|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 6:09 pm
 |
|
|
 |
Ok guys, I need your help! I'm going to try to convince my mom to start buying the dogs a better brand of food.
As requested, I got a list of ingredients of the Publix brand crap mom had bought, as well as a list of ingredients of Purina Dog Chow.
Publix Complete Nutrition:
Purina Dog Chow:
IMO, they don't look much different, but the Dog Chow is still cheaper, she just has to go across the the street to WalMart for a big enough bag. Thoughts?
The creatures were out of food, and I was at Publix, so I looked at what they had. I ended up buying them PurinaOne SmartBlend: Vibrant Maturity, for dogs ages 7+. Just a smallish, 17 pound bag. List for that:
Our youngest now is going to be 8, I think, in March, so I figure, why not? What I do like about this food, is that its got big chunks of dried chicken in it. The down side though, is its $18 for 17 pounds. Where the Dog Chow is $20 for 44-48 pounds (they do a 4 pound bonus thing a lot).
Anyway. I went to Pet SuperMarket, right next door to Publix, and looked at the foods they had there, and picked out some that are in decent sized bags, and aren't too horribly much for the quality I hope they are (I'm new to this healthy dog food thing. I always thought Science Diet and Iams were good rolleyes )
So before I get into the list, size of the bags, and prices, I'll give some info I hope will help:
-Licorice:
~Lab mix
~14 years old
~bad hips (on meds every other day for this. Not helping much, as far as I can tell)
~evenly active and inactive (likes to play, but hips hold her back)
~75 pounds
-Haley
~Lab/Golden Retriever mix
~8-9 years old
~active as crap. I call her the energizer bunny, could go all day is she wanted to
~sensitive stomach, but likes everything I have ever offered to her
~75 pounds
-Dweezle
~Rotti/Australian Shepherd mix
~7-8 years old
~moderately active, tires quickly
~weak hips. Sister had bad Hip Dysplasia at 2 years old, resulting in the vet having to clip tendons in both legs
~130 pounds
All dogs are out side dogs (I've tried to get mom to bring them back in, but its not happening yet. She swares when Licorice dies, the other two can come in, but I'll believe it when it happens). Amount of food offered differs with the seasons (whatever seasonal changes we have in central Florida). Slightly less food offered in summer, slightly more offered in winter.
So heres the list:
~California Natural- 30 lbs, variety of flavors, $47
~Nutro Natural Choice- 35 lbs, variety of flavors, $49
~Nutro Max- 35 lbs, variety of flavors, $32
~Eukanuba- 33 lbs, Adult-something-or-another, $40
~Purina ProPlan- 35 lbs, adult, $42
~Canidea- 35 lbs, variety of flavors, $43
~Natural Balance- 28 lbs, Lamb and Brown Rice, $44
~Bil-Jac- 30 lbs, adult formula, $45
This is just what Pet SuperMarket had. I hope to get to PetSmart and PetCo and see if they have anything better and bigger for the same-ish prices. They are both a bit of a drive, so I'd like to work with whats at Pet SuperMarket, WalMart and Publix, if we can. I'll see what WalMart has, as well. They have some decent brands, in good-sized bags.
What I'm hoping to do is keep it as close to $30 as I can, but still get a decent amount of food (30 or more pounds). Right now, with the list I have, I'm leaning toward Nutro Max. Thoughts?
I know WalMart has big bags of Pedigree. What do you guys think about them?
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 6:21 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 6:33 pm
|
|
|
|
~ Aki - Fairy ~ None of the options are all that appealing, honestly.
Is there any way you can order stuff online to ship? It may provide you with some better options at similar, if not better, prices.
I'd suggest posting in the Pets! forum, but at present it's not a good place to be. Check out the "Good Food Doesn't Have To Be Expensive" thread, though, if you have a chance.
Hm, shipping might be an idea. The price would have to include shipping and handling though. Paying $15 for a 30 pound bag, and then paying another $15 for shipping is pretty pointless lol Any suggestions on what sites to look at?
I'm not interested in getting them the highest quality food in the world (not that I don't want them to have that, its just that with the budget we have, its unrealistic with 3 large garbage disposals). All I want to do it reduce the amount of food they are eating, to make it a bit cheaper for my mom, and try to get them the best to them I can, while living 10 hours away.
I'll check that out, thanks smile
I'm not trying to be difficult, just watching out for both my dogs and my mom. Some times, compromises must be made >.< |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 6:56 pm
|
|
|
|
Akari_32 ~ Aki - Fairy ~ None of the options are all that appealing, honestly.
Is there any way you can order stuff online to ship? It may provide you with some better options at similar, if not better, prices.
I'd suggest posting in the Pets! forum, but at present it's not a good place to be. Check out the "Good Food Doesn't Have To Be Expensive" thread, though, if you have a chance. Hm, shipping might be an idea. The price would have to include shipping and handling though. Paying $15 for a 30 pound bag, and then paying another $15 for shipping is pretty pointless lol Any suggestions on what sites to look at? I'm not interested in getting them the highest quality food in the world (not that I don't want them to have that, its just that with the budget we have, its unrealistic with 3 large garbage disposals). All I want to do it reduce the amount of food they are eating, to make it a bit cheaper for my mom, and try to get them the best to them I can, while living 10 hours away. I'll check that out, thanks smile I'm not trying to be difficult, just watching out for both my dogs and my mom. Some times, compromises must be made >.<
I don't know about sites as I've never checked it out, but I remembering seeing somebody post something about it (maybe terradi in regards to ordering TOTW for her cats?) recently.
I understand the dilemma. Are there Costco's near your mom? Their Kirkland brand is supposed to be decent for the price, and they sometimes get in some decent treat options. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 6:56 pm
|
|
|
|
Animelover955 I'm 17 no job(cept babysitting so I'm pretty poor ATM) and I currently buy(and can actually afford) my pups food(been buying since I was 14 or 15). I just had to find something resonable and I did... You say you have pet supermarket?(taht's where I get my dog food shopping done!) I would reccomend checking out TOTW(if your store carries it). It's what I currently feed my two and one 15lb last us about a month - a month and a half Anywho out of what you listed I would say either canidae or California Naturals. At one point I had both mine on them as a trial period and I loved them both, but for my boxer I found his belly agreed more with TOTW. However if you choose CN I would be a bit leery. When I was purchasing it I found the formula hadn't changed, but the other day I heard something about them changing the formula (and I mean if it's chaging it's to be expected since P&G bought nutura out) so just watch for that I guess... Also Natural Balance is a rather good brand. Not as high quality as most, but works well.... I personally would stay away from Eukanuba and Bil-Jac. Euk was bought out by P&G and at one point was an awesome brand, but now it's blech and bil jac is just bleh Check out the Dogfoodanalysis site. Some great info and helps you find some quality foods http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/
Pet SuperMarket had TOTW, but its out of our price range. Frankly, all of these are iffy, since I'm wanting to stay close to $30, but these were the cheapest in 30-ish pound bags. How many cups do you feed your dogs of it? Total, my guys eat 16 cups a day, of the Dog Chow, so a 44 pound bag lasts about4-6 weeks.
~ Aki - Fairy ~ I don't know about sites as I've never checked it out, but I remembering seeing somebody post something about it (maybe terradi in regards to ordering TOTW for her cats?) recently.
I understand the dilemma. Are there Costco's near your mom? Their Kirkland brand is supposed to be decent for the price, and they sometimes get in some decent treat options.
No, theres not. Some one had suggested that to me, as well, once. |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 7:07 pm
|
|
|
|
Publix seems to be a more expensive version of the puppy chow... The PurinaOne food you bought did the ingredient splitting, splitting up all the varieties of corn they used to make it look like there is more meat in it than grains, even though over all, there's more corn than meat. I hate the games the pet food industry plays... gonk
Pedigree and any other brands you can find at Walmart are horrible choices that you should avoid. They're no better than Publix, Purina, Iams, Eukanuba, Science Diet, etc.
Of the ones you listed that the pet supermarket has, Canidea, Natural Balance, Nutro Natural Choice and California Natural look to be the best. If you go with one of these, go with their grainless lines. I wouldn't suggest Nutro Max. They have a lot of grains in them and very few meat products as well as many fillers. Avoid the Purina, Bill-Jac and Eukanuba ones.
Petsmart and Petco will have some great ones too. They have Wellness (I'd suggest their Core line since that line has no grains and higher protein content in it. It's also the healthiest one that Petco has (I haven't seen Wellness Core formula in my petsmart, but who knows, other Petsmart stores might have it)) The small period of time my parents' dogs had gotten it (what was left after I had switched my dog from Wellness Core to Orijen), my parents' dog's arthritis had pretty much stopped bugging him. They also have other good foods like Blue Buffalo (one of the middle-of the line qualitities, it's not the best, but it's a step in the right direction. go with the grainless formulas smile ), and other decent holistic brands which I cannot remember the names of at the moment (I'd suggest grainless lines of them). sweatdrop
If you have an animal feed store nearby, like a Tractor Supply Company, or something similar, they might have Taste of the Wild, which is another good quality food for close to the same price as Purina ProPlan. It's a similarly sized, if not, bigger bag too. They use no grains, by-products or artificial colors/preservatives. biggrin
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 7:17 pm
|
|
|
|
Quote: Animelover955 I'm 17 no job(cept babysitting so I'm pretty poor ATM) and I currently buy(and can actually afford) my pups food(been buying since I was 14 or 15). I just had to find something resonable and I did... You say you have pet supermarket?(taht's where I get my dog food shopping done!) I would reccomend checking out TOTW(if your store carries it). It's what I currently feed my two and one 15lb last us about a month - a month and a half Anywho out of what you listed I would say either canidae or California Naturals. At one point I had both mine on them as a trial period and I loved them both, but for my boxer I found his belly agreed more with TOTW. However if you choose CN I would be a bit leery. When I was purchasing it I found the formula hadn't changed, but the other day I heard something about them changing the formula (and I mean if it's chaging it's to be expected since P&G bought nutura out) so just watch for that I guess... Also Natural Balance is a rather good brand. Not as high quality as most, but works well.... I personally would stay away from Eukanuba and Bil-Jac. Euk was bought out by P&G and at one point was an awesome brand, but now it's blech and bil jac is just bleh Check out the Dogfoodanalysis site. Some great info and helps you find some quality foods http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/ Pet SuperMarket had TOTW, but its out of our price range. Frankly, all of these are iffy, since I'm wanting to stay close to $30, but these were the cheapest in 30-ish pound bags. How many cups do you feed your dogs of it? Total, my guys eat 16 cups a day, of the Dog Chow, so a 44 pound bag lasts about4-6 weeks.
Guess that makes sense. I never pay much attention to the cost of the largest bag I usually just go in grab a 15lb bag and head out. Oh also if you haven't already join their V.I.P program. The way I afford food is I get like 3 $5 off coupons in the mail(but their all for different months so like jan, then feb, then march etc) so it usually brings my total from $27 down to $21 unless I'm buying other crap as well
wow 16 cups?
Between the two of mine they eat about 3 1/2-4 cups a day. My boxer gets about 2-2/12(usually 2) cups split into 2 meals and my lab mix gets about 1-2 cups split into two meals. She's a brat so she usually refuses to eat so I pick everything up after about 10-15mins and put it back down later when it comes down to it she usually only eats about a cup a day... and right now y lab is at a great weight, but my boxer could stand to loose a few pounds has gotten a bit chunky, but that's due more to lack of exercise since they got like none for the 8 months I was out due to my ACL reconsrtuction plus the high quality food didn't help since he was previously on kibbles n bits crap(Bo was recently switched this year after I finally got my dad to agree to let me feed him what abby was getting) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 7:21 pm
|
|
|
|
Akari_32 Animelover955 I'm 17 no job(cept babysitting so I'm pretty poor ATM) and I currently buy(and can actually afford) my pups food(been buying since I was 14 or 15). I just had to find something resonable and I did... You say you have pet supermarket?(taht's where I get my dog food shopping done!) I would reccomend checking out TOTW(if your store carries it). It's what I currently feed my two and one 15lb last us about a month - a month and a half Anywho out of what you listed I would say either canidae or California Naturals. At one point I had both mine on them as a trial period and I loved them both, but for my boxer I found his belly agreed more with TOTW. However if you choose CN I would be a bit leery. When I was purchasing it I found the formula hadn't changed, but the other day I heard something about them changing the formula (and I mean if it's chaging it's to be expected since P&G bought nutura out) so just watch for that I guess... Also Natural Balance is a rather good brand. Not as high quality as most, but works well.... I personally would stay away from Eukanuba and Bil-Jac. Euk was bought out by P&G and at one point was an awesome brand, but now it's blech and bil jac is just bleh Check out the Dogfoodanalysis site. Some great info and helps you find some quality foods http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/ Pet SuperMarket had TOTW, but its out of our price range. Frankly, all of these are iffy, since I'm wanting to stay close to $30, but these were the cheapest in 30-ish pound bags. How many cups do you feed your dogs of it? Total, my guys eat 16 cups a day, of the Dog Chow, so a 44 pound bag lasts about4-6 weeks. ~ Aki - Fairy ~ I don't know about sites as I've never checked it out, but I remembering seeing somebody post something about it (maybe terradi in regards to ordering TOTW for her cats?) recently.
I understand the dilemma. Are there Costco's near your mom? Their Kirkland brand is supposed to be decent for the price, and they sometimes get in some decent treat options. No, theres not. Some one had suggested that to me, as well, once.
16 cups of food a day?! O.O That's a lot of food! That's average 5 1/3 cup per dog, and unless they're large breeds, that's too much. How big of dogs are they? Going by their breeds, they're not large enough to need that much food per day. If they are the size I'm thinking (around medium sized dogs) they're also too heavy, especially Dweezle. Are they on a feeding schedule or free-fed? If free-fed, I'd suggest trying to get her to get them on a feeding schedule, it'll be a lot cheaper and they'll get the amount of food they should be getting. It'll also help them get to a healthy weight (being overweight/obese is worse on dogs than it is humans, and leads to the same health problems) and will be much cheaper to feed them. If they get put on a feeding schedule, it would then save enough money to be able to put them on a high-quality food. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 8:13 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gabrielle_AnimalLuver Crew
|
Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 8:51 pm
|
|
|
|
Oky doky biggrin
The last pic you posted, best of the three. The thing that worries me the most about public and puppy chow is "meat meal" and "animal fat" WTF IS THAT??? well, it could be anything honestly, it could even be dogs. I could go on, if you'd like, but move right along into your options.
Nutro Max and Canidea, lots of cereals, good cereals sure, but heavy carb load. Not a fan of either. California Natural I don't know too well. Bil Jac I've never heard of. Natural Balance is quite good, especially for the sensitive stomach. Nutro natural choice is not bad, a lil higher on grains I think. Watch out for splitting, Canidea and nutro max are guilty of splitting, if you add up the many cereals it outweighs the meat. Eukaneba and Pro Plan are not terrible...they are vet recommended and have significant research behind them let's leave it at that.
If it were me I'd go Natural Balance or California Natural. Maybe natural choice. Natural Balance and California Natural would be really good for the sensitive dog because it's a limited ingredient diet. One protein, one carb source, and then vitamins and minerals. Now personally, I like to see botanicals and veggies on an ingredient list, probiotics too. But Natural Balance I recommend on a regular basis to dogs with allergies and people are very happy with it. California Natural is a good company, they appear to have slightly less grains and the other difference is sunflower oil instead of canola for fat. Neither one is high in omega 3, but I think sunflower is better than canola, on the hand Natural Balance has chelated vitamins and minerals (bound to proteins= better absorption). As for the dog with bad hips, is his weight good? Fresh fish oil would do wonders, or a food with fish meal or a fish oil. Whichever food has fish oil as a fat source high on the list, higher than canola, would be a good choice for that dog. The dog with energy I wouldn't worry about, it's easier to give more high fiber food to a more active dog than to give less of a fattening food to a sedentary dog. Assuming your buying one brand for all three. I think, your best bet, would be California Natural Senior or Herring and sweet potato. The herring has a lot of omega 3, the senior has glucosamine. If he's already on glucosamine definitely get herring. Not sure if the price is higher for the different varieties. I know Natural Balance also has fish recipes but I think they cost more.
All that said, nutro max still a huge step up from what they have now.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 9:05 am
|
|
|
|
CrissAngelLover12345 Publix seems to be a more expensive version of the puppy chow... The PurinaOne food you bought did the ingredient splitting, splitting up all the varieties of corn they used to make it look like there is more meat in it than grains, even though over all, there's more corn than meat. I hate the games the pet food industry plays... gonk Pedigree and any other brands you can find at Walmart are horrible choices that you should avoid. They're no better than Publix, Purina, Iams, Eukanuba, Science Diet, etc. Of the ones you listed that the pet supermarket has, Canidea, Natural Balance, Nutro Natural Choice and California Natural look to be the best. If you go with one of these, go with their grainless lines. I wouldn't suggest Nutro Max. They have a lot of grains in them and very few meat products as well as many fillers. Avoid the Purina, Bill-Jac and Eukanuba ones. Petsmart and Petco will have some great ones too. They have Wellness (I'd suggest their Core line since that line has no grains and higher protein content in it. It's also the healthiest one that Petco has (I haven't seen Wellness Core formula in my petsmart, but who knows, other Petsmart stores might have it)) The small period of time my parents' dogs had gotten it (what was left after I had switched my dog from Wellness Core to Orijen), my parents' dog's arthritis had pretty much stopped bugging him. They also have other good foods like Blue Buffalo (one of the middle-of the line qualitities, it's not the best, but it's a step in the right direction. go with the grainless formulas smile ), and other decent holistic brands which I cannot remember the names of at the moment (I'd suggest grainless lines of them). sweatdrop If you have an animal feed store nearby, like a Tractor Supply Company, or something similar, they might have Taste of the Wild, which is another good quality food for close to the same price as Purina ProPlan. It's a similarly sized, if not, bigger bag too. They use no grains, by-products or artificial colors/preservatives. biggrin
The Publix and Dog Chow foods are pretty much the same, to my untrained eye, as well. Publix is more expensive, for less food. Silly.
I went on the WalMart website, and they had the Rachel Ray stuff. Nutrish, or whatever. Thoughts on that? Its just under $1 per pound in the larger bags.
Pet SuperMarket had Wellness. Its too expensive. It was the highest priced food they carried @.@ They had Blue Buffalo, as well. A tiny bit cheaper.
We do have a feed store and a Tractor Supply, but neither of them are close. We got the chicken and rabbit foods at the feed store, $12 for 50 pounds. It seemed to be a pretty good brand, too for what we could find of it (Nutrena). They store has dog foods and stuff too. I wonder if they have a web site... *goes and looks*
Animelover955 Guess that makes sense. I never pay much attention to the cost of the largest bag I usually just go in grab a 15lb bag and head out. Oh also if you haven't already join their V.I.P program. The way I afford food is I get like 3 $5 off coupons in the mail(but their all for different months so like jan, then feb, then march etc) so it usually brings my total from $27 down to $21 unless I'm buying other crap as well wow 16 cups? Between the two of mine they eat about 3 1/2-4 cups a day. My boxer gets about 2-2/12(usually 2) cups split into 2 meals and my lab mix gets about 1-2 cups split into two meals. She's a brat so she usually refuses to eat so I pick everything up after about 10-15mins and put it back down later when it comes down to it she usually only eats about a cup a day... and right now y lab is at a great weight, but my boxer could stand to loose a few pounds has gotten a bit chunky, but that's due more to lack of exercise since they got like none for the 8 months I was out due to my ACL reconsrtuction plus the high quality food didn't help since he was previously on kibbles n bits crap(Bo was recently switched this year after I finally got my dad to agree to let me feed him what abby was getting)
Yep, thats why I was sticking to them (Not that PetSmart doesn't take their coupons, though. I love that LOL). I have a card, and I get coupons in my email, and they mail some sometimes, as well as having them in stores. >=D
Do you think they'll de free to-store shipping? So I could order a huge bag of it, and only pay for the food, and not the shipping...?
CrissAngelLover12345 16 cups of food a day?! O.O That's a lot of food! That's average 5 1/3 cup per dog, and unless they're large breeds, that's too much. How big of dogs are they? Going by their breeds, they're not large enough to need that much food per day. If they are the size I'm thinking (around medium sized dogs) they're also too heavy, especially Dweezle. Are they on a feeding schedule or free-fed? If free-fed, I'd suggest trying to get her to get them on a feeding schedule, it'll be a lot cheaper and they'll get the amount of food they should be getting. It'll also help them get to a healthy weight (being overweight/obese is worse on dogs than it is humans, and leads to the same health problems) and will be much cheaper to feed them. If they get put on a feeding schedule, it would then save enough money to be able to put them on a high-quality food.
Yep. Thats why we call them garbage disposals. Licorice and Haley get 4 cups a day, and Dweezle 6-8. Dweezles a beast. I'm 5' 11'' and he puts his paws over my shoulders. He's a good weight. Haley's getting a tiny bit tubby, but mom gives them treats all the time neutral I've got her on about 3 cups, now, for the past month. Licorice is underweight, just a tiny bit. But she's like 4 billion years old, so that fact that she's still kicking is crazy. Her hips are real bad, so being that little bit underweight takes a lot of strain off her. She has trouble getting up and down from the ground some times. She was around 85 pounds in her prime.
They're fed in the afternoon. No free-feeding for them. If they don't eat (and every now and then, Dweezle doesn't want to), then some one else eats, it and it sucks to be them.
Gabrielle_AnimalLuver Oky doky biggrin The last pic you posted, best of the three. The thing that worries me the most about public and puppy chow is "meat meal" and "animal fat" WTF IS THAT??? well, it could be anything honestly, it could even be dogs. I could go on, if you'd like, but move right along into your options. Nutro Max and Canidea, lots of cereals, good cereals sure, but heavy carb load. Not a fan of either. California Natural I don't know too well. Bil Jac I've never heard of. Natural Balance is quite good, especially for the sensitive stomach. Nutro natural choice is not bad, lil higher on grains I think. Watch out for splitting, Canidea and nutro max are guilty of splitting, if you add up the many cereals it outweighs the meat. Eukaneba and Pro Plan are not terrible...they are vet recommended and have significant research behind them let's leave it at that. If it were me I'd go Natural Balance or California Natural. Maybe natural choice. Natural Balance and California Natural would be really good for the sensitive dog because it's a limited ingredient diet. One protein, one carb source, and then vitamins and minerals. Now personally, I like to see botanicals and veggies on an ingredient list, probiotics too. But Natural Balance I recommend on a regular basis to dogs with allergies and people are very happy with it. California Natural is a good company, they appear to have slightly less grains and the other difference is sunflower oil instead of canola for fat. Neither one is high in omega 3, but I think sunflower is better than canola, on the hand Natural Balance has chelated vitamins and minerals (bound to proteins= better absorption). As for the dog with bad hips, is his weight good? Fresh fish oil would do wonders, or a food with fish meal or a fish oil. Whichever food has fish oil as a fat source high on the list, higher than canola, would be a good choice for that dog. The dog with energy I wouldn't worry about, it's easier to give more high fiber food to a more active dog than to give less of a fattening food to a sedentary dog. Assuming your buying one brand for all three. I think, your best bet, would be California Natural Senior or Herring and sweet potato. The herring has a lot of omega 3, the senior has glucosamine. If he's already on glucosamine definitely get herring. Not sure if the price is higher for the different varieties. I know Natural Balance also has fish recipes but I think they cost more. All that said, nutro max still a huge step up from what they have now.
Bij-Jac is more of a PetCo thing. I was surprised to see it at Pet SuperMarket, really. I was iffy about it, but I still added it to the list, as you never know.
WalMart has larger bags of PurinaOne stuff I got. So you're saying its not too horribly terrible, and still better than Dog Chow? Neither is the Nutro Max?
Yeah, some of the different flavors of foods were more expensive, thats why some are listed as just one flavor, as those where the cheapest. I did see the Herring and Sweet Potato, as well as a Salmon one, in the California Natural. I'll have to see what the feeding regimen is like on it. If its not feeding less, then it really does us no good...
Licorice is on.... Rimadyl for her hips. She's supposed to have 4 caplets a day, but its $60 for a months worth, so we're trying to milk it for all its worth, but still help her out. She's been getting it every other day-ish. When ever we give the dogs left overs, we make she she gets any chicken or fish that is dished out, and I bought her treats that help with her joint health. And some times I buy her the Pedigree Healthy Joints (or whatever its called) canned food. She's a bit underweight, but not enough to be unhealthy for her (I wouldn't think ninja ). We haven't changed how much she eats, though. She's always gotten 4 cups of food, so she's just not really maintaining a higher weight, but she is maintaining the weight she is now. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gabrielle_AnimalLuver Crew
|
Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 6:41 pm
|
|
|
|
Gabrielle_AnimalLuver Oky doky biggrin The last pic you posted, best of the three. The thing that worries me the most about public and puppy chow is "meat meal" and "animal fat" WTF IS THAT??? well, it could be anything honestly, it could even be dogs. I could go on, if you'd like, but move right along into your options. Nutro Max and Canidea, lots of cereals, good cereals sure, but heavy carb load. Not a fan of either. California Natural I don't know too well. Bil Jac I've never heard of. Natural Balance is quite good, especially for the sensitive stomach. Nutro natural choice is not bad, lil higher on grains I think. Watch out for splitting, Canidea and nutro max are guilty of splitting, if you add up the many cereals it outweighs the meat. Eukaneba and Pro Plan are not terrible...they are vet recommended and have significant research behind them let's leave it at that. If it were me I'd go Natural Balance or California Natural. Maybe natural choice. Natural Balance and California Natural would be really good for the sensitive dog because it's a limited ingredient diet. One protein, one carb source, and then vitamins and minerals. Now personally, I like to see botanicals and veggies on an ingredient list, probiotics too. But Natural Balance I recommend on a regular basis to dogs with allergies and people are very happy with it. California Natural is a good company, they appear to have slightly less grains and the other difference is sunflower oil instead of canola for fat. Neither one is high in omega 3, but I think sunflower is better than canola, on the hand Natural Balance has chelated vitamins and minerals (bound to proteins= better absorption). As for the dog with bad hips, is his weight good? Fresh fish oil would do wonders, or a food with fish meal or a fish oil. Whichever food has fish oil as a fat source high on the list, higher than canola, would be a good choice for that dog. The dog with energy I wouldn't worry about, it's easier to give more high fiber food to a more active dog than to give less of a fattening food to a sedentary dog. Assuming your buying one brand for all three. I think, your best bet, would be California Natural Senior or Herring and sweet potato. The herring has a lot of omega 3, the senior has glucosamine. If he's already on glucosamine definitely get herring. Not sure if the price is higher for the different varieties. I know Natural Balance also has fish recipes but I think they cost more. All that said, nutro max still a huge step up from what they have now.
Bij-Jac is more of a PetCo thing. I was surprised to see it at Pet SuperMarket, really. I was iffy about it, but I still added it to the list, as you never know.
WalMart has larger bags of PurinaOne stuff I got. So you're saying its not too horribly terrible, and still better than Dog Chow? Neither is the Nutro Max?
Yeah, some of the different flavors of foods were more expensive, thats why some are listed as just one flavor, as those where the cheapest. I did see the Herring and Sweet Potato, as well as a Salmon one, in the California Natural. I'll have to see what the feeding regimen is like on it. If its not feeding less, then it really does us no good...
Licorice is on.... Rimadyl for her hips. She's supposed to have 4 caplets a day, but its $60 for a months worth, so we're trying to milk it for all its worth, but still help her out. She's been getting it every other day-ish. When ever we give the dogs left overs, we make she she gets any chicken or fish that is dished out, and I bought her treats that help with her joint health. And some times I buy her the Pedigree Healthy Joints (or whatever its called) canned food. She's a bit underweight, but not enough to be unhealthy for her (I wouldn't think ninja ). We haven't changed how much she eats, though. She's always gotten 4 cups of food, so she's just not really maintaining a higher weight, but she is maintaining the weight she is now.
How much does each dog weigh?
The Rachel Ray food is not bad, it's a bit carb heavy. I would rank it along the same lines as Nutro. I find it funny when foods market themselves and boast real meat as the #1 ingredient, and then you see...corn, corn gluten meal, brown rice, white rice, rice flour etc etc. Riigghhttt, not a lot of meat in there! Blue Buffalo, Canidea and Nutro are bad for that.
The purina one, if that's what it's called, the last of the three pictures, is better than well, the first two lol. Not by like, a lot. But definitely better. Nutro Max would be better though.
Purina Pro Plan, as, bad as it is, is somewhat good. The same can be said about Eukaneuba. Because they at least have research behind their food, they might cheap out and put filler, but the foods are balanced. Unlike dog chow, publix and Pedigree. Right now Licorice is only getting an anti-inflamatory. There's many many things that could help her out a lot. For one, being a tad underweight is good. It would be better if she had muscle mass, because that helps put less strain on joints too. A diet high in omega 3 like the california natural herring and potato or a diet with glucosamine like the california natural senior. You could, technically, get a less expensive food and add fresh fish oil, but it would end up costing more. If you can, whenever you make fish, have a can of fish etc, pour the oil on her food. Omega 3's really help with blood circulation. Glucosamine is good for cushioning the joint. Low impact exercise like slow walks, will also help get the circulation going. Next time you see your vet, ask about Adequan. It's more expensive than rymadyl. In fact the initial treatment is a fortune. But long term it's less expensive, at the moment Cowboy is getting one injection per month. Each injection costs I think 20 dollars.
Check the price on California Natural Herring. The omega 3 is at 1.59%!!! that's more than Acana Pacifica! And I consider Acana to be like, the best dog food out there. (course they ALSO have glucosamine in all their formulas not just senior) I can't really say wether the senior or herring is going to be better. They list glucosamine in ppm so I'm not too sure how much there is, and I'm not sure wether glucosamine or omega 3 is going to be more helpful, it depends on the dog. I would definitely check the price on herring and see if you can afford it. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 12:14 pm
|
|
|
|
Gabrielle_AnimalLuver How much does each dog weigh? The Rachel Ray food is not bad, it's a bit carb heavy. I would rank it along the same lines as Nutro. I find it funny when foods market themselves and boast real meat as the #1 ingredient, and then you see...corn, corn gluten meal, brown rice, white rice, rice flour etc etc. Riigghhttt, not a lot of meat in there! Blue Buffalo, Canidea and Nutro are bad for that. The purina one, if that's what it's called, the last of the three pictures, is better than well, the first two lol. Not by like, a lot. But definitely better. Nutro Max would be better though. Purina Pro Plan, as, bad as it is, is somewhat good. The same can be said about Eukaneuba. Because they at least have research behind their food, they might cheap out and put filler, but the foods are balanced. Unlike dog chow, publix and Pedigree. Right now Licorice is only getting an anti-inflamatory. There's many many things that could help her out a lot. For one, being a tad underweight is good. It would be better if she had muscle mass, because that helps put less strain on joints too. A diet high in omega 3 like the california natural herring and potato or a diet with glucosamine like the california natural senior. You could, technically, get a less expensive food and add fresh fish oil, but it would end up costing more. If you can, whenever you make fish, have a can of fish etc, pour the oil on her food. Omega 3's really help with blood circulation. Glucosamine is good for cushioning the joint. Low impact exercise like slow walks, will also help get the circulation going. Next time you see your vet, ask about Adequan. It's more expensive than rymadyl. In fact the initial treatment is a fortune. But long term it's less expensive, at the moment Cowboy is getting one injection per month. Each injection costs I think 20 dollars. Check the price on California Natural Herring. The omega 3 is at 1.59%!!! that's more than Acana Pacifica! And I consider Acana to be like, the best dog food out there. (course they ALSO have glucosamine in all their formulas not just senior) I can't really say wether the senior or herring is going to be better. They list glucosamine in ppm so I'm not too sure how much there is, and I'm not sure wether glucosamine or omega 3 is going to be more helpful, it depends on the dog. I would definitely check the price on herring and see if you can afford it.
Licorice and Haley each weigh about 75 pounds. I can weight them exactly tonight, if it'll help. Dweezle is too big for me to pick up (not too heavy, just too big lol), but I guess about 125-140 pounds.
So Rachel Ray Nutrish isn't too bad, then? I think the price of that is do able. I looked at the feeding suggestions on the ProPlan, California Natural, and Nutro Max, and they would still have to eat the same amount of food, for a lot more money.... Does me no good.
On the other hand, I looked at the Wellness food (I think it was the All Life Stages. Senior was $10 more...), and they'd be eating 1/2 the amount of food, and there is a $27 15 pound bag, that we can use our $5 off coupons for. I think I'll either try to go for that, or the Rachel Ray stuff, if they can eat less of it (since its the same as Nutro, but not as expensive).
I'll have to get mom in on my plan to get much further with this decision, though lol I'll talk to her tomorrow, since she doesn't have to work in the afternoon.
Anything much past food is pushing it, budget-wise. What about just buying her some human glucosamine (etc) supplements? Thats cheaper and does the same thing, right? And mom cooks in Extra Virgin Olive Oil, so would cooking chicken or fish in that, and adding to Licorice's food be ok, like you were saying?
I'm going to head out and check out how much of the Rachel Ray you feed, and report back. I hope its less than what we feed now. I'd like to get them on something good, but that doesn't kill the bank >.<
*edit*
Ok, so I went to WalMart, and the Rachel Ray stuff, you actually feed more. They also had PurinaOne Beyond, and I looked that over, its actually not too bad of a food. Feeds a cup less than Dog Chow, and is about $1 per pound. Thoughts on that?
Oh, and I decided to actually measure the dogs food just now. I always thought they had 8 cup bowls, but really they have 6 cup bowls. So the girls get about 2 1/2 cups of food, and Dweezle gets about 5 1/2- 6 cups of food. Thats about 1/2 of what the bag says to feed, and they stay a good weight. So they could easily be cut down to 1 1/2 cups for Licorice and Haley, and about 2 1/2 or 3 for Dweezle, of Wellness, right? And add one cup to those for PurinaOne Beyond?
Still have no idea how I though their bowls were two cups bigger rolleyes We don't measure their food lol Dweezle gets an almost full bowl, and the girls get a 1/2 bowl. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gabrielle_AnimalLuver Crew
|
Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 7:58 pm
|
|
|
|
on any decent food, a dog shouldn't need to each much more than 1 cup per pound of ideal weight. So at 75lbs if that are in fact the perfect weight they should get no more than 4 cups of food PER DAY (2 in the am and 2 in the pm)
If you can get wellness, I would do that over rachel ray or purina. I just LIKE wellness lol, the only holistic vet I've ever come across recommends that, it's worked well for Rascal. Although their canned food is better than their dry their dry is still pretty good quality, even if it's not Core. The regular super5mix has 0.8% omega 3, how I don't understand they only have one fish meat and it's not a meat meal but, that's what's listed. The fish flavor has a whopping 1.1% of course only the large breed and senior has glucosamine the senior has O3 at 0.4% better than the average food but not as good as the large breed at 0.8% which is what I would go with for them. Also has probiotics, chelated minerals, veggies and fruits (which the california natural doesn't have as it's geared towards dog with allergies.)
Yes, you can supplement with glucosamine, but, I believe it to be cheaper to just get food with glucosamine in it. (I think wellness might) The same goes for fish oil. For a bottle of glucosamine HCL in liquid form (liquid is best) it is 30 bucks and that would last maybe 1 month for MY dog. But add the cost of food ontop of that A bag of food that costs 40-50 bucks but HAS glucosamine in it, I mean your spending an extra 10 instead of an extra 30.
Olive oil does not have the omega 3 your dog needs. It must be a fish oil. herring, anchovy, salmon etc. Or green lipped mussle powder if you can find such a thing.
OH, and omg, don't forget a lot of these companies have loyalty programs!!! Can't remember if Wellness does. I know Natural Balance does, Pro Plan did when I worked at a store that sold that. ugghhmmm, not sure about the others. I only know natural balance for sure.
I vote for Wellness, more types of grains but overall less carbs, more protein, omega 3 AND glucosamine, chelated minerals, probiotics...can you tell I like Wellness? I PERSONALLY, believe for the price, it's the best deal. Because it's a great food. My cat has been on it several years now. I think the price is more affordable instead of loyalty program. But you can get deals in newsletters and facebook sometimes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
