Dog food question

momto7dogs · 02-14-2009, 08:25 PM

With the prices of dog food going up and up and up everytime i turn around. I am getting worried as to what to do. What I mean is I hate to get the least expensive brand of food for my dogs. I know all about the wheat the soy the other junk but I am on a strict budget until I get out of college. I have 7 dogs. I feed the Old Yeller brand from Krogers. We dont have PETSMART or anything like that close by. I live in a very small town limited resources as in dog food. I have to buy 200 pounds of dog food a month to keep everyone good and fed. I have 2 coonhounds, 2 german shepards, 2 austrailian cattle dogs, and one mini pin. I was going to try to switch over to raw but that would be way to expensive for such big dogs and its not in my budget. What I am asking is is there any way to feed them better without the price?

Wynpyp · 02-14-2009, 08:48 PM

Are your dogs doing good on the food they are on? If they are, don't worry about it

If they aren't then should think about a switch, imo.

momto7dogs · 02-14-2009, 08:55 PM

They are doing good on the dog food. I just feel bad that my budget is so tight right now I cant afford to give them anything better. And there is not many choices of good food in 50 pound bags.

Wynpyp · 02-14-2009, 08:59 PM

Don't feel bad! All you can do is feed the best that you can and that's ok! There are lots of members here who don't feed "The Best" food out there and their pups are all ok and doing very well.

PureMutt · 02-14-2009, 09:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by momto7dogs

With the prices of dog food going up and up and up everytime i turn around. I am getting worried as to what to do. What I mean is I hate to get the least expensive brand of food for my dogs. I know all about the wheat the soy the other junk but I am on a strict budget until I get out of college. I have 7 dogs. I feed the Old Yeller brand from Krogers. We dont have PETSMART or anything like that close by. I live in a very small town limited resources as in dog food. I have to buy 200 pounds of dog food a month to keep everyone good and fed. I have 2 coonhounds, 2 german shepards, 2 austrailian cattle dogs, and one mini pin. I was going to try to switch over to raw but that would be way to expensive for such big dogs and its not in my budget. What I am asking is is there any way to feed them better without the price?

What stores are in your neighborhood?

blackrose · 02-14-2009, 10:35 PM

I agree - don't feel bad. Don't feel bad at all. My family and I are all going through a tight money spell at the moment. Things should get better over the summer, but right now we are trying to budget our money more efficiently.

One of the recent adjustments we made was switching Blackie and Rose's brand of food. They have been eating Chicken Soup. It was costing us roughly $40 for a 32lb bag. $1.25 a pound. They go through a 32lb bag in about...three weeks (ten pounds a week).
We are going to try them on the Exceed Lamb and Rice formula found at Sam's Club. Not a great food by any means (about like Pro Plan), but it is only $25 for 44lbs. $0.57 a pound. 44lbs will last about four weeks.

If the dogs don't do well on the food then we aren't going to hesitate to take them off of it, but I am optimisitic. I know some people that feed the food and they have had nothing but good results with it, even if the ingredients are less than steller. It also has a higher protien content than Chicken Soup does, and I was told that it would be better for Blackie's joint problems to have him on a higher protien diet (26% instead of 22%).

For Blackie and Rose's first, oh, I don't know, eight years of their lives they were on crap food. I'm talking meat and bone meal, corn crap food. They haven't fared too badly. Blackie has some health issues, but being a BYB 13 year old Labrador he is in very good shape. Rose is just peachy, even at ten years. She can still jog two miles if she so desires and still catches rabbits.

Do what is right for you and yours. Even though Chloe's food is even more expensive ($35ish for a 20ish pound bag) she needs a very high quality, simple diet or she has digestive problems. So she is stuck eating California Natural Lamb and Rice for the rest of her life.

I'm also switching my Guinea Pigs to a cheaper brand of food (Kaytee Forti-Diet Timothy Complete instead of Oxbow) and a cheaper brand of aspen bedding. I'm also attempting to home groom them now, instead of paying a groomer to do it for me. The dogs aren't getting any new toys for a while (or any new accessories, even though I would like to buy them some), and they only treats they'll get are milkbones and the cheap $1 bags of bite sized training treats. I'm also looking for a cheaper ferret litter.

Anyways, do you have a Costco near you? They have a brand, Kirkland Lamb and Rice, that is a very decent food for an excellent price. That is what I would have switched Blackie and Rose to, but the nearest Costco is 45 minutes away.

momto7dogs · 02-14-2009, 10:43 PM

I have tractor supply, Sams club, walmart, krogers, feed stores that is about it. The only place I can buy the 50 pound bags are in feed stores, Walmart, and Krogers. The feed stores, tractor supply they all went up on their food in the last 2 months. I was thinking of adding canned with the dry. Yikes that can get expensive.

txcollies · 02-14-2009, 10:59 PM

I fed Exceed. It's a good food. I might suggest that you feed the Chicken formula instead. It's a bit better than the lamb & rice and my dogs did better on the Chicken.

Willowy · 02-14-2009, 11:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by txcollies

I fed Exceed. It's a good food. I might suggest that you feed the Chicken formula instead. It's a bit better than the lamb & rice and my dogs did better on the Chicken.

blackrose---that's what I was going to say! Moose is doing well on the Exceed Chicken formula. It's quite affordable, has no by-products, and is high protein (30% protein, 20% fat). The lamb formula has by-products, more grain, and lower protein.

momto7dogs---I suggest the Exceed dog food for you, too. Since it's so high protein, you can feed less of it to maintain a dog's condition. If that's too expensive, try regular Purina Dog Chow (around 35¢ a pound if you buy the BIG bag at Sam's). Most dogs do well on it, much better than generic store brands.

BidDawgs · 02-15-2009, 12:00 AM

The question that keeps coming to my mind is why somene who is in college and on a very limited budget has 7 dogs?

Spicy1_VV · 02-15-2009, 12:05 AM

Feed the best you can afford and what your dogs do good on. Don't feel bad, at least you are feeding them. Thats more then can be said about some people who starve their dogs. Or if they can't afford them (as in don't want to budget dogs in) they just dump them all, already skinny from not feeding them much. I can only imagine going through just 200lbs a month, wish I could say the same was true here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BidDawgs

The question that keeps coming to my mind is why somene who is in college and on a very limited budget has 7 dogs?

You joined the forum just to ask that?

dinki2 · 02-15-2009, 12:42 AM

Where do you live? I know alot of Rural towns usually have their share of feed stores and feed stores usually carry alot of high quality food for the low. Like for me I get my TOTW from a feed store about 15 minutes away and it costs me about $42.00USD after tax. And a 30 lbs bag lasts me alone about a month and a half with a GSD.

I wasnt even aware I had a feed store around me until I looked around on the internet for local carriers. Feed stores sometimes give deals on dog food at least mine does. And he mostly carries Canidae/Nutro/TOTW/Wellness ect.

BidDawgs · 02-15-2009, 12:48 AM

No, it just happened to be the first post I read that really grabbed my attention and motivated me to post. When someone has a dog or 2 and has trouble affording to feed them because of a bit of bad luck, I have a lot of sympathy for them and will even send them money to help them feed the dog(s). When someone has 7 dogs and no particular bad luck, they are in a situation they created for themselves and their dogs. I don't feel sorry for them when they whine about not being able to feed them good expensive food.

jesirose · 02-15-2009, 01:03 AM

It wasn't whining, it was asking for ideas.

ETA: It = the post, not the OP

momto7dogs · 02-15-2009, 01:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BidDawgs

The question that keeps coming to my mind is why somene who is in college and on a very limited budget has 7 dogs?

FYI all of my dogs are rescues either from the shelter or someone didnt want them. Furthermore I am going to college to get a better job and I grad in June. My dogs have always had the best. The economy is hard on everyone and is making everyone rethink their budgets. I wanted to know what other people were feeding in these hard time. Lastly, my vet stays in business largely due to me it seems, I have thousands of dollars in his practice with all my dogs. They are all vetted, up to date on shots, and well took care of.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jesirose

it wasn't whining, it was asking for ideas.

Eta: It = the post, not the op

thank you!

Quote:

Originally Posted by dinki2

Where do you live? I know alot of Rural towns usually have their share of feed stores and feed stores usually carry alot of high quality food for the low. Like for me I get my TOTW from a feed store about 15 minutes away and it costs me about $42.00USD after tax. And a 30 lbs bag lasts me alone about a month and a half with a GSD.

I wasnt even aware I had a feed store around me until I looked around on the internet for local carriers. Feed stores sometimes give deals on dog food at least mine does. And he mostly carries Canidae/Nutro/TOTW/Wellness ect.

The feed stores around here dont usually carry the good brands. One feed store did and went out of business. I am located in VA.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BidDawgs

No, it just happened to be the first post I read that really grabbed my attention and motivated me to post. When someone has a dog or 2 and has trouble affording to feed them because of a bit of bad luck, I have a lot of sympathy for them and will even send them money to help them feed the dog(s). When someone has 7 dogs and no particular bad luck, they are in a situation they created for themselves and their dogs. I don't feel sorry for them when they whine about not being able to feed them good expensive food.

I am not whining. I dont appreciate you not reading the facts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Willowy

blackrose---that's what I was going to say! Moose is doing well on the Exceed Chicken formula. It's quite affordable, has no by-products, and is high protein (30% protein, 20% fat). The lamb formula has by-products, more grain, and lower protein.

momto7dogs---I suggest the Exceed dog food for you, too. Since it's so high protein, you can feed less of it to maintain a dog's condition. If that's too expensive, try regular Purina Dog Chow (around 35¢ a pound if you buy the BIG bag at Sam's). Most dogs do well on it, much better than generic store brands.

Thanks for the suggestion. I will be sure to look into that. My dogs are not that picky. Thank goodness. The only prob I have is keeping a good weight on the hounds. They tend to need a higher protein food. I like the idea of this being 30 percent protein. Dixie the Walker has had a really hard time since last year with her being dumped, left for dead, and a stupid farmer was going to shoot her just cause she was there. We didnt know she was pregnant when 2 weeks later she had one pup. She lost it 2 weeks later, we have no idea what happened to it. The vet thinks she had some kind of infection or something he wasnt real sure. Since then shes had trouble maintaining her weight. The vet suggested a higher protein food, and he gave me meds to help with any infection she may have and go from there. I have to take her in for her check up in 2 months to see how shes doing. I hope this high protein food helps.

Willowy · 02-15-2009, 02:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by momto7dogs

The only prob I have is keeping a good weight on the hounds. They tend to need a higher protein food.

The Exceed should work for you. I switched to it for the winter because Moose has trouble keeping weight on when it's cold, and I don't like to feed him more than 6 cups a day....it makes me nervous. I feed him (neutered male Rott, about 125 pounds) 5 cups a day of Exceed, when he'd need about 8 cups of his regular food (Chicken Soup for the Soul and Diamond Naturals) to keep his weight up. The yellow-bag Exceed has 447 calories per cup.

It's the yellow bag of Member's Mark Exceed Performance, with a yellow Lab on the bag. I think it's $25-something for 44 pounds. At my local Sam's, anyway....I'm sure prices vary slightly depending on area.

SaveStrayDogs · 02-15-2009, 04:34 AM

Maybe Purina ONE???
I don't know if it is cheaper than Exceed or if u can find it...

tirluc · 02-15-2009, 05:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BidDawgs

No, it just happened to be the first post I read that really grabbed my attention and motivated me to post. When someone has a dog or 2 and has trouble affording to feed them because of a bit of bad luck, I have a lot of sympathy for them and will even send them money to help them feed the dog(s). When someone has 7 dogs and no particular bad luck, they are in a situation they created for themselves and their dogs. I don't feel sorry for them when they whine about not being able to feed them good expensive food.

maybe they had all the dogs b/4 starting college...would you rather they just dump the dogs and let someone else deal w/ them? ....sounds to me like they are doing everything possible to not have to do this....and you don't have to feed expensive food for your dogs to do well on.....i am sooo sick of this being thrown i peoples faces (if you don't feed food that cost $50 for a 32# bag, you're killing your dogs.....been there, done that)

Momto7dogs, i feed Purina One, which i get from Sam's Club....don't know if it's cheaper for you, but it runs me right around $35 for a 44 lb bag.....and, w/ 7 dogs, you save the weight circles off the bags and join the Purina Pro Club and you can get vet checks, food vouchers, etc.....that helps out even a little more....

Moonshadow · 02-15-2009, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spicy1_VV

I can only imagine going through just 200lbs a month, wish I could say the same was true here.

You and me both! I go through twice that much in frozen raw in a month and that's just a third of their meals.

momto7dogs · 02-15-2009, 12:11 PM

Im surprised myself. With the shepards and the hounds. But I feed them twice a day ever day that is if they dont have food left over from the morning feeding. Usually the shepards only eat one bowl a day. The hound thats a different story she eats 2 full bowls a day. My cattle dogs only eat a half a bowl once a day. Everyone is in good body condition so cant complain. Thanks everyone for the advice and ideas.