How to Avoid Paying a Premium for Pet Food

Wish we thought as much about humans as we do dogs. Huger and poverty would not exist.

Ok, so here's the real scoop. 1) Pets don't have grain allergies. That's a myth. Ask ANY boarded veterinary nutritionist and they'll tell you. It's a fad to sell you more expensive food. MOST food allergies in pets actually have to do with the type of protein. 2) Blue Buffalo (and other "hollistic" brands like it) often have very poor quality control (meaning that the percentages of ingredients in one bag can be TOTALLY different from another. This means most pets with allergies or a stomach sensitivity of any kind won't do well on them. They also tend to be very low in fiber (HELLO anal gland issues......) 3) There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with brands like Purina (ProPlan), Iams, and Eukanuba. They've been around for a long time and we've seen multiple generations of healthy happy pets grow up on them. My colleague (who IS a boarded vet nutitionist) loves the ProPlan and recommends it to anyone. AND 4) Whatever you do, do not let some stupid, uninformed idiot that believes that dogs are, like, totally the same as wolves man........ talk you into feeding raw. Dogs are not wolves. They have different dietary needs. A "meat only" diet is NOT balanced and you will have a seriously malnourished dog. Also, as someone who has worked in a wildife pathology lab, I can tell you that even wild wolves can potentially die from the things they eat (one of the curses of living in the wild......which is why they have shorter lifespans). I have also seen a wild tiger I worked with contract e.coli from his (carefully processed) raw diet. Obviously with wild animals, this type of thing can't be avoided. But please for the love of GOD, your dog does NOT belong eating raw meat. EVER. I don't care what your hippie breeder friends tell you. Also, dogs that eat one piece of raw meat can shed salmonella (and other food-borne pathogens and parasites) for up to ten days. Since everyone knows dogs lick their hind ends and groom themselves (and sometimes roll in their stool), this puts you and your family at risk as well. SO, arm yourself with info (from VETS and reputable vet resources or articles, not bernieslablovers.com, joes-I-know-dog-foods.com, etc.) and let your dog's DVM help you make a decision on what you'd like to feed! Good luck!

Shame on you AOL. The big box stores just sell trash dog food from China, which does not follow US standards for dog food. Are you getting a kickback? Read the label on these big box stores dog food. Full of fillers of corn, wheat, gluten with meat fillers ( includes bones, beaks, feet etc.) Dogs are meat eaters who eat some veggies, and don't need all the chemicals, antibiotics and preservatives from this junk dog food. Meat should be the FIRST ITEM on ingredients.

My dog went through an extensive study with adult onset epilepsy. After blood tests, genetic tests through an AKC study, it was determined it was sensitivity to all the trash in the food I was feeding her. I switched her to a food in the US I get from a pet store in the middle price range. I'm not pushing pet stores or Buffalo Blue which is the food of my choice. But I can tell you her seizures have gone from 3 days a week, to the last one months ago. There are many price ranges in different brands of healthy dog foods preservative free, and what an animal would eat in the wild, or is natural for them. I've been breeding, showing, grooming and handling dogs for 40 years, and you should be ashamed to get people to buy these toxic foods for their pets.

What a boatload of crap this article is! Oh, and that's. what you'll have all over your lawn because your dog can't utilize the cheap filler junk in that bag of Ol' Roy.

Nice commercial for Target and Walmart but............Not a chance. I will stick with Blue Buffalo. Pretty sure they won't have the recalls and deaths that come with the "adequate food"(as worded in videa) that Target and Walmart sells. I love my guy too much for that, I want to give him the best I can.

I don't agree- if you buy your dog food at Target or the grocery store, and as this article calls the food "adequate"- NOT- it is basically garbage! Road kill, euthanized animals from the vets, etc are what's in this kibble. It is then processed at a very high heat, no nutrients left - ( not that there were any to start with). It's the equivilant of humans eating at McDonalds every day. I don't know about anyone else, but I would never in my wildest dreams give my dogs this crap.

They don\'t sell NUTRO at Wal-mart.

I don't really agree with this "complete and balanced" noted here. I fed my dogs inexpensive dog food, aka cheap, which said "complate and balanced....all your pet needs." And it was one of those pet foods that are the budget brand, but it's in every store and there have been commercials about it. All the grains in the food didn't work all that great -- once I switched, my dogs fur actually looked better. We can take this advice into account, but you really do (emphasize REALLY DO) have to watch your dog. There's no one-size-fits-all for every dog.

Our rescue uses the Kirkland maintenance dry from costco for our cats. It lists chicken as the first ingredient and is $18 for a 25 pound bag. we supplement with wet food: friskies, fancy feast, whiskas etc and with chicken we cook for them and tuna once a week at least. Our cats are happy.

One hour a week is about all it takes to make my dogs their food. Cooked chicken, rice, broccoli put in a food processor and then stored in containers. Also, I have high quality dry food for snacks during the day. Low cost and healthy for them.