five dogs, need good reasonably priced dry dog foodo

Dog Food Advisor Forums Diet and Health five dogs, need good reasonably priced dry dog foodo

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  • #32406 Report Abuse
    mswrobbie
    Member

    Hi, Just wondering if people could weigh in on a decent dog food for our five medium to large dogs. Just found out the Beneful weight management formula we’ve been giving them is a lousy choice. We have one large 100 to 110 pound mutt. Three 65 to 90 pound mutts and one that is is also a mutt, looks like a small collie/type of dog and is about 35 pounds. They are all indoor dogs but we have a very large back yard they play in and get their exercise together. One is like four years old, one is a bit younger so three years old and the others are between 8 and 11 years old. All range from a bit overweight to one being severely obese, except the small one. We simply cannot afford these 50 to 75$ bags of dry food. They go through a 30 pound bag of Beneful in five to seven days, ($26.88 at Walmart) so we find ourselves opening two large bags most weeks. I would like to get at least a 3 or four star food. We could order online. Help!!! I don’t want to keep feeding them lousy food, but I have spent two solid nights now trying to find a decent dog food that we can afford and am worn out at the effort. Seems like I am not seeing any under about 42$ . Suggestions? Ideas? Thanks in advance.

    #32413 Report Abuse
    theBCnut
    Member

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

    #32421 Report Abuse
    Akari_32
    Participant

    I’m about to be giving Nutrisource Super Performance a try here soon. It’s about $45 for 33 pounds, and has my 130 pound dog eating just 3.5 cups (and he’ll probably eat less than that because he’s lazy), according to the calculator in the review section of the site. Or if you have a Tractor Supply, they have 4Health which is pretty cheap, and ranks well. The last one I can really think of is Walmart has Pure Balance and Purina One Beyond, both or which are 3 stars.

    Hey, that’s my thread :p

    #32431 Report Abuse
    JASTECH
    Member

    I have fed Fromm to my yard for a long time, it does very well. You can get a better price online buying a month or two supply at a time.

    #32432 Report Abuse

    I can’t address the type of food for large breed any more than I can for miniature breeds but I can tell you what I started doing about a year and a half ago.

    I have 30 dogs. Most are American Eskimos and Long haired Dachshunds however, due to a couple of segregation errors on our part we also have several Cold Franks added to our mix. While the AKC refuses to recognize this cross as a specific breed we love them just as much as our Blue Bloods.

    To address your query: I was a very strong proponent of Dry food. I’ve tried many and varied brands with a minimum rating of 3 stars. Over the years several of our pets had been plagued with a myriad of health problems: Bad Breath, loose stool, fur falling out, fleas, parasites etc… etc… before I researched K-9 Dietary needs. I started with consulting the three of our most trusted vets in our area as well as several trips to the University Of Georgia College Of Veterinary Medicine.

    Oddly enough, their knowledge on the subject was nothing more than suggesting a variety of name brand foods and supplements. It was, quite frankly, a costly “hit or miss” solution with little or no improvement to the health of our pack.

    I educated myself by reading hundreds of articles and forums such as this (Rudy’s). As a result, I concocted and changed their diet to a home remedy.

    In less than four months there was a marked improvement. Coccidian protozoa; gone. Their breath was no longer foul smelling. No more signs of any type of worms wiggling in their stool. Their fur started growing back soft and fluffy and much to our relief, there are few if any fleas. As a bonus I cut our rather large K-9 pantry expense by 33%. I did, however, add an extra 30 minutes to my time while preparing their meal (mind you, I am feeding thirty).

    NOTE: Should you consider my solution it is strongly advised that you consult your Vet First. Two of the ingredients I use may be challenged by some (but not all) authorities. *These two are: “Plug Chewing Tobacco and Garlic.”

    Here is my Remedy: In a crock pot I cook 3 pounds of chicken backs and necks and one pound of chicken liver for a minimum of 8 hours on Auto. This causes the bones to break down to become malleable and easily digested. Thirty minutes before serving add 2.5 pounds of frozen or fresh mixed vegetables (make sure there is no or little corn) i.e. peas, lima beans, carrots, green beans and stir.

    In a blender add two heaping tablespoons of minced garlic, 1/2 ounce of plug tobacco and one cup of broth from the crockpot. Blend on high for thirty to sixty seconds or until the tobacco is cut up into pieces that look almost granular. Add this to the crock pot and stir several times. Turn the crock pot off and let stand for thirty minutes.

    Whatever type of dry food you are using reduce the serving amount by 60% and mix this on a 2 To 1 ratio of crock pot mix to dry food. Considering you have five dogs, freeze the rest of the crock pot mixture in pouches that serve five. Taking into account the size of my kennels, I obviously have no leftovers.

    I have been feeding this mixture to my kennels for almost 1 ½ years and my pack has never looked or responded healthier.

    * It is argued that tobacco will kill Coccidian protozoa and the Garlic will repel the fleas. I use these two ingredients only twice a month so you will need to reduce the amount to a proper ratio so as not to give your pets too much.

    The benefits: less trips to the vet, more active adults, fresher breath, no more de-wormer medicine to buy (which, by the way, is not a healthy substance for your pet) less, if any flea remedies and coats full of luster. If you like, you can also drop to a one star dry food considering it is primarily used as filler.

    #32433 Report Abuse

    I need to correct an error in my remedy. I stated: 3 Pounds of chicken backs and necks. I mis read the latest label whereas, 2.94 was the price of the chicken, not the weight. At 45 cents per pound the weight is actually slightly over 6 pounds of Backs and Necks.

    My Bada.

    Scruffy.

    #32439 Report Abuse
    mswrobbie
    Member

    Thank you all; I am busy reading, and really appreciate the help, and the direction to the link. Scruffy, I started reading about making my own dog food last night as well, and appreciate your input. I woke up dreaming about food . . I was starving, LOL!!!

    #32441 Report Abuse

    Keep reading on the personal dog food creations. They are all over the web. I was paying an average of 247 per week (over 12K per year) for dry dog food with dismal results. I now spend just under 165.00 per week and I am developing ideas for diets and beneficial supplements to lower that cost even more. My goal is to reduce my intial cost by 65 to 70% while maintaining a healthy lifestyle and diet for my pack. The info is out there. Just keep reading. If you have a favorite Vet, It’s best to keep them in the loop.

    Scruffy

    #32442 Report Abuse
    mswrobbie
    Member

    Again, thanks all!! We are on our way to Rural King to buy a Diamond Naturals four star food; a 40$ bag is 29.99$ and they have a large breed one for $31. something. And I am going to keep reading so that if I am using the dry dog food, I can add some healthy home made food to it. Thanks thanks and my dogs thank you too!! Hope they will eat this!! I have heard that you should slowly change the diet over and maybe give 1/2 of the old food with 1/2 of the new food for a while??? That true?? Thanks much!!!

    #32444 Report Abuse
    DogFoodie
    Member

    I would never feed my dog tobacco. Home prepared is great, if it’s properly balanced. You might want to pick up Steve Brown’s book if you go that route: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1929242670/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER. Also dogaware.com has great resources for those who prepare their own meals.

    As far as a commercial kibble that’s quality and affordable, my favorites would be Dr. Tim’s, Victor, Earthborn Holistics and NutriSource.

    One important consideration when you’re comparing the cost of one food to another is that you need to know the number of kcals per cup so you can determine how long a bag will last you. Often, better quality foods often have greater caloric density so you can’t simply compare the cost of 30 pounds of brand A to 30 pounds of brand B.

    #32460 Report Abuse

    Scruffy-

    I would never feed my dogs tobacco for any reason. With that said, I can not see how your homecooked”recipe” is anywhere near balanced. The chicken backs, liver and veggies as a meal,day in and day out, will ultimately cause nutritional issues. As well., I also do not how that could provide enough kcals for one mid size dog for day, let alone a “kennel of 30”. If you were feeding it as a “topper” I could see where it would be “ok” but you are advocating feeding it as a primary base of the meal.

    I think home cooked foods are great, as long as the person attempting it has researched and consulted on what a proper ‘meal plan” is

    #32461 Report Abuse
    Shasta220
    Member

    I completely understand your need for economical nutrition! We have about the same problem… 3 years ago we had just two dogs and 5 cats. Now? 2 Betta fish, 3 cats, 3 dogs (aka PIGS with how much they eat…), 8 chickens, 2 ducks, a miniature horse, and a 600lb puppy dog (aka Iggy the Holstein steer…he doesn’t know he’s a cow)

    We obviously cannot splurge that much on buying ultra quality food (our lab has allergies though, so she can’t have foods full of wheat/corn).

    The most economical and quality foods I’ve found so far are Nutra Nuggets (I ONLY get the lamb n rice formula, since lamb meal is the first ingredient instead of corona or byproduct), Diamond naturals, and Kirkland signature. Kirkland is 4star food, about 25$ for 40lb, and can be found at Costo (possibly you could find it online?). Diamond naturals is very similar to Kirkland, but it’s 40$ (I get the Large Breed 60+ since it has glucosamine and chondroitin to help their joints). Nutra nuggets is the same price as Kirkland, but only 3-star.

    To make the food last a bit longer, possibly try adding your own nutritious “fillers” such as sweet potatoes (baked), carrots, apples, and meat (cooked or raw). Possibly try to find a local butcher and see if you can buy meat-scraps, or meat that’s slightly expired (just past human-consumption, but 100% safe for dogs). I know a girl who was able to buy virtually unlimited amounts of expired meat for her 5 dogs and 8 cats… It was, I think, $.50 per lb, which is a serious steal! Yep, she gives her lucky pups 100% raw, lol!

    I hope you’ve found something that’s good for the dogs and your wallet. Also, try not to get “lite” foods (I don’t ever get the lite ones…not even if it’s a quality brand), you may find yourself feeding more. Switching to a food that’s even a little better than Beneful might actually be cheaper, since you may feed less.

    When I owned my 90lb APBT mix, he ate 9c of Dog Chow daily (and he was super thin, too!). We switched him over to Nutra Nuggets, and he went down to about 2c daily without gaining/losing ANY weight. My biggest tip is this: even if you can’t afford much, at least make sure meat is the #1 ingredient (meal is fine, avoid by product if you can…).

    #32468 Report Abuse
    joet
    Member

    TO–MSWROBBIE–

    HERES A LINK TO WHY YOU SHOULLD***NEVER**
    FEED YOUR PET BENNIFUL OR ANYTHING RATED LIKE THAT—CLICK AND READ AND DONT BUY–PLEASE–JOE T

    http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/beneful.html

    #32482 Report Abuse
    theBCnut
    Member

    Joet, while you are on consumer affairs, read what they have to say about BB.

    #32490 Report Abuse
    mswrobbie
    Member

    Again, thank you all! Joet, I am appalled to hear all of this and I do thank you for directing me to the site. I at least now know that some folks pets have gotten very ill, and that many like me are learning the Beneful is at minimum a very poor food choice. My dogs were very interested in the Diamond naturals dog food bags coming into the house, and do seem to like it. Shasta, thank you on the comments on the lite types of food! maybe just this will help us save some money! Take care all!!!

    #32503 Report Abuse
    Shasta220
    Member

    (Gah, stupid autocorrect… I meant to say CORN not corona, LOL!!!)

    #32505 Report Abuse
    theBCnut
    Member

    LOL!! I was wondering what beer had to do with it!

    #32507 Report Abuse

    Hello Tobacco haters of America. My guess is that I am forty to fifty years your senior. I understand your skepticism. I’ve walked paths you have yet to encounter. Do the math. ½ of an ounce of plug tobacco split between 30 servings. The odds of my pack craving a quality “Cuban” after their feeding is rather slim.

    Secondly, are you willing to do some research? Round worms, hook worms, flat worms and tape worms DO NOT fare well when Nicotine is introduced into their hosts’ diet. As a matter of fact, they die while the pet fare’s well.

    I did not suggest to anyone to entertain my remedy without FIRST consulting their Vet. Bark elsewhere my friends: you’ve treed no coon here.

    Scruffy.

    #32510 Report Abuse
    InkedMarie
    Member

    Shasta: LOL at Corona. I take mine with a lime please 🙂

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