[Akari_32]

I’m currently using Wellness Core Small Breed for my miniature dachshund, and Wellness Toy Breed Complete Health for my 60 and 130 pound mixes (hey, they like it lol). I’m very happy with both, and Wellness is always my go-to brand when I can’t get any good deals on anything else. If you want something less expensive, Pure Balance at Walmart is a great food that I’ve used before with good results as well.

I’ve always heard good things about Origen, and I hear mixed reviews on the product quality of Merrick (mainly the Whole Earth Farms being greasy), but over all it seems like a good brand.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Tiffany-
I am all about budget friendly! The best valued can food, IMO, is Costco’s Natures Domain Turkey and Pea Stew, Walmart’s Pure Balance, and Tractor Supply’s 4health canned. They are mostly all rated 5 stars. I also use eggs and sardines a few times a week as well. The best prices for sardines are at Winco or Walmart. Walmart also sells a brand of canned called Variety that is a little more expensive, but cheaper than most.
If you have Victor dry food in your area, it is more budget friendly than Wellness. Those are lucky dogs you are taking care of. Thank you!

[Bobby dog]

The Pure Balance chic or lamb dinners in the tubs are also soft pate’s. I bought them once when they first came out to see if Bobby liked them. I need a canned that has a larger quantity in the container so they are not in my rotation; Bobby did enjoy them.

[Bobby dog]

I agree with Akari, mix some canned food in with the kibble; reduce the kibble accordingly so you don’t over feed. The added moisture is healthy and canned is easier for them to digest. Pure Balance stews at Wal-Mart are five star rated and $1/can. Tractor Supply has 4Health for 99 cents/can and they are 4.5 star rated.

Rachael Ray Zero Grain does not include K3 in it’s recipe; it’s in the other kibble recipes.

Beyond still includes K3.

Infinia is Purina Mills Incorporated (PMI) Nutrition (Land O’ Lakes, no checkered flag), not Purina (Nestle’). I believe at one time they were part of Purina, not positive though. I am not sure if PMI manufactures their food or uses a co-packer.
http://www.infiniapetfood.com/default.aspx

Check out this thread started by Akari for some recommendations:
/forums/topic/budget-friendly-dog-foods/

And check out this thread for more recommendations on food and suggestions to help out with pet food budgets:
/forums/topic/2-dogs-2-different-sizes/

[Travis A]

Thank you all for your advice, i actually didn’t have my dogs on Kibbles n bits it was my roommates dogs so they just got a taste here and there because i knew it was crap food. Although our other Pit eats it and seems to be pretty healthy so idk but i will try and mix in some soft food or yogurt or something more tasty until i find a good replacement, i’ve tried Several brands such as Zach’s Quality dog food which i really like but it’s pricey to ship a 50 lb bag so they only had that once then it’s been, Authority, Simply Nourish, Ideal Balance, Wellness, Iams, Pure Balance, and Exclusive so they have had a variety of decent foods throughout i’m just trying to find a nice rotation of affordable food they will eat. I’m in OKC, OK so Victor isn’t around my area but i’ll look into yall’s suggestions, thanks again and god bless.

[Akari_32]

I find that one of my dogs does not like to eat the same food for more than a month or so. Who can blame him, really?

Another thought is that the Kibbles and Bits are full of sugar and flavor enhancers that make the food more palatable. Try mixing some canned food into their new Pure Balance and see how they like that. Some dogs don’t do well going from junk food to healthy food, and they just need some persuading.

[theBCnut]

Way, way better than Ol’ Roy, Gravy Train, etc. And the size should be fine for both pups. If you have a Walmart, they have Pure Balance and Rachel Ray Zero Grain that may fit the bill.

[Travis A]

My 2, 9 month old dogs are not eating this stuff very much, they started liking it but this is their 3rd bag of it and they will barely touch it, more so when i put some water on it so i’m wondering if it’s because it’s too hard or something, because the other food around the house was Kibbles N’ Bits which is horrible but they will eat that up in a heartbeat so idk what the deal is with the Pure Balance. But they don’t like it that much apparently but just recently so idk just looking for advice on what may be the issue and what are good alternatives for them in a decent price range. They like the Authority from Petsmart and it’s not that pricey but they get bad gas off that one other than that everything else is overpriced for the quality so any other options, i haven’t tried Victor yet as suggested previously for me as its not in my location of OKC, OK. My dogs are pit/shepherd or lab mixes so decent sized males.

[pugmomsandy]

Six days was probably not long enough of a transition to the Pure Balance. The ingredients are quite different. You can try starting over and changing his food slower if you still have his old food. And probiotics/enzymes with meals should help. Some dogs can take weeks or months to get regulated on new food, especially if they’ve eaten one kind of food for a long period of time. Some dogs can’t handle going from a 1 star food directly to a 4 star food very well.

[DogFoodie]

Although “budget friendly” is very much a relative term, some excellent dry foods that I feel are budget friendly, and that I feel I can confidently recommend, are Victor, NutriSource, Earthborn Holistics, Eagle Pack, Dr. Tim’s and even Pure Balance made by Ainsworth that’s sold at Wal-Mart or Nature’s Domain Turkey and Pea Stew canned from Costco.

[Akari_32]

The way I understand it, all of Diamonds canned food are made and canned by Simmons. I personally just assume not support Diamond, but I do buy other canned foods made by Simmons, like Pure Balance.

I personally shoot for higher callorie foods because I have an older dog that I can’t get to eat much more than about 2 cups a day. If I can get her eat as little as possible, but still have her maintain her body weight, we’re both happy. I have some dry EVO in the freezer, and she actually only eats about a cup of that a day when I take it out. Due to the fat content and her age (11), I only use it for about a week or two at a time because it makes her pudgy pretty quickly LOL For most dogs, callories isn’t an issue, especially on a rotational diet.

[Akari_32]

They do sell small cans of dog food. I use a 6 oz can in about 3 days for my 12 lb dachshund. Most cans should last 3-4 days covered in the fridge, and I’ve used a can of Pure Balance for 5 days. I figure as long as it smells ok, it should be fine.

I would trade out the Taste of the Wild for Wellness, and not use any Diamond products (TOTW, Blue Buffalo, etc). Wellness is great, and I use it most of the time for my dogs and cat. It’s my go-to brand, for sure.

My dogs definitely love rotational feeding. When my parents used to feed them only dog chow, my rott mix would not eat for days at a time. He doesn’t like to eat the same thing for too long, much less something that might as well be cow feed… You’re on the right track, for sure 🙂

[crazy4cats]

Hi Kathleen-
I don’t remember who makes the Variety canned dog food. I have fed a few cans of this food with kibble to my pups. They have a lot of fun flavors. It is a little high in fat for my dogs, but they like it and do OK with it. I think it is a great value if your dogs do well on it. I have bought it at Walmart. I also buy the Pure Balance canned at Walmart. Good luck!

• This reply was modified 11 years, 2 months ago by crazy4cats.

[Dfwgolden]

I have a 6 month old Great Dane puppy named Bane, I love him to bits and will do anything for him. So when I say I am desperate I mean it.

My baby has had Patte type Diarrhea since day one. His breeder had him on Diamond . And he was mushy but not sloppy. We switched him to 4 health that did not agree with him and since then it’s been a down hill battle.
We’ve tried
4 Health
Earth born
Pro Plan
Gravy Train
Rachel Ray
Raw (Prey Model)
Pure Balance
Whole Earth Farms
Wellness

It does not matter what we feed him he ALWAYS has diarrhea. We’ve done medication, pumpkin, yogurt, pro-biotics and other things. We’ve done chicken and rice.
No matter what IT WILL NOT GO AWAY.
Diamond makes it explosive and he threw up Gravy Train.

It seems like nothing we do works. And even our vet is stumped.
We cannot spend over $50 a bag, I live in the USA in Dallas Ft. Worth area of Texas. I am at my wits here I don’t know what else to do!

None of my other dogs are effected by it. We have fed a rotational diet for about 3 years now and have had Great Success. But with Bane I don’t know what to do. Other than the diarrhea he is 100% healthy and growing like a weed.

I just am tirred of picking up water.

Any ideas?

[Kayla]

My pup started his new food transition on Oct 3rd, I slowly transitioned new food in his dog food. I am switching from Alpo come and get it (bad food-made him sick) to Pure Balance. He seems to be doing well on the new food. But for the past two days…he is more “gassy” than normal? Is it because of the old food that is still being fed to him or new food? This morning his stomach was making noises so I figured he was hungry because he hasn’t eaten since yesterday at dinner time which was around 5pm. I figured the old food was giving him the gassy problem so I completely switched him to new food today… and he is still gassy! It smells awful!

I have done half and half while switching him from old to new food and he did well on it, so I did it this time. But, why is he still gassy?…even when I completely switched him over? He doesn’t appear or seem sick. He is still active, no loose stools or anything…just gassy. 🙁

[Tanya C]

Hi my name is Tanya and I have many fur babies which include 3 Great Danes, 1 Chinese Crested and 3 Cats 2 orange tabbies and a black white kitten. They all range in ages from 8 weeks to 8 years. Up until recently I always fed my fur family members commercial kibbles and wet foods cause food is food right. Man was I WRONG !!!Anyway we recently lost our baby girl Thunder who was a 15 year old Husky. My husband watched me struggle with her death and how badly depressed I was becoming so he suggested a new furry baby to help focus my attention on and to maybe help fill the big hole in the heart. I eventually found Chance a 10 month old Great Dane puppy, he is a great source of happiness 🙂 He was raised on a raw dog food diet and his previous owner had switched him over to commercial foods and he is doing fine but it piqued my interest because I didn’t really know what Raw Dog Food was. I’ve been researching and researching for the last 2 weeks, I made a recipe and the dogs really seem to like it but I would like some constructive criticism. I mean I did do a lot of research but there is just so much information and a lot of it contradicts what the other is saying, so I just wanted some feedback. One thing that all the information agreed on was that it is very important for the diet to be balanced and that you can do more damage by feeding an unbalanced raw diet than by staying with commercial foods, so I just want to make sure I’m doing what is best for my fur babies.
Thank you, Sincerely, Tanya

10 lbs – ground organ meats Beef (heart, kidney, liver, spleen, brains, etc..)
5.5-6 lbs – ground Chicken thigh/leg attached bone in
350 g pureed Sardines
4 – whole x-large Eggs shells pureed with the veggies (also 12 egg shell left over from breakfast)
1 cup pureed Carrot
3-4 cups pureed Yams
3-4 cups pureed Broccoli
750 g – Biobest Plain Probiotic Yogurt

• This topic was modified 11 years, 2 months ago by Tanya C.

[Kayla]

I am in the process of weaning my Aussie shepherd that is around 1 years old from the old food to the new food. The last brand was a “no no” for him and made him have loose/soft stool and vomiting. He also went 4 to 5 times a day. I started the new transition on Oct 3rd and did full cup of old and half of a cup of new twice a day. I did this for three days because he was doing so well on it. I then changed it too one full cup of new food and half of a cup of old food twice a day. I also mixed a little bit of water and wet food. So far, he loves the food. And there has been no vomiting or him being gassy. But, since I started the transition on integrating new food he went from 4 to 5 times a day to 2 maybe 3 times a day? Is this normal with the new food? His stool is not hard but isn’t fully soft… like brown/ half hard/ half soft. I am just curious if this is normal? I can already tell a difference in his coat. He seems more playful and happy and more active but I am just wondering why there isn’t much of a change in his stool and how he went from 4 to 5 times a day to 2 to maybe 3? Is it because I am still feeding him the old food?

PS. I did the half and half for two weeks before when I was weaning him off shelter food to old brand and he did fine it’s just the shelter and old food was low quality and a no no for him because he didn’t like it nor settle well with him. I am currently trying to switch him over to Pure Balance which had good reviews and good star quality.

[Kayla]

Thank you for so much tips and advice!!! 🙂

Tonight, I went and bought some pure balance wet food to see if he likes it or not. I mixed one cup of his old food, and half of a cup of new food… and a very small spoonful of wet food and oh my goodness he ate it all up in a second. Even after he ate he was still licking the bowl to find more LOL!!! Now, I hope his tummy handles it well!!

I have done the half and half before with Dexter and he was fine! Last time, I did half old(shelter food) and half new food for 2 weeks and he did fine! So, I am doing it again… half old/half new for 2 weeks and add in a little bit of wet food! After two weeks, I will do half new and half wet or something. Not sure… haven’t thought that far a long yet!

[crazy4cats]

Hi Kayla-
For sure you want to make these changes gradually. I have incorporated all these add-ins as I’ve been learning, over about a two year period! I feed my dogs by calories. I calculate most canned foods at about 400 calories. So about 100 calories per quarter of can. I also compute dry at about 400 calories per cup. So 1/4 cup less dry food for 1/4 of a can. Obviously not all canned and dry have the same calories, but to make it simple, I just took an average. I also use the Pure Balance canned food. We especially like the stews. Good questions! Keep up the good,work!

• This reply was modified 11 years, 2 months ago by crazy4cats.

[Kayla]

I am thinking about, if Dexter does really well with the Pure Balance kibble that I will buy some Pure Balance can food and mixed some in it. How will I know how much to mix in? He eats 3 cups of kibble.

[Naturella]

I feel you – my husband and I are in college, and a few of the regular posters here are too. We also shop on a budget, but manage to find good deals very often. Pure Balance is good, but if you feed rotational – switch between brands of kibble and between protein types (fish, chicken, beef, lamb, etc.) you can take advantage of good sales. If shopping online is an option, check out http://www.petflow.com , http://www.chewy.com , http://www.wag.com – they all have good sales often. On Petflow, go there at least once/week and type in “trials” in the search bar, it will give you super cheap foods in a “trial” (usually regular smallest) size (4-5lbs) for about $1/lb! It’s a steal! Also, this is a good thread to check out: /forums/topic/coupons/page/15/ It has all kinds of information on coupons and deals! 🙂

As for the natural chews, I put vice grips on Bruno’s bully sticks, cow ears, and fish skins to prevent gulping of big pieces and it works. With the Himalayan chews and antlers, I would take it away when it approaches less than an inch (maybe for your dog, 2 inches will be a good time to take the chew away and replace it). Also, they are good for teeth cleaning.

As for toys, Bruno likes the Nylabone and JW bone-shaped chews. He loves ropes too but he eats them often. He likes the tough Kong products too, I stuff them with doggie ice-cream (homemade), freeze and serve. Or play tug with them. He has a rubber ring we play tug with too. We never have nor will get him squeaky chews, those are evil to humans! LoL. But yeah, more often than not Bruno would prefer his natural chews (antlers are pretty loved in our household), or peacefully gnaw on a JW bone, or bring his Walmart rope to ask me to play tug with. 🙂

[Kayla]

Thank you so much!!!! and, I am slowly transitioning him to Pure Balance. It had 4 star rating and good reviews. I am a college student on a low budget so it was in my price range. Just need better treats. So glad I found this website. Learned so much already.

[Kayla]

Can I mixed dry and wet food or too much? Austrian Shepherd breed Dog, around 40 to 50 pounds and around 1 year old. Slowly changing him to Pure Balance Dog food because the last two brands made him sick.

[Cyndi]

I agree with the others, buy a bag of food for them. The Pure Balance is good and doesn’t cost all that much more than the crap they’re buying now. Tell the owners to trust you and within a few weeks they will see a difference in their dogs. Also, they will be saving money on vet bills and all the meds. Once they can see a difference in their dogs, that will say it all. Unless they just don’t care that their dogs are miserable… Good luck!

Edit* Regarding the sardines. I give my 50lb. dog a tin of sardines in water twice a week. Make sure they are packed in water and no salt added.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 2 months ago by Cyndi.

[Naturella]

Victoria,

I feel for you! A few of us here have had our fair share of stubborn dog owners who just refuse to get the facts and do what is truly good for their companion…

That Ol’ Roy is crap, you obviously know… I guess, if you can, try to get a small bag of Walmart’s Pure Balance/Pure Balance Grain Free (two of the more decent foods sold at Walmart), and maybe entice the family to try and add some to Ol’ Roy, see how their dogs like it. When I added some of the food I feed my dog to the food of the dog of the family for whom I babysit, she did not want to touch her Kibbles ‘N’ Bits anymore at all! Lol, she knew the good stuff! Maybe this will help them – plus, Pure Balance is ALSO sold at Walmart, where Ol’ Roy is.

Another thing you could do, is just add some good canned food as a topper to their meals, or a raw/lightly cooked egg here and there, some canned sardines, coconut oil if you have/can afford it, and some plain yoghurt and canned pumpkin (plain, not the pie-filling stuff). That’s what I do even with better-quality kibble and I believe it helps. If you can throw some raw/lightly cooked meat in there, or raw meaty bones here and there, it should help improve their diet a TAD, but really do try to get them off of Ol’ Roy…

Good luck, and know that many of us have been there too!

[Akari_32]

So an update on Ginger is in order.

Mom, once again, is a complete idiot. She put the doggy stairs up to her bed, which in and of itself is great, and I’m glad she’s remember to do that, but her bed is a good 10-12 inch taller than the stairs are!! She expects this 7 inch tall (probably less!), 14 year old dog to get from the top of the stairs to the top of the bed. Even worse, she expects her to down. Ginger fell down the stairs getting down while I was at work the other day, and now she’s limping on her front right leg, flinching away from contact, and biting (mouthing and snarling, really) when being picked up. She’s also pacing the house, obviously uncomfortable, and doesn’t seem to know what to do. Hopefully she’ll just need some Previcox and down time to recover, and nothing more.

On the Previcox note, I can’t help but wonder if she’s at a point where she needs pain management to live comfortably. I’ve been thinking this side before the steps incident, because she never has fully stopped flinching away from certain contact. She’s also got another fatty tumor forming very quickly on the side of her stomach– I can’t help but wonder if it’s hurting her with how fast it’s forming, or if it’s something else. She also went out peed the other morning, then came in, drank a ton of water, then peed straight water on the floor. Had no color at all to it. The vet said she maybe be diabetic or have some other problems (just looking at her you can tell she’s not in the best of health), and to try and get a pee sample (he said that before the even happened). Either way, vet in the morning. Thankfully orthopedic exams are free, so that’ll save me some money…. Lol

Some good news though, I can’t believe how nice her coat has gotten over the last two weeks I’ve had her. She was eating Royal Canin Dachshund, and now I’ve got her on Wellness Toy Breed and various canned foods (was Pure Balance, now on Wellness Senior), as well as coconut and fish oil rotated on a daily basis, and kefir daily. She’s very soft and shiny and doesn’t shed as much. I may put her on Wellness CORE Small Breed. Depends on if I can get a good price, and how she adapts to changes in just the canned food for now. Lord knows she’s probably been on that one Royal Canin for her entire life.

[Akari_32]

Hey guys! Popping in with an update!

I was talking to mom Wednesday about Ginger (just about her in general), and she was like “well send me a picture!” (she works out of town mon-thurs). So I hang up with her, send her a pic, and she texts back “awww she’s cute!” and then sends another one that says “but we aren’t keeping her”.

Fast forward to Thursday night when she gets home, and we were all standing around and talking, and moms like “well I don’t like her name.” Of course, everyone is thinking why does her name matter if we aren’t keeping her??

Then today, I call her while my friend and I are driving to Universal, and she’s got Ginger up on her bed (she used to doggy steps to get up there), sleeping in her pillow! At the same time, my friend was texting a few of her friends that may be able to take her or know someone who may be able to, and I was telling mom about it, and she was like “well I don’t knoooow.”

So in less than 12 hours of being around that dog, she’s got mom wrapped around her little paw, and totally trained. So we may very well have ourselves a fourth dog. And it sounds like she’s moms dog LOL I suppose we’re going to have to talk about this more when I get home. Its not like she eats very much, anyways.

And speaking of eating, I got a can of Bentley’s back up Pure Balance Stew Puppy out, and mixed a couple teaspoons of the broth in and some of the meat, and she didn’t waste any time eating it! Had mom feed her the same way today, and she apparently ate very well today as well. I also noticed she can’t get down the doggy stairs, so I wonder how good her sight is, and if she is relying more on her sense of smell, which is why she wasn’t eating the dry food. She does have cataracts, and doesn’t like to be out in the yard at night, and if the lights are out, she will not go down the stairs.

Oh, and the other day, when I was at work and my room mate was home with Ginger, she said Ginger was staring out, and took her a few minutes to get her attention and bring her “back.” So maybe she does have dementia… But even still, she’s pretty much a normal dog for her age.

[Akari_32]

Taking as much carbs as possible out of his diet has helped a lot. I do feel thats the biggest issue. He’s had less than a weeks worth of the Pure Balance stews over the last two weeks, and already he smells yeasty and disgusting, and has been chewing his feet a lot lately. But allergies are so bad right now that even Haley was shedding so bad I started thinking it was a health issue and took her to the vet– just for him to say it was allergies! Thankfully he didn’t charge me for the visit, just for the Sentinel I picked up since her Tifexis is out (thank god! I hate giving that stuff..). You could run your hand down her back over and over still come off with literally a hand full of hair every time! It’s amazing to me how she even has any hair left at this point! So I’m sure he’s got some sort of environmental allergies, as well– probably to everything that blooms. Everyone, human and animal, is having a hard time right now.

Not only do I hate seeing him itchy and red, I HATE the sloppy, licky noise. I even yell at the cat when he starts getting too slobbery sounding when grooming himself LOL Can’t stand that sound @.@

Aw, thanks! I try lol

[Akari_32]

Right?? LOL

Bentley’s fur is growing back pretty well. Almost at full length again on his but and thighs. You can see his legs are still red, but he seems to not be losing any more fur, so whatever. I think its the Pure Balance I had to buy him. They didn’t have any of the 95%, so I got him the puppy stew kind, and its making him itchy. That and everyones allergies in general are just really horrible right now. I haven’t been able to breath for like a month, and a lot of people are catching colds, as well. So thats not helping him, either. But his new diet should help! Wish there was an affordable raw diet for the cat. I would love to try it. He really loves his beef heart lol

• This reply was modified 11 years, 3 months ago by Akari_32.

[weezerweeks]

I also have a yorkie and he would not eat THK and he eats everything. He loves wellness stews. I use all cans so I rotate and he loves go fit, fromms gold, merrick,weruva,simply nourish, pure balance but I think the wellness stews are his favorites.

[LabsRawesome]

Hi Ivan, Costco’s Nature’s Domain Turkey & Pea Stew sells for right around $20 for a case of 24 cans. It’s rated 5 stars on DFA. Here’s their site http://www.great-pet-supplies.com/natures-domain-brand My dogs also do well on Pure Balance Puppy cans from Walmart, $1 per can. 5 stars on this site as well. Also Tractor Supply’s 4health is 4 a star and is .99 per can. 😀

[LabsRawesome]

Hi Cameron, I definitely wouldn’t use Good Friends dog food. I didn’t see the ingredients on the site, but with a price of $11.99 for 40lbs, there’s no way it can be a good food. Maybe you could talk your sister into buying something higher quality? I don’t know what her budget is, but if she could spend a little more (maybe you could throw some in) she could get a lot better food. Here’s the site I found for Good Friends- http://www.ruralking.com/pet-supplies/pet-food/dog-dry-food/good-friends-dog-food-kennel-kruncher-40-lb-182666-40.html There are lots of good dog foods that won’t break the bank. I have great luck with Victor. I pay just under $40 for 30lbs of grain free. Their grain inclusive formulas are even cheaper. You can check them out here. http://www.midamericapetfood.com/victordogfood/dogfood.html They have a store locator for stores in your area. There are lots of other budget friendly foods too. Rachael Ray Zero Grain, Pure Balance, and 4health, are good quality too. What stores do you have near you? Do you have Tractor Supply, Costco, Walmart, Petco, Petsmart?

[Mom2Cavs]

First off, I feel your pain…..some of my kids have pets, but won’t let them live inside! They also live in the country. Again, they shouldn’t have them but they DO. The only thing in their defense is that they feed high quality food to them. Anyway, here are some of my suggestions:

Petco: Merrick has a line called Whole Earth Farms that is a nice budget food. That may be the only suggestion I have for Petco.

Petsmart: Petsmart has their own brand Simply Nourish that isn’t a bad price. They also have another brand called Authority and some people use their grain free, it’s also not a bad price.

Walmart: Walmart has their brand called Pure Balance that is a good deal and not bad ingredients. They also carry Rachel Ray’s Zero Grain that’s not too, too bad in price and ingredients.

If they’re willing to order online, then there’s a food called Victor that is great and is budget friendly. I have ordered mine from Sportdogfood.com. They do ship to certain states so I’d check that out, too.

One more thing….if you are a member of the Editor’s Choice forums you can check out the budget friendly listed foods there and see if they are available to you.

Good luck! I’m also sure others will post that are more knowledgeable than me.

[Bobby dog]

Hi Lauren E:
I agree with all the info posted by Cyndi and Sandy. One of the places I regularly shop for pet food is Wal-Mart. Here’s what I suggest:

Kibble:
 Rachael Ray GF recipes only – Turkey 4 stars, Salmon not rated
/dog-food-reviews/rachael-ray-nutrish-zero-grain-dog-food/
http://nutrish.rachaelray.com/dog/dry-food/zero-grain-salmon-and-sweet-potato
http://nutrish.rachaelray.com/dog/dry-food/zero-grain-turkey-and-potato

You can find RR GF at Wal-Mart, Grocery Stores, and various on-line retailers. Rachael Ray offers coupons on her website for pet food (under news & offers tab): http://nutrish.rachaelray.com/switchto

 Pure Balance grain inclusive and GF 3.5 & 4 stars
/dog-food-reviews/pure-balance-dog-food/
/dog-food-reviews/pure-balance-grain-free-dog-food/
http://www.walmart.com/cp/Pure-Balance-Natural-Dog-Food/1097490

 Purina Beyond Adventure 3.5 stars
/dog-food-reviews/purina-beyond-adventure/

 Purina Beyond Simply 9 3 stars
/dog-food-reviews/purina-beyond-simply-9/

 Purina Beyond Superfood 3.5 stars
/dog-food-reviews/purina-beyond-superfood-blend/

Canned:
 Pure Balance stews ($1.00/can) 5 stars
/dog-food-reviews/pure-balance-dog-food-canned/

 Pure Balance 95% meat ($1.25/can) 3.5 stars
/dog-food-reviews/pure-balance-95-canned/

 Pure Balance Tubs 4 – 5 stars
/dog-food-reviews/pure-balance-tubs/

 Freshpet: Select Slice and Serve & Vital dog food rolls 5 stars, Vital Complete Meals (pouch) 5 stars, Roasted Meals (pouch) 3.5 stars, and Home style Tubs 3 stars
/?s=freshpet

 Natural Life 4 stars
/dog-food-reviews/natural-life-dog-food-canned/

 Newman’s Own Organics 4 stars
/dog-food-reviews/newmans-own-organics-dog-food-canned/

 Variety 4 stars
/dog-food-reviews/variety-dog-food/

 Rachael Ray Nutrish Tubs 3.5 stars
/dog-food-reviews/rachael-ray-nutrish-tubs/
Rachael Ray offers coupons on her website for pet food (under news & offers tab): http://nutrish.rachaelray.com/switchto

 Iams Woof Delights Tubs 3.5 stars
/dog-food-reviews/iams-woof-delights/

 Ol’ Roy Healthy Mix Tubs 3.5 stars
/dog-food-reviews/ol-roy-healthy-mix/

[Cyndi]

I second what Sandy said and also, the Pure Balance canned, if you wanted to go that route, are 5 stars. Canned is much better for dogs that dry food, but not sure your friend’s dad would want to switch.

[pugmomsandy]

Pure Balance 3.5 stars is sold at Walmart. It’s an Ol’ Roy brand but better than the original Ol’ Roy. Also, the newer Purina Beyond products like Purina Beyond Adventure 3.5 stars.

If there is a Tractor Supply or other feed store, there’s 4Health (Tractor Supply) and Victor Dog Food. Victor Multi Pro 50 lbs was $33 at my local feed store rated 3.5 stars.

Kroger has a new brand called Abound which is 3.5 stars. I don’t know the price.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 3 months ago by pugmomsandy.

[DogFoodie]

Pure Balance is an Ol’ Roy product, but it’s actually canned by Simmons. It’s a good product.

[cajungurl]

Looked at Pure Balance today at Wal-Mart….. I noticed the can said made by Ol’Roy is that the correct pure balance??!!

[cajungurl]

Thanks! I have been doing the eggs and sardines a couple days a week, will definitely look into the pure balance….

[crazy4cats]

Hi Cajun Girl-
I add canned pure balance, nature’s domain and whole earth farms. I also add eggs, sardines and raw nuggets as well. Since I’ve been adding eggs and sardines a couple times a week, their coats have become noticeably shinier. The canned food and nuggets are balanced, but the eggs and sardines are not. So they cannot make up more than 10-20 percent of their diet. Good luck!

[Robert R]

I supplement my 2 small poodles usual diet of Orijen kibble with Pure Balance canned from Walmart. It’s only $1 per can and I like the ingredients better. It’s rated 5 stars. Both dogs love it

[Robert R]

I used to use Canidae canned for my 2 little poodles to supplement Orijen kibble, but switched to Pure Balance canned because I liked the ingredients better and it was much cheaper — only $1 per can. It’s also better rated. They love it.

[Robert R]

What about Pure Balance canned from Walmart for $1 per can? It’s rated 5 star. I use this for my little poodles to supplement Orijen kibble and they love it. One can lasts for 2 days.

[Akari_32]

Glad they liked it! I guess it doesn’t ship for about 5 days after ordering, so I’ll probably need to get Bentley some Pure Balance 95% to tide him over. Guess I’ll do that tomorrow. He’s already used to eating raw treats, so I think he’ll be ok switching to all raw in a relatively short time. Fingers crossed I get my mix soon! I can’t wait to see how he does on it :3

[Naturella]

Wow, there are quite a few threads of mostly Shasta220 and I venting about Beneful and the like and Science Diet, lol, so I was not sure where to post, but here it is – I have a success story, y’all!!! (I get Southern-like when excited apparently, lol)

Anywho, I babysit these kids, and the family dog is a shitzu mix, 4 years old, unknown weight, but probably around 15-ish lbs. She is on Kibbles ‘N’ (PUKE)… I mean Bits. Kibbles ‘N’ Bits. She STANK!!! Like, BAD!!!

So I talked to the mom and tossed the idea to her that it may be the food and she was quite open to suggestions on what to feed her! I first warned her to steer clear of Kibbles N Puke, Beneful (Crappyful), Pedigree, Iams, and the like, and she goes “That’s all that we’ve been feeding her!”. And I was like “Well… Don’t anymore, please!”. So I asked where she usually shops for food, and she said Walmart. So I immediately recommended Pure Balance Grain Free and Rachael Ray Zero Grain. Also some other foods like Blue Buffalo Wilderness and some of the ones I’ve fed.

So the lady takes a note, but with a full-time job, 3 kids, a husband, and a household to run, I am sure doggie food is not a top 10 priority, so I look at my stash and see some gifts from a friend, who had given me about a lb or so each of Nutro Max, Simply Nourish, and Whole Earth Farms. So I scoop them up (after keeping a cup of each for Bruno) and pour some of the current Earthborn he is on, and I brought them to the family today, along with a sample pack of THK perfect form, for the puppy’s tummy. I asked for permission to transition the dog (named Snowy) to better food with the ones I have brought. Permission granted. I’m ecstatic! I mixed 1/3 of Nutro Max with 2/3 of Kibbles N Crap (luckily, the last in the bag!) and served her a scoop. Poor pup was picking out the Nutro like crazy! I was so touched for some reason. She has enough Kibbles N Yuck mixed with Nutro to last her the end of the week, maybe more, and once/day, while I’m there, I will be giving her some Perfect Form so that her tummy doesn’t get upset. After that she will be on some Simply Nourish, then Whole Earth Farms will join in, and, finally, Earthborn! 🙂

Also, I told my mom about the good deals I get often, so she said I can get her a big bag of a good food (up to $20) and she would pay me. Oh, will I!? Of course! I am thinking TOTW with alternating Pure Balance Grain Free, Earthborn Holisitic Grain Free, and Rachael Ray Zero Grain (those I can either get for real cheap or with coupons), and if I catch deals on Victor or something from the local pet boutique, I will get her some from there too. I am so excited, so as long as I’m babysitting the kids, I will be able to transition this poor dog to something better. It is so necessary as she has 3 bumps on her smallest ribs and I don’t know what they are… The lady didn’t either, but she said she’ll check them out when she takes her to the vet next. Also, even if I don’t work for her anymore, I have left her a list with foods to use, so I hope she adheres to them. I just can’t wait to see results from the transition – no more stink at least, and hopefully the bumps will just kind of be ok.

But yeah. I’m excited. Success story. Yay! 🙂

P.S. This website was on the top of each page on the list. Hope she looks at it! 🙂

[LabsRawesome]

Liz, Here’s my list of 4 & 5 star budget friendly foods. Costco’s Kirkland Signature Nature’s Domain Turkey and Pea Stew $19.99 case of 24 cans. Tractor Supply’s 4health .99 cents per can. Walmart’s Pure Balance grain inclusive $1.00 And Pure Balance 95% meat cans $1.25 per can. All cans are 13oz or more. For kibble I recommend Victor grain free. The kibbles are tiny. And if you can buy it local, it’s a steal at under $40 for 30lbs. It comes in smaller bags as well. If you contact the company, they will send you free samples. Most stores have free samples, as well. http://www.victordogfood.com/

[Akari_32]

I add canned to add variety, but also because my oldest dog, an 11 year old lab mix, has never stomached meal-sized amounts of dry food very well, so the extra moisture makes it a little more palatable. I mix it right in her dry food, and she loves it.

Canned also adds moisture to their diet, which can be important for certain medical conditions, such as dogs susceptible to UTIs.

I use all different brands and flavors of both canned and dry. There’s really no science to picking my canned, since I only split a single 13 oz can between a 60 lb and 130 lb dog every few days, but if you plan to feed it more often and have it be a larger part of their diet, pick 3-5 star rated brands (I tend to pick 2-3 star rated canned food because of cost).

I believe someone has already suggested to you Wellness Complete Health Small and Toy breed recipes? Pure Balance from Walmart also has small pieces, and now has a small breed formula. It’s a good price, and my guys did good on the salmon and pea grain free. Wellness would be my starting point, though. It’s my favorite for dry food. I’m actually getting ready to try out the toy breed ones for my big guys, the goal being to feed my lab mix as small a meal as possible.

[DogFoodie]

I hate to say this, but I recall calling Earthborn when my Golden was a little pup and the gentleman that I spoke with told me the Calcium in the Primitive Naturals was too high for a LBP in growth phase. I don’t mind single source amino acids at all, after all, it’s why you rotate in the first place.

What stores do you have locally, Petco, PetSmart, TSC? Have you tried the Victor product locator to see if you might have that at a local feed store. No pet boutiques? You could try cooking or a simple raw diet for a few days if you needed to while you wait for an order to arrive. You could even run to Wal-Mart and feed some Pure Balance canned for a few days in a pinch.

I’d go for the Meadow Feast of all those you mentioned. I would never use a Blue Buffalo product.

[Bobby dog]

Tindaisy:
I think I already mentioned this, but in case I didn’t all the 4Health canned dog and cat food is manufactured by Simmons. I have fed all recipes of the dog and cat food and like them all. The cat food is pate’ style. The salmon and lamb canned for dogs is pate’ style and the rest are stew styles.

Another budget friendly canned dog food is Wal-Marts Pure Balance. This is also part of Bobby’s main canned rotation. It is reviewed well on DFA also. The stew styles are 99 cents and the 95% meat are $1.25.

Both brands are manufactured by Simmons and all of these brands are complete balanced recipes.

[Erin T]

I currently feed my four dogs (20 lbs – 60 lbs) Earthborn Holistic’s Primitive Natural formula, which I’ve been very happy with and receives Dog Food Advisor’s five star rating. I’m having some concern about tartar build up, and have always been interested in feeding raw. I’m concerned about the correct balance of nutrients, so I’m thinking I would like to start with 50/50 kibble/raw.

My question is, speaking purely of meat, what is an average price per pound, and what cuts/protein sources are you feeding? Cost is a big issue for me! I get my kibble at cost, so I spend about $80/month on it. Based on the needs of my crew, raw meat would have to be $.50/pound to match the price of kibble (of course, I could spend a bit more). I’m going to go down to the butcher shop in a day or two and inquire about different prices and cuts, but right now just trying to figure out if it’s feasible to do this.

I’m a raw NOVICE, by the way, so any advice is appreciated!