# Best cheap dog food?



## V-paw (Jun 1, 2013)

My friend used to feed her dog purina. Bleh. And at that time I switched from diamond to Canidae and I gave her the rest of my diamond because I like her two little dogs. Leevi and Lulu. Lee I is overweight. I've convinced them to start walking the dogs too. So anyways I told them they should think about switching dog foods, and a few weeks later she said she thought about it and at SAMs club there was Iams, and I was kind of excited. I fed my dog iams at the very first, but now I did research and I, getting the memo that iams is no better than purina? 

So.. *Sigh* is there anything sold at SAMs club that's around the same price but better quality by any chance? It doesn't have to be good..l just not purina bad.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Their store brand premium food (used to be Member's Mark but I think they changed the name) isn't terrible. . .it does have corn but has chicken meal as the first ingredient, and no artificial colors. They also sell Purina ONE, which is about the same, but it costs more. Iams isn't great but I would rate it higher than Dog Chow because at least it doesn't have colors. Sam's honestly doesn't have a very good selection. If she also has a Costco membership, their Kirkland Signature foods are pretty good (about the same as Diamond Naturals). Walmart has Rachel Ray's Nutrish (they recently came out with a grain-free formula) and Pure Balance.

If she's willing to shop elsewhere, Diamond Naturals is my choice. It's cheaper than Iams, too. Tractor Supply has it for sure, and some hardware stores carry Diamond foods.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

OK, I'm at Sam's Club now, and it's called Simply Right Exceed. It does NOT have corn, but the 3rd ingredient is soybean meal, and 4th is wheat. But it is still better than most dog foods. About $5 cheaper than Iams.


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## georgiapeach (Mar 17, 2012)

Do you have a Tractor Supply? Their 4 Health is reasonably priced and has no corn, wheat, or soy. They also have a grain free that's also very reasonably priced.


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## V-paw (Jun 1, 2013)

Willowy said:


> OK, I'm at Sam's Club now, and it's called Simply Right Exceed. It does NOT have corn, but the 3rd ingredient is soybean meal, and 4th is wheat. But it is still better than most dog foods. About $5 cheaper than Iams.


That might be good, ill mention it to her 


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## V-paw (Jun 1, 2013)

Willowy said:


> OK, I'm at Sam's Club now, and it's called Simply Right Exceed. It does NOT have corn, but the 3rd ingredient is soybean meal, and 4th is wheat. But it is still better than most dog foods. About $5 cheaper than Iams.


I just looked up the ingredients online, and it says that the first ingredient is ground yellow corn..


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

V-paw said:


> I just looked up the ingredients online, and it says that the first ingredient is ground yellow corn..


Was it the the Exceed? They do have a lower-quality food called Complete Nutrition, that says "compare to Purina Dog Chow!" on it. Let me see if I can find the ingredients for Exceed. . .OK, this is the Sam's Club page: http://www.samsclub.com/sams/sr-exceed-c-r-44-lb-dog-food/prod9150089.ip?navAction=

Andhere's the dogfoodadvisor review, 3 stars--not great, not terrible: http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/exceed-dog-food/ The chicken formula has the same ingredients as the lamb formula, except chicken instead of lamb, LOL.


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## V-paw (Jun 1, 2013)

Willowy said:


> Was it the the Exceed? They do have a lower-quality food called Complete Nutrition, that says "compare to Purina Dog Chow!" on it. Let me see if I can find the ingredients for Exceed. . .OK, this is the Sam's Club page: http://www.samsclub.com/sams/sr-exceed-c-r-44-lb-dog-food/prod9150089.ip?navAction=
> 
> Andhere's the dogfoodadvisor review, 3 stars--not great, not terrible: http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/exceed-dog-food/ The chicken formula has the same ingredients as the lamb formula, except chicken instead of lamb, LOL.


That's the site I looked at. Ok I guess it was the lower quality one,nit had only 1 star! Then iams had 2.5 and this one has 3.  ill look into it >.<

Btw- my dog's name is Willow.
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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Haha, my first dog's name was Willow, that's why it's my username (with modification because Willow was already taken). I think that's 3 dogs I've heard of with the name now.


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## ireth0 (Feb 11, 2013)

If you're able to get it, the Kirkland brand food has quite good reviews for the price point.

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/kirkland-signature-dog-food/


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## V-paw (Jun 1, 2013)

ireth0 said:


> If you're able to get it, the Kirkland brand food has quite good reviews for the price point.
> 
> http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/kirkland-signature-dog-food/


Ya, it's pretty good but probably not what the owner would buy. I don't think they have a Costco membership anyways.


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## Dog Person (Sep 14, 2012)

Assuming a person doesn't have access to one of the big club type store, I would say that the best cheap food is probably the grain inclusive 4Health brand at Tractor Supply; 18 lbs. for $21.99 ($1.22/lb.) is a very good price and it is considered a 4 star food at the Dog Food Advisor Website. It is probably followed by the Pet Smart grain free Authority brand at $18.99 for 15 lbs. ($1.27/lb.) and then the Diamond Naturals grain inclusive brand 24.99 for 18 lbs. ($1.38/lb.) at Tractor Supply; these are also considered 4 star foods at the Food Advisor website. They all don't contain soy, corn or wheat.

The Lamb variety in the 4Health and Diamond seems to have a little less protein in it - around 21-23%; the others seem to have about 26-29% protein, a little higher which can be a good thing. If you can find the Diamond Naturals Lamb in the small breed package that will have about 27% protein.


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## Foresthund (Jul 17, 2013)

Taste of the wild may be a little pricey. Here the prices sound higher though,so even pro plan costs $27 for a 18ib bag,and can't find anything cheaper while the same or better quality. Taste of the wild is about $30 for a 16ib bag so moved to that. After all the recalls with Kirkland and my other dogs hating it,I'm not trying that again either. At that time dogs where dropping dead left and right,and worried my dog might of got kidney failure relating to bad food.

My dog actually did well on Pro plan,In good shape,active and healthy,better off then with Blue buffulo,wilderness or chicken soup for the dog lovers soul food.
I also added a little meat and quality treats to his past pro plan diet though.
Just look around and try different food.


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## zhaor (Jul 2, 2009)

Foresthund said:


> After all the recalls with Kirkland and my other dogs hating it,I'm not trying that again either. At that time dogs where dropping dead left and right,and worried my dog might of got kidney failure relating to bad food.


I'm curious when that was. Dogs dropping dead from Kirkland? The recent recalls I can remember of Diamond foods have been for salmonella. Kidney failure and dogs dropping dead was with Chinese produced jerky treats and really had nothing to do with Diamond. The only issues with Diamond foods that I know of which might have resulted in actual deaths was a long long time ago when they had an issue with the aflatoxin content in their corn. Then I think it was wheat gluten where the people that sourced it had some kind of big conspiracy to contaminate it or something, but that was quite a while ago too.

Btw, ToTW, Chicken Soup, and Kirkland are all Diamond. So is 4health.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

zhaor said:


> I'm curious when that was. Dogs dropping dead from Kirkland? The recent recalls I can remember of Diamond foods have been for salmonella. Kidney failure and dogs dropping dead was with Chinese produced jerky treats and really had nothing to do with Diamond. The only issues with Diamond foods that I know of which might have resulted in actual deaths was a long long time ago when they had an issue with the aflatoxin content in their corn. Then I think it was wheat gluten where the people that sourced it had some kind of big conspiracy to contaminate it or something, but that was quite a while ago too.
> 
> Btw, ToTW, Chicken Soup, and Kirkland are all Diamond. So is 4health.


Probably referring to the huge melamine contamination recalls of 2007.


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## zhaor (Jul 2, 2009)

Kathyy said:


> Probably referring to the huge melamine contamination recalls of 2007.


Ah yes melamine, that's what the wheat gluten one was. Couldn't remember for a minute. Yeah I guess that was kidney failure related. That makes sense.


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## gingerkid (Jul 11, 2012)

V-paw said:


> Ya, it's pretty good but probably not what the owner would buy. I don't think they have a Costco membership anyways.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Kirkland Food is ~35/40lbs ($0.88/lb; on the Costco Website), but I don't know that would compare to the other options in your local area. (And is moot if the owner doesn't have a Costco membership).

Snowball was on Kirkland when we first got him. We switched not because of the quality of the food, but because he didn't like it... and going through 40lbs of dog food with one dog who skips a meal once or twice a week takes a LONG time. He's now on the Nature's Domain Salmon formula (also from Costco, and also a Diamond product) and he loves it so much that we usually use it in place of fancy treats without any problems.


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## SydTheSpaniel (Feb 12, 2011)

MikeTampa said:


> Why oh why are people so concerned about price rather than a pets health?!? Sorry that is just so frustrating to me to hear.


Because not everyone is very wealthy. I'm married to a paramedic - AKA, we're not rich. Just because someone can't afford the most expensive highest quality food does not mean they don't care about their pet's health.... If they didn't care about their dog's health, they wouldn't be on a dog forum asking for advice for decent quality food for an affordable price.


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## Hambonez (Mar 17, 2012)

Fromm Gold is a hair over $1/lbs. Hamilton was eating that, though lately we've been rotating through the Fromm Four Star flavors, which are more like $1.80/lbs. They're both good foods, and Ham's done well on both of them. At least that's what it costs at the indy pet store here when you buy the medium sized bag. I've heard that it costs more in other places.


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## ireth0 (Feb 11, 2013)

SydTheSpaniel said:


> Because not everyone is very wealthy. I'm married to a paramedic - AKA, we're not rich. Just because someone can't afford the most expensive highest quality food does not mean they don't care about their pet's health.... If they didn't care about their dog's health, they wouldn't be on a dog forum asking for advice for decent quality food for an affordable price.


Very much this. I'd love to feed top of the line $50-70 per bag food, but the reality is that I simply can't afford to do that. However, that doesn't mean I don't want to try and find the best food available for the price range I -can- afford.


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## AmandaN (Apr 15, 2013)

MikeTampa said:


> Why oh why are people so concerned about price rather than a pets health?!? Sorry that is just so frustrating to me to hear.


Because not everyone is rich.  I feed a very high quality diet, and I do not skimp on vet care. That means I don't buy much gears, toys or treats for my dogs.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

Plus not everybody realizes some of the annoying things about dogs can be eliminated if the diet suits them. Gas? Diarrhea? Gooey ears and eyes? Itching? Stinky breath or fur? I grew up things that was how dogs were. I know differently now. Pay more for food or pay for vet bills.


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## Hambonez (Mar 17, 2012)

Kathyy said:


> Plus not everybody realizes some of the annoying things about dogs can be eliminated if the diet suits them. Gas? Diarrhea? Gooey ears and eyes? Itching? Stinky breath or fur? I grew up things that was how dogs were. I know differently now. Pay more for food or pay for vet bills.


The diet that best "suits" a dog isn't necessarily an ultra premium or expensive food. I'm a big believer that it's better to pay the grocer than the doctor, but I also understand different diets work for different folks... and dogs!


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## Dog Person (Sep 14, 2012)

Maggie had no issues and she ate the standard dog food - Purina, Science Diet, Authority and Nutro. Other than colitis from beef she was healthy almost every day of her life; so I have to agree it depends on the dog.

As far as the food brands mentioned nobody brought up OL Roy or Retriever ... I think all the foods were decent foods but not premium brands; all were better than the foods I fed Maggie.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Well, I think we're trying to list the halfway decent cheaper foods. . .Ol' Roy and Retriever are basically flavored, supplemented sawdust . I would never recommend anybody feed their dogs those. Something with actual meat in it is nice. I'll sometime recommend Purina Dog Chow if finances are really tight but nothing lower quality than that. Even the cheaper foods end up costing more than Dog Chow because you have to feed massive amounts of them for the dog to get enough nutrition.


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## Dog Person (Sep 14, 2012)

Willowy said:


> Well, I think we're trying to list the halfway decent cheaper foods. . .Ol' Roy and Retriever are basically flavored, supplemented sawdust . I would never recommend anybody feed their dogs those. Something with actual meat in it is nice. I'll sometime recommend Purina Dog Chow if finances are really tight but nothing lower quality than that. Even the cheaper foods end up costing more than Dog Chow because you have to feed massive amounts of them for the dog to get enough nutrition.


I agree 100%, but one of the posters asked why is someone concerned about price vs the pet's health. I gave three brands one of which can only be bought at Tractor Supply which may be as inaccessible as a Costco. The other two should be easier for someone to purchase and all are decent foods. They are not as good as the premium foods but are better than all grocery store brands and about the same price. 

In was feeding Zoey Pinnacle Grain Free after I fed her Orijen Puppy. I don't see much difference in foods and 4health is 1/2 the price, actually the 4health may have more meat protein in it.

In worked with a woman who fed her dog Ol Roy because it was the food she could afford.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Ol' Roy costs only a teensy bit less or the same as (sometimes more than, depending which formula you get) Purina Dog Chow . Plus you have to feed more of it (read the label). But people feel like it's so much less expensive just because it's Walmart's store brand. . .it is comparable to Pedigree---probably it IS the leftovers from Pedigree, because it's made in the same plant. So it's not the worst food on the planet (store brand generics get that prize---they're literally made of sawdust! Or "powdered cellulose" in dog food speak). But it does have BHA/BHT, which is why I won't recommend it or Pedigree.


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## Zilla (May 11, 2013)

Rachel Ray dog foods arnt bad at all and they are available at Walmart. Same thing with Pure Balance and Natural Life!! I'm glad Walmart actually has decent options for people now.... The world is slightly coming around when you can find good dog food at Walmart.... :lol: 


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## surlys_mom (Jul 5, 2013)

I just wanted to mention that it's my understanding that what seems like affordable food might not really be affordable in the end, depending on the serving size. For example, a 30 pound bag of Blue Buffalo costs $51, but it lasts us a full 6 weeks (for a 60 pound dog). I haven't had much experience with the other brands, but to me, this doesn't seem half bad especially for such quality. I have heard that the serving size on dog foods with more 'fillers" in the ingredients are much larger, and so one might go through a bag of food much more quickly. Not sure how much truth there is to this, but it makes sense to me.


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## V-paw (Jun 1, 2013)

surlys_mom said:


> I just wanted to mention that it's my understanding that what seems like affordable food might not really be affordable in the end, depending on the serving size. For example, a 30 pound bag of Blue Buffalo costs $51, but it lasts us a full 6 weeks (for a 60 pound dog). I haven't had much experience with the other brands, but to me, this doesn't seem half bad especially for such quality. I have heard that the serving size on dog foods with more 'fillers" in the ingredients are much larger, and so one might go through a bag of food much more quickly. Not sure how much truth there is to this, but it makes sense to me.


I agree, I read some cheap dog food serving sizes and was shocked. I could do some calculations... I'm very good at math... Ill mention it. But then I still don't know what to recommend..


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

I use the 4Health Performance ..... it is rated 4.5 stars .... higher protein .... http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/4health-dog-food-dry/

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/4healthtrade;-performance-formula-for-adult-dogs-35-lb-bag

I use all the 4Health varieties. I have for three years now. I have no complaints. But I also add 5 star foods and cooked meats to it.


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## zhaor (Jul 2, 2009)

'Serving size' really doesn't mean much. What you can look at is the kcal/kg value which is more representative of how much the food will last. Honestly the numbers are all pretty comparable, mostly around 3500 for the foods people generally recommend. Some of the higher fat foods can go to about 4000 and above. Then there's also the fact that not all brands package in 15lb and 30lb bags. some do things like 12lb 25lb or something which obviously would affect how long a bag lasts.

Kcals is pretty much directly reflected by the fat content of a food.

Now all this is assuming a dog digests and absorbs the food equally well. Obviously that's not the case with all foods. Not digesting a food well is sort of where the 'filler' thing came from but calling it fillers is kind of misleading. You can be feeding a food that just doesn't sit well with the specific dog.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Heh, yeah. One flavor of Special Kitty canned food (I like to read cat food labels ) says "no fillers!" on the label, but it does have wheat middlings. Which I thought was kind of the classic example of a "filler". So I dunno what the official definition is.


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## Kayota (Aug 14, 2009)

Zilla said:


> Rachel Ray dog foods arnt bad at all and they are available at Walmart. Same thing with Pure Balance and Natural Life!! I'm glad Walmart actually has decent options for people now.... The world is slightly coming around when you can find good dog food at Walmart.... :lol:
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Yup... Pure Balance gets three and a half stars at Dog Food Advisor... When I'm well off I mix it with Blue Buffalo. When I'm not so well off I mix it with something less good.


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## Bairo (Oct 8, 2013)

I have been feeding diamond products since 1991.back then I found it at a farm feed supply store. Over the years I have had 3 gsd's and a rottie on it and moved to the naturals and then the 4 health as they came out. It was always a good food for the money. BUT... I have been through 4major and 2 minor recalls with Diamond products as they grew to become a very major player in brands and of course now store brands like Kirkland and 4 health. I also started having spontaneous problems about 4 years ago that was definitely attributed to food. For me at least I have decided to leave Diamond as I think they grew to much too quick and are having and have been having quality control issues. Now the question is what food I can get in a bag about 35-40 lbs at hopefully 0.80 per pound which is my limit financially. So It looks like purine one or pure balance will be cut with purine dog chow by a third. For my 125 lb Gsd that will be 2cups PB & 1 cup dog chow both morning and evening. Plus he eats an egg every other day. That's the best I could come up with for me anyway, as I'm done with Diamond


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## MarielSturrock (Oct 4, 2013)

I prefer to use Pedigree for my dogs. It has proved to be great up till now..hopefully will be better in the future.


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## georgiapeach (Mar 17, 2012)

MarielSturrock said:


> I prefer to use Pedigree for my dogs. It has proved to be great up till now..hopefully will be better in the future.


Okay, I'll bite...I assume you posted this to yank our chains. We all know that Pedigree is at the bottom of the heap (along with a few others), as far as nutrition goes. It's similar to a human eating McDonalds for every meal - lots of fat, salt, sugar, and preservatives; very little nutrition, except for the added vitamins/minerals.


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## Bumper1 (Jul 14, 2013)

The best low priced foods are Tuffy Gold (by Nutrisource company), SportMix Premium Red & Black Bag (by Earthborn company), PMI Exclusive Chicken & Rice Red Bag and Pro Pac Adult Chunk (by Earthborn Company)

The first three come in 50lb bags and Pro Pac Adult Chunk comes in 44lb bags.


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## StellaLucyDesi (Jun 19, 2008)

I'm not saying this to offend anyone, but I'm very fortunate and don't have a budget for my 3 small dogs' food. That said, I've fed everything from food that costs almost 100.00 a bag for the biggest bag to 40.00 a bag for the biggest bag.

I recommend the following foods for the cost-conscious/budget-minded person that wants to feed their dog a decent food: Some of these I've tried, but not all.

1. Fromm Classics/Gold
2. Pure Balance
3. Sportmix Wholesomes (not sure of the actual name)
4. Rachel Ray Zero Grain
5. 4Health (grain inclusive and grain free)
6. Costco's Kirkland and Nature's Domain
7. Diamond Naturals grain free
8. Infinia (if you can get it in your area)
9. Merrick Whole Earth Farms

Earthborn, Holistic Select and Nutrisource are also good, but they cost a little more.

I know there are others, but I can't think right now lol. Anyway, I am sorry for the poster that had problems with Diamond and has since left their foods. I am just now getting started! I know all about their recalls and problems and I plan on being as diligent as I can be about using their products. I finally used TOTW Pacific Stream and I'm very happy with it for my 3 dogs. It has cleared all allergies from my Laverne who was having some sort of problem with all other foods tried: Orijen/Acana, freeze dried raws, Fromm, Zignature, Nature's Variety, etc. I plan on rotating TOTW and Infinia Salmon. Both of these foods cost way less than what I have ever fed before and I'm quite happy with the way they work for my dogs. The costly foods just didn't work for my crew and these have. So, as far as being better just because they cost more and are from a company that's supposed to have a better reputation they just aren't for my dogs. I've learned a big lesson in all this. I used to think I had to feed 5 Star, costly foods or my dogs wouldn't get all they needed, would be deprived of something, etc. Wrong! I'm learning all the time. I also commend those who are on these forums searching for the best food to feed their best friends.


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