"What is the best way to feed my growing yellow lab..healthy but CHEAP?"?

Question

My pup is 7 months and growing fast. He is eating a lot more too. I want to keep him healthy but not go broke.

Answer 1

You get what you pay for. You feed him cheap food, you'll end up with very expensive vet bills. Your choice.

Answer 2

Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed is what I feed my lab. It is about $25 for a 40 lb. bag. Like other reponders have said, you get what you pay for. Labs are prone to joint problems, so they need food with lots of glucosamine and chondroytin (sp?), which is hard to come by in the cheaper brands. I think a good rule is, if you can buy the food at WalMart or the grocery store, it's not very good quality. It seems expensive now, but you will save yourself in the end with vet bills and health problems. Also, better quality food cuts down on shedding and on the amount of poop you'll have to pick up (because they're able to digest more of the ingredients).

Answer 3

Buy in bulk. The larger the bag the less you pay per pound. Make sure the dog food you chose has proper nutrituion. And don't keep switching foods based on what is on sale. It's not good for your dogs digestion. Because labs have hip and joint problems down the road you want one with plenty of calcuim and joint support. Purina, Iams, Eukanuba are all good brands, those with lamb and rice based are the best. Don't waste your money on wet dog food, your dog will do best on dry food.

Answer 4

I have 3 Labs and I have always fed them DADS dog food. I can get a 20 lb bag from $4.99 to $8.99. I think it is great because for one it was never seen on any of the recalls and I have never had any health issues what so ever. I would definately recommend this dog food to anyone.

Answer 5

Buy the largest bags of food. But seal them inside containers to keep the food fresh. I use 2 5gal. paint buckets, I got a pop on spin top to seal in the air. They were cheap at my local hardware store. I can fit almost all 40lbs into two buckets.

Really cheap food is not cheap...the dog needs to eat more and they end up pooping most of it out.

I'd get a decent food from the petstore. It does not need to be the most expensive. I used Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice for years.

And contrary to popular belief....many puppies under one year, do just fine on adult food (as long as it's decent). Many large breed puppies have to switch to adult by 6 months to avoid growing too fast and getting Panno.

Feed him twice a day and weigh him at the vet. Watch his weight as fat puppies get injured easier. Avoid food with a lot of corn in it. And look for one that has meat as the first ingredient.

I used to sell 50lb bags of a really cheap food at a store I worked at...not by choice. 50lbs was $10. But many of the dogs ended up with dry skin and vet bills. It kept them alive, but ended up costing the owners more. So I'd advise folks to spend a bit more and save money in the long run.

Some petstores and feed stores have promotions, if you buy so many bags of a food you get a bag free. I know Nutro often runs specials on their foods.

One of my friend's is able to feed his dog on food from Costco. I can't. My dogs did not do well on it. Some dogs do fine on food from Walmart, etc...but not all of them.

Answer 6

All of the most used brands contain corn produbts which can cause allergies in animals so don't use ANY pet food with corn in it. I recommend Canidae to everyone I meet, it is all-natural and it is around $40 for a 40 lb bag which isn't bad if you ask me.

Answer 7

I have great news. If you feed a more expensive food, generaly you wont have to feed as much of it because instead of using corn,beaks and feet as the main ingredient, it uses things dogs need, like meat. It is cheaper to feed my german shepherd california natural (at 38 dollars a bag) than to feed him cheap food. The reccomended amount for california natural is just under 4 cups a day for a 90 lb dog, with pedigree, and most other cheap foods it is almost 7!!!
He eats less, has more energy, is healthier, sheds less, and poops less.
just because something is cheap, and people sell it doesnt mean dogs should eat it. Look at all the recalls going on. One thing you will notice is that it is mosty cheap food. (aside from nutro, and royal canin)
Also, stay away from ingredients like "corn".. "biproducts" "Dies".. foods that use the word "poultry" or "meat" instead of naming actual kinds of meat. Look for glucosamine and condritin in the ingredients. I like a dry food that is a bit oily in texture.

Answer 8

I recommend Purina. The food is on the mid-range grocery store price scale, but is very inexpensive compared to other foods in its class.

If you contact Purina they will send you coupons for dog food purchases. (Hint: Other Pet Food companies will do this as well!)

You can also help to cut this cost by making a portion (or all) of his dog food yourself. You can learn how at:

www.healthrecipes.com/pet_supply.htm

www.ehow.com/how_12697_make-homemade-dog.html

Or a variety of other websites. This would be especially helpful if you are eligible for food stamps, as they will cover the cost of "people" food but not "pet" food. Check and see if you are eligible, you may be suprised!

Try to avoid ultra cheap dog foods, these are often full of artificial ingredients and preservatives and may be linked to any number of health problems.

Answer 9

He needs a good puppy food. you didn't say what your using now, But I've had good luck with Nutro large breed puppy food. The first ingredient is meat and it is not really expensive. All my puppies had good health and nice shiny coats on this food

Answer 10

I feed my pup Purina One puppy chow. It's cheaper the bigger the bag you get. And, purina one dry dog food wasn't on the recall list. Be sure to keep your puppy on "puppy" food until it reaches atleast one year old. The puppy food has important stuff to help it grow that the adult food doesn't have.