seems like a really good deal for a 4 star food, especially since it seems the designer brands don’t usually sell bags much bigger than around 30 pounds. I’m seriously thinking of ordering me a bag.
The goal I have in my head is to keep the price at around $1 per pound. I know that’s arbitrary, but it’s just a budgeting goal I have. The Victor is close though. Anyone have anymore good options for budget friendly dog foods?
Some better priced good foods would be dr Tim’s grain inclusives (there are three), Earthborn, Victor, Merrick whole earth farms, hi Tek naturals, off the top of my head. I don’t know if they’re comparable to Iams, I don’t feed food like that so I don’t know.
How can you not mean anything by calling people snobby?
I never meant anything mean in regards to being snobby, I was dog food snobby to at first. I look at the ingredients in some of the food I eat and if I run them through “guaranteed analysis” they would probably fail.
Honestly, if anyone has a better alternative to Smart Puppy for a COMPARABLE price, I will surely try it.
Some of us are “snobby” due to the ingredients. Some of us also feed our dogs what we feel is best by looking at ingredients and guaranteed analysis. If you feel it’s incredible, good for you. There are other foods out there for budget conscious people with much better ingredients.
So i’ve been going through this same dilemna myself for a few months. I have puppy now that started off feeding Blue Wilderness, which is amazing! I have no complaints, other than the fact that she was usually eating better than me lol. I figured if i’m spending more on my puppies food than I do on myself, something’s wrong. After lot’s of searching and researching online, I stumbled upon Iams Smart Puppy. I know! Everyone on this forum is going to be snobby towards Iams, but i’m here to vouch whole heartedly for it. It’s rated three stars, but for the price it is incredible. Petsmart has it for sure, my Walmart doesnt carry it though. For someone who is on a budget, this is some of the best out there in my opinion. A 38 pound bag for $34. This is about what it is in Petsmart to I think.
Man I wish 23 pounds lasted me 4 months! Lucky lol
Let me know how your couponing trips go 🙂
