dry dogfood

**.sarah** · 11-05-2005, 08:57 PM

Read this -- SUPER PREMIUM PET FOOD IS CHEAPER! It's better for your pet and cheaper in the long run, even if by the bag it is more expensive.

This is a study from a magazine:

When we began to look at cost per feeding last year, we discovered an interesting fact: It costs less to feed a Super-Premium dog food than an Economy dog food. The secret is in the nutritional power of the food. A Super-Premium dog food contains much more energy and protein in every kibble than an economy brand. In one test we ran, we had to feed five times as much of the Economy brand dog food to get the same nutritional benefits of the Super-Premium. Despite the lower cost per bag of the Econo brand, it costs you more to feed than a Super-Premium, because you use more bags. How does cost fit in to the dog food picture? We measured the cost of 40 pound bags of various maintenance/adult dog foods and took the manufacturers' suggested feeding instructions. We then calculated the cost of feeding a 40 lb house dog for a day.

The Premium foods studied had an average of 22% crude protein and 10% crude fat. The Super-Premium dog foods examined had an average of 27% crude protein and 15% crude fat. The Economy brands averaged 20% crude protein and 8% crude fat.

The Super-Premium foods suggested feeding an average of 1-3/4 cups of food per day for our 40 lb dog. Premium brands recommended 3-1/4 cups, while the Econo brands instructed feeding 6 cups a day.

It costs an average of 24 cents a day to feed a dog a Super-Premium brand, compared to 26 cents a day for a Premium brand, and 31 cents a day for an Econo brand. That's right - the Econo-brand actually costs you 7 cents more a day to feed your dog than a Super-Premium does. In order to give your dog the nutrition he needs, he has to eat 3-1/2 times more of the Econo brand than the Super-Premium food.

Thus, the big difference is in the poop! The seven cents more that you spend on an Economy brand buys you piles more in the yard cleanup department.

Don't waste your money on anything by the following brands: Iams, Pedigree, Ol' Roy, Purina (including Pro Plan), Hills Science Diet, etc.

**areias** · 11-05-2005, 09:26 PM

Hmm, interesting. See I always thought the Hills and the Pro Plan were pretty good. I suppose it's better than like, Gravy Train, but not that great. There's another brand thats supposed to be really really good..some kind of Millenia Gold or something? It's probably overly expensive.

**Jessika** · 11-05-2005, 09:32 PM

Originally Posted by areias

Hmm, interesting. See I always thought the Hills and the Pro Plan were pretty good. I suppose it's better than like, Gravy Train, but not that great. There's another brand thats supposed to be really really good..some kind of Millenia Gold or something? It's probably overly expensive.

Solid Gold? It's supposed to be very good, but they don't sell it in my area.

**Pembroke_Corgi** · 11-05-2005, 09:51 PM

Yeah I read that food that is more expensive is actually cheaper in the long run because you feed less, which also means less waste...which is good on walks! I feed my dogs Science Diet small bites and they have done well on it- if you buy the big bags they are cheaper per pound (a 40 lb bag is between $28-35 depending where you buy it around here) and Petco has a buy 9 get the 10th free program if you've got one.