[zcRiley]

ZiwiPeak dehydrated raw, lamb formula. Best price and ingredients listed on Chewy.com. If not within your budget, just go through one 11 lb bag before you decide on the right kibble (I use Zignature Zssentials). Your current food should be stopped immediately so your pup can start healing right away. That’s what I did!

[Pitlove]

“I didn’t know there were dermatologists for dogs. I wonder if I can just go see one instead of a vet? They might know more than a vet would maybe?”

Yes! They have a lot of different specialists for dogs as they do for humans. My vet gave me a reference to this dermatologist I’m going to be seeing, however I’m not 100% sure if you need one. I know typically with humans they want you to have a referal from a general practioner. Perhaps call your normal vet and see if she can give you a phone # to a dermatologist. And yes, they do have more knowledge than the vet. Thats exactly what mine told me. She even told me to talk to her about food choices for my boy as well. My vet really only knows about Science Diet and Primal Raw. When I asked her for suggestions for other foods she said “I don’t know really”.

As for the recommendation from Red to essentially continue feeding Purina Dog Chow- That is on you. If you feel Dog Chow is a low quality food (most of us here except for a few would agree) then switch. If you can find a retailer for Fromm near you or order online “Fromm Family Classics Adult” is a huge step up from Purina Dog Chow and it’s 35.64$ for a 33lb bag on chewy.com. I recommend this food a lot at my work to people looking to switch from Purina, Iams, Science Diet, etc who are on a tight budget.

[aquariangt]

Some of those issues could be resolved with a simple food upgrade even with kibble away from Dog Chow. Depending on what your budget is perhaps people could help you, but if it’s an environmental issue and you can’t let your dogs inside, even though you absolutely should upgrade from dog chow, you aren’t going to get very far.

[InkedMarie]

you really need to do alot of research here because what you’re feeding is a very low quality food..Also, I sit here debating saying anything but I am: please look for a new place to live. Dogs should not live outside unless they are livestock guardians or you’ve spent alot of money to properly house them and I’m pretty sure you haven’t. You mentioned a limited budget; having a dog with issues isn’t cheap. I’m not trying to get on your case; you’re here looking for help but issues such as your dog has does cost money to diagnose & treat.

[Melissa S]

My pitbull, Ktulu, is having really bad skin problems. Just recently her right ear also became crusty and irritated on the inside. This has happened before to both of her ears, once. We cleaned them out with Keto (we have a prescription from the vet) and it never returned. Until now. She’s also always had skin issues on her stomach and flanks.

It’s gotten incredibly worse and her skin has become darkly pigmented, has lost hair, and I know she’s miserable. She smells like dog. Not like yeast or cheese or stinky feet. Another thing to keep in mind is that because of our living situation, the dogs must stay outside at all times. (Yeah, I know. I hate it, but this isn’t my house and we can’t afford to move to our own)

We haven’t taken her to the vet for this, because I’m afraid they’re going to try and do all kinds of unnecessary tests and give us drugs that won’t work or try to get us to buy Hills Science Diet (which I’m not a fan of at all). Although, I’m thinking that I will, just to see if they’ll take cultures and help us determine if this is a yeast issue (I think it is, along with allergies).

Now, that’s not really my issue. My issue is my partner thinks what we feed our dogs is just fine (Purina Dog Chow-please don’t judge us!). I’ve never liked it, but with our limited budget and our dogs liking it, I thought that it was okay for the time being. Well, the time being has passed and I can’t take it anymore. I’m even considering giving the dogs to people who can properly take care of them (ie. have more money).

If I were to start with a homemade diet, where do I actually start? How expensive is it really going to be? How do I make sure my dogs are getting all the required nutrients? Do you think this is the best route to go considering her skin issues?

I was looking into already prepared raw and freeze-dried, but with how large both of my dogs are, it’s out of the question regarding costs. Also, I want to make sure that I can pinpoint any food allergies as well, and so many of these commercially prepared foods have tons of ingredients.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Pitlove]

I don’t think ToTW is on the budget friendly side. Fairly high price tag where I work and we don’t mark-up much on the dog food.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Kristen-
I second Dogfoodie’s Victor recommendation! They have several different recipes, including with and without grains. I frequently feed my two labs the grain free joint health formula with really good results. My dogs also do well on grain free Merrick and their Whole Earth Farms budget brand. I plan to continue with them in my rotation unless something changes with their ingredients after the transition to Purina.

[DogFoodie]

Hi Kristen,

You might also take a look at Victor. It’s a quality product, trustworthy manufacturer and is very budget friendly when you’re able to buy it locally.

I use lots of different foods in my rotation, and when my Cavalier ate the Yukon River formula, she did great on it! Probably better than anything else she eats.

Here’s a link to their site: http://victordogfood.com/

There’s a “Find a Store” tab in the middle of the upper part of the page.

[Pitlove]

Maria- My dog is not very active because of the summer heat down here in the south and he maintains an ideal weight with foods high in protein (above 30%),moderate to low in fat(low being under 10%, moderate probably being 10-20% just in my opinion) and low in carbs (something 30% or under on a dry matter basis). Also, your dogs will not loose weight without cutting back on how much they are eating as well. You need to feed them based on the weight you want to see them at, not the weight they are. Also, they can not be free-fed.

Leora- Same info applies to you as well. Not sure exactly what your budget is because everyone’s is different.

[Leora H]

I have the same trouble with my Border Collie every since she was spayed. My vet also recommends Hills higher grade dry dog food (except Lamb because it seriously upsets her stomach). And I have an Aussie and an old Cocka-poo (10 years)–They need some grains per my vet–and all this advertising has me totally confused as to what to feed them. Valid suggestions–and budget ideas would be great–

[Cindy R]

What would be recommended for small Breed budget friendly puppy food?

[Jon K]

Hi,
today I posted what is to follow in the wrong place (budget friendly thread) so I’m now posting it here. Sorry for the confusion.

I’m new here. Have a 2 yr old Boston who eats Vital Essentials Frozen Raw Beef. She seems to do very well on it.
I joined this group because we just got a new Boston puppy and I wasn’t sure that the same food was ideal for a puppy.
So because of the editors list, he’s now eating Stella’s Super Beef and seems to be doing great.
My 2 year old tried the Stella’s before and I’m not sure why but we ended up with her eating Vital Essentials.
So thanks for this list because I was very confused and conflicted as to what to feed the puppy and this gave me the info I needed.
So I was surprised not to see Vital Essentials Frozen Raw on the list for adult dogs though. I’m curious as to why it is not. Any info would be appreciated.
thanks!

[Kevin W]

Hmm, I wonder if potato is a average allergen for dogs. This changing foods is such a headache because its not instant to know if its a fix or not. I hear allergy panels are worthless at least from what my vet has told me. That plus you have to wait several months to a year after your pet has had any steroid shots.

I know home cooked/made food would be best as to control the ingredients but that isn’t really possible either being on a limited budget unfortunately.

I really had hoped the editors choice foods would have been listed in some order and an explanation as why or have a listing for limited ingredients yada yada.

[Mark C]

I just adopted my third dog recently and have been considering changing the food to a More budget friendly one. Right now I feed Acana which seems to be very good food and everybody brags about it rather than complains about it. Unfortunately it’s a bit pricey. Especially considering a 25 pound bag only lasts me about four weeks right now.

So I looked on this forum And found some budget friendly foods that Mike has listed and I find the horizon complete to be something I would consider feeding my dogs and the price is much cheaper.

My question is has anybody fed this to their dogs and what did they think about it? And also two of my dogs are smaller breeds one is small terrier the other is a border collie so he’s kind of medium and then I have a large round who’s about 70 pounds.

I was considering feeding them the complete lifestage because the ingredients are pretty similar my big I could use the glucosamine but I think I can accomplish giving them that with a supplement. I would just be interested in any kind of feedback from people who may offend this food to their dogs.

[DogFoodie]

Aww, poor little girl!

First thing that I thought of was The Honest Kitchen, so I definitely like your dehydrated idea. Canned foods would be a good choice also. Pure Balance at Wal-Mart is very good quality that’s budget friendly. You could add a bit more water if necessary to thin it out a bit.

Something else to consider might be FreshPet foods. Mine like the pouch meals and the piece are soft. She should be able to chew those with just her jaw bones.

My friend had a little, tiny, old terrier with no teeth and a big tongue. The cute thing is that her tongue is always hanging out.

Good luck with your little girl! I’ll pray that they are adopted together.

[InkedMarie]

Sharon,
I’m no positive but I don’t think your mixer would grind any bones but I could be wrong. I see people recommend a Wesson/Weston for grinding but beef bones can’t be ground in those either, I don’t think.

Hare Today, Darwins & Reel Raw have the “good” meat you mentioned. Pawfectly Raw NE is in New England, I don’t think she ships. It is restaurant quality, USDA meat. The beef is from farms in NY/VT. I’ll be honest. I want to feed raw but I am on a budget myself so I feed what I can afford.

[Shirley]

How about Nutrisource? Great food and company, budget friendly!

[Pitlove]

Red is right and also some vet’s (mine did this) do cut you a deal with tests. I went in to have a fine needle aspirate done on a lump on my dog and she only charged me for the meds to clear it up. For that reason amoung others do I keep going back.

If you take Red’s advice and kind of talk to them about which tests are needed and which aren’t they might get the hint that you are on a tight budget, but you are deeply concerned about this new behavior.

[C4D]

Yeah, pitlove, you are wise to have chosen another vet. In my case my dogs were rescues with the spay/neuter already out of our control. We have literally spent thousands of dollars on surgeries and rehabilitation. This is not in a typical family’s budget, which often results in those dogs ending up back in a shelter. :'(

[Maureen A M]

That’s my question. I refuse to go to Walmart after an embarrassing incident a few years ago that turned out to be their fault. No apologies from them, but I won’t spend my money there. Looks like almost every comment I read stated that they bought their dog food from Walmart. Any other place to buy dog food and is there a very short list of good inexpensive canned dog food? I printed out the four star food and don’t even want to see how many more there are on the five and three stars. I need INEXPENSIVE good canned dog food. Maybe it doesn’t exist and I’ll just have to keep feeding my dogs the crummy Pedigree. I”d appreciate a few suggestions–just a few please;-)

Thanks so much

Maureen

[Mike D]

Farmina needs to make the list. It’s really the best out there. Also, for budget foods I nominate Acana Chicken & Burbank. It’s a better value than everyone on the list.

[Maureen A M]

Hello,
After writing a very thorough statement about whether Blue Buffalo is made in the US and if it is why doesn’t it mention it on it’s packages. I somehow erased my entire email. Or my 15 year old computer did it for me. All I can find on the Devine Delights is how nutritional and that no chicken or poultry by-products are used.

Isn’t there a law that makes these companies who are making food, maybe not for people, state where the ingredients come from and where the food is manufactured. Oh wait, I forgot where I live. Hm In Texas they probably use euthanized cats and dogs for pet food. San Antonio alone could feed every animal in Texas with all the animals they euthanize each year.

So, I screwed up and purchased a food I can’t afford (I live on disability and have a limited budget–but my dogs come first. The Blue Divine was for a small dog I rescued, plus I rescued a mother dog and two puppies and I have my own four old dogs over ten and a 16 year old cat.–Sometimes I get to eat;-)

Thanks for this forum. It’s really opened my eyes to how dog/cat food is made. I had an idea of what many of the items used were, in fact I knew about most of them, except for ‘Meat Meal’. I’ll be darned. I’ll have to join the Premium club as soon as I have some money so I know what to look for to keep my dogs living comfortably for a lot more years.

Thanks to all of the animal lovers out there who aren’t afraid to have their say and also rescue and maintain healthy animals. And thank you to the ‘dentist’ too. Couldn’t resist, I got a kick out of that little piece of info. Good for him

Good night,
Maureen Martinek

[Bobby dog]

pitlove:
Instead of not knowing what by-products are in the “low end” food you are feeding occasionally why not research it rather than continuing to feed something you assume is questionable? If I questioned the quality of ingredients in any food I would not feed it budget or not, that’s my criteria. I regularly feed Fancy Feast and others to several of my cats. However, as with all foods I did my due diligence researching the company and am satisfied with the quality of the ingredients used in the recipes I feed. And yes j m feeds grocery store foods too. 😉

[crazy4cats]

Hi Pitlove-

I think using a 3.5 to 4 star kibble with minimal red ingredients, but may have a little less protein is fine when you are adding a 5 star budget canned food to boost up the protein and moisture content of the meal. You can also add egg, sardines or left overs to a 4 star kibble to bump up the protein and add valuable fresh nutrients to the meal at a reasonable price.

The only 5-star dry food that I have found in my “network” is Victor grain free. The only other time I feed a 5 star food is if I can find one on sale or with a coupon. Otherwise, I feed a 4 star. Remember, even 5 star kibble is over processed food that isn’t even that great for them anyway!

Your dog is lucky he has such a conscientious owner!

[Pitlove]

Hey guys-

Have a question for you. In your opinion, what is more important with a rotational diet if you feed both kibble and wet…keeping the kibbles high quality or keeping the canned foods high quality or both high quality?

Im trying to find more ways to stay budget friendly without completely going to the dark side of bad dog foods so Im curious as to what you all think is more important quality wise

Any responses are welcome!

[Ellen D]

That’s a great price! I have two co-ops that have delivery drop offs near me in SE Michigan. One of them only does bulk (cases of 40 pounds), and the other one will do individual tubs/containers. I don’t have a chest freezer yet so I have only ordered from the second one. I haven’t done a ton of shopping around yet – only started raw feeding about 6 weeks ago. Between what I ordered and finding a special on whole chickens for $.40/lb, I think I’ve probably spent about $120 for that 6 weeks for my one 35 lb puppy. Granted, I got a little eager and ordered some fancy proteins – llama, beaver, and emu which inflated that price a bit but I got so excited about them lol.

Once I get my chest freezer, which will be free as a gift from a friend who is upgrading hers, I can order from the better priced co-op, and I think it will work out to be about $80/month if I want to really rotate in a variety of proteins (venison, duck, quail, rabbit), or I could get as low as about $60/month if I stuck to just beef, chicken, and turkey. This is just calculating pure pre-ground raw (which are whole animals with meat, bones, organs, some I have to add organs). The 40 cents a pound chickens seem to be a common deal around here, so if I stock up on those when I find them I could cut that even lower. I broke down the chickens and feed them as whole bony pieces, so no cost for a meat grinder. I have a local middle eastern/halal market that sells me goat liver and kidney at 29 cents a pound, and that’s such a minor cost that I haven’t counted that in the totals. They also throw in free duck and chicken feet for me whenever I go in there.

I set my budget at $100/month when I first got my puppy 9-10 weeks ago, and I was definitely spending that and then some in the first few weeks when I was feeding kibble and cans.

[nextondeck]

So glad that you’ve gotten some good news regarding your pup! Like you, I detest S/D. My mother’s Yorkie died a few years ago and we suspect it was b/c of a dog food that may have been recalled too late. That said, I have a Boston that has only been on Wellness dog food since we’ve had him. He was on Core, but then we noticed he started getting some kidney issues. We changed to Wellness Simple and he’s been great since then. The vet suggested we change to a lower protein food to help. So far, so good. We got a second Boston in October and a few months ago (Feb-ish) she started exhibiting some allergy symptoms. It took a while, but we think it was the puppy Core. She too has been switched to the Simple recipe and so far, so good.

I hope you’re able to find a non-Rx dog food for your pup, or at least one that’s more viable for your budget. Good luck with the surgery!

[Pitlove]

ill definitely be getting it again as one of my special non-budget canned foods i get him to balance quality. i put back the can of Nature’s Variety Rabbit for a second can of tripe! saved a little money doing that too lol

[Pitlove]

speaking of budget foods my kitten could barely finish a whole 4health can 🙁 she seriously can only finish a 3oz can its crazy! i was so excited to try 4health with her too. Might just split the can up

[Bobby dog]

You are welcome chris. Naturella, C4C, and me are pretty budget minded due to our other obligations in life. Of course Naturella just graduated and I am still a starving student. lol

[Bobby dog]

You’re welcome chris. That list should give you a good place to start then! My budget friendly canned foods are rated 4.5 – 5 stars with the exception of Triumph and BJ’s, they have not been rated yet.

[Bobby dog]

Naturella:
Are you going to use the same e-mail address now that you graduated?

chris:
For budget friendly canned I feed Wal-Mart’s Pure Balance stews ($1/can) and tubs (about 70 cents/tub), Tractor Supply 4Health stews and chic or lamb pates’ (99 cents/can), BJ’s chicken dinner $8.99/6 pack, and Triumph Turkey or Puppy recipes (a little over a $1/can and always on sale). Costco’s Nature’s Domain Turkey & Pea GF is a little over $20 for a case if you have a membership (or know someone who does).

Other foods in my current rotation are Wellness Core & Stews, Innova, Holistic Select, Eagle Pack, Canidae, Red Barn, Weruva, Tiki Dog, and Nutro. I feel like I am forgetting some. lol

If you are looking for something specific like low fat or anything else just post, I might have specific recipes that I have either fed or that you can check out. I have fed many more different brands they just don’t always stay in my rotation for various reasons. I go no higher than 70% fat to protein ratio and mostly try to stay lower. I have only fed one canned food that Bobby didn’t like, it was a vegetarian recipe. I thought what the heck, it was on sale I’ll give it a try, he wasn’t having any parts of it and had to throw it away!

[crazy4cats]

Yes, I am getting very impatient with being patient! My darn cats seem to be getting pickier and pickier. And they are not like dogs where they will most likely eventually eat it. They simply will not eat if they don’t like it and no matter how hungry the probably are! My quest for a better quality budget canned food seems to be coming to and end here soon. LOL!

[Pitlove]

Chris- I completely understand the budget thing. I feed canned food as well as dry to supplement the lack of moisture in the dry food and I have to go as cheap as I can with the canned without stooping down to Pedigree etc. So I use some 4 and 5 star canned foods from Tractor Supply and Walmart.

Natural Balance is a big seller at my store as well. Personally I dont like the food and I dont like the company now that it was sold to Del Monte. They dont have the greatest track record and I personally feel their food is way to high in carbs and they over use white potato as a main ingredient leaving their protein far too low for my taste.

Being that I feed canned as well I only need a 5 or 6 lb bag of dry food as he only gets 1/2 cup of dry with his can of wet, so even though for some of the Orijen I’ve paid 26$ for it, it didnt really bother me. But i understand that buying their largest bag usually at over 100$ is not something most people can do.

I used to buy Nature’s Variety as well. I really liked the brand but back when I bought large bags I only bought NV because we were getting 40% for the whole year as employees lol!

[Pitlove]

Chris- Nice change on the dog food! A lot of us here wont feed BB products due to the company being pretty shady.

I personally have no problem with Merrick, though some on here are not fans of the company for how they have handled recalls in the past. Most people feel that while recalls are often times just a happening of life, its how the company handles the recall that will decide whether they use their products again.
Merrick is one of three brands at work (petco) that i recommend to people that we carry. the other two being Nature’s Variety, and Wellness CORE, so I think you made a good choice. Depending on what your budget is, look at Orijen too or Acana both made by Champion Pet Foods in Canada. The company has a sparkling reputation. The food is expensive but worth every penny IMO.

[Pitlove]

I just wanted to point out how similar the ingredients in these 2 Science Diet formulas are. One is the prescription your dog is on and one is a food you can find at any pet store without a prescription

http://www.hillspet.com/products/pd-canine-id-canine-gastrointestinal-health-dry.html

vs

http://www.hillspet.com/products/sd-canine-adult-sensitive-stomach-and-skin-dry.html

both meant for “sensitive stomachs”

None of the ingredients that are in your dogs food need a prescription at all, but you are paying the premium price for a prescription food only meant to aid in disgestive health..

Point being, there are many budget friendly ways to help your dogs tummy. Amy A made a great point about adding the supplement/pre and probiotics. Your dogs stomach is sick which is why she has digestive upset. Putting healthy bacteria back into her gut will allow her stomach to become healthy and be on any food she wants without the runs.

You can defintely start with something LID to ease her off the prescription diet. I would really consider adding the some type of probiotic like kefir or plain yogurt and a supplement because when you take a dog from a food like Science Diet to a higher quality food that has biologically appropriate ingredients (not corn and brewers rice) they need all the help they can get adjusting to the better quality food.

Nature’s Variety makes a really good LID food. Natural Balance while I dont like the food does as well. LID diets tend to be a little lower in protein and other things as well which is what Susan mentioned about keeping the levels similar as to not shock the system. If your dog has been on the same food for the better part of her life that is also contributing to the sensitive stomach.

This video from holistic vet Dr. Karen Becker might also help you too

• This reply was modified 10 years, 6 months ago by Pitlove.
• This reply was modified 10 years, 6 months ago by Pitlove.
• This reply was modified 10 years, 6 months ago by Pitlove.

[InkedMarie]

Bless you, I cannot imagine feeding a 200lb dog!
Are you looking for a budget friendly food? Dr Tim’s is very good, a few of his foods come in 40 & 44/45 pound bags. Others feed Victor which is budget friendly.

[Pitlove]

Hi Joseph-

I’ve heard good things about Earthborn and I believe that some on this site use it in their rotational diets. Its also rated 5 stars on this site. Not sure what your budget is but I personally love the 2 brands that Champion Pet Foods makes, Orijen and Acana. Very high quality, regional sourced meats etc in Canada, made in Canada as well which has high quality control standards. They also use human grade ingredients. Big plus for me!

Let us know where you shop and what you have avaiable to you and if you would consider shopping online and we might be able to help you out better with a variety of suggestions and not just one!

[Jordan L]

I know this topic has probably been worn down but I have become completely overwhelmed with my research and all the choices out there.

My almost 5 yr old boxer has recently started shedding a concerning amount and is itching all over. He has a bit of dandruff and he has constant ear infections and subsequent scabs from itching his ears so much. I can see spots where his fur is uneven and his skin is starting to show because it is so thin. When we took him to the vet, she recommended oatmeal bathes, fish oil, and an antibac./anti-itch spray for his raw spots.

He has been on the same food since he was a puppy, Science Diet Lite for Large Breeds. I know it isn’t the most amazing food out there, but he tends to have a sensitive tummy and until now he has shown no signs of needing to change. My immediate response at this point is to try something new with his food. We are on a pretty strict budget, so I hate to spend double the amount we are already paying for his food, but I do not want to skimp when it comes to his health.

Any suggestions on where we can start, brand wise? TIA!

[crazy4cats]

I’m going to have to see if I can find the triumph canned cat food. A lot of my go-to budget friendly brands are now getting their noses turned up to. They haven’t been eating Nutro Max, Authority, 4H or Chicken Soup lately. They only eat the FF, Sheba, Friskies and halo. Maybe they just are not hungry enough. Maybe I should cut back on how much I’m feeding them. Let them starve a little. LOL! Pampered brats!

[Bobby dog]

I bought the cats Triumph GF Turkey & Giblets and GF Chic & Whitefish canned foods. They are pate’s and my cats liked them. I feed their turkey pate’ in my rotation. The Chic & Whitefish is more for the seniors when they won’t eat, but I did try it out on all of them and it went over well. Triumph is canned by Simmons.

jakes mom:
Why do I have a garden again? Even though I downsized, it doesn’t seem like I have. Bobby’s contribution to garden work was peeing on one of the catnip plants. lol

weezerweeks:
How are your colony of kitties? I am not sure if you read my post about large sized canned foods so I am posting again with an addition: Friskies, 4Health (Tractor Supply Co. & Del’s Feed house brand), Wellness, EVO, Innova, and add Triumph.

Triumph is budget friendly, although not as much as Friskies. You can find Triumph in some stores or on-line:
http://www.chewy.com/s?dept=all&query=triumph&nav-submit-button=Submit+Query

You could also check out the parent company’s other lines that are sold in grocery stores, Wal-Mart, and Target etc. for other possible options. Here’s their site:
http://www.sunshinemills.com/

[Martha M]

My 2 rescue dogs are apparently so conditioned to poor quality dog food that they have problems digesting good quality foods. My dogs are 8 and 9 years old and I’ve had them 3-4 years. They were eating Beneful for a couple of years with no problems but I wanted to switch them to a better quality food.

At the time I was looking to replace Beneful, before I found petfoodadvisor, I was under the impression that Iams was a good food and my dogs did well on it. Stumbling upon dogfoodadvisor I learned that is not so. (Ideally, I want a budget-friendly better quality dog food and have consulted the list on this site.) I then switched them to Taste of the Wild but their stools became soft and/or runny. I do know to gradually switch foods by combining small portions of the new food with the current food, gradually increasing the new food over time. So then I switched them to Blue Wilderness and got the same result. Finally I switched them to Diamond Naturals (this was 3 years after their last recall event and they had made efforts in revamping their processing procedures). There is not a problem with the consistency of their stools on Diamond but the frequency and the associated gas is problematic. Instead of pooping 1 or 2 times a day they both poop multiple times, as many as 5 or 6 times a day. And they have very foul smelling gas. Lately I have been researching dog foods that produce less stool and compiled a list of ingredients to avoid for a more digestible food, thus resulting in less waste. However, when looking back at the previously fed lower quality foods’ (that did not produce a lot of waste or gas and were tolerated well) ingredients I found that a lot of these “bad” ingredients were present. I have tried to pinpoint an ingredient that is in the “better” food that is not in the “less good” food that could be the cause but have not found any. My problem is how am I to feed my dogs a better quality dog food and get the results I’m looking for without having to try all of them? This dilemma makes me want to go back to the “not-so-good” dog foods and just not worry about it. How would you handle it?

[Pitlove]

i was so surprised by the Max. Dani ended up with diaherra from the Nutro Natural Choice, so I’ve stopped feeding that but she does good on the Max. and anything under a $1 a can makes me happy budget wise.

I was so surprised that Dani didnt like being outside on the harness as she was actually living with a feral colony and her mother is feral before I adopted her. I thought she might have a desire for the outside so I made sure to get her microchipped and she wears a collar at all times (something ive never done with any other cat) but she honestly doesnt care for the outside at all. and she is fixed since they did it when they trapped her. thats when they also found out she was not feral at all! now sadly she has half her ear missing though.

my girl 🙂

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

[Pitlove]

i know right! lucky for me EVERY food is kitty crack to her. Since eating the fancy feast she has not refused any other food thank god. She had a can of Merrick Turkey pate today and went just as nuts for it as always. i really got lucky with her. no dry food addiction and she will eat anything i put in front of her. I am the exact same way with trying to balance the quality of the foods both my cat and dog eat. I’m doing the Iams purrfect delights, max cat, WEF and FF as my budget foods, but I still always cant help but get her a few cans of regular Merrick, Nature’s Variety etc as a way to still have a higher quality food in her diet. name with my dog too. plus with the budget foods it allows me to a feed a higher quality kibble to my dog since unfortunely i do have to feed kibble.

ya i totally understand. we dont have much wildlife like that here but i would hate for her to run off. I bring her outside on her harness sometimes but she hates it lol!

[crazy4cats]

Oh no, you went with the kitty crack! Lol! It is easier on the budget, but sometimes they won’t eat anything else once they taste that stuff! I’m not a real big fan of Natural Balance either, but always trying to find something a little bit better in addition to the FF and Friskies that they will ALL eat. Especially my males who are more prone to urinary tract issues.

Oh, my roof cats are fine. They would have liked to stay out longer. We have too many coyotes in my area to risk it though. I’ve lost one cat to them and my heart is half broke over it. It would totally break in two if it happened again! 😪

[Pitlove]

I love Orijen personally. My dog has just finished two bags of it (the Regional Red and the Adult Dog) and now we are on a bag of EVO. My dog used to be quite picky as well, lately what I’ve done is wet food on the bottom of the bowl topped with the dry food and I change the dry food he eats every bag, whether it be a different protein or different brand. Gives him a variety and he has been eating great since I started doing that. Before when I was just feeding the same boring dry food all the time with no wet he would sniff the bowl and walk away. Now when I’m making his food he sits right next to me and stares at me waiting for his food and devours it when I put it down. Feeding canned food can be very expensive, and because I have a tight budget I try to go for the more budget friendly wet foods like Walmarts brand Pure Balance (5 star rated on here) and Tractor Supplies 4Health (rated 4 stars on here), Merricks Whole Earth Farms line which is about 1$ more than those so I don’t get as many and then he gets special treat wet foods like Wellness CORE, Nature’s Variety and Merrick Classic. But since those are more expensive I only do like 1 or 2 cans of each. It allows me to feed a higher quality dry food, which is where you really don’t want to skimp if possible. Canned food is far closer to a species appropriate diet for them and most holistic vets will say that they would rather see a dog eating the most dumpy terrible canned food than to see them eat dry kibble.

Glad Orijen is working for you! If she gets bored of that brand switch the brand! Just like a human being, a healthy dog can change his diet constantly with no digestive upset. You can add yogurt or kefir to the food as a probiotic and canned pumpkin for the fiber in case of diaherra. The healthy bacteria in the yogurt and kefir will help make your dogs stomach healthy enough to withstand the change in diet

[InkedMarie]

Jen,
Take a look at Dr. Tim’s. You’ll probably have to order online but a few of his formulas come into 40 and 44 or 45lb bags. Good food & Dr Tim himself is very helpful on FB and if you call, chances are he’ll answer or be the one to call you back.
Can I ask this? What happens if one of your Berners has issues & you have to spend more on food? Will your husband be on board? I know we all have budgets but sometimes, things happens and you can’t stick to that bidget. There aren’t many good foods at the $50 pricepoint.

[Pitlove]

Hi Tonia- Marie did actually point you in a good direction if you are interested in feeding raw/homemade. Hound Dog Mom who is the one who made the thread focusing on large/giant breed puppies does in fact feed a raw homemade diet and talks about it in that thread. It is however a very long thread but a good and helpful thread. Unfortunetly large breed puppies have certain diet requirements until 8mo’s of age that help prevent many diabilitating skeletal diseases, that can end up costing thousands of dollars in vet bills.

Hound Dog Mom has a list of foods that have the proper calcium levels for large/giant breed puppies, some are grain-free and others are grain-inclusive. I would start there and figure out what your budget IS and then compare a few that she has on her list and see if any are budget friendly enough. They are all 4 to 5 star in quality so if you are looking for something 3 stars or lower to save money A) that list won’t be too helpful and B) the food may not have the correct calcium levels a large breed puppy needs.

[Tonia N]

I think there is some confusion. Thanks for your direction, but I was hoping to find something along the lines of ‘budget’ foods that would last longer and be comparable to Acana. I live in Ontario, Canada and I understand we have different foods offered here. I will look at the area you suggested, but it was not what I was asking. Thanks.

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

[Mike Sagman]

Merrick Whole Earth Farms (both dry and canned) has been on our Editor’s Choice Budget Friendly list since March 2014. You are probably looking at our “Other Budget Friendly Dog Foods List” found just below the Editor’s Choice section.

Hope this helps.