Are there any good dry dog foods at stores like Walmart & Groceries ?
Posted by admin | Under Discount Groceries Friday Mar 12, 2010I never knew alot about "high quality" dog foods until I just got a new dog recently & started reading on the ‘net about it – I was shocked to see that most articles ranking top dog foods said that there is not ONE SINGLE dog food brand sold at common discount & grocery stores that is good for your dog. Most reviews seem to recommend brands like Canidae, Orijen, Innova, etc. I understand lower quality dog foods are full of fillers, grains, by-products, artificial flavors/colors, chemicals, preservatives, etc. It just boggles my mind there is not even ONE good brand that is highly recomended sold in our normal stores where we shop – have to go to pet stores, feed supplies, vets offices, and other specialty suppliers to get any of these premium brands ? I guess what bothers me too is why are we forced to go out and spend so much money on the premium brands? Is there no compromise of decent quality dry dog food at a reasonable price ?
See, I don’t have a huge problem with going to a specialty shop to get my dog the best food for her. I’ve also found that I spend less money because I’m feeding less, cleaning up less poop, and having fewer vet visits than those who feed junk foods.
If you don’t want to make another trip, then http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=badingredients can help you read ingredient labels to make an informed decision.
Of course, you can always feed a raw diet. A homemade raw diet is usually cheaper than dry.
Natural Balance, Canidae, California Natural – all are on the less expensive end of the premium food spectrum.
i suggest Iams. i fed it to my past dogs and feed it to my new australian shepherd pup :] hope i helped
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Chicken Soup for the Dogs Lovers Soul and Taste of the Wild are good, AFFORDABLE foods.
Iams, Purina and anything you can buy in a grocery store is garbage, full of fillers, by-products, etc.
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in kroger there is this dog food and i’m pretty sure it’s called blue it’s really good for your dog and then there is always purina and stuff like that im not even sure that the blue food is still there but i got it for my dog a long time ago and kept him on it he was really old and not doing to well but he got alot more energetic good luck
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There are many reasonably priced, quality foods, but none are found at places like grocery stores and Walmarts because those chains do not choose to carry quality foods.
It is quite possible to find excellent foods for about a dollar per lb.
Blue Buffalo, Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers Soul, Taste of the Wild are all good quality foods.
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I buy Beneful (the healthy adult dog kind)and what I usually do is that I also buy the Pedigree canned food(any adult can) and mix it together. I don’t put the whole can though, just half and I mix it in with some Beneful. This may be reasonable because it is very healthy for your dog. Ever since I did that, my dog (German Shepard) has a shiny coat and looks healthier than ever. Sometimes, I give her peanut butter as a treat too.
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Iams is pretty good. and the site you were looking at is right store brands like the wal-mart one old roy is really bad they are just fillers like wheat which rips up there internal organs. i personally recommend royal cannon you can get it at petsmart but you need a vets proscription for it. but if not that one iams. i have seen so many dogs come in with there organs bleeding internally and dieing cause we cant stop all the bleeding i just would say no wal-mart for sure it is the worst!
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Me i’m a vet tech.
yes,there are a few.
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See, I don’t have a huge problem with going to a specialty shop to get my dog the best food for her. I’ve also found that I spend less money because I’m feeding less, cleaning up less poop, and having fewer vet visits than those who feed junk foods.
If you don’t want to make another trip, then http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=badingredients can help you read ingredient labels to make an informed decision.
Of course, you can always feed a raw diet. A homemade raw diet is usually cheaper than dry.
Natural Balance, Canidae, California Natural – all are on the less expensive end of the premium food spectrum.
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http://www.dogfoodproject.com/
I do not use a food rating website nor recommend to. I feed Kirkland brand (Costco) it is a good food that is cheap it is actually made by diamond.
not all dogs will need the huge protein content that they recommend, the more active your dog is the more protein and fat they need though. Protein is what builds the amino acid that helps the muscles move and contract, however they do not look at food for containing the 11 essential amino acids, the people that write the reviews are not required to do any research it is all assumptions (like when they talk about water weight some companies do remove it before weighting), as to weather or not they can live off the of "crap" (iams, pedigree,ect) yes they can but it is the bare minim to meet the dogs needs.
I am sure I will get thumbs down, however there is more to meeting your dogs needs than food.
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Quality dog foods are not generally sold at grocery stores or WalMart. Some of our locally owned supermarkets where I live do stock quality brands like Wellness, but they are the exception rather than the rule. The one ‘chain’ store that does sell a fairly good quality dog food is Costco. Their Kirkland brand food is comparable to Wellness and many other grain-containing ‘holistics’ (no wheat, corn, soy, or non-specific byproducts and is meat-based), but is very very cheap. If one of my dogs did not have severe grain allergies, I would consider feeding it.
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BS in Animal Nutrition, tons of research, reading studies, etc.
You are just reading the wrong sites is all.
read this
http://dels.nas.edu/dels/rpt_briefs/dog_nutrition_final.pdf
and this
http://www.braypets.com/FRR/aafcodef.htm
and this
http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/ResourcesforYou/ucm047120.htm
and this
http://www.consumerreports.org/health/healthy-living/health-safety/pet-food/overview/pet-food-ov.htm
The problem is that you have been looking at sites that are all about creative marketing instead of what the facts are about proper nutrition for a dog.
I buy my dog food at the local market, and I have some of the fanciest dogs on the planet. http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp43/blunderpic/dogs/Picture025.jpg
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Oh, I forgot to mention, all the nutrition experts with 3rd grade educations on here hate me.
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60 years of breeding/training/handling dogs
diamond dog food is excellent but you need to get this at your local feed store and that is where you could get other great dog foods.
rachel ray’s dog food is also great when you buy this some of the money goes to dog shelters and this you can get at your local wal-mart.
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below is the info behind the food
http://www.rachaelray.com/pets/nutrish.php
here you can get a free sample below
http://athriftymom.com/2009/10/free-sample-of-rachel-ray-dog-food/
I know what you mean, feeding my two pit bulls one with tons of allergies is very expensive. Rachael Ray is suppose to have a natural food that isn’t real expensive and I have seen it in Walmarts.
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Unfortunately, no. There are no quality foods at Walmart or grocery stores, with the exception possibly being Whole Foods.
The ingredients and process used to make premium dog foods is expensive, which means lower profit for the people who sell it, so Walmart and grocery stores choose not to. They would rather sell junk that can be made for $5 and sell it for $20 than get something healthy that costs $25 to make and sell for $30.
One of the great things about feeding a quality food is that despite it possibly being more expensive than a grocery store brand, you feed less of it each day. Over time this often equals out the price and quite frequently the quality food ends up being less expensive that the cheap stuff.
I highly recommend Healthwise dog food, it is made by the same company that makes Innova, Evo, and California Natural and is considered their "price friendly food". The use different oils and things to make it a little easier on the wallet, but it is still a very good food.
Add: someone else included a link to the AAFCO website, I would be cautious about using AAFCO as the bible of dog foods. If you want to know why just read Food Pets Die For by Ann Martin.
Seems smarter to me to rely on my own five plus years of researching dog food, appropriate diets, and dog food company practices, rather than letting a government agency tell me whats up especially one with as bad a rap as AAFCO.
Plus, another link was included (by same person as the AAFCO link) from a consumer report website and before they even say what the vets said they mention that all but one of them were paid by pet food companies…most likely the same ones they get kickbacks for selling in their clinics (Science Diet). How can anyone possibly find that reliable?
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Iams & Purina ONE are OK foods that are sold at grocery stores, but they still have By-Products and Corn. My dogs eat what some people call "low quality" and they are doing GREAT on it! But it would be nice if Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul or Tate of the Wild was sold there, but ah well.
But as long as YOUR dog does good on it, FEED IT! Whether it’s Purina Kibbles n’ Bits, or Wellness. *MY* dogs cannot tolerate all the corn in foods likes Purina Dog Chow, But it doesn’t mean other dogs can’t.
BTW, Diamond Naturals is a pretty cheap food it’s what I feed MY dogs. Yes, not the *BEST* but it is OK. And then there is Canidae, Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul, Natures Recipe, and Taste of the Wild are some good cheap food.
Personally, I don’t care if you feed IAMS or Wellness, it’s what your dog does good on that counts.
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I live in Mexico & here Pedigree is a premium food for dogs. All my dogs over the years have lived long healthy lives on Pedigree. Pedigree is sold every where & almost half the cost.
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Goldens & Chesapeake Retrievers.
Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul isn’t particularly pricy.
Do you have a Costco card or know somebody who does? They sell their own brand, Krikland Signature Premium Dog Food, that’s on par with other high quality foods and it costs about $25 for a 40 lb bag.
Anything that contains corn in the top 5 ingredients is BAAAAAD BAD BAD. Corn is empty nutrients, the canine digestive system cannot even process it. It’s like using sand as a filler–useless. The dog eats more to make up for the black hole in their diet that is corn. Anything with corn, wheat, or soy in it AT ALL is questionable at best because all are common allergens and irritants to dogs.
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Grocery & discount stores offer cheap/low-cost food. Reality is that quality food = higher cost of ingredients and therefore a higher price on the shelf. And due to the higher price, grocery & discount stores aren’t usually interested in carrying the brand.
I’d eat cheap no-label junky foods before I’d give my dog cheap or poor-quality food. My hubby joked that I fed the dog better than I’d feed him – LOL.
There really is no way to compromise on it. Either pay for the cost of the better quality ingredients or feed a lower quality food.
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