Good quality inexpensive dry dog food

[Mark Hess]

Does anyone have a recommendation for a Good quality inexpensive dry dog food

[Gail+Kathleen,(Sydney+Olivia:)]

We learned lots from Karen and the Food Group.  We made the best decision last year when we changed our Doodles' food to Orijen.  They are 7 and 8 years old and they have been on Natural Balance for 5 years (and Canine Caviar for about 2 years) until last year.  Since they have been on Orijen they have not had any yeast infections in their ears, they have not had any anal gland issues, their stool seems good and they like the kibble.  We alternate between the Red Meat and Fish kibble.  We do put a little topper on their dinner (either cooked sweet potato or some crumbled freeze dried beef).  Our Doodles can't thank Karen enough (and so do we)!  We have had less vet bills since they are on Orijen and they seem happier.

 

As for cost, we order Orijen from PetFood Direct.com.  We are on the auto ship plan and so far we are getting the best price from them.  We order the 29lb bag and it lasts for 6 weeks for the two of our Doodles.  They are 29 and 49 lbs.  We follow the recommendations for feeding amount on the Orijen bag.  Our recent motto for life in general is "Cheap is Expensive" and that applies to our Doodles diet as well!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'm so glad the Orijen is working for your doodles!

[Diane and Alma]

Are you having food issues with her or just wanting a good food that doesn't cost a lot?  We tried many different brands with Alma because her stools were always loose.  We have also taken her off all chicken.  She now eats Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Venison or Bison formula (about $40 for 15 lbs) and is doing great.  She eats 1 1/2 to 2 cups a day and she weighs 45 lbs - we free feed so she eats when she's hungry.  We have spent more and less but this is what works for her.  Some of my friends feed their dogs the Costco Kirkland brand but I know there have been some recall issues with that.  If you switch foods on her do it very gradually.

[Janice Hammond]

Get a good quality food and you will use less and have a healthy and happy doodle.Oirjen is as far as I am concerned the very best.

[Doc and Ozzie]

Doc's breeder sent him home on puppy chow. I am slowly changing him over to--- 4Health--- brand sold at Tractor Supply. It is an "above average" grain based kibble with a moderate amount of lamb or chicken as main ingredient. The 35 pound bag is $29.99. 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Good quality and inexpensive do not go together.  However if you look at price and measurement of each meal, you will find that good quality is not as expensive as you think. Grain-free kibble is more expensive that grained, however, again look at amount needed for each meal and you will find that it is more efficient than grained kibble. We have been feeding our dogs TOTW for a while now.

[Cyndi, The Boys & Callie]

The place we buy the boys' food posted an article on this topic a few months ago.   Keep in mind that I have no math ability whatsoever so if something is off, don't shoot the messenger.  I found it very interesting.

To determine the calculations, we used the feeding recommendations for a 20# dog using a “small” size bag.  For the highest accuracy, we chose to use grams and kilograms rather than cup measurements.  When measuring dry food with a cup, it can be less exact due to the size of the kibble, the “-ish” measurement methods we sometimes use, etc.  If you have the ability to weigh the food, it is the most accurate method.  When given a range of amount to feed, we determined where 20# fell in that range.  For example, if the weight range was 10-22 lbs, and the feeding amount was 90-180 g, we chose around 170 g.  We determined the amount to feed each day, then we determined how many days were in the bag.  For example, if the requirement was 170 g per day and the bag contained 2.5 kg, we knew that there were 14.7 days feeding in that bag.  Then we divided the price of the bag by the number of days and had the daily feeding cost.

Here’s what we found:

Food	Size (lbs)	Size (kg)	Price/Bag	Amount (g)	Days/Bag	Price/lb	Price/day
Beneful Original	3.5	1.6	$4.99	381	4.20	$1.43	$1.19
Nutrisource Grain Free Chicken	5	2.26	$13.95	115	19.65	$2.79	$0.71
Fromm Surf & Turf	4	1.8	$13.95	140	12.86	$3.49	$1.09
Science Diet	4.5	2.04	$13.99	150	13.60	$3.11	$1.03
Purina Pro Plan	6	2.72	$14.49	141	19.29	$2.42	$0.75
Acana Wild Prairie	5.5	2.5	$15.95	130	19.23	$2.90	$0.83
Orijen Adult	5.5	2.5	$18.95	115	21.74	$3.45	$0.87
Acana Ranchlands	5.5	2.5	$18.95	110	21.74	$3.45	$0.83

 

Note that these calculations do not take into account ingredient quality, the species-appropriateness of the ingredients, nor the long-term health of your pet due to exposure to less-than-desirable ingredients.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The only caveat I would give to this article is that they are comparing the smallest size bags available, and the price per lb. goes way down with any food the larger the bag. So it's good for comaparison purposes, but the price per day and the price per lb. for all of these foods would be considerably less if they had been buying 15 or 30 lb bags.

[Elizabeth & Cosmo]

I agree, Karen, the economy of scale is significant. For Orijen, for example, the per-pound price of the 5.5-pound bag is $3.45 (noted above). But for the 29.7-pound bag at $69.99, the per-pound price drops to $2.36!