is expensive dog food really worth it???

[waxworm09]

I am starting to wonder if buying the more expensive food is worth the extra money.. I'm hoping I can get some input on here. The reason I'm asking, I have been feeding my two dogs nutrisource for about 3 years. They like the food, but 3 years ago I was paying 38 bucks for a 33 pound bag. It is now up to 50 bucks a bag, so I decided to look around and try some cheaper food because prices are getting crazy. I bought a small bag of purina to see if the dogs like it, and they love the stuff, so I bought a 50 pound bag for 23 bucks. I'm not sure if I want them to eat the cheap stuff, but I can say that my wifes parents had 2 dogs, they got them as pups, and fed them table scraps and cheap food every day. One lived to 15 the other 16, they were a collie mix. My parents have had 2 or 3 dogs at all times and still do. They have always fed purina or pedigree. Right now they have a rottweiler german sheperd mix, he is 13 years old and they got him as a pup. Hes slowing down over the past year or so, but he's a 125 pound dog and I don't see many big dogs like that live much past 13 no matter what you feed him. So my question is, is an expensive food really that much better for your dog? Or is it 99 percent marketing, trying to make us believe the expensive food is much better? I would like to hear opinions from both sides.

[LABS4ME]

There is some benefit to premium foods. The problem is they do overcharge for most of them. I am in the same camp as you in that I will NOT pay $50 a bag for food. Designer foods do nothing for me. I want good quality nutrition at a competitve price. You can find the two in a bag of food. I use Diamond Naturals (yeah yeah I know there have been Diamond recalls in the past). No corn, no soy and no wheat. Those are typically the allergins that give dogs problems and increase stool output. I have been happy with the food and my dogs performance and coats etc. Been feeding it for 6 years now. I used a few of the Premium foods for 3-4 years prior to that and can honestly say I se no difference in my dogs. It is still very reasonable in price. I think I just paid $28 for a 40 pound bag of Chicken and Rice at Maynerds...

I know people who use off brands from farm stores, wally world etc. Their dogs are healthy and live to normal lengths of time... the one difference I see at times is in their coats. I say you can try any food and see how your dog does on it for 6 months. If you feel it is performing at the same level and looks the same, then by all means use it. If not, try another brand or switch back...

Be sure to do your switch 50/50 over a weeks time to allow them to adjust to a change in their diet. Oh and by the way... I am a terrible owner. I give my dog scraps/leftovers too. My last lab was put down at 15 1/2 years old and hunted till 13. Didn't seem to hurt her. In fact every dog I've had has been given scraps and every one lived till at least 12 with the exception of one who had Lymphoma at 10.

Good Luck!

Ken

[mwal]

I have been using Diamond Dog food for over 20 years. My brittany lived to 16 years my Draht is 10. It is reasonably priced and my Vet said they were always at there proper weights and healthy. He of course sold expensive brands through his practice but said unless I had a problem with the dogs he wouldn't change what I was feeding them. That is good enough for me. My Dad always fed science diet and his dogs lived no longer than mine and were not any healthier or more active.

[harvey lee]

I believe it is.

I use to feed Iam's to my cocker and she had all kinds of issues with licking all the time and scratching.

I switched to Taste of the Wild at $50 for a 30# bag and everything has stopped and the dog's coat is so smooth and shiny like never before. I would never go back to a cheap dog food.

My Mother dog always has some type of small sores on his back. Vet charges $75 for the visit and another $50 for pills to cure it. I explained to my Mom it may be worth it to switch foods as the food she was feeding was lacking something maybe. Aftr 6 weeks, the dog's coat look's like new and very shiny, she said I cannot believe the difference the food change made. Been 3 months now and still no sores.

So, for us, the better food was hands down the way to go and she believe she may not have to take her dog to the Vet every 6 months to get the issue fixed.

If ones dog does well on the less spendy food, then thats great but if you have issues, many times the better food will help. All one has to do is look at the list of ingredients to see what they are earting.

[Mistermojo]

I think the comparison would be humans eating lean meat high in protein like chicken or turkey or venison vs. eating fatty hamburgers and doritos. Sure it tastes great and will fill you up, but it takes more food to get the necessary nutrients you need and will add more of the bad stuff you don't. Some dogs also have allergies to some of the fillers they put into the dog food, our dog starts itching like crazy if he has food with alot of grain.

Here is a list of foods that are recommended - if you have a walmart nearby, I think they sell a Rachel Ray food that is on this list...

[note from admin: please read forum rules before posting again. Thank you]

[waxworm09]

Mistermojo, thanks for the link, but I don't think there is a comparison of what humans eat compared to what dogs eat. I love my dogs like they are my children, but the fact is they are animals. They don't eat like us, nor should they. Everyone always brings up the "would you eat that" comparison and I hate that. Of course I wouldn't eat what they eat, I'm a human! And they are dogs! I don't think people should compare dog food to human food, totally different!

[harvey lee]

Mistermojo, exactly why I gave my little house dog better food with no grains, she would itch and scratch to the point she would get an open sore, then off to the vet a to get steriods to stop that.

The better grain free foods stopped all those issue.

[corncob]

I have been using Diamond natural for several years, great food , and my dogs are doing very well on it. Shiny coats and good health.....Always supplement meat, eggs,or other high quality protein , what dogs were meant to eat. Cheap food is a poor quality comparison. Dogs usually eat more and dump more, and don't do as well on cheaper foods....Just look at the label , corn is usually high on the list of ingredients.Corn is poor quality protein.

[browndog]

Dogs eat meat

Sheep eat grain

Dogs are carnivores

[Don Brinkman]

Dogs eat meat

Sheep eat grain

Dogs are carnivores

My dogs love asparagus, Carrots, ( especially if I dip them in peanut butter) they also love acorns and any kind of nuts, and sunflower seeds. My female shorthair loves all veggies.

So yes dogs eat meat but they like veggies and I believe bread is made from grain they love that too.

[harvey lee]

The treats I give our dog are carrot's, green beans and yes watermelon, she loves them all and are sure better than the boxed treats one buy's in the store.

She likes muskmelon also.

[leech~~]

"is expensive dog food really worth it???"

Oh Yes, because up to just a few years ago all dogs were sick and under nourished for the last millon years until they started getting their proper daily amount of suggested vitamins and important supplements just like their masters need!

sure of it!

[cavalierowner]

We have always fed a premium food (grain free, no corn, the first ingredient is a meat, etc.), so I can't really compare to a lower quality food. However I have heard a number of people that went from a lower to higher quality food say that they were able to feed less because there was less filler and there was less picking up in the back yard after "processing".

We will always feed a high quality food because we show and breed and we want a high quality food. What we feed now works well for us, so we won't change just to save a few bucks. But then we have a smaller breed (Cavalier King Charles Spaniel) that only eats 3/4 to 1 cup per day, so a 30# bag lasts a lot longer than if we had a larger breed. FWIW we feed Holistic Select Duck.

Oh, meant to say, look up Science Diet food on the dog food ratings link some time. They rate it very low. If you look at the ingredients, you'll see why it's rated so low.

[Todd Caswell]

Iv'e fed alot of different what I consider high end consumer grade foods, all the major brands and my dogs have done very well on them, I do have a 3 year old that was doing good but never in his life had a solid stool, looked good trained good had plenty of energy but always had a pile rather than a turd, I switched to a grain free food and have not looked back, within a week he was solid. $30.00 for 35# feeding 3 adults and a 6 monthe old puppy same food bag lasts 3 weeks. Comes up to .35 cents per dog per day..

[Lunker]

When we got our lab he was 3 and had serious allergy issues - chronic ear infections, hair loss (under his neck was just skin). The previous owner had been feeding a low quality food, and we weren't sure exactly what he was allergic to so we switched his diet to a natural balance limited ingredient and all of his problems cleared up immediately. The price tag does hurt, and now we will be adding lab number 2. I think we're going to try to transition him to a Diamond Natural and see how he responds.

[Pherris]

My lab was a terrible paw/leg licker. Like has been mentioned she would lick until she got sores also seemed to get a lot of hot spots. I did little research and decided to switched her to Taste of the Wild. After about 6 weeks the paw licking stopped and she has not had any hot spots. She also had runny eyes that also cleared up. So for me grain free is a must and worth the extra few bucks. With that said I know people that have dogs that have been eating nothing but purina dog chow and have had no issues. My dog never gets table scraps or human food except when we are in the blind I may share a bite of my snacks.

[leech~~]

I know many of a farm dog who eat nothing but table left overs and what ever they cought out back behind the house, never seen the inside of a vet and lived very long lifes. Of course most of the time table scraps on a farm are a lot better then what most eat out of a can else where in the first place. Every health pro talks about eating a well balanced diet

and then we give our pets the same darn thing day in and day out for ever and wonder why they start developing health issues? Not many animals in the wild eat the same exact thing day in and day out.

[Eric Wettschreck]

Some good posts here and to each their own.

My dogs have always got Purina Dog Chow. My lab was healthy and happy and lived to a ripe age of 16. My very huge GSP/farm dog is 10 and healthy and happy also. However, like leech said, they're kind of farm dogs. Both dogs got some table scraps, ate what they killed in the back 40, absolutely love deer/cow/hog butcher day, and drank beer from the garage floor. As far as I know, they never had any type of condition where a different food would help. Lucky for me as Dog Chow is cheaper. I've heard of higher quality brands helping with dogs with paw licking or poor coat issues.

[Seabass77]

One thing to consider is that you need to feed less of the high quality stuff vs you grocery store food. This won't wash out the cost difference completely, but gets you a good way there. Less to clean up in the yard too.

I've had great luck with Acana Wild Prairie.

[walleye18]

the bottom line for feeding your pooch is find a good quality food and stick with it.

One of my labs was shedding like a banshie. Switched to a different line of food and he has done really well since then.

We also have all 3 dogs on glucosamine supplements and fish oil from time to time. Coats are great! All stools are good too!

Again, to each their own.

[BLACKJACK]

My first labs 25 years ago were fed either Iams or Purina Hi-Pro but as they got more expensive I looked around and got some advice, probably from this site, and have been feeding Diamond ever since. They're healthy, energetic, and their coats shine. I feed the Premium during fall and winter and the Maintenance during the summer to try and keep their weight down.

They also get table scraps, more as a treat than as a main meal, I'm not going to throw the pork roast leftovers away, a couple of table spoons in water gets their tails wagging. Plus carrots, squash skins, any other people food might go to them too. Digging potatoes in the garden and hit one with the shovel, they get that too. Apples under the tree?? Two or three a day until they run out (they're in my yard and they go and self harvest). I just keep an eye on their rib cages to make sure they don't get fat.

By the way, their favorate treat this time of year is frozen deer poooop, we feed them all this good food and they still keep stopping and chomping on it. I've stopped worrying about it but it drives my wife crazy!!! At least when they roll in it this time of year it doesn't stick to their hide!!! I can also tell when I have a stray cat around dumping on my shed floor - enough said.

[LABS4ME]

BlackJack... my dogs used to like a cat t urd supplement occassionally too. They especially liked the candy coating the litter box provided... dang labs! Make sure you have your vet give you an all in one dewormer once a year. The stuff they sell in ths stores does not cover all worms. Outside cats are notorious in spreading worms... all the mice and baby rabbits they eat and then poo out the eggs in their dung for the dogs to eat. I found that out the hard way years ago... I would deworm my dogs, but one got a tapeworm (most likely from rabbit poo or cat poo). The dewormer med I was giving did not cover tapeworms. My vet just gave me a round to give the dogs every August....

Good Luck!

Ken

[401TE]

I went with the type of food the breeder of my dog fed. PMI Red Flannel. $27 or a 40-50 pound bag. Their dogs do well on it and live a long life, my Brittany is 3 years old and always gets compliments from the vet on how healthy she is. If her coat gets dull, we will add vegetable oil or eggs to her food a few times a week.

A buddy of mine swears by the Blue Buffalo, $50 for a 30 pound bag. Her coat is shiny and she has plenty of energy, but it doesn't make her last any longer in the woods or any smarter.

I'm also a terrible owner. Our dog gets table scraps, but it's my wife's fault, I swear!

[DaSwede]

My buddy's grandma lived to be 94 and smoked two packs of cigarettes/day. I had three grandparents die because of smoking.

What I'm getting at is I know a lot more people that lived a healthier life by treating themselves well, but there are exceptions for everything.

I buy Fromm Surf and Turf for my lab. It's grain free. I pay $65 for a 28lb bag. I know it's crazy, but I spent a lot of money on this dog. I want him as healthy as can be. Fromm is a local, family business (from WI), and have never had a recall. My breeder went there on a tour of the facilities, and said it was amazing.

If I didn't feed him that, I'd feed him Red Paw or something like that. All good, but expensive. I just can't do the Diamond thing. If you can, great, but I just don't trust them. To have that many dogs die because of their product, nope, can't do it.

[maxpower117]

Mistermojo, exactly why I gave my little house dog better food with no grains, she would itch and scratch to the point she would get an open sore, then off to the vet a to get steriods to stop that.

The better grain free foods stopped all those issue.

Bingo! Same here. There is about 75% flour in those cheap dog foods. The flour is simply a filler that makes the dog consume more food. Wheat or flour has no place in dog food.