Best low cost dog food

[BlacksheepCardigans]

Quote:
How does the protein level say alot of potato and peas? The protein is 32%..I'd say thats pretty good... maybe even too high for my giant breed dogs.

Because the crude protein levels of bison and lamb meal are between 50 and 60 percent. But TOTW is 32%. The ingredient list gives you the impression that there's a ton of meat and only a little potato and peas in there, but the protein percentage tells you otherwise. TOTW has the same protein in its prairie formula as many conventional (grain based) kibbles. Its fish formula is actually a low-protein kibble at 25%, even though fish meal is 62% protein!

I would not have any giant breed on a grain free food while they're growing, not because of the protein but because grain free foods tend to be very high calorie. Controlling growth in a giant is crucial and it's very difficult to do on a high-calorie food. Protein percentages on labels tend to be good proxies for calorie levels, so we tell people to choose a lower protein as a way to get them to choose moderate calories.

 

[redhen]

Quote:
How does the protein level say alot of potato and peas? The protein is 32%..I'd say thats pretty good... maybe even too high for my giant breed dogs.

Because the crude protein levels of bison and lamb meal are between 50 and 60 percent. But TOTW is 32%. The ingredient list gives you the impression that there's a ton of meat and only a little potato and peas in there, but the protein percentage tells you otherwise. TOTW has the same protein in its prairie formula as many conventional (grain based) kibbles. Its fish formula is actually a low-protein kibble at 25%, even though fish meal is 62% protein!

I would not have any giant breed on a grain free food while they're growing, not because of the protein but because grain free foods tend to be very high calorie. Controlling growth in a giant is crucial and it's very difficult to do on a high-calorie food. Protein percentages on labels tend to be good proxies for calorie levels, so we tell people to choose a lower protein as a way to get them to choose moderate calories.

Hi! Thanks for the info! Yeah.. my dogs are older.. 3 and 4 yrs old. So they are done growing...
Do you think TOTW is still okay for him?

 

[hoppy]

Quote:
Plus;

While doing research to find a good dog food years ago, I found more than one source that stated that Ol Roy, adjectives Kibbles n Bits products, and all Nutro dog foods were found to enjoy traces of pentabarbitol in them. This is the drug that is used to euthanize dogs, accordingly, these companies are using deceased animals in the production of their dog food. For that source, I would never touch a bag of any of these brands. I was horrified at the time, and I own informed everyone of these findings. It is said there are other companies that do this, the list I found be only partial.
​

I don't understand this about the companies using pentabarbitol "This is the drug that is used to euthanize dogs,"
when they slaughter farm animals, they don't give them pentobarb, they use shock and captive bolts not euth solution. it must be coming from another source or they are using pet animals (horses) but this would not be a readily available source.

 

[hoppy]

Quote:
28 year old Beagle? A typo surely?!

No not a typo. Sir Elliott Beagle will be 28 on his next birthday.

are you sure someone hasn't been switching your beagle for a younger model or 2? lol
jk
that's amazing- is that a guinese record-
just looked it up, current oldest living dog in guiness is 21. and the oldest on record is 29
so if you contact guiness and have proof of age, your dog is the world's oldes LIVING dog.

http://www.worldamazingrecords.com/2009/09/otto-new-world-oldest-dog-world-record.html

 

[Hound]

Quote:
Plus;

While doing research to find a good dog food years ago, I found more than one source that stated that Ol Roy, adjectives Kibbles n Bits products, and all Nutro dog foods were found to enjoy traces of pentabarbitol in them. This is the drug that is used to euthanize dogs, accordingly, these companies are using deceased animals in the production of their dog food. For that source, I would never touch a bag of any of these brands. I was horrified at the time, and I own informed everyone of these findings. It is said there are other companies that do this, the list I found be only partial.
​

I don't understand this about the companies using pentabarbitol "This is the drug that is used to euthanize dogs,"
when they slaughter farm animals, they don't give them pentobarb, they use shock and captive bolts not euth solution. it must be coming from another source or they are using pet animals (horses) but this would not be a readily available source.

Horses aren't classified as pets (thank God). I agree generally a horse that has been euthanized by injection isn't going to end up at a rendering plant, that meat would come from horses slaughtered on a larger scale using the same methods as with cattle.

The pentobarbital found (in a study 12 years ago) was thought to have originated from beef tallow, why I do not know. They did test for feline, canine and equine DNA in the foods and didn't find any of them which makes no sense either, as horse slaughter was legal here then so it is more than likely that horse meat was used then. The drug isn't just used to euthanize animals, it is also a sedative in smaller doses and can be used to treat seizures. Obviously nobody is going to treat cattle for seizures, and i've only ever seen cattle sedated for C-sections so that probably wouldn't even account for a detectable amount. I truly don't believe it did come from pets just for practicality and reasons of volume.

 

[NellaBean]

An update of sorts..............switched to 4health.....3 of 4 dogs seem to be doing fine. 4th is old dog with sensitive stomach. MAJOR gas and semi loose poops......will keep using for another week or so and then see how things go.

 

[bock]

4health is a good choice!

 

[Jillian]

We have fed...

Solid Gold, Nature's Recipe, Nutro, Blue, Eaglepack Holistic...

Our dog's didn't like Solid Gold at the time. Nature's recipe dulled the coat. My next dog was allergic to lamb and we stopped getting nutro. Blue was okay but didn't agree with mom's dog. Eaglepack was great but so expensive!

So I spent 45 minutes in the pet store (we have a great local store where people know what they're talking about and with a lot of variety) and found Taste of the Wild. Along with the coupon from the store that saves us eleven dollars. We have four dogs and seem to race through food, so it was a boon. Been using Taste of the Wild for a few years now and all the dogs seem to be great. There was even a coat improvement when we switched away from eaglepack.

I would love to switch to raw foods.

The hard part for us has been finding a food that works for all the dogs. Our dogs seem to live quite a while. My shep mix lived to almost thirteen and our pointer mix lived past seventeen.

My first dog, a golden retriever raised on 'low quality foods', lived to be ten. But that's near the average for goldens.

 

[Carols Clucks]

I have two dogs-total about 40lbs. I feed them Solid Golds Barking at the Moon. One seems to have issues with any chicken product/fat/byproduct

A $35 bag lasts me a month. On cheaper dog foods, I saved money, but the Vet visits were about $85 to get skin meds for lip fold issues, hot spots, yeast infections etc.

For me, I would rather spend the money at the feed store.

 

[lotzahenz]

After reading every single label in the PetSmart and TSC and SStates, I have choosen Diamond, and it it the one my dogs like best. I add extra meat if it is leftover and they seem to do fine. Diamond is a grain-free product, but still has "by-products"