# Quest for kibble (and wet food)



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Generally when you feed a very high quality food with no to little filler ingredients the dog will eat less volume since it is more nutrient dense. Don't judge the cost on a pound for pound price comparison. It may be that Origen is not as expensive for the amount you need to feed as you might think.

That said I home cook for my dogs.


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## rj16 (Jan 30, 2017)

In the 4 months we've had Monty we've switched food 5 times for one reason or another. Right now we have him on Nutrience Sub Zero (which I think is great!). We decided to try it after the last one failed the test and it happened to be 50% off that weekend. While I prefer to buy from my local independent store, this is from Petsmart and if that's the compromise I have to make to feed my pup what's best, then so be it. I really like the ingredients of this food and Monty agrees so it's a winner. If/when we have to pay full price, it won't be prohibitively expensive and in the mean time we are enjoying feeding him for very little money. We bought 6 bags during the sale! 

My preferred way of figuring out price is $/100 calories. Within reason I think feeding good quality kibble is an investment. If I were you I'd determine a conservative monthly budget and then figure out the best food(s) that fits that budget. I know that with Monty if I found 4-5 brands that fit the bill, he'd probably like 3 and 1 of those would agree with his stomach. 

I wouldn't bother mixing. 
I don't have experience with Orijen but it was on my 'to try' list before we settled on Nutrience. We've also given him Wellness Core and Fromm 4 star grain-free (x2), that I liked. 
I don't feed any wet food and I don't want to. Monty happily eats his kibble as is and I consider that a blessing.


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

I looked up the Performatrin on Dogfoodadvisor and it actually has a pretty good rating ....I see it is a Canadian brand, are you in Canada? 

I personally change dry foods often (my dog never has had a problem with food changes) and if I find a food (canned, dry, or dehydrated) that is on sale at Chewy.com or at Pet360.com or somewhere else, and it has a 4 star or better rating on DogFoodAdvisor, and the ingredients fit my criteria, ...I buy it! I have read here that many dogs have problems with the high protein in foods like Orijen (soft poop!) So if your pup has an iffy tummy, be careful.
Also if you have a Tractor Supply store nearby their 4Health dry & canned foods are good and also economical....
I also feed my girl raw.....so canned food and kibble are only about 50% of her diet but she does get various types of food ....I will never have to worry about feeding her!
Oh Yeah, try tossing her a raw chicken leg or wing....it is good for helping to keep her teeth clean! Meaty beef or pork bones(ribs) are good too, but be careful of weight bearing bones, they are too hard and can break teeth!
'Some' of the brands I have tried & liked are; 
Canine Caviar
Only Natural Pet (kibble, canned and dehydrated)
Merrick
Whole Earth Farms
Dave's (canned )
Wellness
Nutrisca
Zignature
Halo
Artemis
Horizon
Wysong
Health Extension
I and Love And You
Those are just a partial listing......

Whatever you decide should be what your dog will eat and thrives on!


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

With the higher protein foods like Origen, Acana, or my personal favorite EVO the cost per bag or per pound can be frightening, until you figure out how much it costs per day to feed your dog.

I fed Origen puppy to Poppy and she was eating through a bag rapidly. She was eating 3-4 cups per day and still seemed hungry. When I switched her to EVO which was even higher protein food she dropped to eating 1 1/2 - 2 cups per day. I calculated the number of days it took for her to eat a bag of food and then calculated that it was costing me $1.19 per day to feed Poppy on EVO. I can easily cut $1.19 a day out of my expenses somewhere, by not eating out, or not getting expensive "designer" coffee, etc. I fed 2 bags of Origen in the same time frame it took to feed 1 bag of EVO.

EVO is an all life stages food for puppy stage, through senior. I just change up the flavor I feed.

Because Poppy eats less EVO, volume wise, than she did of the Origen food it actually costs less per day to feed it to her. Not every dog can handle such a high protein food but since my Iris ate it for 14 years I figured Poppy would do well on it also.

Remember, if you change foods and the new one does not agree with your dog, the store will take it back. They get reimbursed from the manufacturer for returned food.

Regardless of what food you choose to feed I hope you find one that suits your dog and your pocket book.


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## Tifamaroo (Jan 17, 2017)

Yes, I am in Canada. I guess I should add that to my signature.

We are actually pretty close to the US border (2 hour drive) and I am considering the possibility of doing a trip to stock up on dog food depending on the brand I end up picking out. A friend of mine suggested that it might actually be cheaper that way. We make the trip every now and then for leisure and to pick up soda flavors we don't have here in Canada. A lot of the brands people talk about on here seem to be available in the US only. For example, I'd really like to try the dave's canned but that's another US only food.

I have seen a few dry foods brands that were suggested in the forums available in smaller pet store around here. So far I've found Orijen, Acana, Wellness, Nutrience sub zero, Fromm. I think I want to stick to large breed puppy kibble since we already have him started on that.

Today I got 2 cans of canned food to try out (fromm and wellness). I am still pretty undecided on which dry food to get him switched on to. I ordered a small bag of Nutrience sub zero (the beef one) because it was on sale, just to try it out. Meek has been having some very mild allergies and I wanted to try to rule out his food. I am pretty sure it's pollen though because he will usually have a runny nose and sneezing after rubbing his face in poofy white dandelions or after peeing under large flowering weeds. 

I see lots of people talking about feeding raw chicken legs and wings to their dogs. I guess I am worried about salmonella or him choking on the small chicken bones. Are those thing not an issue? I might try and talk my husband into trying it out once we buy some dog insurance. Dog insurance might make us braver in a lot of departments. hahaha!

The exact performatrin we are using is not on dogfoodadvisor.com. I am really happy that site was mentioned though! I love it. Very informative.

Here is a link to the performatrin we are using: 
Performatrin ® Puppy Large Breed Formula Dog Food - Performatrin - Excellence in Nutrition
The ingredients and analysis are listed there too.

It's good to know I can return the opened dog food too! I had no idea.


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## rj16 (Jan 30, 2017)

I would exhaust my local options before I switched to something that I couldn't access quickly in a pinch. But you might be able to find something that is cheaper in the US but still available here. I'd also be reluctant to stock up on something I couldn't return easily (our experience has included _a lot_ of returns).

I was really pleasantly surprised by the options I have around here and I'm probably further north than you are. Around here it seems as though every daycare, kennel, etc sells a brand or two (usually of the smaller variety). So once I really started looking at my options, I found I had way more than I initially anticipated. But those probably aren't the places where you'll find the lowest prices.

Just out of curiosity, because I'm still very much learning about dog food, why the canned food?


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## Tifamaroo (Jan 17, 2017)

rj16 said:


> I would exhaust my local options before I switched to something that I couldn't access quickly in a pinch. But you might be able to find something that is cheaper in the US but still available here. I'd also be reluctant to stock up on something I couldn't return easily (our experience has included _a lot_ of returns).
> 
> I was really pleasantly surprised by the options I have around here and I'm probably further north than you are. Around here it seems as though every daycare, kennel, etc sells a brand or two (usually of the smaller variety). So once I really started looking at my options, I found I had way more than I initially anticipated. But those probably aren't the places where you'll find the lowest prices.
> 
> Just out of curiosity, because I'm still very much learning about dog food, why the canned food?


We give our cats wet food twice a week as a treat and Meek seemed pretty interested in that. Cat food is off limits to him so he doesn't get any of that. 

The first time we gave him wet food was because we stayed at a friend's house later then planned and we needed some emergency food. We gave him cesars wet dog food (2.5 stars) because all that was around was a dollarama and everything else looked like dollar store brand food. He inhaled it! Ever since then we have been giving him canned food on occasion as a treat. I have been holding off because I knew cesars in not the best... We gave him cesars a few times.


The second kind of dog food we gave him was from a friend, who's dog had passed away. She gave me a can of "Natural balance" (3 star). We had Meeks brother, Fish, over for a sleep over and that dog doesn't eat kibble without a little something added, so we broke open the can. They inhaled that too. They didn't even take a moment to breathe until it was all gone. 

Today I bought 1 can of wellness core 95% (4 star) and 1 can of fromm (4.5 star). Moving up in the world! hahaha

I am hoping to find some 5 stars somewhere... I'll do more research.

Meek tends to get bored of the kibble and sometimes he wont show interest in his food for a whole day, which apparently is not a bad thing but I cant stand it... He is a growing pup and I feel he needs the calories. When this happens, we break open some no salt broth (human grade) and add that to his kibble. That is often enough to get him eating. 

Meek doesn't get exited about any kind of kibble so it's nice to see him perk up over the wet dog food.


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

Glad you are enjoying the Dogfoodadvisor site! They have lots of interesting articles to read too! 
There is nothing wrong in mixing in a couple of tablespoons of canned in your dogs kibble to make it more appealing (the stinkier the better)....many people do it!!! As far as feeding raw chicken, if you don't have a compromised immune system and you follow a normal 'wash your hands after handling raw' habit, your dog is perfectly safe from salmonella.....a healthy dog has no problems with it! Also when fed raw, chicken bones are very soft and chewable and only if your dog is a gulper (does not chew his food) do you have to be careful! Of course, NEVER feed your dog chicken bones that have been COOKED they are hard and they DO splinter!

P.S. My D-in -Law is a big cat lover and under the recommendation of her Vet feeds her cats a small portion of canned food EVERY morning, because cats eating kibble only, do not get enough liquids to help prevent kidney disease.....a big problem with cats as they get older!!


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

I am back to the kibble that my breeder originally recommended, Infinia Turkey and Sweet Potato. It gets an excellent rating on Dogfoodadvisor and is very affordable. The downsides are that it is only available at feed stores and is made by a subsidiary of Purina, if you consider that a problem. I also feed a meal of raw, per the breeder: 3-4 chicken necks, usually. My 10 week old puppy was crunching bones like pro, no issues at all. His Hollywood smile is evident in every picture, even if he is a black blur


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## RD. (Jul 19, 2016)

Just an FYI if you decide to go shopping south of the border. The CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) have very strict import regulations in place regarding pet food, including dog food for personal use. A border agent could potentially stop and inspect you, and confiscate anything that doesn't meet the current regulations. 

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/animals...ucts/pet-food/eng/1321129023397/1321129556426

That said, Acana is the sister brand of Orijen, and a little easier on the wallet, but still a very high quality kibble.


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## Tifamaroo (Jan 17, 2017)

RD. said:


> Just an FYI if you decide to go shopping south of the border. The CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) have very strict import regulations in place regarding pet food, including dog food for personal use. A border agent could potentially stop and inspect you, and confiscate anything that doesn't meet the current regulations.
> 
> Import Policies - Pet Food - Animals - Canadian Food Inspection Agency
> 
> That said, Acana is the sister brand of Orijen, and a little easier on the wallet, but still a very high quality kibble.


VERY good to know. I'll read up on that. Thanks a million.


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## Charmed (Aug 4, 2014)

If you go with Acana, you might want to stick with Canadian bought food, as the make up is slightly different than the Kentucky made Acana. My dogs haven't noticed any difference, but I smell more peas in the Kentucky Acana. As always, you have to watch for stacking of all the different names for beans and peas. Both are still high quality, but if I had a choice I would prefer the Canadian version.


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

Tifamaroo......I just got a chance to look at the 'specific' formula of the Performatrin Puppy food you are feeding your pup and the first thing that caught my eye is that it has corn in it! Corn is one on the grains that are most common for dogs to be allergic to!! DO TRY to get the grainless formula (no corn, wheat or soy) if your think your pup is showing signs of an allergy!
Also Google Dr. Karen Becker's video "How To Control Food Allergies" and her other videos on allergies too. Dr Becker is awesome! She has a lot on videos on youtube!


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## Tifamaroo (Jan 17, 2017)

MollyMuiMa said:


> I looked up the Performatrin on Dogfoodadvisor and it actually has a pretty good rating ....I see it is a Canadian brand, are you in Canada?
> 
> I personally change dry foods often (my dog never has had a problem with food changes) and if I find a food (canned, dry, or dehydrated) that is on sale at Chewy.com or at Pet360.com or somewhere else, and it has a 4 star or better rating on DogFoodAdvisor, and the ingredients fit my criteria, ...I buy it! I have read here that many dogs have problems with the high protein in foods like Orijen (soft poop!) So if your pup has an iffy tummy, be careful.
> Also if you have a Tractor Supply store nearby their 4Health dry & canned foods are good and also economical....
> ...


Are all of these foods grain free and corn free?
I like the idea of rotating.


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

Can you order from chewy.com? I am a big fan of champion brand, which makes acana and orijen. I like Acana more because it has lower protein than Orijen. I enjoyed the advice I got on my thread from Molly about putting in some raw food. There also seems to be a lot of benefits to raw and home cooked meals. We made home cooked meals for my previous dog's last two years of her life. She did have amazing teeth but she has never had bad teeth before.


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