Kibble

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

So I have been reading and studying like mad and figuring out what to feed my little Boxer when she comes home in a few weeks.

According to my reading there are certain foods that should be fed. Grain free is a big one. I found a list of acceptable food and went looking for them. The problem is the cost a 30 pd bag runs right around $30 that is a lot of $ for us. I can get food from wal mart for $20 for 50 pd bag. I have learned that most of the foods that I thought where good ones are not. So I am searching for a good one.


What I am looking for is a good quality food that dosnt cost a lot.

[mommariffic]

First - if you find a certain natural food you like, try to find coupons! Many times you CAN find one, or you can print out from the website.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Coupons great idea. Thanks

[Ola_]

Some pet stores also have "buy X bags, get 1 free" promotions (where you'd get stamps on a card, you don't have to buy all those bags at once, just wanted to clarify that). Also, they may have newsletters they send out through their website with coupons (I get these for Wellness food for example as I sometimes use their treats).

Another thing to consider in your calculation is the amount you'd have to feed of each food. So say your dog needs 4 cups of brand X but only 2 cups of brand Y, and brand Y costs 50% more - that's actually saving you money! Plus you'll spend much less time picking up poop and in the long run it will mean fewer vet bills also.

Sadly, not much about pet ownership is cheap. The good foods tend to cost more just because the ingredients they put in them are more expensive for the manufacturer to obtain. You may want to look into doing the raw diet - it is the same cost as premium dog food for us and I know for some people it's actually cheaper because they find good sources of meat.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

I am looking into raw as well. I dont mind paying for the food just want to pinch pennies where I can

[blessedwithboys]

if you make your own raw, it'll probably be the cheapest way to go (i'm lazy so i buy pre-packaged raw)

the "more expensive" kibble is cheaper in the long run bc you feed less of it due to it not being loaded with bulky fillers and corn gluten for protein.

when i got my poodle in 2008 i found a brand called Life's Abundance. although i decided raw was the way to go for us, i think this is a pretty decent kibble as kibbles go.

[SophieAnn]

We pay $75 for a 35lb. bag - once a month, for 1 dog (75 lb. dog eats 4 cups per day).

Around here the regular stuff (like Dog Chow) goes for around $45 for the largest bag (around 35-45lbs.).

$30 for 30lbs. of a quality food is very cheap. I can't imagine how raw could be cheaper than about $1 per day (assuming you would go through 1 bag per month too), but I've never researched feeding raw.

Maybe there are other areas that you can save $? Looking online for medications rather than buying from the vet? Pet insurance versus a savings account? Making some toys, sewing a bed?

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Great ideas thanks

[Arduinna]

When we fed dry we bought Innova Evo, now we feed raw and buy our food at the market and Costco

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

EVO is $70 for a 28pd bag. That one is off my list of possibles. I am still looking into raw but so far I havnt made a decision.

[Oubliette8]

I would NOT recommend grain free for a large breed puppy. There are only a few grain free foods on the market that are labeled for puppies at all. Orijen is the only one I can think off of the top of my head. EVO specifically recommends not feeding it to puppies. CORE says not for puppies right on the bag. I would find a nice high quality food- either large breed puppy or all life stages for the first year or two. You can switch to grain free once he's done growing.

Raw can also certainly be done with a puppy, but you'll want to research it thoroughly. I believe their are a number of good raw feeding groups on yahoo, and probably else where too. Make sure to specifically look into requirements for feeding puppies.

Foods I like that are at a reasonable price point include-

Chicken Soup (dumb name, good ingredients)
Canidae
Nutrisource
Diamond Naturals
Kirkland (Costco's house brand)
All of these run about $1/pound

Another nice food is EarthBorne Holistics, which is very comparable to Wellness, but priced lower.

All that said, I also feed Orijen. It is pricey per bag, but I feed so little of it that it ends up being pretty cheap.

You might try figuring out the price per day to feed. I figured this out once for a wide range of foods, I was sure I would never feed the priciest foods I checked- as it turned out, the most expensive food on my list cost 50cents LESS per day to feed for my one dog than the next most expensive food, and over $1 less than most of the foods, because you had to feed so much less. Needless to say, we went with the expensive bag, because it saved us $15-$30+/month over the other foods.

You can use the equation- (price per bag * weight of 1 cup (in pounds) * number of recommended cups per day)/weight of the bag (in pounds)

That will give you the price/day
For the weight of one cup, I weighed a cup of the kibble I was feeding, I figured weight can't vary too drastically across kibbles
For the # of reccomended cups, I used the lowest reccomended # of cups/day for my weight dog. Normally with food, I find you have to feed even less than that in actual practice (Unless your dog is exceptionally active, or prone to being thing)

You might try it to compare the brands you like and see what results you get.

[greenmagick]

Taste of the Wild is ok for large breed....all of the Orijen and Acana. There are also grain free foods by petecurean and merrick. Personally I would not feed a grain inclusive food, even a good one. But thats me I think its mainly EVO and CORE you want to stay away from until they are older.

Also, with a quality diet you often save money by having a healthier dog

Raw can be very cheap...post ads on CL for old meat...many hunters will clean out their freezer before hunting season....or you can find hunters who have more than they can use. Check local butchers and small grocers, they can often order cases of meat. Look for co-ops, there are many around

[Mama2Kayla]

We feed our 50lb boxer mix raw and it costs me max a $1 per lb. Much cheaper than any quality kibble in our area. We get most of his meat from a discount grocery store and a local meat market. I have found chicken backs for .35 a lb and leg quarters for .59 cents a lb.
About once every 2 weeks I bag up his meals and defrost them as needed before I go to bed at night. The only extra cost are plastic zip loc freezer bags. Oh, I also suppliment with fish oil, but that is optional
The big bonus, small poops! Very easy clean up .

[Mama2Kayla]

Are boxers considered large breed? I thought that recommendation was more for giant breeds like great danes?

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Boxers are a medium breed dog not large breed so they dont need large breed food.

For now I will be going with Chicken Soup since it is the least costly of the foods and still on the high quality list.

[WaitingForKiddos]

I really, really like Chicken Soup foods. Our cat has been on it for a few years now and he's still enjoying it!

[SugarGlider]

One thing to consider is when you get the higher quality food you'll be feeding less. Feeding Orijen to my lab mix I feed 2 cups a day when I was feeding 6 cups a day of the cheaper food. So the higher quality food is very comparable in price per meal (as someone else said).

I'd suggest the forums at dogster dot com for a ton of great info on feeding your new puppy

Congrats! We got a puppy last month and its been a lot of fun