Budget food at budget store

nanney1 · Post by **nanney1** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 11:42 am

My local feed store is out of my usual brand until tomorrow. And my other local supplier told me they would not have any in stock until Thursday. So, this morning (as I was running out of food), I gave my dogs a third of their regular amount which is all I had, some Purina Carvers Chicken treats, and a piece of sourdough with peanut butter. Trust me, they wish I would run low on food and feed them Carvers treats and a peanut butter sandwich every day.

So, I decided to buy a small bag of anything that would bridge them through for a few meals until I got another bag of their regular food. On a fluke, I decided to run into a Dollar General and saw that they had several name brands in small bags and their house brand, EverPet. It was really cheap, as I could get a 13lb bag for $4.50 on sale (normally $5.25). But, what the heck, it was only going to be for a day or two. There's no guarantee that my usual store will have the food in by tomorrow and it may be until Thursday since that's what the other store said.

Once I purchased the food, I then decided to read some online reviews. Uh oh! :roll: Everything I found in a Google search about this food was related to recalls, sick dogs, dying dogs, and dogs not wanting to eat the food or throwing it up after eating. I took the food back and exchanged it for some Pedigree Puppy as it was an even exchange for a 4.4lb bag, also on sale for $4.50. Pedigree is not a food I would normally feed, but it had a similar protein/fat percentage as what I normally feed and I'm sure it will be fine for a few days.

Anyone ever fed the EverPet food from Dollar General? They had several different varieties and sizes from a 2lb bag, up to the 13lb bag. Somebody must be buying it and feeding it. There are several Dollar Generals in this area and they all sell this food so there must be some dogs that eat it and do well on it. Maybe it is fine and would have been good for a day or two, or even longer, but after reading the reviews, I decided it wasn't worth trying.

displaced_texan · Post by **displaced_texan** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 12:11 pm

Very few people (especially those buying food at Dollar General) are going to buy dog food and think, WOW, this is good food. Rex is doing great, nice small, firm stools and everything. I'm going online and posting some reviews!

Is what you feed so obscure you can't go to another store and get a bag?

Cajun Casey · Post by **Cajun Casey** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 12:38 pm

displaced_texan wrote:Very few people (especially those buying food at Dollar General) are going to buy dog food and think, WOW, this is good food. Rex is doing great, nice small, firm stools and everything. I'm going online and posting some reviews!

Is what you feed so obscure you can't go to another store and get a bag?

Exactly. Dollar store discount dog food buyers are more like, "Y'all got eye-a-dine?"

nanney1 · Post by **nanney1** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 12:45 pm

I've been feeding River Run from Nutrena for several months. My dogs are doing well and it is convenient to purchase and affordable. At least until this weekend. Not sure what the deal is as the store I buy from close to where I live is out until Tuesday. The feed store in the nearby town where I work is out until Thursday.

I really didn't want to buy a 50lb bag of something else so I decided to purchase a small bag of something that would last a day or two.

If the end of the week arrives and neither store has it in stock, then I'll try something else. That's how I ended up switching to River Run in the first place. What I had been feeding was out of stock for several days so I switched to River Run and haven't gone back.

mcbosco · Post by **mcbosco** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 5:56 pm

My local store sells 80lbs of a food called Southern States for about $25.

Yikes

Post by **ezzy333** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 7:44 pm

mcbosco wrote:My local store sells 80lbs of a food called Southern States for about $25.

Yikes

Thats a pretty good food and the reason it is cheaper it is made and sold by a co-op thatpays all of the money they make at the end of the year back to the customer. Just no point in robbing people when you have to give it back.

Ezzy

Cajun Casey · Post by **Cajun Casey** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 8:50 pm

ezzy333 wrote:
mcbosco wrote:My local store sells 80lbs of a food called Southern States for about $25.

Yikes

Thats a pretty good food and the reason it is cheaper it is made and sold by a co-op thatpays all of the money they make at the end of the year back to the customer. Just no point in robbing people when you have to give it back.

Ezzy

Oh, yeah, it's outstanding. 21/9 and a 100# dog need nearly half a gallon a day. Fabulous if you want to build your own Ozark mountain getaway in the backyard. :roll:

Post by **ezzy333** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 9:13 pm

Cajun Casey wrote:
ezzy333 wrote:
mcbosco wrote:My local store sells 80lbs of a food called Southern States for about $25.

Yikes

Thats a pretty good food and the reason it is cheaper it is made and sold by a co-op thatpays all of the money they make at the end of the year back to the customer. Just no point in robbing people when you have to give it back.

Ezzy

Oh, yeah, it's outstanding. 21/9 and a 100# dog need nearly half a gallon a day. Fabulous if you want to build your own Ozark mountain getaway in the backyard. :roll:

Oh I see you have fed it. Amazing how much you know without any experience with it. But I guess you would feed a maintenence type food. Glad you shared.

Ezzy

Cajun Casey · Post by **Cajun Casey** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 9:17 pm

ezzy333 wrote: Oh I see you have fed it. Amazing how much you know without any experience with it. But I guess you would feed a maintenence type food. Glad you shared.

Ezzy

I read the lable. I can paste it, if you'd like. I'm gettin' good at pastin'.

nanney1 · Post by **nanney1** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 7:20 am

My Southern States stores sell this food for $13.99 per 40lb bag. Never tried it though as it isn't the most convenient place for me to go and purchase food. They have different varieties with higher percentages of protein and fat, and different order of ingredients.

Post by **ezzy333** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 8:07 am

Cajun Casey wrote:
ezzy333 wrote: Oh I see you have fed it. Amazing how much you know without any experience with it. But I guess you would feed a maintenence type food. Glad you shared.

Ezzy
I read the lable. I can paste it, if you'd like. I'm gettin' good at pastin'.

I think everyone read it is a bargain feed at a bargain store. Not being sold as a performance feed at a highend retailstore. It is formulated as a maintenance feed for house pets and the last I heard it performs that task quite well.

Ezzy

displaced_texan · Post by **displaced_texan** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 8:10 am

ezzy333 wrote:
Cajun Casey wrote:
ezzy333 wrote: Oh I see you have fed it. Amazing how much you know without any experience with it. But I guess you would feed a maintenence type food. Glad you shared.

Ezzy
I read the lable. I can paste it, if you'd like. I'm gettin' good at pastin'.
I think everyone read it is a bargain feed at a bargain store. Not being sold as a performance feed at a highend retailstore. It is formulated as a maintenance feed for house pets and the last I heard it performs that task quite well.

Ezzy

Ok, so it's ok for you to tell us how products you haven't used work based on what you have heard and read combined with your own personal experience, but not for others?

Cool. Just figuring out how things work around here.

Post by **ezzy333** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 12:27 pm

Ezzy wrote:I think everyone read it is a bargain feed at a bargain store. Not being sold as a performance feed at a highend retailstore. It is formulated as a maintenance feed for house pets and the last I heard it performs that task quite well.

Ezzy

Displaced Texan wrote:Ok, so it's ok for you to tell us how products you haven't used work based on what you have heard and read combined with your own personal experience, but not for others?

Cool. Just figuring out how things work around here.

Works here about like every place else. When something sounds strange to you it probably is because you don't have all of the facts. But to set your mind at ease I am quite familar with the feed but there could be some minor changes since my retirement and involvement. Hence, the staement about what I hear. The other example was from someone pulling up the info on Google as she normally does and then embellishing it as though she actually knew.

Have a good day
Ezzy

displaced_texan · Post by **displaced_texan** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 12:38 pm

ezzy333 wrote: Works here about like every place else. When something sounds strange to you it probably is because you don't have all of the facts. But to set your mind at ease I am quite familar with the feed but there could be some minor changes since my retirement and involvement. Hence, the staement about what I hear. The other example was from someone pulling up the info on Google as she normally does and then embellishing it as though she actually knew.

Have a good day
Ezzy

So you personally know her, her background and experience?

It doesn't take an animal nutrition expert to know that a dog that eats large volumes of food will also leave large volumes of poop to be cleaned up. That was the only comment made.

I am having a great day though, thanks for your concern.

Cajun Casey · Post by **Cajun Casey** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 12:51 pm

Ezzy, I spend my days looking at severak hundred SKUs of dog food. I can tell you quite a bit about every one of them. I can recite freakin' UPCs, I been doin' this so long. Don't have Google, so you're going to have to get a new line there. I use Yahoo and Bing, but you don't have to do that so much these days because you can type most any brand name in the addy bar and it will pull up the site. You might want to consider taking a class. Of course, I'm not dissin' Google, because I hear Rob Snell thinks pretty highly of it. I may even buy his book.

Post by **ezzy333** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 12:59 pm

I am not aware of the dogs eating a much larger volume of the feed but I'm probably wrong. Anytime I went to a feed of that type we fed a normal amount.

Ezzy

Cajun Casey · Post by **Cajun Casey** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 1:07 pm

ezzy333 wrote:I am not aware of the dogs eating a much larger volume of the feed but I'm probably wrong. Anytime I went to a feed of that type we fed a normal amount.

Ezzy

That's why I read lables. You should try it sometime.

Added note, Dollar General just started carrying Dad's pet foods. Not a high end food, but they co-pack Blue Buffalo.

Post by **ezzy333** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 1:35 pm

Cajun Casey wrote:
ezzy333 wrote:I am not aware of the dogs eating a much larger volume of the feed but I'm probably wrong. Anytime I went to a feed of that type we fed a normal amount.

Ezzy
That's why I read lables. You should try it sometime.

Added note, Dollar General just started carrying Dad's pet foods. Not a high end food, but they co-pack Blue Buffalo.

Casey,

I realize you are just talking but maybe you didn't know I wrote those labels for a lot of years, taught classes on formulation, labeling, record keeping, and manufacturing those feeds and I know exactly what they tell you. It is why I tell people not to pay too much attention to what is on the bag or the label since it says practically nothing about the formulation of the feeds. That isn't the purpose or the intent of the labels. They strictly tell you what is used in the feed and how much of the essential elements the feed contains. The rest is strictly marketing. I also spent time on the research farm that do the feeding research and worked with FDA and many of the other government agencies that regulate every aspect of the manufacturing and marketing of those feeds. One of my responsibilities was to inspect facilities like you work in and go over all of the records that you are required to keep so I do know a little about what both you and I are talking about. And I am sorry to admit I don't have a tenth of the knowledge you say you have. I am beginning to think my 43 years in the business plus the additional 30 years of actual usage and experience have been a complete waste of time.

Ezzy

Cajun Casey · Post by **Cajun Casey** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 1:39 pm

I believe you are totally correct in that last statement.

Post by **ezzy333** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 1:50 pm

Cajun Casey wrote:I believe you are totally correct in that last statement.

Thank you. Makes me feel better that I have finally got it right.

Ezzy

NJGriffNut · Post by **NJGriffNut** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 1:54 pm

Ezzy,

That background explains some of your comments. I will ask you this, do you think the FDA and AAFCO over regulate pet foods, or under regulate pet foods?

mcbosco · Post by **mcbosco** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 4:37 pm

ezzy333 wrote:
mcbosco wrote:My local store sells 80lbs of a food called Southern States for about $25.

Yikes

Thats a pretty good food and the reason it is cheaper it is made and sold by a co-op thatpays all of the money they make at the end of the year back to the customer. Just no point in robbing people when you have to give it back.

Ezzy

The profits go back to Co-Op Members like in a mutual insurance company not customers. As for the quality, my local guy offers a store guaranty on all food no questions asked so I imagine people are happy with Southern States. The beaglers are not hard to please. LOL

nanney1 · Post by **nanney1** » Wed Jul 13, 2011 7:18 am

When I called the local Southern States to check on the price of the food, I asked if people liked the food. He said they must because they sell a lot of it. And if it didn't work out or the dog didn't like it, you could bring it back. And we were only talking about the 21/9, though I'm sure they sell plenty of the other varieties as well.

By the way, I went to my local feed store yesterday and my regular food was still not in. They said the supplier forgot to call the transporter or something along those lines. If they had offered me another brand for the same price or at least a discount on another food, I would have taken it, but they basically said they hoped it would be here today and to check back. That's my second trip to buy and I came away with nothing.

My wife told me that our grocery store was offering a buy one get one on 20lb bags of Purina Dog Chow. So, I printed off a $2 coupon from their website and went and got some. Needed some shampoo and razor blades anyway. I've fed a lot of different dog foods over the years, including Pro Plan, but never once have I ever fed regular Purina Dog Chow. Was given a dog and full bag of Purina Large Breed Puppy that I fed til it was gone, but never Dog Chow.

Kind of interesting as I had to wait a while for a lady who was shopping in the dog food aisle. She looked at every single variety of Rachel Ray Nutrish dog food before finally settling on a small bag.

Don't know if I'll stick with Purina as I'll let the dogs show me if it works for them. They seemed to like it though.

JakeDD · Post by **JakeDD** » Wed Jul 13, 2011 7:47 am

I get a few guys who raise their snooty noses at me when they see it, but I've fed Iams ProActive chunks for years because it's what my dogs do best on. I've tried half a dozen others but keep coming back to Iams for consistency and availability. It's a 23/13 food that you can buy dang near ANYWHERE and the prices aren't bad compared to the big name brands - we get it for $32 for a 44# bag at our local pet food store. I think Target charges the same for a 40# bag. Not quite Ol' Roy or EverPet prices, but it'll do.

nanney1 · Post by **nanney1** » Wed Jul 13, 2011 1:57 pm

By the way, if my dogs do well on the Purina Dog Chow, here's how the story will go. Sort of looking into the future..... :roll:

I'll look for the best deal to combine with the $2 coupons and I'll probably end up at Wal-Mart where they probably have the best price. And I'll buy another bag or several over time. But, I'll keep noticing the bags of Ol' Roy and I'll see people buying them and I'll be tempted to try it, just to see if my dogs will do o.k. on such a cheap and supposedly horrible food. I'll even ask someone, "does your dog do well on this food". And they'll tell me they've raised 10+ litters of Labs, Boxers, Goldens, or Chihuahuas and fed different types of foods and their dogs do best on Ol' Roy and it's the best food for the price, etc....

Of course, millions of people purchase Ol' Roy for their one or two dogs and keep buying it so I must assume that millions of dogs do well on it.

But, I'll be tempted to try Ol' Roy even though I took the Everpet back. Just looking into the crystal ball.

displaced_texan · Post by **displaced_texan** » Wed Jul 13, 2011 2:44 pm

I know plenty of people that have dogs that do fine on Dog Chow/Ol Roy/etc...

I expect the best from my dogs, and far more performance than the average dog owner. I see no reason to do what I can to help them give what I expect.

GUNDOGS · Post by **GUNDOGS** » Wed Jul 13, 2011 3:31 pm

nanney1 wrote:By the way, if my dogs do well on the Purina Dog Chow, here's how the story will go. Sort of looking into the future..... :roll:

I'll look for the best deal to combine with the $2 coupons and I'll probably end up at Wal-Mart where they probably have the best price. And I'll buy another bag or several over time. But, I'll keep noticing the bags of Ol' Roy and I'll see people buying them and I'll be tempted to try it, just to see if my dogs will do o.k. on such a cheap and supposedly horrible food. I'll even ask someone, "does your dog do well on this food". And they'll tell me they've raised 10+ litters of Labs, Boxers, Goldens, or Chihuahuas and fed different types of foods and their dogs do best on Ol' Roy and it's the best food for the price, etc....

Of course, millions of people purchase Ol' Roy for their one or two dogs and keep buying it so I must assume that millions of dogs do well on it.

But, I'll be tempted to try Ol' Roy even though I took the Everpet back. Just looking into the crystal ball.

Why is it you always have the need to switch dogfood? i remember you had said in a post a long time ago you have experimented with many different dogfoods and it seems you still are not content with a certain food..if your dogs are doing good on the dog chow why do you see yourself already switching to ol'roy in the future?..theres definitly all different kinds of feed available and range from "affordable" to "i need a second job" in price but for the sake of the dog i recommend picking one it does well on and stick with it to prevent digestion issues...JMO....ruth

nanney1 · Post by **nanney1** » Wed Jul 13, 2011 4:08 pm

Ruth: Probably curiosity, the need to tinker or experiment, the idea of finding what work's best. At one time, I looked for the "best" food and somewhere along the way realized that there wasn't one such thing. And now, I'm kind of on the other end of the spectrum, trying to see if the so called "bad" foods with "bad" ingredients are really bad. And, so far, they aren't bad at all. But, I did chicken out on the Everpet. Too many bad reports, not just from a few years back, but also as recent as the past few months.

For the record, the last two times I've switched have been as a result of my supplier running out of what I was feeding and I switched and stuck with whatever I switched to for several months. Of course, the supplier running out gave me an excuse.

And I've either been extremely lucky or either there's somewhat of a myth about switching as I've never noticed any digestive issues with my dogs during a change. And with my neighbor's dogs, I noticed that every time she went out of town and I fed her dogs, she had a different food blend. She mixed together different foods and then would try something new seemingly every time she ran low. Her dogs never suffered any ill effects that I could see.

birddogger · Post by **birddogger** » Wed Jul 13, 2011 8:39 pm

displaced_texan wrote:I know plenty of people that have dogs that do fine on Dog Chow/Ol Roy/etc...

I expect the best from my dogs, and far more performance than the average dog owner. I see no reason to do what I can to help them give what I expect.

Well said!

Charlie

Post by **ezzy333** » Wed Jul 13, 2011 9:04 pm

nanney1 wrote:Ruth: Probably curiosity, the need to tinker or experiment, the idea of finding what work's best. At one time, I looked for the "best" food and somewhere along the way realized that there wasn't one such thing. And now, I'm kind of on the other end of the spectrum, trying to see if the so called "bad" foods with "bad" ingredients are really bad. And, so far, they aren't bad at all. But, I did chicken out on the Everpet. Too many bad reports, not just from a few years back, but also as recent as the past few months.

For the record, the last two times I've switched have been as a result of my supplier running out of what I was feeding and I switched and stuck with whatever I switched to for several months. Of course, the supplier running out gave me an excuse.

And I've either been extremely lucky or either there's somewhat of a myth about switching as I've never noticed any digestive issues with my dogs during a change. And with my neighbor's dogs, I noticed that every time she went out of town and I fed her dogs, she had a different food blend. She mixed together different foods and then would try something new seemingly every time she ran low. Her dogs never suffered any ill effects that I could see.

You haven't been lucky but instead youhave experienced exactly what 99% of the people would experience if they did the same as you. However as a couple have said, their are better feeds for performance dogs.

Ezzy

jmsgunner · Post by **jmsgunner** » Thu Jul 14, 2011 5:09 am

birddogger wrote:
displaced_texan wrote:I know plenty of people that have dogs that do fine on Dog Chow/Ol Roy/etc...

I expect the best from my dogs, and far more performance than the average dog owner. I see no reason to do what I can to help them give what I expect.
Well said!

Charlie

Agreed!

If you want a fat lazy kid feed it McDonalds, if you want a healthy active kid it needs a healthy, balanced diet....

Post by **ezzy333** » Thu Jul 14, 2011 7:06 am

jmsgunner wrote:
birddogger wrote:
displaced_texan wrote:I know plenty of people that have dogs that do fine on Dog Chow/Ol Roy/etc...

I expect the best from my dogs, and far more performance than the average dog owner. I see no reason to do what I can to help them give what I expect.
Well said!

Charlie
Agreed!

If you want a fat lazy kid feed it McDonalds, if you want a healthy active kid it needs a healthy, balanced diet....

Fat and lazy comes from somewhere long before McDonalds. Fat is from taking in more thn you use and that dates back throughout history. Lazy probably is more a frame of mind.

Ezzy

jmsgunner · Post by **jmsgunner** » Thu Jul 14, 2011 7:23 am

ezzy333 wrote:
jmsgunner wrote:[Agreed!

If you want a fat lazy kid feed it McDonalds, if you want a healthy active kid it needs a healthy, balanced diet....
Fat and lazy comes from somewhere long before McDonalds. Fat is from taking in more thn you use and that dates back throughout history. Lazy probably is more a frame of mind.

Ezzy

You are very sassy! I know you caught my drift

mcbosco · Post by **mcbosco** » Thu Jul 14, 2011 8:42 am

ezzy what in the world is "extracted hydrolyzed citric acid fermentation presscake dehydrated"

i am guessing some type of soy protein derivative?

???

Post by **ezzy333** » Thu Jul 14, 2011 11:42 am

mcbosco wrote:ezzy what in the world is "extracted hydrolyzed citric acid fermentation presscake dehydrated"

i am guessing some type of soy protein derivative?

???

Don't know what or how it is used and not sure exactly what you are talking about but if used in dog food I am guessing they are inceasing the acidity of the feed and/or using it as a preservative. It is probably comong from the citric acid powder process which normally would be fromcitris fruits.

Ezzy

mcbosco · Post by **mcbosco** » Thu Jul 14, 2011 11:49 am

ezzy333 wrote:
mcbosco wrote:ezzy what in the world is "extracted hydrolyzed citric acid fermentation presscake dehydrated"

i am guessing some type of soy protein derivative?

???
Don't know what or how it is used and not sure exactly what you are talking about but if used in dog food I am guessing they are inceasing the acidity of the feed and/or using it as a preservative. It is probably comong from the citric acid powder process which normally would be fromcitris fruits.

Ezzy

It is in Loyall, you know me I have to know all the meaningless details

Cajun Casey · Post by **Cajun Casey** » Thu Jul 14, 2011 11:51 am

mcbosco wrote:
ezzy333 wrote:
mcbosco wrote:ezzy what in the world is "extracted hydrolyzed citric acid fermentation presscake dehydrated"

i am guessing some type of soy protein derivative?

???
Don't know what or how it is used and not sure exactly what you are talking about but if used in dog food I am guessing they are inceasing the acidity of the feed and/or using it as a preservative. It is probably comong from the citric acid powder process which normally would be fromcitris fruits.

Ezzy
It is in Loyall, you know me I have to know all the meaningless details

I think it's fertilizer.........

nanney1 · Post by **nanney1** » Thu Jul 14, 2011 12:24 pm

Don't know how much this helps, but here you go...

Citric acid fermentation press cake meal extracted is the filtered dried and ground mycelium obtained from the fermentation conducted for the production of citric acid in accordance with good manufacturing practices. Such fermentation shall use a non-pathogenic strain of microorganism, which does not contain a novel trait.
It shall be labeled with one or both of the following statements: "This product is free of antimicrobial activity and is not a source of viable microbial cells."

Source: Canadian Food Inspection Agency - http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/ani ... u4ce.shtml

Cajun Casey · Post by **Cajun Casey** » Thu Jul 14, 2011 12:27 pm

nanney1 wrote:Don't know how much this helps, but here you go...

Citric acid fermentation press cake meal extracted is the filtered dried and ground mycelium obtained from the fermentation conducted for the production of citric acid in accordance with good manufacturing practices. Such fermentation shall use a non-pathogenic strain of microorganism, which does not contain a novel trait.
It shall be labeled with one or both of the following statements: "This product is free of antimicrobial activity and is not a source of viable microbial cells."

Source: Canadian Food Inspection Agency - http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/ani ... u4ce.shtml

A fungus among us. Sweet! :roll: