[Crepuscular]

Best bang for the buck? We have a 45 lb multigeneration mixed breed dog. She is very active (particularly with our twin 7 year old boys). We are of modest means. I’ve been considering Innova Prime Grain Free (Dry), Wellness Core Dog Food (Dry), and NutriSource Grain Free, or Taste of the Wild. There are so many great foods on the site and we want to give “Mitzi” the best food we can afford. Any recommendations for the best possible food that is still reasonably priced??

[Mom2Cavs]

Of the ones you mentioned I like Core, but I would think it’s the most expensive of the lot. Nutrisource is a decent priced food for the quality, imho. I personally would not feed any thing from Natura (Innova) due to the recalls for salmonella they’ve been having lately, and especially if you have kids that play a lot with the dogs. Taste of the Wild is a popular food, even my daughter and son-in-law feed it, but it is made by Diamond and they have poor recall history. My daughter’s dog has never had a problem with it, though. She also feeds the brand to her cats. Tractor Supply, if there’s one near you, has a great grain free food that’s made by Ainsworth….their grain inclusive is also made by Diamond. It’s their private brand called 4Health. The largest bag runs around 36.00 for 28 lbs. or more. Their canned food is only .99 a can. Great bargain, imho. But, of the three you mentioned I would use Core or Nutrisource (NS is cheaper than Core). There are also other affordable foods out there, if you have access to them. Some can be ordered online and delivered right to your door with little or no shipping costs, as well. Wal Mart has a newer food called Pure Balance that others say is good and inexpensive. Rachel Ray has a food, also available at Wal Mart, called Zero Grains that’s not bad. Fromm has a Classic line that’s less expensive. Merrick has Whole Earth Farms. I’m using Holistic Select and it’s not that bad of a price, either, especially for the grain inclusive. Anyway, I hope I haven’t muddied the waters. If I were you, I would look at the 4-5 star foods on this site and check them out for price and availability. It is also not bad idea to pick a few and try them out or rotate the brands to give your dog some variety. 🙂

[Hound Dog Mom]

I personally wouldn’t feed NutriSource or TOTW. I’d go with the Innova Prime or Wellness – they are the two pricier options though. Two other budget friendly 5 star foods I really like that you may want to look into are Dr. Tim’s and Victor.

[Author]

Posts