Is the cost of dog food absurd?
- Thread starter Miakoda
- Start date
But there's also the issue of availability. We have to drive a good half hour just to get Diamond Naturals and it would be over an hour to get any other brand, at pet stores that are not consistent in keeping the premium brands in stock. If we order it's almost as much as the food just to pay the shipping. If we couldn't get the Diamond Naturals so close by (30 minutes is close for us-we live out in the sticks) I would drive the hour to get the other stuff but some people just don't have the means (and we really don't either-I'd make sure to time it when we're going that way anyway).
Kirkland, $22-25 a bag.. Also, I am finishing up the Orijen which was $60 and is way too expensive to feed. Middie was getting a mix of it and the Kirkland, but it had been open for a while and I decided to finish it off.
Also, I agree with the bolded statement - slightly edited. As to the question, yeah, sometimes we do put too much pressure on people. I think that if you can afford a higher quality food you SHOULD be feeding it if your dog does well on it. I definitely think that the home and love is more important than the brand of food they are fed, though.. for instance, the woman who adopted two of my kittens is now feeding them grocery store quality food. I didn't comment, because honestly.. they are happy and safe. I gave her all the facts about food, and if she wants to feed them crap, it's her choice. It is SO much more important to me that they are living in a stable, happy home and are loved and safe. Being in a forever home with a person who adores them and eating crap is better than having no home at all.
Also, I agree with the bolded statement - slightly edited. As to the question, yeah, sometimes we do put too much pressure on people. I think that if you can afford a higher quality food you SHOULD be feeding it if your dog does well on it. I definitely think that the home and love is more important than the brand of food they are fed, though.. for instance, the woman who adopted two of my kittens is now feeding them grocery store quality food. I didn't comment, because honestly.. they are happy and safe. I gave her all the facts about food, and if she wants to feed them crap, it's her choice. It is SO much more important to me that they are living in a stable, happy home and are loved and safe. Being in a forever home with a person who adores them and eating crap is better than having no home at all.
I have actually found it to be less costly by feeding completely home prepared. I find some really good deals. I have to feed 6 dogs, 3 Newf's, Rottie, DobeX and Alaskan husky so they are not small dogs 
I feed gluten free pasta's to save cost as times, organic brown rice, organic oats. I can find organic veggies and fruits marked down. The local butcher gives us deals on meat and sometimes friends will give us some cow parts for free, we get free range eggs for free as the farmer has chickens that are producing too many eggs more than he can sell so he sells for freshness and will give us his older eggs.
I got a consultation done for one of my dogs and I can find many of the items on my list at pretty cost efficient ways. I also grow many veggies in the summer and herbs, apples, berries etc.
I find it very interesting feeding home prepared and boy you can really find some deals. Plus, who says you can't eat the dogs food! lol
I feed gluten free pasta's to save cost as times, organic brown rice, organic oats. I can find organic veggies and fruits marked down. The local butcher gives us deals on meat and sometimes friends will give us some cow parts for free, we get free range eggs for free as the farmer has chickens that are producing too many eggs more than he can sell so he sells for freshness and will give us his older eggs. I got a consultation done for one of my dogs and I can find many of the items on my list at pretty cost efficient ways. I also grow many veggies in the summer and herbs, apples, berries etc.
I find it very interesting feeding home prepared and boy you can really find some deals. Plus, who says you can't eat the dogs food! lol
I think the real message should be - and usually is - to educate yourself to make the best choices you can within your means and when the time comes that you can upgrade, then again, make it an educated choice.
Just don't buy the hype and the pretty commercials. You're paying for those - not for what's in the bag.
Just don't buy the hype and the pretty commercials. You're paying for those - not for what's in the bag.
Lucky! I drive an hour to get Diamon Naturals.
I drive an hour to get Diamon Naturals.
We actually have to drive a half hour to get to any stores. I'm used to it but it cracks me up when someone complains about having to drive 15 minutes to get something. I'd be thrilled!
I keep thinking about this - among a lot of other things - and what I keep coming back to is yes, the cost of dog food is absurd.
But not what you're thinking.
It's absurd for a bag of sh1t that is nothing more than waste that big food processing corporations and slaughterhouses used to have to discard because it was diseased or so far rotted that it couldn't be used, turned into a high profit item to even have a price. Most of what's in there is garbage they once had to PAY to dispose of - now it's in a slick package, sold with catchy jingles and empty promises and people PAY to take it home and run it through their dogs to dispose of it. A bag of - literally - sh1t that has about the same actual nutritional value of a scoop from the septic tank, plus all the chemical laced additives and byproducts and general poisons inherent in the waste products used in the manufacture. Stuff that probably should be handled as toxic waste in a landfill.
So, is the price of dog food ridiculous? Damnstraight!
- and what I keep coming back to is yes, the cost of dog food is absurd. But not what you're thinking.
It's absurd for a bag of sh1t that is nothing more than waste that big food processing corporations and slaughterhouses used to have to discard because it was diseased or so far rotted that it couldn't be used, turned into a high profit item to even have a price. Most of what's in there is garbage they once had to PAY to dispose of - now it's in a slick package, sold with catchy jingles and empty promises and people PAY to take it home and run it through their dogs to dispose of it. A bag of - literally - sh1t that has about the same actual nutritional value of a scoop from the septic tank, plus all the chemical laced additives and byproducts and general poisons inherent in the waste products used in the manufacture. Stuff that probably should be handled as toxic waste in a landfill.
So, is the price of dog food ridiculous? Damnstraight!
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I think that there is some difference between cheaper and more expensive dog food, but I do not believe that all of that "premium dog food" is worth the price they charge for it. I fed my dog Blue Wilderness for a short while and gradually tried to switch him to it, and he just got a very bad diarrhea from it. So for some dogs, "premium food" will not work. I know that premium food has more meat and no by-products, but you can also get cheaper food that has no by-products, as well. Some of the brands are just overhyped to find a reason to increase the price. It is like bottled water. Do we really have to drink Evian or Fiji to be healthy and pay $5/bottle? Water is just water, and any filtered water will be fine for your health. These brands were made for people who really take pride in having anything that the majority of others cannot afford.
While I agree that some brands, no matter how good, just aren't going to work well for some dogs, this:
Or people who take pride in knowing that they are doing everything they can to help their dogs stay at the peak of health for as long a life as possible. Not only do I not want by-products, I don't want un-identified meats, I want little-to-no grain products, I want high protein. I live in clothes that are cheap and wear them to the point of being basically rags (my jeans right now would probably be illegal if I wasn't wearing long underwear under them all the time), I rarely go out, I don't spend much on any sort of entertainment... but my dog will be on a top-quality food that she does well on for as long as I can squeak the money out of my account. And she looks darn good for it! The difference between her on even Innova (great quality but with grains) to Orijen is visible to everyone who sees her. She is a block of lean muscle, and absolutely glows.
Or people who take pride in knowing that they are doing everything they can to help their dogs stay at the peak of health for as long a life as possible. Not only do I not want by-products, I don't want un-identified meats, I want little-to-no grain products, I want high protein. I live in clothes that are cheap and wear them to the point of being basically rags (my jeans right now would probably be illegal if I wasn't wearing long underwear under them all the time), I rarely go out, I don't spend much on any sort of entertainment... but my dog will be on a top-quality food that she does well on for as long as I can squeak the money out of my account. And she looks darn good for it! The difference between her on even Innova (great quality but with grains) to Orijen is visible to everyone who sees her. She is a block of lean muscle, and absolutely glows.
Well we feed the crew a product called Aspen it is made in town the meat comes from local farms. The dogs all look great are all healthy. A few get different tho. DaVinci gets rice and chicken liver/heart mixed with all of his meds for hip dyplasia and his eyes in it. Vendetta is on Nutri-Source pure-vita. My sisters flyball dog gets Dick Pattens rolled meat. The Aspen is 40# for 17.99. It went up too it was 14.99 about three month ago. For a treat I buy my goats purina dog chow. they like it and it keeps them close.
We pay $43 for a 35 lb. bag of TOTW. Strider does all right on kirkland, but he really does much better with red meat. His muscle tone is better, and he bulks up better. I think one of the reasons satin balls work so well for him is the raw hamburger component.
He weighs 70 lbs, and the bag of food usually lasts 7-8 weeks. That's with raw and home cooked added. He gets potatoes, rice, noodles, oatmeal, and raw meats. We'll sometimes jazz it up with some of the cheapy parmesan cheese too.
He weighs 70 lbs, and the bag of food usually lasts 7-8 weeks. That's with raw and home cooked added. He gets potatoes, rice, noodles, oatmeal, and raw meats. We'll sometimes jazz it up with some of the cheapy parmesan cheese too.
I keep thinking about this - among a lot of other things - and what I keep coming back to is yes, the cost of dog food is absurd.
But not what you're thinking.
It's absurd for a bag of sh1t that is nothing more than waste that big food processing corporations and slaughterhouses used to have to discard because it was diseased or so far rotted that it couldn't be used, turned into a high profit item to even have a price. Most of what's in there is garbage they once had to PAY to dispose of - now it's in a slick package, sold with catchy jingles and empty promises and people PAY to take it home and run it through their dogs to dispose of it. A bag of - literally - sh1t that has about the same actual nutritional value of a scoop from the septic tank, plus all the chemical laced additives and byproducts and general poisons inherent in the waste products used in the manufacture. Stuff that probably should be handled as toxic waste in a landfill.
So, is the price of dog food ridiculous? Damnstraight!
- and what I keep coming back to is yes, the cost of dog food is absurd. But not what you're thinking.
It's absurd for a bag of sh1t that is nothing more than waste that big food processing corporations and slaughterhouses used to have to discard because it was diseased or so far rotted that it couldn't be used, turned into a high profit item to even have a price. Most of what's in there is garbage they once had to PAY to dispose of - now it's in a slick package, sold with catchy jingles and empty promises and people PAY to take it home and run it through their dogs to dispose of it. A bag of - literally - sh1t that has about the same actual nutritional value of a scoop from the septic tank, plus all the chemical laced additives and byproducts and general poisons inherent in the waste products used in the manufacture. Stuff that probably should be handled as toxic waste in a landfill.
So, is the price of dog food ridiculous? Damnstraight!
preach it!
THe amount people pay for total junk blows my mind.
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I used to have to drive a half hour to get anything better than Nutro, and and hour to get anything better than Blue Buffalo.
Then I moved to Hippieville USA (also known as Asheville, NC) and suddenly I saw all these foods I had only heard about on Chaz. Radar lasts for 6 weeks on a small bag of food and Argon eats Raw which is cheaper still. Now if only I could convince Mom to switch Radar....
Then I moved to Hippieville USA (also known as Asheville, NC) and suddenly I saw all these foods I had only heard about on Chaz. Radar lasts for 6 weeks on a small bag of food and Argon eats Raw which is cheaper still. Now if only I could convince Mom to switch Radar....