way too expensive...?

Question

you guys always talk about Beneful, Iams, Royal Canine....where do you guys get the money from to buy these brands? They are way toooo expensive.... i know you want the best for your dog but seriously, isnt that over the top?
Its like 80 bucks for 15kg (about US$65 for 30 pounds i think) i mean my 2 pups (large breed) will probably eat that in a week...

Answer 1

we're rich and foolish and pamper our pups!

Answer 2

THey are no way near that price and to me all the ones you mentioned are what I call mid to low quality to mean beneful in junk

I feeding Innova EVO which is one of the most expensive dry kibbles around which has no grains and has a very high meat content. I pay $80 canadian with taxes it roughly $55 to $60 US for a 30lb bag. because it has no grains and no fillers it is nutrient dense meaning you do not need to feed as much the more fillers and grains the more one has the feed as grains are less digestible so most gets passed as waste so equals more poop, I have to pay $1.50 per bag of garbage and bags cannot be too heavy with 4 dogs one a cheap food would mean I would have to out out more smaller bags of garbage to keep the weight down. right now my poop clean up is about a 1/3 a grocery bag for 2 large dogs 1 medium and 1 small dog over the course of a week, between me and the 4 dogs I only have 1 bag of garbage every other week

I have an 84 lb geyhound who eats 1 1/2 cups of innova EVO,
if I was feeding Iams he would need 3 to 4 cups, if I was feeding Ol'roy where meat is almost invisible he would need about 8 cups a day. The more nutrient dense and digestible a food is the less you have to buy and shovel up out of the yard. The other place one saves money is at the vet they higher quailty the ingredients they better your dogs body functions and the stronger their immune system is, they will have better muscle tone to support joints so they have less injuries, less problems with allergies and illnessness.

I have a dog currently with Lupus(an immune system disease) I have been able to manage the disease with having to restort to daily prednisone and her flares up are quite mild, and she has been doing great, she has had for 2 years and one would not know she has a health problem, years ago I had a dog with as well theis was before high quality foods were available, he had to be treat with daily prednisone, when his flare ups occured they were nasty, and he also needed cortisone creams and coal tar shampoo, was constantly at the vet for ear and skin infections and he deteriorated very quickly, and had to be put to sleep after 3 years, her care has costed a couple hundred where his a couple thousand

switching from a mid grade food to top end is saving me money my 84 pound boy is a former racing greyhound would on his last race shatter the bones in his hock and took a hard tumble injuring his hip and back, the high meat content in the Innova EVO had increased his muscle development which helping to support his spine an hip so he is less proned to falling and injuring himself like he was before when on a mid grade food and doing great at 9 years old and can still run and play, he had not had to take any anti inflammatories or joint supplements in the past 3 years,

You may consider it over the top to spend so much on a bag of food but experience has showed me I will spend less otherall by doing so,

And if you ever went to a dog event where you have a large number all together of the same breed, you can easily pick out the dogs eating the cheap foods their coats will look and feel quite different that those eating high quality food

Answer 3

If I intend to have dogs, I intend to look after them. I have never understood why people buy a purebred dog and then feed it the cheapest crap available. It is like feeding a baby on french fries.

You get what you pay for. A good quality food may cost a little more (but not much more) and you will feed less of it, because it has good nutrition in it instead of a bunch of cheap fillers that the dog can't digest anyway.

I have 4 Great Danes, and it costs me $125.00 per month to feed them with a decent food, not the most expensive. That doesn't count in all their treats and things, of course. I can't feed my husband on that amount of money, so I think I'm doing quite well.

That's $125 Canadian (about $110 US) for 4 45 lb bags of food. I figure on a bag of food per dog per month.

Answer 4

Well you know I thought he same thing until I started to check out different places to purchase the high end dog food. I now am switching over to Canidea and the first place I went was outrageous. I started to do a Internet search and found a dealer for the food that was alot more reasonable and was quite surprised to find it cheaper than the food that I was feeding my 2 dogs. So It's a matter of shopping around for the best bang for your buck!

Answer 5

If you switch to a higher quality food your dogs will very likely eat less because of the better nutrition. So it really ends up working out about the same. Not to mention healthier dogs equal less vet bills, and better nutrients equal less mess.


I feed a raw diet to two of my dogs, my other large breed puppy gets Innova Evo.

And yes your price estimates are a little high.

Answer 6

first beneful and iams arent worth your money. royal canine and innova, and wellness, and all the good products out there are expensive. the brand i HIGHLY recomend is Eagle Pack, believe it or not it is better than royal canine and wellness! and is a heck of a lot cheaper. why? because they dont spend pointless money for advertisments...the products sells itself! a 20 pound bag is 15.00 and you always get a coupon for 6.6 pounds free ( its another bag) you always end up paying about a buck a pound no matter which way you go! and the good thing about it is dogs and cats get the necesary nutrition they need in a low serving so they will automatically eat less....they know when they get everything they need....and they stop eating...saving you lots of money!

Answer 7

Where are you buying dog food? I buy California Naturals and it is $36 (US) for a $36 lb bag at my local pet store. Great quality food.

If that is what they are charging you locally, shop some of the Internet sources.

Answer 8

WOW you're being ripped off. Just find a local shop that sells a small organic food that only uses real human grade ingredients and you'll be good. Good food to dogs is the same as good food to humans, you feel better, are in better shape and will live longer.

Answer 9

Where I live (MO) It is like $20 for a 20 pound bag of good brand dog food..

Answer 10

I have no idea where you buy you pet food but you are getting ripped off big time. most of these brands are good, and they cost more because of the content. a good pet food will not have Corn or any form of corn in the top 3 ingredents. corn is an inexpencive filler that is just going to end up on your lawn in big piles. less fillers = less waste. your dogs will eat less and use more nutrients. a 35lb bag should cost about $40 or less.

Answer 11

Beneful and IAMS are truly awful foods. I would never feed those to my dogs!

Look at these ingredients in Beneful:


Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, beef tallow preserved with mixed-tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), rice flour, beef, soy flour, sugar, sorbitol, tricalcium phosphate, water, animal digest, salt, phosphoric acid, potassium chloride, dicalcium phosphate, sorbic acid (a preservative), L-Lysine monohydrochloride, dried peas, dried carrots, calcium carbonate, calcium propionate (a preservative), choline chloride, vitamin supplements (E, A, B-12, D-3), added color (Yellow 5, Red 40, Yellow 6, Blue 2), DL-Methionine, zinc sulfate, glyceryl monostearate, ferrous sulfate, niacin, manganese sulfate, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, biotin, thiamine mononitrate, garlic oil, copper sulfate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), calcium iodate, sodium selenite.

That is NASTY! The first ingredient is GROUND YELLOW CORN!! In what warped reality is a dog supposed to get most of his sustenance from CORN? There's hardly any real meat in it at all, it's scandalous to feed this crap to a dog! And look at all the nasty artificial colors! And salt, beef tallow, sorbitol, animal digest. GROSS!

IAMS is not going to be much better, but at least it might have some real meat in it.

In the UK your options for really healthy foods are somewhat limited, but the following brands are good:

http://www.ardengrange.com/
http://www.burns-pet-nutrition.co.uk/
http://www.oscars.co.uk/
http://www.frommfamily.com/products_canine_gold.asp
http://www.wellbeloved.co.uk/
http://www.wafcol.co.uk/frames/wafcol.html (Salmon and potato for alternative protien and carb source)

If you're concerned about the cost, think of it like this: you will save money in the long run by giving your dog a better quality food and keeping her healthier. AND you don't have to feed as much food when it has more meat and more real nutrition. When a food is mostly corn you have to feed about twice as much food, and your dog will poop twice as much because corn is NOT digestible for dogs.