Feeding a Low Quality Kibble...

[SalemWitchChild]

Ashley, I too used to feed Purina without any problem. I'm thinking that maybe some of the newer Purina variations may even be better. What I am concerned about is that you will be taking on so many adult responsibilities while still in high school. I don't know anything about your situation, but would hope that you are not making these decisions without giving it a lot of thought. You are a very sweet girl and deserve to have some help in the areas of which you spoke. You might want to see if you could discuss your situation with a high school counselor or some other responsible person who could help you assess your options.

lol. I got married, moved out, got a full time job, and started working on my own family..all while attending high school.. lol.. It's not easy but well worth it.

[lute]

it's not terrible. it's not permanent. they won't hate you for it.lol

[bckrazy]

Have you looked into just "lower" quality kibble? Chicken Soup is actually on the expensive end, for it's quality, so if I were you I'd just look for good kibble that costs less.

Canidae is really cheap. I don't think it's much more than $1/lb where I work, and it's very good quality. Nutro is also a good price, for good quality food. IMO I would rather beg my parents to give me $20 extra a month, hehe ... I know people who switched from high quality kibble to Purina ONE to test out the 30-day "challenge", and they saw big changes in coat/digestion/health within a week.

[jenluckenbach]

If your dogs have no known health problems or allergies, I would say feeding Purina (or similar) should not be a problem. MANY animals live on those foods their whole lives with no consequences, but some NEED better.

Start the switch way before you leave, weaing them off the food you currently feed and adding more of the lower priced food of your choice slowly and you should be fine.

[lute]

Have you looked into just "lower" quality kibble? Chicken Soup is actually on the expensive end, for it's quality, so if I were you I'd just look for good kibble that costs less.

i agree.
Diamond pet foods are cheaper and some of them are pretty good quality.

[Sevaede]

lol. I got married, moved out, got a full time job, and started working on my own family..all while attending high school.. lol.. It's not easy but well worth it.

As did I, minus the family part.

[bckrazy]

So, Konnor has lost weight on other kibbles? I would worry that if you bought a grocery store brand (for example, Purina), you would end up paying MORE for a larger quantity of kibble than you would for just one big bag of a better quality food.

[dab_20]

They would be fine. Some dogs spend their whole lives on low quality kibble and it's not like they get sick or die from it. A few months on the kibble and they'll be fine.

[mruffruff]

I agree that there shouldn't be a problem as long as they don't have allergies to some of the ingredients. Plan on them needing more food than usual and more output.

[IRescue452]

This thread might be helpful in picking a food with quality ingredients http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthre...ght=food+grade ("food" and "grade" is highlighted because I searched for it)
Purina mainstay, which Autumn gets from time to time, is $5 for a 17 pound bag and gets an overall b+ for quality. It's beef though so you have to make sure your dogs aren't allergic.
I've always thought Bil-Jac was a very low quality food.

[Katy_M216]

When my old Doberman was a puppy, we went to a very "old fashioned" country type vet for several months. When we asked what he fed his coonhounds, he told us, "The cheapest stuff I can find."

So. Your dogs would probably be okay. LOL. Still, we ran out of food one night and grabbed a bag of pedigree from the petstore to "hold them over". Dad, being frugal, insisted we finish the bag. By the time we did our pittie Bambina had hair like straw. It was falling out like crazy, and she was itching so much that she'd put raw sores on her thighs.

Not all dogs do too well on the lesser quality foods, but I'm sure you could find something.