Price Per Meal

[Debbie and Bentley]

I came across a price per meal comparison list the other day, but can't find it now. Can anyone share this with me? I'm trying to decide the most economical, yet quality food for Bentley. The breeder had him on Iams Smart Puppy food, and I am definitely going to change. Thanks

[Kate, Mel, Tenley & Harper]

Here you go: http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/food-co...

I can testify to it, too. Tenley eats Orijen Six Fish which is the most expensive kibble on the market that I have seen. It costs us $1.36/day! We paid $51.99/bag and it has lasted us 38 days now. He just finished it this morning. I could decrease that cost per day even more by buying the next sized bag where the cost per pound is a bit lower but I like to keep the food fresh and that bag would take too long to finish.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

That's good thinking. :) 

And in my area, Orijen's Regional Red is even higher than the 6 Fish. Of course, that was the one JD liked best, lol. 

[Marilyn and Sherlock]

There are some airtight containers called "vittles vaults" and they are great.... they make them in a number of sizes, to hold up to 50 pounds of food.... I found them while I lived in Florida.... ants are unbelievable there... after I got one, not an insect ever found in the food and I could get the bigger size bags of food..... Amazon has pretty good prices.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Even with the air-tight containers, the food can still lose its freshness and appeal. You notice that the aroma isn't as strong over time as it was when you first opened the bag. I've always used an air-tight storage container, and even so, JD was always much more interested in his food when it was from a brand new bag than one that had been around a while. 

[Kate, Mel, Tenley & Harper]

Yes, I have the vittles vaults. LOVE them. But he is definitely more interested in a "fresh" bag of food and, mathematically speaking, the food sits just as long as another non-Orijen dog food. If he's eating 0.4lbs of food per day (38 days divided by 15 lb bag), then a 28.6lb bag of food (the biggest size) would last him 71.5 days. If he was eating another food like Wellness, he would blow through 28.6lbs of food in a month or just over a month. So I prefer to keep the freshness the same-- about 30-40 days old at the most-- regardless of what I'm feeding. If I was feeding wellness, the bag would last call it 35 days before I open a new bag, so it would never really be that "stale". I want to keep that ratio similar with the Orijen, so have to purchase the bag size accordingly.

Also to note, though, is that Tenley weighs somewhere between 30-35lbs. If I was feeding a 60-70lb dog, then it would make total sense to buy the biggest bag :)

[Marilyn and Sherlock]

In my case, there were multiple dogs... so I could get by with the larger bags....

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's in the Featured Discussions here in the Food group, for future reference. And it has several different comparison calculations and tools: 

http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/food-cost-per-day-comparis...

[Debbie and Bentley]

Thanks, Kate and Karen. I just favorited it so that I can find it easier next time. I'm not sure how to search in a group. Do you do a general search, or is there a place to narrow your searches down to a specific group? Anyway, since hubby is hard to convince, do you think Blue Buffalo would be a good food to try? It's not the top, or most expensive, but on the recommended food list.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

To search in a group, go to "view all" under the list of discussion on the main group page. (From here, you would click "Back to Food Group Discussions" up top under your name, then scroll down to the bottom of the list of discussions) when you click "View All", a search box will open at the top of the page and you can enter your search term there. 

If you do go with Blue Buffalo, try a grain-free formula,maybe the Wilderness line. 

But you really cannot go by the price per bag. With some of the foods like Orijen, you actually can feed half of what you would with another food that looks cheaper. 

JD goes through 3 bags of his current food, Wellness Simple, in the same amount of time that he would go through 2 bags of Orijen. When you look at the price of the Wellness food x3 versus the Orijen x2, the Orijen costs less. Men are usually good at math, they get that, lol. 

[Debbie and Bentley]

I wanted to stick with a food I could buy locally. I live in the country, and in the winter the USPS & UPS, etc. can't get back to our house if there is even a little snow. Our actual mailbox is 1/2 mi. away. So, if you had to choose a puppy food you could either get at PetSmart or Petco, what would you choose?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Either Blue Buffalo Wilderness Puppy or Wellness CORE Puppy. 

[Debbie and Bentley]

Thanks, Karen!