Dog food?

[xanis]

Currently have my puppy (3.5 months old) on Hill's for dry food and Wellness for wet food (both puppy formulas). I'm getting a Costco membership and was wondering if anyone had experience with the Kirkland brand. Ideally I'd give her Blue exclusively, but it's pretty pricey and the Kirkland brand looks fairly close in ingredients, so I'm wondering if it's worth it. If not Kirkland/Blue, what else is worth looking at that won't break the bank?

 

[fjmeat]

Pedigree Small Breed

 

[96Firebird]

www.dogfoodadvisor.com

 

[xanis]

www.dogfoodadvisor.com

Looked on that site. Was just looking for some personal experiences.

 

[mnewsham]

costco dog food aint bad, but it sure isn't blue baffalo. I would put it on par with Hill's science diet or Purina Proplan. Mid range not high end but not cheap shit.

 

[BlitzPuppet]

Our dog loves the pink bag Blue Buffalo small breed. Have fed her that since she was a puppy.

 

[Gunslinger08]

We've fed our dog exclusively (Kirkland) Nature's Domain Salmon & Sweet Potato since she was a puppy. She's nearly 3 and very healthy with a great coat and no digestive issues. I would recommend it.

 

[slag]

Pedigree Small Breed

Pedigree is basically shit in a bag or can.

It's not the good stuff people think it is.

 

[fjmeat]

Pedigree is basically shit in a bag or can.

It's not the good stuff people think it is.

Maybe. But it will for sure not break the bank as OP desires.

 

[Oyeve]

My dog, half german shepard half border collie, live to nearly 17 years on iams. She was a rather large dog and had a good life. I see no sense in spending through the ass on the high-end stuff.

 

[OCGuy]

You buy commercial macro-batch dog food? Do you kick your dogs in the face when you get home as well? You might as well feed them old tires and thumb-tacks, you monster.

You can make your own dogfood at home for 1/10th the price, and it will taste much better.

 

[JManInPhoenix]

We use Nutro - Natural Choice. Make sure whatever you buy is made in the US.

 

[alkemyst]

costco dog food aint bad, but it sure isn't blue baffalo. I would put it on par with Hill's science diet or Purina Proplan. Mid range not high end but not cheap shit.

It's clear you have no clue.

Both the Kirkland Cat and Dog foods are ranked highly as good pet foods and come in about the same price or less than inferior foods.

 

[OCGuy]

Sadly I have to buy Hills Prescription food....one that doesn't allow bladder stones to form, and one for diabetics.

~ $3/can, 2 cans per day.

 

[Clemenza]

I feed mine Wellness Core and he seems to love it. I think it's just a bit cheaper that Blue Buffalo which he didn't tolerate very well. I've heard the Kirklands stuff is pretty good though.

 

[artemicion]

I feed my two dogs Blue Buffalo Wilderness, which is highly regarded but might approach breaking the bank territory (comes out to about $30 a month for both dogs).

My sister feeds her dogs Kirkland and they seem to be fine.

FWIW, the coats on my dogs are amazingly shiny. When I was a kid, my parents fed our dog the cheap Iams-level stuff, and the dog was mangy as all heck. Who knows if it was the food or genetics, so I don't mean to convey any judgmental attitude toward Iams feeders. I'm sure the probability of it having a *substantial* affect on your dog is minimal. But I can afford it and it's worth it to me, so /shrug.

Edit: I'm not a vet so take this with a grain of salt, but maybe feed your puppy the premium stuff for the first year or two (while he/she is developing) and gradually move to a more affordable brand? My lack of formal vet education notwithstanding, but I would think that the early developmental years are the most important.

 

[CrackRabbit]

I feed my dog the Kirkland stuff and other than bouts of gas he seems to love it.

 

[mnewsham]

It's clear you have no clue.

Both the Kirkland Cat and Dog foods are ranked highly as good pet foods and come in about the same price or less than inferior foods.

Top kek I said it's good for the price. But it isn't blue baffalo quality or natural balance. It is certainly good food though. Much better than what most people feed.

 

[alkemyst]

Top kek I said it's good for the price. But it isn't blue baffalo quality or natural balance. It is certainly good food though. Much better than what most people feed.

The Kirkland food is actually much much better than Hill's and still better than Pro Plan. It will be a lower cost option too. It ranks higher than Blue Buffalo and Natural Balance as well.

Science diet is actually a poor quality food. The advantage of using it is if your pet ever needs a special diet the Prescription line up has similar tastes and textures.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Just make sure whatever it is the first ingredient in the list of ingredients is the meat and not grain or corn or some other starch.

That is what separates good food from bad food more than anything.

For example, the regular Purina doesn't have meat first but the Purina Pro Plan does. You are going to pay a little extra for better food but you can find some sales sometimes.

 

[midwestfisherman]

You buy commercial macro-batch dog food? Do you kick your dogs in the face when you get home as well? You might as well feed them old tires and thumb-tacks, you monster.

You can make your own dogfood at home for 1/10th the price, and it will taste much better.

You're an idiot!

 

[surfsatwerk]

I buy Canidae.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Seems like a healthy food for a reasonable price, $50 for 44lbs.

 

[midwestfisherman]

I have 6 dogs, 4 English setters, 1 Gordon setter and a Cairn terrier. My setters are field trial and hunting dogs, thus they spend a lot of time in the field and get a lot of exercise. I've fed them the Kirkland food from Costco for quite a while and they do very well on it. I have two dogs that are susceptible to food allergies and they show no signs of allergies on this food. Their muscle tone is excellent, their coat is excellent and they have plenty of energy in their workouts.

Another good food is Dr. Tiim's, I'll switch to that in the fall when I have the dogs out hunting several days a week and then running field trials on the weekends. Dr. Tim's has a higher protein/fat ratio that they need during their most active time of the year. I get the 30/20 mix (30% protein/20% fat).

 

[alkemyst]

Just make sure whatever it is the first ingredient in the list of ingredients is the meat and not grain or corn or some other starch.

That is what separates good food from bad food more than anything.

For example, the regular Purina doesn't have meat first but the Purina Pro Plan does. You are going to pay a little extra for better food but you can find some sales sometimes.

Not necessarily true at least in dry foods. While seeing meat as a first ingredient is good, being it's so high in moisture-content; you want to see something like another meat and/or especially a meat "meal".

The Kirkland foods are surprisingly cheap. I feed my dog canned from the Merrick foods lineup. I was feeding Green Cow by Solid Gold, but it's becoming hard to locate at times.

The bad thing is both these canned foods are pricey at about $3/can. My dog requires two cans per day.

 

[smackababy]

I've only had dogs fed whatever the cheap crap is and the only health problems they've had were old age and my Chow had GDV (which is a common issue in large breeds and not related to diet for the most part, oils and fats to increase the risk though).