Looking for a reasonably priced meat based dog food

[Cathy_H]

Lee's adult 75 pound german shepherd is now costing more per month to feed than a horse. We are currently feeding PMI Exclusive..... Now that cold weather is here she is eating even more.......... You folks with big dogs, have you found a reasonably priced meat based dog food that is working well for your dog? Could be the meat based foods are all expensive!

Thanks.

 

[Marty]

Same here. Amy is eating us out of house and home and she is always hungry. She is extremely active and it is impossible to get her to hold any amount of weight which compounds the matter and it looks like she is still growing and filling out.

She is a Nutro dog and that is her base food, but lately I have broken all the rules and besides Nutro, she is also getting canned Alpo prime slices, a large can a day with it and Purina Dog chow and left overs from the table every night. When I go to town, I always bring her a couple of Quarter Pounders back from McDonalds too. Besides that I cook her chicken breasts a couple times a week and rice. It just never stops but I'm not complaining. I just need to fill her up!

I'll be anxious to hear what everyone else has to offer this thread.

 

[Charlene]

i'm in the process of switching my great dane girl to Natural Balance sweet potato/venison. she's been on prescription dog food for the past month because of digestive issues. now that she's gone over a month with no problem, i'm going to something i feel is even better for her and MUCH less expensive. i was paying $56 for a 17# bag that was lasting about 10 days. the Natural Balance is around $44 for a 28# bag.

feeding a large breed dog has been a learning experience for me but i think we finally have her lined out. she's flourishing now.

 

[Boinky]

Mine all have done very well on Nutro max. I know its not THE BEST dog food out there but they really seem to do well on it. They have beautiful shiny coats, toe nails grow fast ect. I've tried other brands, including more expensive shelf brands (like purina high pro...think that's what it's called..but mega expensive). i can honeslty say my dogs are doing fantastic on the nutro and it's not outrageously priced. Unfortunatly it's like $10.00 more expensive here in kentucky that it was when i lived in maine making it about $30 per bag which seems a lot more ouchy. I've contemplated going with a lesser priced brand but i hate change.. and especially since i have some very sensitive dogs that get sick when i feed them other things.. i tend to like to stick to what works and hope i never have to change..lol

I think i did PMI puppy food with this last litter of pups for at least hte first 8 weeks i think because i got a 2 for 1 deal at a local store and i figured it was a lot cheaper to go for that deal, however the PMI was not CHEAP per bag so if yours is around what the puppy food was you are probably cheaper to go with Nutro and try that or another brand. i'm going through A LOT of dog food right now. i still have 4 puppies that are coming 6 months old that i haven't sold plus 4 adult dogs and the montly bill is getting a bit hard to swallow!!! Hope the price of dog food doesn't go up anymore!!

 

[mininik]

I rotate between high quality brands every time I buy a bag. We have seven dogs (4 under 10#s, 3 over 60-100#s) and I buy 40#s at a time, usually twice a month or so. Feeding a dog quality food does cost more than feeding a horse because meat is expensive. Some lesser quality foods (Science Diet, Purina, Pedigree, etc.) may be full of cheap fillers, but are also expensive because of what is spent to advertise them. The brands I buy (Canidae, Nature's Recipe, Natural Balance, Nutro Natural Choice, Avoderm, Blue Buffalo, etc.) are generally $1.00-1.50 a pound and I consider it well worth it due the fact that you will feed less of a quality, meaty food than you will of cheaper foods with more filler, plus feeding quality typically results in healthier dogs requiring fewer vet visits. I suggest you check out http://www.dogfoodproject.com and http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com then shop around for what's available in your area.

 

[CrescentMinis]

Kirkland (Costco's brand) has a decent chicken based food. It is manufactured by Diamond, and runs 25.00 or so for 40 lbs., and that bag feeds my 2 boxers for a month.

DogFoodAnalysis.com gives it 3 stars out of 6, however there are a bunch of pricey "holistic" brands right there at 3 stars too.

Ingredients:

Chicken, chicken meal, whole grain brown rice, cracked pearled barley, egg product, beet pulp, chicken fat(preserved with mixed tocopherols and Vitamin E), potatoes,fish meal, flaxseed,natural flavors, brewers dried yeast, millet, potassium chloride, salt, choline, carrots, peas, kelp, apples, dried skim milk, cranberry powder,

salmon oil (a source of DHA), rosemary extract, parsley flake, dried chicory root, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.

 

[Sterling]

My 135 lb. Cane Corso and 75 lb. Boxer both get Canidae All Life Stages Formula dry dog food. The meat in it is human grade. They also get at times Canidae canned and Eagle Pack Holistic. I pay about $45.00 for a $35 lb. bag and it lasts us about a month. I also cook for my girls during the week, separate and freeze into plastic ware and have enough to mix with their meals during the week. Also I should say my girls get fed 3 times per day. With their bigger meal at dinner time. They get breakfast, dinner and an evening snack which usually consists of Canidae dry and yogurt or some goodie mixed in.

 

[Floridachick]

YOu can do the B.A.R.F. diet and get Chicken leg quarters around .69 a lb

Take it from a mom of 10 dogs 4 of them over 100 lbs.

 

[BlueEyedPony]

I have two 95lb dogs, and both do well on Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul brand Large Breed formula. I pay about $32 for a 40lb bag, which lasts about 2 weeks. Main ingredient is chicken, and I believe (but could be wrong) that it does not contain corn.

 

[Field-of-Dreams]

Kirkland (Costco's brand) has a decent chicken based food. It is manufactured by Diamond, and runs 25.00 or so for 40 lbs., and that bag feeds my 2 boxers for a month.
DogFoodAnalysis.com gives it 3 stars out of 6, however there are a bunch of pricey "holistic" brands right there at 3 stars too.

Ingredients:

Chicken, chicken meal, whole grain brown rice, cracked pearled barley, egg product, beet pulp, chicken fat(preserved with mixed tocopherols and Vitamin E), potatoes,fish meal, flaxseed,natural flavors, brewers dried yeast, millet, potassium chloride, salt, choline, carrots, peas, kelp, apples, dried skim milk, cranberry powder,

salmon oil (a source of DHA), rosemary extract, parsley flake, dried chicory root, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.

They also have a lamb based dogfood which I have used and like. No corn or fillers. Plus, you can buy Diamond dogfood at Tractor Supply. Their 20lb bag of lamb & rice runs about $16 and lasts my Lab and JRT three weeks. They do carry a 40lb bag which runs about $25 (my guys don't eat it fast enought so I don't want it to go stale)

Lucy

 

[Boss Mare]

I work for a well named company and I am certified for canine nutrition.. and I have also been fed all of the details (pros and cons) of ALL of the brand name dog (and cat) food you can think of - even to the fact of the Reps taking me out to lunch for a bribe..

Tried and true, in my opinion..

Nutro! Natural Choice (or Ultra) You may have some trial and error on the exact type or food, but I LOVE the results.. I also LOVE the brand Solid Gold, however I had one dog it didn't work for..

Pricey, maybe.. but considering what I might pay to feed loads and loads of not to so food.. it balances..

Natural Balance is good too..

My top pick:

-Solid Gold

-Nutro

-Natural Balance

-Canidae

-Avoderm

and like mininik I am also a certified and experienced dog groomer!

 

[Jill]

I'm not sure if this is the kind of thing you mean, but we feed our dogs Nutro Natural Choice basically free choice during the day and in the evening, they eat food I've made for them. I make it a couple weeks at a time and freeze it until needed. Rice or pasta, lean meat (chicken, usually), green beans, and yogurt. They love it. (I don't freeze it w/ the yogurt -- mix that in after it defrosts).

PS our dogs are 4 shih-tzu (not big dispite what they'd tell you), a lab x chow and a 75# collie.

 

[Maxi'sMinis]

I didn't know Kirkland was made by Diamond! No wonder my dogs like the Diamond so much. I have used the Kirkland and everyone loved it and did real well. TSC has the Diamond. I use the Diamond for my 2 big dogs and the little ones like it too. I just priced a 50 lb bag of the maintenance at 23.00 at TSC.

Gee that sounds yummy Jill!

 

[sfmini]

We also feed the PMI Exclusive and are very happy with it. We have fed the puppy, adult, and what we call the old fat dog food.

Our Anatolian, Toby is on free choice Bites and Bones and it is the only food he will eat. Not sure what is in it, but he refuses higher quality foods.

Lily, my Cardigan, was on Nutro until they were bought out and suddenly there was no puppy food to be had and nobody knew if or when it would be available. Feeling betrayed, and now having to make a change, I switched her to Canidae Lamb and Rice. Having been let down by Nutro, I won't return to it.

Dog feeding at home is quite a process, there is Lily's food, the lab gets exclusive for active dogs, the old dog (going to the bridge today) got a super high quality canned food ($2.00/can), and the rest are on the exclusive for old fat dogs.

 

[Boinky]

Marty,

If dog chow is working for you GREAT! but i did want to bring to attention to keep an eye out for "issues" when feeding it. At one point i had a lot of dogs and tried to go the 'cheap' route. Dog chow was cheap! I usually fed my pups puppy chow and they did great on it....so i figured the swap over shouldn't have been a big deal.. within a month or two of feeding it my dogs all started getting thinner coats, chewing a lot, and body odor, slower dispositions. i took them off it and they were fine. i've spoken to many dog people since that have noticed similar issues with dog chow. NO IDEA what's in it or whats different that makes the issues but it just seems to with a wide base of dogs. several years later my brother brought his dogs to visit. The dogs looked AWEFUL. overweight but just aweful coated and had sores from chewing ect. I looked at him and said 'first off.what are you feeding them??" "let me guess Dog chow?" Yep that's what it was..i told him to pull them off it and put them on ANYTHING else and he did and guess what..they went back to beatufiul healthy looking dogs.

Just keep a close eye on your dog because i truly feel dog chow has something very bad in it!

 

[Carriage]

Lee's adult 75 pound german shepherd is now costing more per month to feed than a horse. We are currently feeding PMI Exclusive..... Now that cold weather is here she is eating even more.......... You folks with big dogs, have you found a reasonably priced meat based dog food that is working well for your dog? Could be the meat based foods are all expensive!

Thanks.

B.A.R.F. is best and often cheapest. While possibly time consuming initially, once incorporated into your lifestyle it becomes much less so.

Cooked vegetables are the best "fillers" for augmentation

and superb for snacks as well with any food chosen. Corn and onions should be avoided. It is important that the vegetables be cooked to promote breakdown otherwise the dog receives very little benefit from the nutrients. Low acid fruits can be added as well but the vegetable rules nutrition wise.

It has been my experience that Solid Gold and German dogs seem to go together by design. This is a superb base kibble for German Shepherds and Rotties.

25 years in Canine nutrition and still learning,

Bb

Canine Carriages

 

[LittleRibbie]

4 German Shepherds and an occasional foster....B.A.R.F. I have found to still be the cheapest way to go. It just takes about an hour once a week to prep and package. I can say that I believe I could take any one of my dogs in a show ring today and there coats would look outstanding and they could hold their own.....just dont look at Daiquiris topline,Quahogs missing tooth, Ribbies floppy ear or Briskets light colored eyes!!!

If you decide not to go w/B.A.R.F.

My choices would be

Solid Gold

Canidea

Nutro

Isnt it funny how we never look at the ingredients in Hamburger Helper or care about our Hot Dogs or Jelly Sandwiches but gosh all mighty.....our pet food ingredients must meet a high standard for us to feed it to them!!

 

[chandab]

I have limited luck finding good dog foods around here, but can get Diamond when I get over to TSC (150 miles one-way) and one called Tuffy's Gold Lamb and Rice.

I've thought about looking into a BARF diet, or at least incorporating it into their kibble diet, but don't know where to look or how to go about it. Is there a good website or book, outlining the principles of BARF and how to do it?

 

[Equuisize]

Our German Shepherd will be 2 1/2 in Dec. He is finally starting to fill out.

He is probably plus or minus a 100# now.

I feed him Merrick Kibble and change the flavor each month. He is a

bit of a picky eater I had trouble finding a kibble he liked.

I do cook for him and as a change of pace will add the Merrick canned.

He loves their trout dinner. He also loves tuna fish.

I cook mostly liver for him as he likes it the best. I cook chicken and recently

a friend gave us some ground venison and he's liking that a lot.

I add some barley. peas or some kind of beans, sweet potatoes but vary it

to keep his interest. Also scramble him eggs.......

I have to agree with Little Ribbie that I pay much more attention to what

goes into his tummy than what goes into ours. Go figure LOL

I guess it's because they do not have such a long life span and I want to be

sure I'm doing all I can do to extend it. Loosing them is waaaay to hard.

 

[LittleRibbie]

Equuisize...your dog looks just like my little Quahog !! I mean they could be twins!! He looks all American Shepherd!!