Cost comparison for recommended kibbles

[Elizabeth & Cosmo]

Just for reference, here are a few cost comparisons I have computed for feeding Cosmo, a 45-pound, 2 1/2-year-old ALD. He normally eats Orijen Senior because he has arthritis resulting from an orthopedic issue which was corrected surgically about 1 year ago, and the Orijen Senior is an ALS food, including extra joint-health nutrients.

I offer these just as a guide for considering the true costs of feeding a high-quality kibble. The price-per-bag does not tell the whole story. As we have noted many times before here in the Food Group, cheaper foods may actually cost more in the long run because the dog has to consume more to receive the same nutritional benefit found in a smaller amount of a high-quality food.

So here are the analyses I've done. I encourage you to add your own!

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Cosmo eats Orijen Senior, which costs $69.99 for the 29.7-pound bag at petflow.com. He weighs 45 pounds and is not very active, so I feed him 1.5 cups, or 12 ounces, per day. Mathematically, one 29.7-pound (475.2-ounce) bag lasts 39.6 days. So the cost per day for Orijen is $1.77.

I compared to Blue Buffalo Freedom Grain-Free Chicken (none of their Senior varieties is grain-free, but all Orijen varieties are), which costs $55.99 for a 24-pound bag at petflow.com. According to the Blue Buffalo web site, for a dog of Cosmo's weight, he should be eating 2.75 cups per day, or 22 ounces. At that rate, the 24-pound (384-ounce) bag would last 17.45 days. The cost per day comes to $3.20.

I did one for Canidae Grain Free pureSea using calories per day. The 30-pound (480 ounces) bag costs $68.99 at petflow.com. Cosmo gets 592.5 kcal/day from his Orijen Senior. To get the same number of calories, he would eat 1.25 cups (10 ounces) per day of the Canidae pureSEA. The 30-pound bag would last 48 days, and the cost per day is $1.43.

Taste of the Wild High Prairie kibble (grain-free) costs $47.99 for a 30-pound (480-ounce) bag at petflow.com. According to the TOTW web site, Cosmo would eat 2 1/3 cups per day, or 18.64 ounces. The 30-pound bag would last almost 26 days, at a cost of $1.86 per day.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Elizabeth, I could kiss you for doing this! It will be so helpful for illustrating the point that the price alone doesn't tell the whole story. I am going to make this a "featured" discussion!

[Elizabeth & Cosmo]

Thanks, Karen! I'm so glad you think it's helpful.

I understood the principle, but, even so, I found the mathematical results to be more persuasive than I expected!

[Jennifer and Jack]

That's awesome. I think Orijen is a great food. I begged and pleaded with my local store to start carrying it. Jack can not eat that high of a protein in his diet.. His poor bowls were swollen.  

We are on Dick Van Pattens and my 12 now 13 pound doodle can eat up to a cup a day which is a lot. He doesn't eat that much but his bowels thank me for the lower protein.

Our store just started carrying Acana and I picked up a small bag of the limited ingredient one and I may try that in a few months which would have me feeding less... So while it can be less money to feed your dogs Orijen they have to be able to tolerate it....

[Elizabeth & Cosmo]

That's a great point, Jennifer. Price is an important consideration, but your own individual dog's health is paramount!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I find it so odd that Jack has this issue with protein. According to JD's internist, higher protein foods help reduce the amount of poop as well as make it firmer, and high carb foods create much greater stool volume. I have certainly seen this with JD, and it makes sense, since much of the plant material in kibble is fiber which goes out of the body as waste. High carb diets are normally much "harder" on a dog's digestive system than high protein diets.I have to add cooked chicken to JD's meals to raise the protein percentage and reduce the stool volume.

I just wanted to mention this so that others will understand that your Jack's response to protein is very unusual, and this would not be an issue for most dogs... in fact, quite the opposite.

[Jennifer and Jack]

It is without a doubt associated with Jack the percent of protein and his bowels. I totally agree the higher the protein the less bulk in the stool...I totally understand and saw it...but for Jack who was 10 pr so pounds at the time..he struggled with having a bowl movement..he would strain and strain because there was not enough bulk I assume to form enough stool for him to get out.....he also needed to get his anal glands expressed also x ray showed swollen intestines....no matter what protein he was on. He does have a chicken intolerance.

I am not a food expert, I don't claim to understand anything but I do know when we cut Jacks protein his stools became bulky enough for him to pass..his anal glands don't need to be expressed....and he have a confirmed x ray of his intestines being back to a normal,constancy.

This is just what works for us. I too bulk up the LID by putting Stella and Chewys on it...I hate DVP LID but I am grateful for it.....


I would love for Jack to do well on something I think is better but he eats great now, poops great and we are good.....in no way would I give anyone advice about what to feed their dog...I am just saying Orijen is only good if your dog can tolerate it.....

Slowly.....within several months I will try Acana limited ingredient but the protein in that is still in the 20's.

[Camilla and Darwin]

" He weighs 45 pounds and is not very active, so I feed him 1.5 cups, or 12 ounces, per day" 

 

My question is, is 1.5 cups below the recommended amount that Orijen says on the bag? Because if you are calculating recommended amounts for all of the other foods, but are calculating a lower than recommended amount for Orijen, the analysis isn't fair.

 

Basically, are you calculating the exact same range amount (top of the range, middle of the range or lowest of the range) for all of the foods you compared.

[Elizabeth & Cosmo]

Hi, Camilla, that's a great question.

Orijen offers feeding recommendations for weight and activity level, so I chose according to their recommendation. The other brands offer recommendations only by weight, so I chose the amount recommended for a 40- to 45-pound dog. In practical terms, I chose the amounts I would feed my dog if I bought those foods based on the guidance from the companies. So, in that respect, it was an equal comparison in my mind.

Also, I am offering this, not as a justification for Orijen (which actually is not the least expensive food I looked at) or any particular brand, but as a guide for examining any kibbles to figure out relative costs.

[Camilla and Darwin]

Not accusing you of anything, just wondering if this is a truly fair comparison. It's an extremely useful thing for members I think, so it's great if it's accurate. 

I was just curious about it because the recommendation for a 44lb dog Orijen senior is 1 3/4 cup. You are feeding 1.5 cups, so less than the weight alone comparison. It seems that too be fair you'd have to compare it to slightly below the 44lb weight recommendation for all of the other foods as well. Does that make sense? 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

When JD was eating Orijen, he got 3 cups per day. He is now eating an LID Natural Balance formula because of his IBD, supplemented with homecooked food. If he was eating the Natural Balance food exclusively, he would need 5 cups per day.

A 15 lb. bag of Orijen costs $42, and a 15 lb bag of Natural balance costs $33. But since Jack only needs 60% as much Orijen as he does Natural Balance, he would need 5 bags of NB for every 3 bags of Orijen over an equivalent time period. The cost would be $126 for Orijen versus $165 for Natural Balance over the same period of time. Plus the Orijen is much higher in protein and much lower in carbohydrates like potatoes, and we all know that animal proteins are much more expensive than potaotes, so the value is even greater.

[Julie and Charlie]

Here is a chart put together by one of the local pet stores. A chart format is helpful to me. I like that they also included some "junk" foods. It's a year or two old, but it at least gets the point across that a seemingly more expensive food might not be all that expensive.

Dog Food Costs (multiple varieties)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

This is very helpful, too. Thanks for posting it!