Is the cost of dog food absurd?

[Psyfalcon]

Normal Innova is over $50/ bag now. Canidae is over $40. I'd say neither are worth that price. Even DN Chicken and rice is $36/ 40lbs now. The lamb was cheaper (but had lower fat, which would increase itchyness here) by $4. Lamb? Cheaper than chicken?

I can see a difference between Evo and Diamond Naturals,(the chicken and rice soup smelling poop) but at over twice the price, even accounting for feeding amounts... Evo with its 28lb bag is only 1 more bag per year, but it is THAT much more expensive.

 

[elegy]

you want expensive try hill's prescription z/d ultra at $91 and change for a 27.5# bag. i am freaking EMBARRASSED to sell that stuff at work. and i tell clients that. and i tell them to call the company and speak their minds. and i tell the rep but he just squirms and hems and tries to tell me how $2.77/day really isn't that much if we're talking about the health of a pet.

they really should put somebody else in charge of the food stuff at work. somebody who actually believes in this product and this company. because it isn't me.

(i really have no idea how much i pay for dog food. whatever Nature's Variety Prairie is costing these days.)

 

[FluffyZooCrew]

I had my guys on EVO, until it went up to $85 for a large bag! Umm, no.

And I agree about Z/D, it's in the 90 dollar range here too.

 

[Renee750il]

I had my guys on EVO, until it went up to $85 for a large bag! Umm, no.

And I agree about Z/D, it's in the 90 dollar range here too.

I'm getting it (RM!) for $50 a bag . . . you're getting gouged. Seriously.

 

[Duke'sMommy]

I buy California Natural Herring and Sweet Potatoe 15 lbs bag and it costs me about $35 with tax. Usually lasts me a month.

I work at a pet food store and most dog food right now is and or has takin or will be taking a price jump. One of the foods we sell that is on the lower end is going up $20 on a 30lbs bag.

 

[Miakoda]

I'm getting it (RM!) for $50 a bag . . . you're getting gouged. Seriously.

That was one of my main points with starting this thread. I see such a wide range in the prices of the same exact foods that it baffles me.

When I saw how much Merrick cost on the website in comparison to how much I can buy it for, why, there was a $30+ difference in the price!

 

[BigDogs]

eek! Gee willikers, I enjoy upperscale restaurants, but I certainly couldn't afford to eat there very often. I love my dogs but I have to be able to afford to feed them!

A 50 lb bag doesn't last long here. I had been feeding Native 40 lb bags, which cost about 28 dollars, but the cost recently increased to $33. I've "downgraded" to TSC Retriever hi pro 50 lb bags at about $20 per bag.
(and today two of the dogs got some raw rabbit meat.)

 

[Boxer100]

Did anyone notice an increase in the price for Royal Canin food in your area? It is now over $60 for 35 lbs. (MAXI Boxer 26) at my local Pet Depot. The lady that works there says that they increased the prices by $10 of all dry foods of similar bag size. When I went to PetsMart.com, it is still around $50. I don't know whether her store is the only one with the price increase, or Royal Canin increased their prices?

 

[scob89]

I feed Brenna Diamond Brand- Lamb and Rice formula. It's about $30 for a 40lb bag, but I normally only buy the smaller ones($10) in the summertime and the 40lb size in the winter time.

 

[Hairy&Stumpy]

I've had mine on Timberwolf for many years and then I had a customer service issue that didn't get resolved as well as it should. I jumped around for a while...with Canidae, Chicken Soup, Meriick, etc...but the prices kept going up it seemed. Timberwolf had gone up as well.

Recently, I switched to Nutri Source...and I am pretty happy with the Adult Chicken and Rice. My dogs really love it...it's been rated okay I think and a 33 or was it 35 pound bag was 34.99. I had been paying at least 50 for Timberwolf.

I was wary when it first came out because, well they make Tuffys, but they are in MN and have their own plant and I like the idea of being made local. I still like to rotate things in and out, but gonna stick with Nutrisource for a while. It might not be first first choice, but with every thing being tight, it kind of works right now.

 

[darkchild16]

I pay 28 or so dollars for 40# bag of Diamond Naturals and my mom just bought a 15 pounds of nutro lamb as rice for 30 dollars.

 

[DaVinci]

I didn't realize that Nutri-Source was made in Perham MN. That is so cool. Vendetta has been picky lately. Today I mixed a handful of Aspen with a handful of Nutri-Source and a handful of PMI exclussive. She liked that.

 

[Hairy&Stumpy]

My adult male is a picky eater...and he hasn't missed a meal with Nutri-source. ?

 

[ihartgonzo]

I have noticed a bit of an increase. When I buy kibble, it's most often Taste of the Wild, which is around $2/lb. But I have noticed increases in lots of items... not just dog food.

Honestly, knowing what I know, I would go hungry before feeding my dog Dog Chow. It would literally kill me inside. I would feel like I was abusing them, and hurting them. It would keep me up at night! I do know that most of the reason people buy cheapo foods is solely due to a lack of education... because, I mean, why not cut out extra treats and toys and feed a premium food?

Did anyone notice an increase in the price for Royal Canin food in your area? It is now over $60 for 35 lbs. (MAXI Boxer 26) at my local Pet Depot. The lady that works there says that they increased the prices by $10 of all dry foods of similar bag size. When I went to PetsMart.com, it is still around $50. I don't know whether her store is the only one with the price increase, or Royal Canin increased their prices?

IMHO, Royal Canin has always been overpriced junky food with fancy labels. D: And I would never ever pay that much for corn and by-products. $60 for 35 lbs is the same as super premium grain-free kibbles (Taste of the Wild, for one).

 

[darkchild16]

I have noticed a bit of an increase. When I buy kibble, it's most often Taste of the Wild, which is around $2/lb. But I have noticed increases in lots of items... not just dog food.

Honestly, knowing what I know, I would go hungry before feeding my dog Dog Chow. It would literally kill me inside. I would feel like I was abusing them, and hurting them. It would keep me up at night! I do know that most of the reason people buy cheapo foods is solely due to a lack of education... because, I mean, why not cut out extra treats and toys and feed a premium food?

IMHO, Royal Canin has always been overpriced junky food with fancy labels. D: And I would never ever pay that much for corn and by-products. $60 for 35 lbs is the same as super premium grain-free kibbles (Taste of the Wild, for one).

When I fed Walker junk he wasnt even getting those I couldnt afford it plaiin and simple. The only way I ate was that I was working at deli in a grocery store so I ate there. The only reason he gets Diamond now is that I have a ride to tractor supply if I didnt he wouldnt be eating it. You do what you have to do

 

[SpringerLover]

Prices of dog AND cat food are driving me up a wall. Dogs are eating Fromm Salmon. $45 for a 30 pound bag. Ugh. Cat food is expensive too!

 

[~Jessie~]

I really don't think dog food (kibble) is expensive. When I buy kibble it's Orijen, which is $14/5.5lb bag ($2.54/lb). It takes about 6 weeks to go through with my chihuahuas. So, I spend $2.30/week feeding my dogs.

*Shrugs*

I wish I could average $2.50/lb on my food. I guess I just compare the price of dog food to what I spend, and what I would spend on food for a child. It doesn't seem expensive.

 

[MisssAshby]

I'm feeding Nature's Variety raw now but I will still buy a small bag (5.5lbs) of something (high quality) to keep on hand for treats, etc. A 5.5lb bag of EVO is about $17 now -- when I first started buying it I was paying around $12.

Since getting Nomi our raw expense has gone up and is costing about $125 a month (with a couple bags of treats) now since they seem to go up anywhere from $2-4 every 4-6 weeks. I just ordered a meat grinder and will be ordering the supplements I need to start making their raw at home.

 

[Miakoda]

I really don't think dog food (kibble) is expensive. When I buy kibble it's Orijen, which is $14/5.5lb bag ($2.54/lb). It takes about 6 weeks to go through with my chihuahuas. So, I spend $2.30/week feeding my dogs.
*Shrugs*

I wish I could average $2.50/lb on my food. I guess I just compare the price of dog food to what I spend, and what I would spend on food for a child. It doesn't seem expensive.

But a lot of that varies with the size of your dogs and how many dogs you own. For several years, I was up to 14 dogs. I was feeding them DVP's Natural Balance with great results until the recall. So I switched them to Canidae and they all went downhill and looked like utter crap. So I then put them on Innova & EVO.

I went through over 80 lbs of dog food a week. When you think that I was paying approx. $50 for a 30 lb bag, you do the math. I want to say on average I was easily spending $200 a week on dog food alone. Easily. And when we were hunting more, those dogs were burning calories like crazy and some of the dogs were up to eating 6 cups a day just to maintain body weight and energy levels. I remember one months epcifically that my food bill was over $1,000. And that's downright crazy.

And even with my dogs now, one 5.5 pound bag wouldn't even feed everyone for the day. I go through about 40 lbs a week right now.

 

[Laurelin]

I think in college I spent like $18 on a bag of EVO that lasted well over a month. One benefit of having a very small dog.

With all five dogs, we feed a middle sized bag of EVO every 3-4 weeks. I'll have to check price but I know it's quite a bit more expensive here than it is in Texas.