[Cavalierluvr]

Unfortunately my budget does not allow me to feed raw. I’m not opposed to rotating. I have a 9 year old Cavalier and I do rotate brands with him. I switched him to grain free when he was around 2 years old. He was on Fromm Gold and had developed a yeast infection…that’s when I switched to grain free. I’ve only had my pup for 3 1/2 weeks. I didn’t want to start rotating foods until he is and adult. I have several stores I can shop at and many carry quality brands. It just seems there are so few puppy formulas. I really do not want all life stages. It sure can be overwhelming. With the food he is on, he can both firm stools and soft stools. Since I have a probiotic for my older dog (Nusentia Probiotic Miracle) Ive been giving it to the puppy too.

[Mike Sagman]

Great question. You are feeding a Type 2 dog (a large breed puppy). So, simply check out the dog foods we recommend for Type 2 dogs inside Editor’s Choice.

By the way, some of those brands and sub-brands can be found on the Budget Friendly list, too.

Hope this helps.

[haleycookie]

How old is this lab? If he’s under 2 years I would get him on a large breed puppy formula ASAP. wellness core puppy, fromm large breed puppy are two good ones. If he’s already full grown looking for a food with three meat ingredients first. Merrick is good, natures variety instinct, and wellness core adult are good.
If you’re looking for a budget food, whole earth farms, under the sun, and wholehearted are two good ones.

[Joseph Z]

I currently feed my 3 yr old GSD 4Health and I am picking up an 8 week odl male GSD Sunday. I saw that 4Health Puppy didnt make the list for a top brand. Is it any good and if not taking in budget restraints, what brand would be a good one for my boy?

[Mike Sagman]

Hi Ashley,

Zignature is certainly a fine dog food. Please keep in mind that currently, there are more than 340 dog foods rated 4 stars or higher on our website. Yet (by design) Editor’s Choice includes a much smaller selection — currently, just 21 brands.

There are many reasons a particular brand may not be included on our lists.

For example, in most cases, a company may not have met all our guidelines. Or more rarely, its agents may have been unwilling to reveal important manufacturing information.

In any case, since no one on our team is a veterinarian and due to the uniqueness of each individual animal, it would be inappropriate for me to recommend a specific recipe for your dog’s GI issues.

I’m not aware of any scientific reason that it’s “best to stay away from anything with feathers”.

BTW, the reason you see so many poultry based recipes on our lists is because they are the most common meat ingredient found in the overwhelming majorities of dog foods on the market. Also, they are usually more affordable for most readers.

Five star dog foods tend to be highest in protein. Some animals find these foods too rich. So, why not try some 4 or even 3-star dog foods?

My best advice is to use “biofeedback” to help you find the best food for your pet. Try small packages of one dog food at a time. Monitor how your dog responds to each recipe you try. Then, adjust until your choice until you find the one to which your dog’s GI system responds most favorably.

Of course, it’s always best to discuss your dog’s problem with your veterinarian.

One more thing… don’t forget to check out our “Budget Friendly” dog foods list. You’ll find some super values there.

Hope this helps.

[Bobby dog]

Hello Penny:
I recently went through a similar experience and spent a year researching horse rescue and adoption. Facebook and forums proved invaluable for me. I learned many things from the experiences posters shared on-line. I was also fortunate because my Vet has experience with rescue horses and gave me expert guidance throughout the process. IMO you’re on the right track looking into this health condition prior to making any decisions about adoption!

I personally would never feed or recommend a homemade recipe that was not formulated by a credentialed veterinary nutritionist (ACVN or PhD in small animal nutrition) for my cat or dog. Many recipes I have seen posted are lacking essential vitamins and minerals. Feeding a diet, homemade or commercial, that is not balanced or feeding a commercial food far below recommended amounts over a long period might exacerbate any health issue(s) known or unknown. Ensuring they get all there required vitamins and minerals especially when they have a known health condition is important. There are many recipes on the Internet that bloggers and Vets have posted. Ask the formulators if they are credentialed in small animal nutrition, my guess would be no for most of them.

If a Vet has recommended a special diet or even if you’re just interested in feeding a balanced homemade diet I second C4C’s suggestion to check out BalanceIT.com or petdiets.com. I use a product from BalanceIT for my pup, he loves his homemade meals. The recipes are simple to make and there are many options for budget friendly ingredients.

It sounds like a good start since you have her medical history and she already had the stones removed. I hope an adoption works out for you both!! 

Here’s a few sites you may find helpful:
https://www.vetmed.umn.edu/centers-programs/minnesota-urolith-center/recommendations
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=460

Struvite info:
https://www.vetmed.umn.edu/sites/vetmed.umn.edu/files/canine_struvite_uroliths.pdf

petdiets.com provides a free “ask the Veterinary Nutritionist” service:
https://petdiets.com/Ask-the-Nutritionist

[Dany M]

Hi,

My puppy, Chico, is a healthy 11 months old dachshund. He was on Blue Buffalo food and I switched him to Acana for puppies & juniors.

I’m not sure which Acana adult food I should give him now. I disregarded the adult small breed product because it does not come in a large size bag. This factor is important for me due to my budget. I’m torn between the singles and regionals products.

I’d like to know which one you recommend between the 2 products (regional or singles). I think singles is more suitable for dogs with sensitive digestive system.

Thank you in advance,

Danny

[Mike Sagman]

Hi Richard,

Sorry you feel our site has changed. For the only noteworthy change we’ve made has been the recent introduction of our 5 new “Feeding Type” lists (recommended recipes grouped together by age and breed size).

In any case, I can assure you that we have never received (or would we ever accept) any compensation from any dog food manufacturer. Ever.

What’s more, since the referral fee we receive from Chewy (a retailer, not a manufacturer) is based on a fixed dollar amount, the fees we do get have nothing whatsoever to do with the price of any product.

Like you, we’re finding it increasingly difficult to find dog food brands that meet each of our published guidelines and yet that can also be considered low priced.

Unfortunately, many of the better brands we recommend have chosen to stop selling their products through online discount retailers.

The overwhelming majority of our Editor’s Choice brands have not changed. However, their pricing and availability has.

We realize this is a challenge for many (including members of our own team). So, thanks to the many tips and suggestions we receive from our members, we’ve been able to steadily increase the total number of dog foods on our “Budget Friendly” list from just 21 (back in 2014) to about 51.

And we’re always looking for more.

By the way, just because a dog food is rated 4 or 5 stars does not automatically entitle it to a place on our Editor’s Choice lists.

Please keep in mind that there are (currently) over a thousand reviews containing some 4300 individual dog foods on our website. And more than 360 products are rated 4 stars or higher. Yet (by design) Editor’s Choice includes a much smaller selection… currently, just 84 brands and sub-brands.

There are many reasons a particular brand may not be included on our lists.

For example, in most cases, a company may not have met all our guidelines. Or more rarely, its agents may have been unwilling to reveal important manufacturing information when we ask.

Or we may be aware of unfavorable information about a company (more common than you’d think).

Or we may have received tips from industry insiders that disqualify certain brands from inclusion on our lists.

In any case, we welcome any suggestions you or others may have. And if they meet our guidelines, we’ll be happy to include them.

Thanks for being a member for so long. It’s loyal members like you that have made it possible for us to avoid brand advertising and the destructive influence the pet food industry would have on the independent nature of our reviews.

[crazy4cats]

I can’t help to think that he looks adorable doing that. But, it’s not my floor! 😀

Did you check out the Editor’s Choice budget friendly brands for a large breed puppy? I have fed some Authority Large Breed adult food that was big kibble. I have 85 pound lab mixes and it slows them down a bit when they are eating. Not sure about their puppy food though.

Good luck!

[Tyler S]

I have done research over the past few months of having our puppy and honestly I am overwhelmed with everyone’s opinion of which dog food is “best.” Our budget doesn’t allow for some of the dog foods I have seen reccomended, but I would put a TOTW price point at the high end of our budget. I like the thought of the diamond naturals price point and food, but maybe that’s not what’s best for our pup. Let me give you the info on our dog and please help us make a decision on what fits our budget and also fills our pups tummy.

We will feed this until switching to adult food unless we are told otherwise. Currently she is on American Journey Lamb and Rice

Brands we have thought about:
Diamond Naturals
Blue Buffalo
TOTW
Nutro
Victor
HiTek

She is a lab hound mix and looks like she will be 70+-10lbs. She was rescued. So far we haven’t noticed adversities to any food she has been given. Let me know if you need more info

[bexster]

Our German Shepherd is rounding the corner to 5 years old this year. He’s a rescue who we adopted at 1.5 years who, if we hadn’t adopted him, he surely would not be alive today. He is a fearful, anxious dog who dislikes people and other dogs.

He’s a behavioral nightmare so taking him to the vet for allergy tests is not in the cards. He can’t be left with other people. He leads a great, happy, well-lived life with us so please, no judgements.

From the get-go he had red scabby sores on his tummy so we fed him a good grain free food. The sores persisted so we eliminated chicken/turkey and that was the winner.

Things I’m not sure we have to avoid as I’ve never fed them to him:
Grains
Rice

Things we must avoid:
Chicken
Turkey
Chicken fat
Any chicken whatsoever
Apple
Corn

Things I want to avoid because I’ve read and read and researched endlessly for him and our previous girl who we lost to bone cancer:
Peas
Tapioca
Lentils
Potatoes
Crap fillers along those lines

There are only two foods I’ve found that he can eat, Pioneer Naturals and Sport Dog Food. Chewy is eternally, frustratingly out of stock constantly. Last month Sport sent around an email saying they’re soon adding chicken fat to all their foods and I was so destroyed.

I can’t stand cooking for the two humans in the house, I can’t imagine endlessly running to the grocery store, cooking for a 100 lb sweetheart no matter how much I love him. I just don’t have the space or budget to do so.

Any other food suggestions? I have spent countless hours label reading and am at wit’s end.

[crazy4cats]

Hi ngoc a-
Are you mixing the canned into kibble or is it your pup’s entire meal? I regularly mix Kirkland’s Turkey & Pea Stew into my dogs’ meals. It is a very budget friendly canned food that is sold at Costco. It does not have any potatoes.

I also buy canned food at Tractor Supply. They have a 4Health brand that has many different budget friendly formulas.

I use zymox ear cleanser to keep my dogs’ ears clean and healthy. It has been working very well.

I hope you can get your pup’s itchy ears under control!

• This reply was modified 7 years, 9 months ago by crazy4cats.

[haleycookie]

Hey check out merrick’s classic chicken and brown rice with peas. Or their small breed classic. Maybe won’t be as rich but are still good foods with good grains in them.
Ps. Don’t be scared of potatoes. Just find afood that doesn’t list them OR peas very high in the ingredients list. Potatoes aren’t anything to be scared of. I’ve seen more pea issues myself tbhbit unless you can rule out your dog is sensitive to one of them there’s no cause for concern.

Also if you’re willing to spend that much on food I would just get away from kibble all together. Check out natures variety raw for small breeds. On that budget you should be able to comfortable feed your dog a high quality diet. Or make your own raw/home cooked balanced diet if you have the time.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 10 months ago by haleycookie.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 10 months ago by haleycookie.

[Tom W]

I live in Sacramento, CA and I switched my dog from dry to wet food and started her on Kirkland Signature Nature’s Domain (Canned). She loves the food, but now my local Costco is out and I’m trying to avoid having to drive 30 miles to the nearest Costco that has some in stock. Can you all suggest any brands of canned dog food that is priced like this food. It’s the cheapest food I’ve found that is given 5 stars here. I’d even be willing to go with 3-4 star canned food if it is more widely available than the Kirkland so my dog and I are not out of luck when the local Costco runs out. I’m extremely frustrated right now, because I was in a pinch I bought the other Kirkland Canned food and my dog won’t touch it and therefore she has barely eaten for a couple days.

[JILL N]

Hello Aimee (K9Ancestraldiet),
I appreciate that you are a local distributor, but, no I would not purchase your product. Your prices are definitely not competitive! In my view, your main competition is Suzie’s Doggie Delights, a Colorado, family-owned raw meat processing, and distribution company. Suzie’s specializes in “complete” whole-prey, ground meals, bulk meats, and bones. 36oz of your complete meal beef (three, 4oz bags) costs $84.00. My 73lb GSD should eat that amount in one meal! 32oz of Suzie’s complete meal beef (same ingredients minus the fruit and fancy packaging) costs $10.38 (10lbs is a budget-happy $38.99). Purchasing from Suzie’s allows me to purchase 72lbs of raw, healthy, human grade, USDA inspected meats and meals my fur buddy for an entire month for under $150.00! And, they deliver directly to my door for an additional, underwhelming $10.00 shipping fee. You might want to compare your ingredients, quality, processing facility, philosophy, and pricing to this well-reviewed company at https://www.freshrawdogfood.com/shop/co/simple-recipes-co/beef-veggie-offal-co/

[crazy4cats]

I believe that Victor has only ever been on the Editor’s Choice Budget Friendly list, never on the main list.

I used to feed one of the grain free Victor recipes to my two large dogs before it went up in price with very good results.

[Thomas M]

Hi Mike; I am new to the site. I just bought a 10 week old Chesapeake Bay Retriever from an AKC accredited breeder. Looking at all these puppy food choices, and the absence of many big names, I am trying to come up with a reasonably priced quality dry food. The breeder owner is a nurse and former veterinary tech, she told me that she uses Costco’s Kirkland dry dog food. Now, she has two large adult females and they probably have healthy appetites, so I can understand there is a cost factor, but she has had Chesapeakes for over ten years and they have had no hip dysplasia or other problems.

So I am not nominating the Kirkland Dry, but wonder what you think. You did give a good rating to the Kirkland wet. Any thoughts? I looked at the Orijen, but on Amazon it is over $90 for a 25 pound supply of their puppy brand, that is just way out of my budget range?

Thanks for this website, I am learning a lot, but also surprised to see so many well known brands not on the site, even the high end brands.

[Tyla M]

Ally,

Have all of the foods you’ve tried included chicken? Also, are all of those foods grain inclusive ? My nieces dog came to her with very loose stools and she was on fromms, as well. I personally love fromms because it works awesome for Luna, but not every food works for everyone. She ended up going on American Journey due to budget, and I had her give her chicken and rice for 2 days and then switch her to the kibble. I also bought her the Vetriscienxe mega probiotics from chewy. They have worked great for my pup and my niece’s pup. I suggest maybe trying a chicken free, and grain free if all the foods you have been trying have chicken and grains. Do boiled chicken and white rice for a few meals, then try to transition to a new food that you feel he will do better on. Maybe even do the chicken and rice for a few days until stools are no longer loose. Now I know I’m saying stay away from kibble with chicken, but fees him chicken and rice…Luna has no problem with cooked chicken, but itches with chicken in kibble. If you’re nervous you could do ground turkey or beef instead of chicken with the rice to help firm up the stools. For my pup, pumpkin makes her have looser stools so I only use it if she’s constipated. But again, all dogs are so different. Also, having a cane corso, you definitely want to make sure you settle on a good with low calcium. I know it’s a lot to take in. Luna is currently on fromms grain free Hasen Duckenpfeffer. It’s has meat proteins as the first 3 Ingredients and is low in calcium. Her stools are absolutely incredible right now. However, it does have different proteins so you may want to try a limited ingredient food of you’re trying to narrow it down.

[Vonda G]

Hi yall and thanks for all the advice. Yes I did join Editors Choice when I came on this site. Im on the ticket to work through SS and yes, just sent them my report this past week on being out on WC. Although I am yet to receive a check from them to replace a portion of my income. It seems like they are flat out ignoring me except to pay for my medical bills. Hopefully Im healed and back to work soon. I have ordered through Chewey.com for past 2 years and yes they offer alot of discounts. Great Site! So far, I researched all the Budget Friendly Editors Choice list and its still pretty pricey. I hadn’t heard of Kirkland’s or thought of Cosco and will check it out for sure. And also will check out Whole Earth. I tried 4Health and my dogs didn’t like it. They’re a picky pair LOL

[ray q]

For budget food I recommend Chewys.com many of there items are reviewed on this site, also the owner of this site has a link to chewys.com I recommend you use that link. you should be able to find some good low budget food with 3 stars and up. By the way since you got injured at work you can apply for workmans comp. But if you are also getting ssi you need to tell social security over the phone how much you are getting from workmans comp

[Anonymous]

Hi, Vonda, and welcome. Yes, this is a wonderful site. I’m in the same position as you (sort of): Age 70, off since hip replacement surgery at age 45 (more than the usual involved) and living on the same strict budget as yourself. Having said that, I hate to ask you to spend money, but if you join Editor’s Choice on this site, they have a listing of BUDGET-FRIENDLY DOG FOODS. Now, I will warn you that ALL of the better dog foods are more expensive than the grocery-store brands, but you will find three things will happen: (1) There will be less pooping because there will be less filler (grains); (2) The dogs will be happier and healthier, thereby living longer; and, (3) You will use less food than you did with the cheaper brands. Taking that all into account and adding it to the fact that a $1/can food is pretty scarce, I still believe you’ll find something on there that will be affordable. Follow the links for saving money buying on line, and either Google or phone search for the recommended brands in bigger retailers (i.e., Pet Smart if you’re in the U.S. and Pet Valu in Canada). Maybe even good old Amazon sells dog food; I’m not sure. But I wish you well.

[Vonda G]

I am brand new to this site. I have 2 indoor dogs. One Sheltie and one Border. 35 and 40 pounds. They are 6 and 9 yrs old. I presently feed them IAMS can and dry which they are doing great on and maintaining healthy weight. I would like to find a better food after all I’ve read on here but really can’t afford it. Is there any can dog food healthier than IAMS for similar price? Like no more than $1 a can? If I were financially able I would. Im 62 Yrs and out of work as nurse due to injury. My food budget is cut for me too. Just trying to get through until I can get back to work.

[Bonnie M]

My 12 year old beagle basset hound mix is also a very picky eater and when I found this food Honestly Bare she gobbled it up just like you all have commented. As I was reading I noticed this product was made by Purina. My dog eats the Honestly Bare, Slow-cooked Tenders, the Chicken Apple & Sweet Potato formula, but it has “Beef Glycerine” & the “natural hickory smoke flavor” powder which are not good and is probably the reason why she gobbles it up.

I too have tried too many types and brands to even name including raw brands like Stella and Chewy’s, Darwin’s, etc, but she hated the raw and would refuse to eat for almost 2 days at a time. However, I was told to stay the course and when she gets hungry she will eat. I also had her on Acana and Orijen dry Foods but of course she only liked the ones that were too high in either fat or protein for her that gave her diarrhea. So I too have spent a fortune trying different types of dog food. I also tried Ziwi Peak and she liked it but it is too expensive for my budget.

I also put a request in to have this food reviewed. I just became a member about 2 hours ago and I am so excited to gain wisdom and insight about the dog foods on the market and hopefully find a food sooner than later that will be healthy for my dog as she has struggled with pancreatitis in the past years ago although she hasn’t had a problem with that now but she does have thyroid issues and is on medication twice a day for that and has recurring yeast infections in one of her ears which drives me crazy I’m not sure what to do about this so hopefully finding a food will help with all of this. I also will give her cooked chicken or beef or turkey with some of her dry food of which I cut the portion of dry food when I add the cooked meat.

Any suggestions or tips or ideas or recommendations are greatly appreciated and welcomed. Thank You, Bonnie M.

[LA S]

I have searched as best I can in the internet for information and reviews about Redford Naturals, and this forum is THE ONLY place I can find! I don’t even have a dog. I have a new shelter kitten, now 14 weeks old. The shelter sent her home with a tiny bag of kitten food by the hill Science Diet. That stuff is way out of my budget. As I’m recently myself on a grain free diet and feeling better than I have in years, I was looking for a grain free, quality food. The Pet Supplies employee showed me the Redford for kittens. I couldn’t believe the price value and really liked what Insaw on the ingredients list. As she’s grown, I now suspect my kitten is a Bengal mix. She’s a handful but well worth the effort. She’s more like a dog than any cat I’ve ever known or seen. There’s nothing aloof about her. Anyway, she loves this food. Her coat sparkles, she’s full of energy, sleeps well during her cat naps, and couldn’t be more delightful. Her stools are normal. She had the smelliest gas when she was eating the Hills Diet, but thankfully that’s not a problem with the Redford. She passes gas on occasion now, which isn’t a big deal. So far I’m impressed with this brand of food. I wonder if there are no internet reviews for it because the company isn’t advertising it. My oet’s well being s good enough for me. Grain free makes sense. My vet told me that grain or meat, it doesn’t matter where our pets get their protein. She must have never read The Plant Paradox like I did recently.

[Robin B]

I just spent 4 hours and $800 at an after hours emergency veterinary clinic with my rescue mutt. He was unable to pee, straining with leg up for ages, repeat. Then he started leaking in dribbles. This appeared to come on suddenly. Examination, urinalysis, X-ray, ultrasound: struvite crystals in urethra, stones in bladder. He had a catheter flush & sent home with prescription canned Hill’s S/D. It looks disgusting but he will eat it. We’ll see our vet at our regular clinic next week to check for progress on dissolution of crystals & stones.
He had been eating quality kibble ( no grain, limited ingredients etc.) enhanced with Wellness canned food (beef, turkey, chicken, lamb in rotation. Who doesn’t like a little variety?) Good news: we might be closer to guessing his breed combo (a little schnauzer in there, they tend toward this problem) and he started peeing the morning after his procedure & the prescription diet is temporary. Unlike me, he’s not a big drinker and he seems to have a bladder that will hold forever, likely one source of the problem.
So, I think I have deduced the cause: not enough water & infrequent elimination breaks both easily remedied although he only likes to pee on his walks.
My plan is to resume his regular diet when I get the “all clear” from the vet, add water to his kibble/canned meal combo. Introduce vitamin C & cranberry supplement. Offer homemade broth in addition to water to keep him hydrated. (I’m cheating and already making & giving the broth).
My question: do I wait until he is crystal clear before adding supplements & broth to his prescription food?
Your question: I’m new to the journey but hope I’m on the right track, commercial food with quality locally sourced ingredients, combo wet & dry (quality wet alone is too rich for my budget), water or bone broth added to food, lots of water available & broth if pup won’t drink water, frequent opportunity to pee (I think that was our downfall).
Good luck & advice is welcome.

[crazy4cats]

Hi pl and hc-
What are your guys opinion or experience with the American Pet Nutrition company? They make PetSmart’s house brands. I received an email recently that they were coming out with a new food. Must be this one. My dogs have done well on Authority, which is a suggested budget friendly kibble.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 1 month ago by crazy4cats.

[anne a]

Hi Lauren, I use Victor Yukon in my rotation for 5 rescues. It is under “Other budget friendly” dog foods.I know a dog sanctuary upstate NY that buys it in bulk (purple bag) & does very well for them also. My dogs do very well on it & love it. I started usind Drs.Foster & Smith canned food as a topper & to hide medications in- it is also 5 star & first few ingredients are meat.fish. I guess it has other ingredients that may keep it from being editors choice budget friendly or no report from the company? Maybe someone else on here will know

[haleycookie]

I like wellness core reduced fat and whole earth farms if you’re on a budget. 2.5 is plenty for weight loss. If she needs to be at 60 lbs I’d cut her back maybe even to 2 cups a day. For an in shape 70 lbs dog they typically require 3 cups. Depending on the food. And if you can keep her inside to stop the eating of random things that would likely be helpful as well.

[shawn b]

We just adopted a 9 month old Rottweiler. The people who owned her had her on Pedigree, then they switched her to Pro Plan. Now I have her. I am on a very strict budget, yet want her to get a really good dry large breed Puppy food. Very hard combination to find! I bought her Eagle Pack Large Breed Puppy Dry food for now, while I am searching for something even better. It is $39.99 for 30 lbs. and that is what I can afford. Please help me, I really need every ones input and thank-you so much in advance!

[Panya V]

Our Jackaranian will be turning seven this month and he just had his first bout of pancreatitis. He had been slightly overweight at 18 pounds before his illness, but is now back to his ideal 16 pounds. I’ve read that pancreatitis can reoccur, and that it requires a low-fat food. He’s had Halo Spot’s Stew Wholesome Chicken Recipe ever since we rescued him at six weeks of age, and the adult formula had 16% fat [min.; 18% DMB]. We had been thinking we could simply continue to feed him a lesser amount of this kibble and supplement with whole foods [he loves fruits and vegetables] to reduce the amount of fat in his diet; on the advice of his vet, this is what we did to get his weight down when he was overweight a few years ago. FYI, he also gets a bit of flax oil almost every day [he and our cat think it’s as a treat]. But now Halo has reformulated most of their foods and we can’t buy it any longer due to new allergies; we can’t have anything with fish, seafood, pork, and preferably no chicory. That is making it extremely difficult to find a kibble of good quality which isn’t too expensive for our budget [Halo was already at the top]. He’s always done so well on the Halo — regular, solid, drier BMs, no gas [only when he’s had too much fruit, and then the farts scare him because it happens so rarely! lol], shiny coat, lots of energy, etc. — the weight gain was usually due to my husband inadvertently over-feeding by rounding over the measuring cup. 😛 I’m positive we wouldn’t have to worry about the mental side of a food switch, since he’ll eat just about anything if we let him, though I am worried about how his gut will react to a different food, especially since we’re quickly running out of his supply of Halo. This very site helped us research foods when we had our first dog [whom we had to put down a few years ago due to a brain tumor] — so we’re hoping that we can find some help again.

[Jason K]

I have recently discovered American Journey brand. It seems like very good quality food as a more reasonable price than other high quality foods. I tried the limited ingredient foods as I am trying an elimination diet to try to figure out what my dog is allergic too. I do not see any reviews on here for the limited ingredient foods as they are fairly new. I suspect that is as good or better than their other grain free foods which you have given 5 stars. It would be greatly appreciated if you could review the limited ingredient grain free foods made by American Journey. Also I would like to nominate American Journey to at least make the budget friendly list as it is more affordable than most of the other 5 star foods.

[Evan G]

Thank you so much for this post!
We are the proud parents of a 3mo old Weimaraner puppy. When we got him, he was being fed blue buffalo wilderness large breed. After talking with our vet, it seems he feels the same way that a lot do, too much protein. While reading this forum it seems that may not be completely accurate. His explanation was too much protein would make him grow faster than his joints and bones could keep up.

In an effort to help him with his growth we have gotten him into swimming, to be a low impact exercise on his joints.

Back to the food though, with our vets advice in mind, we started him on Horizon Pulsar which is salmon based, and much lower protein, (28%)

I really want to find another option that will be a better fit for him. I’m looking for some advice. I tried looking at the 5star options, but they all seem to be very high protein.

Any suggestion for some good quality food within our budget of about 100$ a bag would be greatly appreciated.

[Susan]

Hi Therese,
sounds like she has stomach or panreatitis problems & the cesars food probably doesn’t upset her stomach any cause any pain or whatever she is having, I would NOT start any treatment for her heartworm yet, it will kill her, vet needs to work out what’s wrong with her stomach first & why she is hesitant to eat, something is wrong, Golden Labradors LOVE their food….
I got a rescue 5yrs ago & he was the same in very bad condition, but he was the opposite & ate everything in site, even cat poo, after vomiting weekly, doing bloody diarrhea, sloppy poo’s, acid reflux, up thru the night with rumbling, grumbling bowel noises, in the end I asked the vet can we do Endoscope + Biopsies, vet put camera down his throat into the stomach & did 2 Biopsies, you need the biopsies cause when the vet looked into Patches stomach everything looked excellent, there was no stomach ulcers like we thought, but what I thought he had, he had, waiting & waiting for biopsy results Patch had the Helicobacter-Pylori & IBD, he was put on triple therapy meds for 21 days, Metronidazole, Amoxiccilin to kill the bad bacteria that lives in the stomach walls & Prilosec for the acid reflux the Helicobacter causes, Patch did real well while taken the triple therapy meds then once the 21 day course finished it all came back again within 1 week of stopping the meds, it was a nightmare in the end now Patch takes 20mg Prilosec every morning & only takes the Metronidazole 200mg for 10-14 days when needed, if he’s doing sloppy poos or diarrhea, starts feeling sick everyday & whinging for me to rub his stomach/pancreas area & is eating & eating grass…

Can you ask the rescue group do they have some money in their budget for her to see a Gastro specialist or a vet that knows about stomach/bowel problems, in Australia the rescue groups post picture of the very sick dog & asks for help on their face book page & raise some money so dog can be treated by vet & do the Endoscope + Biopsies need to shop around cause there’s cheaper vets around that do Endoscope & Biopsies, people will help with donations…..
I wanted to do the same give Patch back to rescue group so he got another foster carer, he broke my heart, I couldn’t give him back cause I thought will the new foster carer care for him like I do or will he just be thrown out the back yard again & suffer & the rescue group puts dog up for adoption & someone else gets stuck with the problem hoping they will pay all the vet bills, Patch was weeing blood the day I got him from teh pound, the rescue group had to paid $1,500 for 2x ultrascan, desexing, vacination, vet diet wet & dry food the dissolve his crystals, medications, at that stage he just had Urinary crystal, the rescue vet said he must of gotten infection from being used to breed, I thought everything was done all fixed, he’s all healthy now & I adopted him but it was just the beginning of my sleepless nights the vet office I ended up staying with felt sorry for Patch & me for adopting a sick 4yr old Staffy + all the vet nurses were Staffy lovers & my bet did alot of discount rates & now my vet writes out repeats for his prescriptions so I can get his meds from a chemist it was costing $120 for 1 month of Prilosec, now all I pay is $8 & the Metronidazole only cost $7 when I need it I keep spare in cupboard….

I would be only feeding low fat wet food, nothing over 3% in fat, the fat & protein & isnt like it is in a dry kibble, wet raw & cooked hasnt been converted to dry matter (Kibble) yet, Do NOT feed any more dry kibble, it must make whatever she has, worse, like my boy the kibble made him worse with his IBD (Stomach) in the beginning till we worked out what was wrong & I found a kibble that works for him.
Read what is the fat % in the Cesars wet food??? also start boiling potato or boil sweet potato whatever firms her poos up best & start adding say 2-3 cesars foil tin & the same amount boiled mash potato do not add any butter or mil to the mashed potato & mix potato all thru with the Cesars food, maybe start off with only 1/2 mashed potato with her food cause she may not trust the potato yet, whatever she has got, has cause her alot of pain & she doesn’t trust food no more… I have to go the Pet Shop it’s closing, I have to pick up something, look what are the ingredients & fat % in these Cesars foods she etas & post, stop trying all type of foods for now, I’ll try & find a similair food to the Cesars same ingredients once you post, that is in a bigger tin size & low in fat, maybe someone else knows of a lower fat wet tin food similair to Cesars food….
Do you shop at “Costco” ?? Costco has their “Kirklands Signature” Nature Domain wet tin & its cheap & looks pretty good, click on “Reviews” look for Kirkland, Signature Nature Domain canned foods & click on link & scroll down a bit & there’s a photo of Turkey & Pea stew looks good & you can mash with boiled Potato this will work out cheaper till vet works out whats wrong, also ask the vet can you try a 21 day course of Metronidazole?? take back the vet diet food she won’t eat for refund & ask can you try 2 tins of the Hills I/d Canine Chicken & Vegetables Stew, Digestive Care wet tin food, do not get the Hills I/d Low Fat, Rice, Vegetables Chicken stew Restore, they look similair, the I/d Low fat Restore wet tin is full of rice & fish oil, the I/d canine Chicken & vegetable Stew Digestive Care has less ingredients & has more chucks of meat no fish oil, fish oil can make them feel sick, see if after being taking the 21 day course of Metronidazole if she starts to get better after 4-5th day, it has to be taken with a meal every 12 hours…
What is her name??

[Jude N]

Hello,

My senior chihuahua/JRT mix had a bout of acute pancreatitis several years ago. He had bloodwork done a few months ago and didn’t have anything elevated enough that it concerned the veterinarian.

I’ve been trying to feed him a raw diet, but he only likes beef, and is clearly unhappy when he feels forced to eat anything else. He’d rather not eat for several days than eat pork, venison, duck, or chicken willingly. This inability to rotate him on proteins has me nervous about trying to stick with a “homemade” raw diet, and I’m looking to switch to commercial raw. Budget is a major concern for me.

There’s a good deal going on at Chewy’s right now for a food called Tylee’s. Here are the ingredients:

“Nutritional Info
Ingredients
Beef Heart, Ground Beef, Water (Sufficient For Processing), Beef Liver, Spinach, Broccoli, Zucchini, Sweet Potato, Mangos, Tricalcium Phosphate, Chia Seeds, Sunflower Oil, Ground Flaxseed, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Cod Liver Oil Powder, Dried Parsley, Ground Cinnamon, Dried Kelp, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Rosemary Extract, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate.”

I read in another post on this forum that it has a very high fat content…something like 34-38%. Yikes.

His pancreatitis attack was the result of a dogsitter feeding him a fatty, greasy, smoked ham bone that she had thought was a yummy treat for him. He was on a low-fat diet for several months afterwards.

Chip refuses kibble, wet food, re-hydrated raw, and Nature’s Instinct raw patties (I think he’s just bored of the Nature’s Instinct; he used to eat it well). Primal , THK, and Darwin’s are too expensive for me.

There’s another food called Ollie’s that I’m looking into, but I’m not thrilled about a couple of the ingredients (potatoes and peas, specifically).

Does anyone have any advice/experience on how long a pancreatic attack needs to be considered in a dog’s diet? Does anyone feed Tylee’s, or Ollie’s?

Thank you 🙂

[Amanda D]

I am so lost. I’ve gone down the a rabbit hole and am overwhelmed. I have look at and priced so different foods it’s ridiculous. I’ll look at one, then another just to go back to the first and then again the third and them a fifth. Like I said overwhelmed. So my fist issue is choosing a brand. Now it’s age stages. My puppy at adulthood will be between 20 and 25 lbs. Do I feed puppy the regular adust, puppy then small breed or small breed for all life stages…

Foods that I seem to come back to are Castor & Pollux Organix, Natural Ultramix Grain-Free and Fromm Gold. I am on a budget. I am disabled, autistic and on ssi. But I want to feed the best I can afford. I want to try and stay under $50 for a 30ish pound bag. I’m not above ordering online. also if I go with a puppy formula, I would like use an adult or small breed formula from the same brand. I want to stay away from grains and Chinese and Japanese foodstuffs. If anyone can help me or point me in the direction of a good quality food I would be forever grateful! I have been at this for months and I am exhausted!

[zcRiley]

BHA is used a lot because it stays stable in higher temperatures. In high doses, it has carcinogenic properties. I looked at the Milk Bones, budget friendly but terrifying ingredients. May I suggest trying Zuke’s Z-Bones grain free dental chews. My boys love the mini size, as a treat. Berry Crisp is the the best flavor. For actual teeth brushing, I use Virbac’s C.E.T. Enzymatic Toothpaste in vanilla mint flavor.

[Simon W]

I’ve been feeding Beneful to my 15 month old Dachshund since April. We had some issues when he was a puppy with certain foods causing hyperactivity or vomiting, and his coat tends to be dull. He doesn’t have either problem on Beneful, everything seems perfect, and I know it’s not “highly rated”, but I was in a financial bind recently and had to temporarily downgrade.

Even though Beneful worked for him, we’ve been looking to get him onto something better, but still budget friendly, and are slowly transitioning him to Canidae. Today was his first 100% Canidae day. He’s been “mushy” all day, not very active or alert. But about two hours ago, the neighbors shot off fireworks, which he both heard and saw from the kitchen window. Normally, he’s technically not afraid of fireworks, but they unnerve him a little bit. Soon enough, he’ll get over his fear and starts yapping at them like he’s so brave (lol!), then gets over it in a few minutes.

Tonight, though, he FREAKED OUT. Almost broke his neck trying to run away, could not settle down or be comforted, and had to be locked in a windowless part of the basement (where his toys are and he usually sleeps at night) just to get his behavior slightly under control. Two hours have passed, though, and he’s STILL barking every few minutes, pacing, and unsettled. I have never seen him behave like this before. We had some difficulties in finding a good puppy food for him, and after trying Iams, he went off the walls and became aggressive. I thought it was crazy to suspect the food in that instance, but the behavior did go away after it was removed. Now I’m wondering if this extreme reaction to the fireworks, which is completely uncharacteristic for this dog, could have something to do with his recent diet change? Any help or advice is appreciated!

[John T]

Kathy, Please stay away from Blue Buffalo. Do your homework and you will see they are just BAD!! They even admitted to lying! http://iheartdogs.com/breaking-news-blue-buffalo-admits-to-lying-about-ingredients-here-is-why-you-should-care/

Eight years ago, thousands of dogs and cats died after being poisoned by tainted food. The world’s biggest pet food companies pulled more than 100 different products from store shelves. There’s still no official death toll from the Great Pet Food Recall, because the government doesn’t track animal deaths. But experts estimate at least 8,000 pets died.

For Blue , the carnage was an opportunity. In just five years, the company, which boasted of its “natural, healthy” products, had become one of the pet food industry’s most powerful players. Its rise was no small feat in a heavily concentrated industry — Mars Petcare and Nestle Purina together control about half of global sales, according to data from the trade publication Petfood Industry.

Blue Buffalo deployed a robust advertising budget to portray its products as more nutritious than those of its shoddy “big name” competitors — a term it has used frequently in commercials. As the recalls dominated headlines, Blue Buffalo ran a new ad campaign online and in newspapers, informing concerned consumers its products were a safe alternative to those that had been taken off the shelves.

For a while, the ads appeared to bolster the company’s image. But in late April — more than a month after its competitors had faced the music — Blue Buffalo acknowledged similar problems with one production run of its kitten food. A week later, the company expanded its recall to include all of its canned dog food, an entire line of canned cat food and treats it had marketed as “health bars.”

Blue Buffalo’s story is about more than one company’s advertising excess. It represents almost everything wrong with the pet food business, and just how little the industry and the government agencies that oversee it have changed since the most catastrophic pet food safety event in modern history. It’s a story with clear implications for human food safety, and serves as a warning for other sectors of the American economy where outgunned regulators are struggling to keep pace with global supply chains that grow more complex by the day.

[pitlove]

Hi Eric-

Hound Dog Moms list is likely obsolete now considering the recent revisions AAFCO made to their nutrient profiles, including their criteria for large breed puppies.

My go to food for sensitive stomachs is NutriSource. They make an excellent LBP food. I consider NutriSource to be budget friendly, so hopefully it will work for you.

[Mon C]

Thanks everyone for helping out with really useful info. Ive put in an order for the HK base mix and waiting for delivery. Looking forward to share how things will go, I am still studying what nutrients are missing from the mix, and I might end up also getting additional supplements like the Missing link maybe.

Cooking by steaming or boiling lean cuts of meats is the best option we could afford right now (time and budget wise), then Ill probably shred it post cooking and put in the base mix. The puppy load shared by Susan looks really good, I will also give a go. Thanks!

[BigHeart]

My kids and I were planning on getting a dog soon, but sibling 5 month old 37 lb Greater Swiss Mountain/Lab mixes took us by surprise while I was at a shelter. These two super-sweet-eager-to-please puppies had been there a while because of their size and were fast moving up the kill list. We have plenty of room, land, and love – so I adopted them. They have some temporary health issues from being at the shelter, and I’m sure they’ll continue to have significant vet bills after their rough start at life. I transitioned them from the Purina puppy chow the shelter feeds, to Nutro Max Large Breed Puppy food and they’ve been on it a little over a week. They are still having really soft stools/diarrhea. My question is, the increase has my pet budget considerably stretched and I’m a single mom of 3 kids. Does anyone have recommendations on a good quality large breed puppy food that is on the lower end of the price range? Anything under $30 for 25 lbs would be incredibly helpful.

[anonymous]

Natural Balance has some nice selections too.
Ps: Budgets don’t work, just saying, unexpected stuff happens. You can count on it.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 7 months ago by anonymous.

[Rebecca S]

And to Anon101 I will look into those! And I have already created a budget for next year including vet visits, treats, toys, food, and everything else! I budgeted up to 1.60 per pound just in case but was looking to see if I could bring it down!

[Lora J]

Congratulations on your new dog! I have large breeds, myselfso I cannot comment on that. But I have found this dog food rating system on this website a valuable tool for finding the best food for our budget. I have found it takes some time to search through the higher rated foods, thrn shop around to price check, but worth it. Buy the highest rated food you can afford. I also supplement my dogs’ dry kibble with raw carrots and broccoli as treats for additional enzymes and antioxidents. I am sure you will get additional helpful comments here. Good luck!

[Marie P]

She will need to see the Vet. Since you are on a budget, let your Vet know you can spend __________ as this is your limit. Bring in a stool sample and have them do a basic CBC blood test. Explain you are on a limited budget at this time.

[Millicent m]

I know this post is a few years old but I wanted to add my experience. As we all search for answers, maybe a pattern will emerge! I have an 12 year old wheaten who has had seizures for the past 18 months. We have been giving her phenobarb with moderate success. She never goes longer than a month without seizures but generally only has one every 3-4 weeks. Mostly, but as the budget allows, she now eats a commercial frozen raw brand with occasional dry as a substitute/supplement or for convenience when we travel. A month ago, I replaced her raw food with a new dry food. After two days on the new food, she had a three days full of seizures every 10-12 hours. Disclaimer-this was two days past her 4 week mark of being seizure free so ONE seizure at this time wasn’t unexpected. I quit that food immediately. But neither the vet nor I really believed it could affect her seizures so much. Fast forward three weeks of continuing on the raw frozen again and no more seizures. I hadn’t thawed out enough for this past Saturday’s complete meal so I supplemented with a SMALL portion of the dry food (yes, the previously mentioned new dry food). Six hours later, she had two seizures within 15 min of each other, then a third two hours later. At this point, I took her to the ER, fearing the speed at which this was escalating. Within four hours, she’d had two more, one of which was violent enough to scare the vet tech. After 5 seizure free hours, they gave her some food -one of the Hills prescription canned-. She had a seizure within an hour. After a few more hours, they fed her. She had a seizure within an hour. After a few more hours, they fed her……She had a seizure within an hour. And yes, this trend wasn’t noticed until the third round, even though I noted it after the First feeding. But that’s another story. So……..I am firmly convinced that yes, food can be a GIANT seizure trigger. Like another reply said, probably not a whole cause (but really, who knows?), but most definitely something that can put them over that seizure threshold. I’m trying to determine why said foods are doing that. The two foods don’t share any main ingredients. The dry food is supposedly a high quality food. However, I’m discovering that pea proteins are fast taking over the “high quality”, grain free world of dog food. And even though meat is the main ingredient, we can’t discount how much of the protein content is coming from sources other than the meat. Dogtor J has a theory on food and seizures I’m interested in. Hindsight being 20/20, I’d also like to add that a couple of months prior to her very first seizure, we’d been trying new dog foods because a)she was suddenly hungrier than she had been….after years of eating the same amount and being satisfied and b) her skin issues were no longer being held at bay. Perhaps our dog food’s formula had changed? It was a chicken/chickpea formula I settled on to aid with her skin flareups. Or maybe that formula didn’t change, but instead her body just couldn’t process it anymore. Or maybe the hunger obsession is indicative of a brain lesion/tumor, although that doesn’t explain the seizures that immediately followed certain meals. My gut tells me her seizures are related to her gut…..not necessarily as easy as eating better food (we haven’t found a magic answer there yet) but even due to some disorder or malfunction that’s keeping her body from processing correctly……but I believe her ongoing interest(read obsession) in food (she’s been known to eat her own poop during some of her hunger phases) is related to the seizure puzzle. For what it’s worth, we’ve returned home and had a few meals of her raw food with no additional seizures.

[Monique L]

Is there a budget friendly grain free puppy for bigger dogs (40-60 lbs) on the Editor’s Choice List?

[Ashleigh L]

Hello all! I’m about to take the leap to switch to raw food for my two dogs. My 6 year old black lab is 90 pounds. And my 5 month old Bernese mountain dog is 56 pounds. I know a little bit about raw diets from research but up until now we have been a strict dry dog food house.
I have a few ideas on some items I want to use. I’m hoping you guys can give me some feedback on my ideas. FYI I’m on a slight budget. That’s part of why I’m doing this so I can see if I can afford it in the long run. None of these items are set in stone. So please please please tell me if there’s something that’s a big no no or if something else instead would be better. With my dogs weights they both require 4 lbs total a day. Around 2 lbs each. I’m gonna start there and figure out if that’s enough for them.

Monday
4 lbs chicken leg quarters

Tuesday
4 lbs chicken leg quarters

Wednesday
3 lbs chicken leg quarters, 1 lb of tripe

Thursday
2 lbs chicken leg quarters, 2 lbs ground chicken

Friday
Whole chicken, split between

Saturday
3 lbs chicken leg quarters, 1 lb cut up chicken liver

Sunday
3 lbs. chicken leg quarters, 1 lb of tripe

Both my dogs have only ever been feed kibble, my oldest for 6 years. So I want to start out slow and simple to see how they do. And with one protein so it complicates things less. I need some feedback for piece of mind. Thanks guys!

[Ashleigh L]

Hi there everyone! So a little background on my dogs. I have a 6 year old black lab who weighs 96 pounds and a 5 month old bernese mountain dog who is about 56 pounds. My lab has had some digestive problems for awhile now. Nothing serious, just a sensitive tummy. I’ve switched his food more times than i can remember trying to find one that he will take to. He finally started to respond well with Eukanuba. My bernese however, seems to have the absolute worst gas with this brand. I’ve always thought a raw diet would be interesting to try but never looked into it any further. After my bernese I decided to do some research. I would like to try it but have some random basic questions that hold me back from taking the plunge. I’m having trouble coming up with a meal plan for them. I get a little overwhelmed trying to put one together and making sure they are getting a balanced meal and im not breaking the bank. We decided to start them on chicken, since it’s cheap and simple. I’ve looked at getting a bunch of leg quarters to start, but then that’s as far as I’ve gotten with the meal planning. Is there anyone who also does this diet on a budget and has advice for me. I want to make sure they are getting all the nutrients they need but I need to do it as cheaply as possible or I have to switch back to kibble…which now that i’ve done my research I really don’t want to do. Thanks so much

[Joy W]

I am really perplexed as to why he doesn’t have Kirklands listed in the recommended budget foods. Maybe it is because you can only buy it at Costco therefore he can’t share a link? The puppy food is 4.5 starts—and is less than 1/2 the price of most of the foods I clicked on, even in his budget area. I just paid for membership, just so I could get a more in depth analysis on Kirklands (because I was so sure it would be included)….but it isn’t included. I have been feeding my dogs Kirklands brand for years, ever since I saw it on the site probably back around when it first started. Anyways, if you are on a budget–check out Kirklands. It is crazy cheap and highly rated.