Another way to charge less is to forgo an expensive national advertising campaign. That's why many of the best foods for the price are brands you've probably never heard of. I was feeding Blue Buffalo for a time, but decided that most of what I was paying for was TV advertising.
I don't think a vet is necessarily the leading authority on canine nutrition, but my own vet urged me to switch to a grain-inclusive kibble because of possible links to cardiac issues related to an exclusively grain-free diet. She also suggested I avoid so-called "all-life-stages" kibble. I eventually settled on ProPlan. My younger dog is on a ProPlan weight management kibble because he's gotten a tad chunky and my senior girl is on the ProPlan senior formula.
Sadly, a certain amount of trial-and-error is inevitable. I got a huge bag of Victor kibble after reading high praise on Dog Food Advisor, only to find out I'd ordered a performance kibble, which was much too rich for either of my dogs.
