best dry dog food on a budget?

[bruno12]

I have done lots.. and lots, and lots of research on the best dry food for mastiffs. I wanted to feed blue buffalo, but right now it doesn't fit in our budget. We will be getting a 4 star dog food instead, such as eagle pack or Dave's. Any others you have had good luck with?

 

[Smart_Family]

What's your budget?

 

[bruno12]

I think Dave's and eagle pack were about 1.20-1.30$ a pound, so in that range

---------- Post added at 09:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:23 PM ----------

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/brand/

I have really liked this website, paired with info on what mastiff pups and adults need nutrition wise.

 

[bruno12]

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/brand/

I have really liked this website, paired with info on what mastiff pups and adults need nutrition wise.

 

[Smart_Family]

Well I pay around 1.53 a lb for Earthborn. The thing with most foods that are middle of the road is that you often end up having to feed more than you would a higher quality food, thus paying more. Eagle pack isn't awful but many mastiffs have isses with chicken and grains and eagle pack has both. I usually recommend avoiding both just to have one less thing to worry about.

---------- Post added at 09:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:31 PM ----------

Dog food advisor and dog food analysis are both good sites.

 

[Smart_Family]

Dog food advisor and dog food analysis are both good sites.

 

[bruno12]

Okay, nice to know! Dave's has a few lines of food that do not contain grain or chicken, maybe that would be my best bet! I also keep hearing different things. Some breeders say no puppy food for giant breed dogs, others say they should have it until age one. What are your thoughts? Also keep getting conflicting info on protein content for mastiff puppies. Some say high (at least 26%) and some people say low (not more than 25%) Ahh!

 

[Duke]

Dog food advisor is a great site. I'm in your same situation. I started feeding raw because it wash the most affordable way I could ensure that Duke was getting only the best. Not the best decision on my part just because I've got two little kids and my wife is scared of cross contamination. I found kirkland grain free salmon meal and sweet potato 35lbs for $35...dogfoodadvisor.com gives it a 4 star rating. You can get it at cosco.

 

[Smart_Family]

Another problem with a lot of the middle of the road foods including Kirklands is that they are made by Diamond and Diamond is definitely not a company you want to support. Their most recent inspection found many, many things lacking especially when it came to sanitation so I would really avoid them if at all possible. Protein is irrelevant. You want a calcium level no lower than 1 % and no higher than 1.7% but ideally between 1.4-1.6% and a ratio of calcium to phosphorus as close as possible to 1.2:1 and again no lower than 1.0:1 and no higher than 1.4:1. Another issue with some of the lower quality foods is the quality of ingredients as well as the use of controversial ingredients like menadione and ethoxyquin.

 

[bruno12]

Thanks duke! I have heard good things about kirkland! However we do not have a Costco around here :/

---------- Post added at 09:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:51 PM ----------

Oh, okay! Thank you!

 

[bruno12]

Oh, okay! Thank you!

 

[Smart_Family]

You're welcome. Dog food can be totally overwhelming but doing it right especially when it comes to our giants can make life cheaper in the long run. Let me know if you need some food suggestions. It's past my bedtime for tonight but I can make some suggestions tomorrow if need be.

 

[aaronl]

Kirkland grain free all life stages salmon and sweet potat is what we use. 34.00 per bag. Firm poops. feeding about 5-6 cups a day depending on her mood. She is not a gobbler. 10 mos old EM. She is lean, but not too lean.

 

[Duke]

So far duke its doing well on it. no matter how you slice it, its a 4 star food. thats from dogfoodadvisor.com...its also "highly recommended" through the same website wich is unbiased. The site lists all the controversial ingredients and I think three kirklands only had 2...canola oil and pea protein. To me middle of the road would be iams or purina pro plan...people will always disagree. Do the research and decide for yourself....

 

[Jakesmum]

I had Jake on Orijen Large Breed Puppy, while he was on it his poops were always runny, and he had hives and was losing patches of fur, his skin and fur always stunk and he has horrible acne on his face. I met with the breeder last month that I got him from and he said that while Orijen is a good food the bullmastiff's don't do well on it and it was something in the food causing his skin issues. He recommends a raw diet, but that is not feasable for my family, so as an alternate he recommended the Kirkland Salmon and Sweet Potato. I researched it and looked at all the recall information that was out recently and in spite of that decided to give it a shot. Over the last month of switching him over there has been a noticable difference in his skin and fur, his poop is a lot firmer and his acne isn't nearly as bad as before (plus he doesn't smell so bad either).
I have to agree with Duke, do the research and decide for yourself.

 

[sethmp]

Porter is on Acana for about 1.90 per lb. Smart family helped me choose on this one. I'm having to buy it online from PetFooddirect, but if i schedule monthly shipments i think i get an extra 15% off and free shipping. So it works out to be a little cheaper than 1.90 per lb

 

[Mickey]

I feed mine greyhound kibble for racing dogs and other active dogs it's cheap and good quality to but my boy is a bit diff to most mastiffs as he is mostly bull breed but I think he has thrown a lot of mastiff thou I like to keep my dogs lean mainly because of the joints in the long run my theory is that if a dog has hat to carrie even 10lbs extra for 10 years it's got to have a little effect on there joints over time so I choose a high protain food and keep them busy and keep the unnessery fat off them but u can drive your self mad over a good food I used to spend £50 for 15 kg off kibble and it was good but I now spend £11 and there coat is not as shinny as the 50 stuff but there performance is better there more alert and in better shape but the 50 stuff was fish based and the 11 stuff is chicken my freind has a 100 lbs bulldog and since being on the fish based stuff has improved no end looks great and moves better so for a big heavy monster fish is prob the best for keeping them joints nice and oiled but always think of the long term before I got my 1st dog a old boy that ran a pet shop told me he's never had a vet bill for his dogs (Japanese Akita ) because he don't feed no crap and mantain them for gettin old from pups ??

 

[tielz]

My mastiff puppy did not do well on Blue. It was too rich. I switched to Wellness Simple and the Large Breed Puppy mix. With the large breeds I have raised, I have found that less is more.

 

[Maxmom]

I have my first EM puppy and I'm not sure how to feed him. I started him off on Imes because that is what he
feed from his breeder. then I changed to Natural duck and brown rice , but the more I looked into what to feed him I decided on homemade dog food. but now I'm trying raw because I heard it was best for Max. What I don't
know Is should I be giving him a mult-v I have him on vit C?

 

[swanguy7]

Well I pay around 1.53 a lb for Earthborn. The thing with most foods that are middle of the road is that you often end up having to feed more than you would a higher quality food, thus paying more. Eagle pack isn't awful but many mastiffs have isses with chicken and grains and eagle pack has both. I usually recommend avoiding both just to have one less thing to worry about.

---------- Post added at 09:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:31 PM ----------

Dog food advisor and dog food analysis are both good sites.

Hey mate . I'm interested in earthbourn but I find with 3 large dogs it doesn't fit into my budget well so I've been feeding them an australian dry called blackhawk holistic which is $105 a bag for 20 kilos . Which is fine but earthbourn is getting a bit expensive so I'm asking does it work out the same money wise if you feed them less of it ?? How much less do u need to feed them with earthbourn ? If it works out about the same I have no problem trying them on it . Thanks in advance


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