Dog food

[warmfuzzies]

I know you are supposed to feed expensive dog food. But my Dh delivers to a dog food manufacturer, and they said a lot of the formulas are the same, they just extrude it in different shapes and colors for the different brands.

Our GSD puppy doesnt like our dog food, and he does not do good on it either. Diarrhea, dull coat, and he looks skinny. Partly because he doesnt eat enough of it. I know our past experience has been, with the better brands they eat less and it ends up being just as economical. But when we saw that a lot of them were the same, we started getting the cheapest kind, Ol' roy.

Its not working so well for him, so what do you all suggest that isnt over $30 for 50lbs?

 

[Karrie13]

Many dog foods have the same ingredients but a lot of it depends on the quality of the ingredients and how they are processed. The cheaper foods will obviously use lower quality ingredients than the better foods. Kind of like buying the cheap frozen store brand chicken and comparing it to Tyson or some other good named fresh chicken (preferably home grown). The store brand isn’t nearly as good.

I had this same argument with my husband and he is now convinced that even though the better quality dog foods cost more, our dogs are very healthy, look good, nice shiny coats, bright eyes, and they have less “waste”. I am currently feeding a dog food called Nutri Source made here in MN and my dogs love it and look great! It does cost $32 for a 33 pound bag but I find it is worth it. I moved to it from Iams because Iams just kept on getting more and more expensive and Nutri Source had better ingredients. I was recently given a 44 lb bag of Science Diet and my dogs HATED it. I mixed a small amount in with their normal food and they would leave the Science Diet behind. I ended up mixing it in with the barn cats food and they enjoyed it.

As far as a dog food for under $30 for a 50 lb bag, have you looked at one of the Purina varieties?

 

[warmfuzzies]

My husband was told that purina and iams were both made with the same formula and ingredients and the walmart brands. They have a big bin where they dump what was the wrong size or shape, and they remash it and make it again. All of the different kinds were in the same bin, even cat food. I dont get it, because if you read the labels they have different protein and fat levels, so how can they mix it all back in?

I thought that even though they were made in the same place they had different recipes.

 

[lorieMN]

you could look for "red flannel" made by purinia..very good food and wont break the bank,around $25 for a 50lb bag...just because it is expensive doesnt make it better,,or make the pet eat it..some dogs do excellent on Ol' roy..I feed sprout ultra 30 put out by Mills Fleet Farm,but I dont believe they have any stores in Colorado.shop around,there is a million different brands,some made in the same factory but I believe they do have different formulas.

 

[key west chick]

hummm, I wonder if your DH was given the wrong info. I dont see how it can all be from the same bin. We owned a pet store for many years and everybody thinks their food is the best. Dogs do NOT need all the fancy veggies and grains in so many commercial foods. They need meat. I look at the first 5 ingrediants. I try to stay away from anything with corn. Corn is hard to digest, even for humans. I buy Natures Recipe from Petsmart. A 40 # bag costs not quit 40.00 with my pet perks card. It has no corn, wheat, fillers, by products which are feet, feathers and whatever is not fit for consumption, and no artificial preservatives. And remember, once a dog becomes adjusted to a new, good food, they will poop less because they are digesting it better, which in the long run, saves money cause they will eat less.

 

[Chicks_N_Horses]

My dogs are on a raw meat diet so IDK about your situation...

 

[kassy68]

omg..

COUPLE FACTS:

 

[kassy68]

omg..

COUPLE FACTS:
Not all dog foods are equal.. not at all
Is hamburger the same as prime rib? NOPE.. may come from the same food sorce , but its soooooooooooo not equal..

Iams and Eukanuba are both made in OHIO and aren't affiliated with any other dog food.. they have never been on the recall list and are made from quality ingredients.. they are all natural..

Also.. Ol roy, diamond and Nutra have made lots of dogs sick,, filled with color and crap..

As to Purina.. which is also beniful and other pretty names are nothing but junk.. they are loaded with artificial colors and the first ingredient in most is corn.. a filler.. you need to find one that has the corn farther down the list or not at all.. alot of dogs are allergic to corn and it will make them gassy and such.

the cheapest dog food I'd recommend is Iams.. its a good food and can be found everywhere..

Next is Eukanuba.. easy to find and a step up from Iams

Natural Balance (duck and potato all dogs love and is great for dogs with allergies)

Blue Buffalo which has pro biotics in it..

There are lots of good foods out there.. just stay away from any bag with pretty food and colors on it.

ALSO.. Purina had a recall years ago.. there was some contamination of rat poisoning in it.. You know what they told the retailers??? We don't know which bags are bad and we can't pull it all off the market..

And I also say stay away from food brands that make different levels of food like Nutro and Diamond.. they know the bottom level is yucky.. but yet they make it anyway.. huh.. guess money is more important then quality there.. OH WELL.. not to get things started here.. but PLEASE .. pay attention to ingrediants and know that all foods ARE not equal..

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

My dogs get the Ol' Roy brand. Except for the 13 year old lab who is on Ranch Hound.

 

[Bluemoon420]

Purina Mills makes red flannel and another brand sold at feed stores called exclusive. Exclusive is the better of the two. Purina Mills, and Purina are not the same company even though they have similar name.

The link is here. You can compare the two dog foods ingredients on their web site. Most feed stores that sell it have a program where the 6th bag is free.


http://www.pminutrition.com/main.html

Bluemoon