Finding a new Dog Food

[brad27]

Do the research & decide for yourself. Just remember that a good food that costs more at the cash register generally costs less to feed because you're using less of it.

i wish that were true. i was bored at work the other day and made this. the "dog k/cal" is the amount of calories the dog needs to maintain its weight at a given activity level. the "cups per day" is the number of cups of food you need to feed to meet the calorie requirement of the dog.

Nice chart. Unfortunately, number of calories & cost is not a straight equation. It's what makes up those calories that counts. Just take a look at Ray Guberat's post directly above yours and you'll see what I mean. (Thanks Ray!)

Furthermore, where did you get "the amount of calories the dog needs to maintain it's weight at a given activity level"? What exactly does that number represent? You would need to qualify it by saying that the figure represents X breed of dog that weighs XX lbs & engages in X type of activity every day for it to equal XXXX caloric output per day.

Don't get me wrong, I have the mathematical aptitude of a rock & admire people who can work out stuff like that. But I think there needs to some basic precepts established for the chart to be useful.

JMHO,

The price of the dog food will vary based on where you live. i used all local prices except for a few internet ones. I wanted to find the cheapest way to feed a good food to my dog. the chart was built in microsoft excel, so i can change any of the numbers and still get an accurate cost per day.
now, as far as knowing how many calories my dog needs per day i used an already known variable. when i made this chart i was feeding diamond hi energy. i was feeding 3 cups per day to keep my dog at the desired weight. she had plenty of energy, she wasn't getting fat and she wasn't losing weight. looking at the chart, 3 cups of hi energy equals 1200 k/cal. now, this winter when she is running more her k/cal requirements will change. i can easily change 1200 to 1500 and still get a pretty good idea on what it would cost me per day to feed her with any of these foods. i'm thinking about doing a whole list of dog foods and making it available to any here that want it. you would just have to input your local cost and the dog's k/cal requirement.

[JessiNGunther]

The price of the dog food will vary based on where you live. i used all local prices except for a few internet ones. I wanted to find the cheapest way to feed a good food to my dog. the chart was built in microsoft excel, so i can change any of the numbers and still get an accurate cost per day.
now, as far as knowing how many calories my dog needs per day i used an already known variable. when i made this chart i was feeding diamond hi energy. i was feeding 3 cups per day to keep my dog at the desired weight. she had plenty of energy, she wasn't getting fat and she wasn't losing weight. looking at the chart, 3 cups of hi energy equals 1200 k/cal. now, this winter when she is running more her k/cal requirements will change. i can easily change 1200 to 1500 and still get a pretty good idea on what it would cost me per day to feed her with any of these foods. i'm thinking about doing a whole list of dog foods and making it available to any here that want it. you would just have to input your local cost and the dog's k/cal requirement.

Brad that's an awesome idea !

[dan v]

Retail is about $48 for a 40# bag. The manufacturer also offers some sort of buy 8 or 10 and get one free. I would specifically ask for that promotion as most of the retail outlets don't promote it like they should.

A bit cheaper than PPP and in line with others, seems fair.

He can purchase PPP at a local Fleet Farm for $37 for 37.5 lbs.

[stlgsp]

If you're near a dog show site that has a Purina sponsered show check to see if they'll be selling food at the show. With Pro Club rebate checks and if I have coupons PPP is as low as $23 a bag.

[mcbosco]

Retail is about $48 for a 40# bag. The manufacturer also offers some sort of buy 8 or 10 and get one free. I would specifically ask for that promotion as most of the retail outlets don't promote it like they should.

A bit cheaper than PPP and in line with others, seems fair.

He can purchase PPP at a local Fleet Farm for $37 for 37.5 lbs.

It is priced way up here $48 plus so it is expensive relatively speaking. It $48.99 at Tractor Supply in NJ. Pretty amazing the differentials, has to be because the prices of other brands here.

[yukonjasper]

Correct on the Fleet Farm pricing for PPP - around $38. I know that I had paid $44 from PetCo/PetSmart - I now know that its not a good idea to buy at those retailers.

I'm not a FaceBook person, but I can check with the local dist. to see what is available for discounts.

Count down is 2 days until I am re-united with the pup - very much looking forward to seeing him again and understanding how his training has changed his functionality.

The swap from Eukanuba to PPP will commence at the hunting camp this weekend - work weekend.

[nanney1]

I've also seen the Pro Plan priced better at shows. A bag that is $42 at Petsmart may sell for $33 at the shows. But if you are there later in the day on the last day of the show, the price will drop as low as $30. So, combined with the $7 rebate checks if you have them, $23 as mentioned above. Works well for show people who are always on the road and always feeding lots of food.

[Red]

I have been using Native with good results...

http://www.nativedogfood.com/products/products.php

[yukonjasper]

Red,
My neighbor has his Lab mix on Native and it was a discussion with him that got the ball rolling on this quest to find the perfect feed. He has been happy with it and I may eventually try another feed- maybe Native. He mentioned that he can shift between 2-3 different feeds depending on activity level and time of year without having to transition from one to another. That has some appeal to me because it seems to allow you to move from one "flavor" to another to give a little variety and potentially a different nutrient mix. I guess the assumption is that the dog cares that he eats the same thing every day but I do believe that variety would avoid magnification of a "defect or deficiency" of any one food.

Having said that, I fed the Lab I put down a year ago this week Nutro for 2 weeks short of 14 years. He never got table scraps until the last 18 months and I figued he deserved a little comfort food in his declining years - I guess he softened me up. Loved that dog.

Anyone aware of any other lines that allow the flexibility to move between "flavors" without transition?

[mcbosco]

I don't think it has anything to do with the food. So many foods are so similar. Certain dogs can be fed different foods cold turkey and never have a stool out of place.

That is clever marketing on Native's part.

[northUpland]

I love charts and graphs too! Especially when revolving around dog food! My only problem with yours is... cups yielded per bag per formula(brand) per kcal can very greatly given the differences in kibble size(volume kcal per cup per bag aka how many cups per bag varies dependant on kibble surface area. Also the caloric density of one kibble by brand is crazy different. It can not be a direct comparision by brand. I love the calorie measurement as way to show value though. Shameless plug here but I have been putting together a perfomance dog food database on my site which includes all known performance brands GA, Kcal per cup, and ingredient listing. It is a work in progress but growing so if any of you would like to send me a brands I have forgotten please do so! http://northupland.blogspot.com/p/products.html Thanks. -Mark Northup

[ezzy333]

I looked at your list but am wondering what it is telling us other than what the bag says as far as I can see. I don't think I could judge a feed by reading the information on the bags.

Ezzy

[northUpland]

Exactly! Ezzy. I am not judging brands and formulas! My site is STRICTLY INFORMATIONAL. I built it to be just a nice place for us common folk to see a bunch of performance foods stacked up in one mouse click and help us decide on our own which feed might work for our dogs. Nothing more and nothing less. Basically, It's just a down home place to check out performance dog foods and compare. AKA provide one place to see GA, Ingredients, and caloric value(metabolizable energy) and let people compare performance feeds. True, You can't "truly" judge a feed by whats on the bag as related to the dogs performance reaction and I agree...BUT I also want to know facts AND quickly compare them to others...without flipping bags at a feed store. I am postive many gun doggers do as well....actually 3000 of them did in the past 30 days. In fact, caloric value(metabolizable energy) is not required on bags...and that is were the rubber meets the road. Thanks. -Mark

[brad27]

I love charts and graphs too! Especially when revolving around dog food! My only problem with yours is... cups yielded per bag per formula(brand) per kcal can very greatly given the differences in kibble size(volume kcal per cup per bag aka how many cups per bag varies dependant on kibble surface area. Also the caloric density of one kibble by brand is crazy different. It can not be a direct comparision by brand. I love the calorie measurement as way to show value though. Shameless plug here but I have been putting together a perfomance dog food database on my site which includes all known performance brands GA, Kcal per cup, and ingredient listing. It is a work in progress but growing so if any of you would like to send me a brands I have forgotten please do so! http://northupland.blogspot.com/p/products.html Thanks. -Mark Northup

actually i didn't do mine based on cups yielded per bag. i did it by weight and total kcals per bag. as you know dog food is sold by weight, not volume.

so, cost per day = (cost per bag) / (( lbs. per bag / 2.2) X ( kcal per kilo / dog required kcal per day))

cups per day = dog required kcal per day / kcal per cup.

hope this helps.

[B&BWeims]

I would feed Taste of The Wild before I'd feed Blue Buffalo. TOTW and BB are so much better than Pro Plan. Pro Plan is not a food that you would want to feed a dog. Feeding 3 different foods in 5 weeks isn't going to effect your dog's GI tract if you mix a little bit of his old food in with his new food for a couple of days (feeding less and less of his old food each day) and then feed him his new food.

PPPP is one of the last foods I'd recommend for performance. You're better off feeding BB or TOTW than anything made by Purina. Corn, rice, unnamed meats, by-products, niacin, menadione, etc., are all ingredients in PPPP. It's a food you want to stay away from, Purina is the worst brand of food you can feed to your dog. Foods made by Purina have no health benefits whatsoever and are not even worth the money.

[Angus]

I would feed Taste of The Wild before I'd feed Blue Buffalo. TOTW and BB are so much better than Pro Plan. Pro Plan is not a food that you would want to feed a dog. Feeding 3 different foods in 5 weeks isn't going to effect your dog's GI tract if you mix a little bit of his old food in with his new food for a couple of days (feeding less and less of his old food each day) and then feed him his new food.

PPPP is one of the last foods I'd recommend for performance. You're better off feeding BB or TOTW than anything made by Purina. Corn, rice, unnamed meats, by-products, niacin, menadione, etc., are all ingredients in PPPP. It's a food you want to stay away from, Purina is the worst brand of food you can feed to your dog. Foods made by Purina have no health benefits whatsoever and are not even worth the money.

While I'm not a ppp fan; your post is full of wrong. After reading some of your latest post I'm thinking you're a troll and don't own a hunting dog.

[bossman]

Like Angus, I am not a fan of PPP. However, know many experienced hunters that feed it and are happy with it. While I don't agree with their choice, I repect their opinion. They are very experienced sportsman and their dogs seem to do well on the feed. It is arguably the most propular performance food on the market.
while I'm sure their out there, have never seen TOTW or BB feed to performance dogs in the field. All jmo

[ezzy333]

I would feed Taste of The Wild before I'd feed Blue Buffalo. TOTW and BB are so much better than Pro Plan. Pro Plan is not a food that you would want to feed a dog. Feeding 3 different foods in 5 weeks isn't going to effect your dog's GI tract if you mix a little bit of his old food in with his new food for a couple of days (feeding less and less of his old food each day) and then feed him his new food.

PPPP is one of the last foods I'd recommend for performance. You're better off feeding BB or TOTW than anything made by Purina. Corn, rice, unnamed meats, by-products, niacin, menadione, etc., are all ingredients in PPPP. It's a food you want to stay away from, Purina is the worst brand of food you can feed to your dog. Foods made by Purina have no health benefits whatsoever and are not even worth the money.

While I'm not a ppp fan; your post is full of wrong. After reading some of your latest post I'm thinking you're a troll and don't own a hunting dog.

You might just be right as no one that has had dogs could make many of those statements and expect anyone to believe them. B&B go back and read the many many posts about dog food and nutrition and then come back and say you don't agree if you don't and we can move on to something new and importamt. There is no need to go through every thread and tell us how wrong we all are.

Ezzy