[Debbie S]

First off let me say that I feed my Pomeranian Wellness Core Reduced Fat (Dry) and Wellness Core Grain Free Weight Maintenance (canned) and only USA made low calorie treats. The poor thing is a pound or two overweight so until she loses that she will continue on this. (thankfully she loves it).
My question is for my flesh & blood kids dogs. I don’t agree with the way they do things but there isn’t much I can do about it. They live in the country and the dogs live outside. They have a male black Lab, a female German Shepard mix and a male combination of the two. They can’t afford a high quality food and are currently feeding a Pedigree product. They’ve just asked me what is wrong with it (since a current recall) so I told them. Now I have the task of finding a decent inexpensive food for their three dogs. They have two small children under the age of five and both adults work so they don’t have time to cook for the dogs (rarely do for themselves) so anything that takes time is out of the question. I can relate with those of you that think they shouldn’t be allowed to have pets but the problem is that they DO. Can anyone refer me to a product that would be better than what they are getting now that could be bought at Walmart, Pet Smart or Petco?

[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.

[Mom2Cavs]

One more thing. If they belong to Costco they also have some foods that a lot of people feed. Note that they’re made by Diamond, though, so that may be a consideration. Another thing I thought of is that if they have a Tractor Supply near by they have their own brand called 4Health that is budget friendly. Some of the formulas are made by Diamond, but not all. Remember, too, that feed type stores may carry some foods that are way better than Pedigree so they should be checked out, as well.

[crazy4cats]

How about Fromm’s Family Classics?

[Naturella]

I agree with Mom2Cavs – there are a fairly decent number of brands to choose from in those stores and I think she covered them. Also, if they are willing to order online, not only Victor (which is usually a steal $/lb), but websites, such as petflow.com; chewy.com; wag.com are great options and they often have amazing sales. As long as rotation is not a concern (it is actually encouraged), they can stock up on sale bags, and I am sure they will use them up fairly quickly with large dogs. I have gotten 4 and 5-lb bags of food for $4 and $5 respectively. They often have sales on the larger bags too, just have to browse around, and I think for those websites, shipping is just $5 flat rate, unless you order over $49 worth of things – then it’s free! 🙂

Some brands that overall run cheaper, from my experience, are Victor (of course), Earthborn Holistic, Taste of the Wild (Diamond product), Wysong (all besides the Epigen line), 4Health, Canidae, and the ones recommended by Mom2Cavs.

[Bobby dog]

Hi Debbie S:
There are some good suggestions posted above. Another poster started this thread asking about pet food at Wal-Mart that will hopefully be helpful to you:

/forums/topic/need-advice-about-walmart-brands/

[texasniteowl]

Just want to mention, that if they live in the country, it is possible that a local feed store may carry Victor. Also, Taste of the Wild. Now, I’m in Texas, and not every feed store around me carries Victor, but one close to me does. There are feed stores out there that carry more than just Purina. In addition to Victor, mine carries Nutro, Canidae, Blue Buffalo, and Nature’s Variety among others.

The Victor Dog Food web site does have a “Find A Dealer” link and is accurate for my stores.

http://www.victordogfood.com/

Of course, online is good too.

• This reply was modified 10 years ago by texasniteowl.

[InkedMarie]

If they will order online, Dr Tim’s is budget friendly and comes in larger bags

[Author]

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