Hello all,

I need a little help. I have hit a bit a snag financially in this recession and need a little advice of dog food.

I have been feeding a food that has done well for my dogs, but is a little costly. My weekly feed bill is $80 for 4 adults and 3 puppies. I was hoping that maybe you could help by suggesting a food that is less expensive but that your dogs have done well on. Any help would be welcome.

Thanks.

ADM Ultra Select. no corn, 40# is $26.00. Been feeding it for 18 mos, dogs look great, puppies raised on it are sound, and I'm happy.

It might help to know what you are feeding right now. I feed 6 adults Pro Plan. I buy about 4 bags a month on average, spending about $200 a month.

Just a couple of questions first.

1. What are you feeding now and how much do you pay?
2. Any ingredient you want to stay away from?
3. What part of the country are you in? Some great regional foods out there.
4. Can you purchase in bulk from a distributer?
5. Where do you purchase your food now

The food I use I buy in bulk a palette at a time. I save a ton of money but I have the room for storage. I have a friend who buys her food from a distributer, 8-12 bags at a time and she saves also.

What I do not want to pay for is a dog foods marketing. I also like dealing with small companies that have their own plant or have there food made at a reputable plant with no recalls.

The food I use now is great, has a wonderful reputation, my dogs never looked better. I now pay about $1.08 a pound.

If you can answer the above questions, I am sure I can help you find either a cheaper price than what you are paying now or a cheaper food that is as good, if not better than what you are using now.

I use kirkland chicken/rice for many of my dogs, it is at costco, for aprox. $26/40#, my dogs have done very well on it!
it is always a very well reviewed food.

All of the Diamond Foods are back up and running. It is still a great food for the price. Now Pedigree is having recalls on some of their canned food with blue chips of plastic showing up in them. Seems like this is something that all dog food manufacturers deal with at some point.

I agree...it seems that all mfg have a recall for one issue or another. I am a little more hesitant with Diamond though. I did feed it for several years and really liked the results...good price too. The last several months before the last recall I noticed inconsistancy in the kibble and it seemed I was dealing with soft stools off an on.

Once the last recall hit, I did make the decision to move to a different brand. I read a report on the QC issues in their plant and that coupled with the two major recalls in the last 10 years...I decided I was done.

You might look at the ProPac foods if you are interested in Diamond or Pro Plan. Affordable and similarly made. I have had good success with it.

I know some show breeders swear by good old Purina Dog Chow

Thank you all for your suggestions. I used to feed the Kirkland foods, but was looking on the Costco website and didn't see it offered on there. I was shopping online and comparing foods too.

I feed a really good food that is chicken and oatmeal and runs about $40/35#. Between the puppies and the adults, they go through 2 bags a week, even though they only 3-4 cups a day.

I had fed Purina One at one time, but was not thrilled with the results. My dogs do so well on this food now, but as I try to trim my budget (I also am not breeding for another 2 years), I'd like to find something comparable but lower priced.

If Costco is carrying Kirkland again, I will go back to it.

Thanks all, I appreciate all the positive feedback.

Kirkland and manufacturer Diamond have had more recalls than an active field dog. Just so you know what you might have to watch out for. A vet visit is far more costly than a decent dog food.

The last Diamond recall didn't hurt the dogs- only people!! Unless a dog was sick or a frail geriatric, the chances of them getting salmonella was slim to none... Let's face it- our dogs eat dead animals if allowed, and most of the time, crap! Now humans, on the other hand were at risk... but if you washed your hands after handling the food, no issues.

I know several dogs who did become ill or die from the latest recall so don't believe everything you hear.

I have changed to Royal Canine and Pro Pac, get it delivered each month and really save money. Dogs are doing great. Did use Diamond, but with the recall, decided never to use that again. Not sure on the ill dogs and dying dogs, unless documented, there was nothing on the Diamond website or any press on that? Were did these dogs live that died or got sick? I have had past dogs almost die with the first Diamond dog food recall. Went back to it, I figured that they must have really straightened up their act. With this recall, I decided that was it and my dogs stools weren't as good as I liked.

How much per pound is really meaningless when you consider you might be feeding twice or even three times as much to keep weight on an active Lab.

your question is valid. Cost per dog fed is far more important than price per pound.

You might find that buying a more pricey food is actually less costly. Do your research and try some of the ones recommended here.

Nutri Source is a good food too. We switched to it to save on costs.

If you're in an area where you can get Precise foods, they're excellent. The food is produced at a small, family run facility and has never had a recall. Their Foundation formula comes in 44# bags, and is a very good value.

To cost vs. price, you are very correct. I know that when I fed the Kirkland foods, I fed what I was feeding now with the more expensive food. So that is equal and I will be looking at the price per pound. My former food came in 35# bags, Kirkland comes in 40# so right there, I get 5# more per bag. I went to Costco and purchased 120# for about the same price I would normally pay for 70#. That's almost twice as much food. I am also noticing firmer stools as I switch over. This is something I was not happy with about my other food.

Thanks for the tip on Precise, I have not seen it around here, but will check it out. But for now, I think I'll stay with the Kirkland.

Thanks again for all the great tips and suggestions.