I am trying to find an inexpensive dog food small enough for my toy poodles to eat??

Question

It must be small enough that they can eat it but has to have good nutrients for them i would like it also to be at minimumal price because i have two toy poodles and my budget is ...well its a budget lets say that !!!

They are puppies 8 months so i'm looking for a puppy dog food

Answer 1

I feed my dogs Timberwolf Organics Wild n Natural, it is for all life stages and is a very small kibble (smaller than a pencil top eraser). It may seem a little pricey at first, but I buy a medium sized bag for about $35 Canadian (don't know how much it runs in the States) and it last me about a month with my 3 dogs (medium sized labX and 2 Shih-tzus). My 14 1/2 lb. 2 yr old Shih-tzu only eats 3/4 cup a day of it and my 18 lb. 3 yr old Shih-tzu and my 36 lb. 11 yr old labX eat about 1 cup a day.

Maybe go to your local pet store and compare the food everyone here has suggested (or compare them online) and pick the best one that fits your budget.

Just remember that good nutrition = a better immune system which in turn = fewer vet visits (other than the required vaccinations).

Here's a couple sites to help you choose what to look for:
http://www.naturapet.com/images/choosing_a_food.pdf
http://www.api4animals.org/articles?p=361&more=1

Answer 2

It depends on where you live, we have a great food here in WI called American Natural Premium made from the makers of Fromm and it retails at about $25-$28 a 40 lb bag. It is a very high quality food at a very low cost. Unfortunately it is really only available in the Southeastern WI area. Otherwise if you want a good high quality food you are going to be paying a high price. I would recommend EVO, Canidae, Fromm, Eaglepak, Wysong all of those are good foods but I'm not sure what they all run pricewise. I'm pretty sure they are expensive but what you need to think of is that the higher the quality of food the less waste they produce and the fewer health problems they are likely to have especially with all of these lovely food recalls we have been having. None of the foods I mentioned by the way were on any of the recall lists as far as I know.

Answer 3

Ummm ... Toy Poodles ... how much can they possibly eat? Not like you're feeding Great Danes!

Canidae All Life Stages is small kibbles and good nutrition. My dogs are on it now, switched from Eukanuba. The price is about the same, but they eat less of it, and they both like it better. That's my suggestion, Good Luck!

If you buy Canidae, you don't need puppy food ... it's fine for puppies, too.

Answer 4

Do you know what the last owners fed the dog? Sometimes switching dog foods doesnt go over to well with dogs. I have 2 Shih-tzu's and neither of them are big on dry dog food either so what i do is give them half dry and half wet. They still don't eat to much of the dry so for the purpose of healthy teeth i make sure they also get hard cookies for snacks during the day. Also if its only been a few weeks, their probably still adjusting to the new home. Be patient, it takes time.

Answer 5

Well I always suggest Merrick puppy plate canned and dry kibble for puppies, but it is indeed more expensive.
A great priced, premium kibble is Nature's Recipe. You can easily get a 20 pound bag of puppy formula kibble for about $18.99 at Petsmart, as well as some of their canned formulas to entice the taste, which are about $1.30 a can.

Just steer clear of Pedigree, Purina, Iams, Euk, any grocery store brand, and other junky brands.

Good luck!!

Answer 6

Different breeds/sizes of dogs tend to switch to adult food at different ages (average is 1 year, but smaller dogs can be on adult food at 7-8 months, and some larger breeds stay on for a little bit over a year, and giant breeds are never on puppy food).

Your toy poodles are fine to switch to adult food at 8 months old.

---

There is no single food that is "best". For example, some dogs thrive on grain-free foods, while grain-free is too rich for other dogs. What you want to find is the high-quality food that *your dog* does best on.

Higher quality food may seem more expensive at first, but it evens out. The higher quality the food, the less fillers eaten (and therefore the less poop comes out the other end). Your dog eats more to try to get the nutrition it needs, and most of the food just passes right on through. Also, it will make your animals healthier, so you save money on vet bills in the long run.

If you are on a tight budget, try Chicken Soup brand. It is fairly inexpensive and is still a quality dog food. (The link to the website is further down in the this post.)

---

On choosing a good dog food:

Read the ingredients on the food you buy. Go with a high quality dog food. A grain should not be in the first couple ingredients ingredient (corn and such are mainly fillers, dogs don't digest it well). Avoid foods that have a lot of "by products" listed.

Here is an article about byproducts:
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=ingrd

And an article on what ingredients to avoid:
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=badingredients

---

Some GOOD foods are :
* Merrick - http://www.merrickpetcare.com/
* Solid Gold - http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/
* Canidae - http://www.canidae.com/
* Timberwolf - http://timberwolforganics.com/
* Orijen - http://www.championpetfoods.com/orijen/orijen/
* Wellness - http://www.omhpet.com/wellness/
* Chicken Soup brand - http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/
* Blue Buffalo - http://www.bluebuff.com/
* Innova - http://www.naturapet.com/brands/innova.asp
* Innova EVO - http://www.naturapet.com/brands/evo.asp

Or check this website for good foods: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/
(I recommend only feeding foods rated 4, 5, or 6 stars. Anything 3 stars or less, I would stay away from.)

---

Stay away from grocery stores brands. They are low-quality foods chalk full of fillers, preservatives, dyes, etc.. (Grocery store foods are those like Beneful, Old Roy, Alpo, Pedigree, Purina, etc.)

Beware "premium" foods. "Premium" does not mean good nutritionally, and is not a nutritionally high quality food. It has the same types of ingredients as grocery store foods, just a bit better quality of those not-so-good ingredients. (Premium foods are those like Iams, Eukanuba, Science Diet, etc..)

Another thing to be wary of: A lot of vets will recommend what they sell in their office. They get profit from the brands they keep on their shelves, that's why they push it. Truth is, vet schools don't focus a lot on nutrition. It's not saying that a vet is a bad vet because he recommends those foods, a lot of vets just are told "this is good food", so they pass the message along without proper nutrition knowledge. Also, some dog food brands (like Hills) support vet schools, so vets have heard of it from the time they start college, which makes them think it's good as well.

---

"Big box" petstores like Petco and Petsmart rarely have quality foods. Also, grocery stores and Walmart aren't good places to buy food either.

Your best bets for getting quality dog food are:
- small, locally owned petstores
- dog boutiques
- farm supply stores

---

When switching foods, do it gradually. I do this over about a two week timespan:
25% food A, 75% food B
50% food A, 50% food B
75% food A, 25% food B
100% food A
.

Answer 7

Try this until their 12 months

Hundchen Flocken Puppy (lamb)
Growth Formula for Puppies
4 lbs $7.89
15 lbs $21.75
33 lbs $41.00

Then use this when they reach 12 months

Just a Wee Bit Adult (bison)
Small Breed Adult Food
4 lbs. $8.94
15 lbs $25.25

You can look at www.dogfoodanalysis.com, they rate dog food brands by looking at the ingredients. Then see if it fits your budget.

Answer 8

No such thing as a cheap nutrituonal dog food. All dog food you can get that is cheap is crap. Try canidae, it's a very small kibble, and it's one of the best brands you can get. Toy poodles don't eat much. Unless your feeding them to much.

Answer 9

Canidae.

Each kibble it is about the size of a pea, it is the lower range priced food but is great for dogs of all ages. They do make a puppy formula aswell. No fillers or any added junk. My dog loves it and it actually makes her poop not as stinky as some others we have tried that are healthy ones.

Answer 10

Honestly its hard to find best quality food thats cheap? how much are you willing to spend? Canidea is good no corn or wheat :) small kibbles about 16.00 at pet people. california naturals is about12.00 and has all natural ingredients also found at pet people or try purina or if low on cash Pedigree they both make food for small dogs.