Question...

[DDBsR4Me]

Another thread got me thinking- I think it was the one about what it actually costs per day to feed certain brands of dry dog food...Anyway on to my question.

Say you have 2 brands of dog food - one is more of a higher quality and one is medium quality but they both have the same amount of kcals/cup. Would you still have to feed your dog the same amount of the higher quality food as the lower quality one to maintain their weight?

I guess it just made me wonder, cuz I can kinda see both sides of to where I might think yes you would feed the same amount and no you wouldnt.

Just curious.....hope this makes sense!

[magicre]

i'll be honest. i have no idea what it costs per month to feed my dogs. i have an approximate in my head and it comes down to approximately 2-3 dollars a day for both dogs.

on the other hand, i try to eat very healthy and i want the best for myself and my dogs.

since i don't have large dogs and i don't have multiple dogs....and, no offence to those who do...i have a litle more leeway.

so, in comparison to what it would cost, it would be akin to feeding the most premium dog food, and only because i have two dogs who eat less than a pound per day.

i think it's a matter of feeding the best food that is species appropriate. then count your cash and go from there.

there are people on this board who are pretty creative in keeping costs down....and they will be glad to tell you how they do it.

[Liz]

RE, understood and I am jealous sometimes. If I only had the sheltie she would probably get grain fed everything, and tons more variety but we do the best we can within our financial limitations. We feed 9 pounds per day and I pay on average about.75 per pound, some thigns are less somethings a bit more but that's how it averages out. So about 6.75 per day for 7 dogs!

[Unosmom]

Not necessarily, say one food contains the same amount of calories and is 30% protein that comes from corn gluten and soy, vs 30% that comes from meat meal. The meat based food is far more digestible and nutrient dense, with few exceptions, most dogs will be eating less of that food.

[magicre]

i agree with both of you....i look at multiple dog houses, and i'll use natalie as an example..she's feeding her danes for less than a dollar a pound...and so is linsey.....and the dogs eat well...

do my dogs eat better? i don't know. they don't eat chicken because i can afford to feed more....but many get variety that i don't get. my dogs have never had elk....

if i had to feed a kibble to my dogs...it would be that higher quality protein food, like k9 or whatever the going bag is....it's just a matter that i live in an apartment with rules.....thank g'd, because when i was in my house in philly, i had 10 dogs and in seattle, we had six....:)

[DDBsR4Me]

Magic and Liz - thanks for your replies....but I'm not talking cost.

My question is based purely on calorie count. I guess it could go the same for even 2 premium foods - say one is grain free and one isn't, but both have the same kcals/cup. My question is, would you feed the same amount of each food based purely on kcals or do the actual ingredients make a difference in how much you would need to feed to maintain weight despite the kcals?

[mythbuster]

Magic and Liz - thanks for your replies....but I'm not talking cost.

My question is based purely on calorie count. I guess it could go the same for even 2 premium foods - say one is grain free and one isn't, but both have the same kcals/cup. My question is, would you feed the same amount of each food based purely on kcals or do the actual ingredients make a difference in how much you would need to feed to maintain weight despite the kcals?

If the calories from each diet are the same, then the feeding amount should be the same. EXCEPT, if you have a lower digestibility of one, there will be undigested energy nutrients passing through the GIT, so what they're eating does not equal what they are metabolizing, and you will have to feed more. Digestibility does not depend on meat vs vegetable protein source. It depends on ingredient quality and processing.

[DogLuver]

If the calories from each diet are the same, then the feeding amount should be the same. EXCEPT, if you have a lower digestibility of one, there will be undigested energy nutrients passing through the GIT, so what they're eating does not equal what they are metabolizing, and you will have to feed more. Digestibility does not depend on meat vs vegetable protein source. It depends on ingredient quality and processing.

OK, I'm having a hard time with a few members here giving the same information, because I know there is SOMEONE out there who keeps joining under different names and getting banned over and over for giving false information and so forth, so I'm afraid to believe anyone new...but I'm all up for learning new things, and if you can prove what you're saying is true, I'm open to the ideas you're presenting.

Please explain, in a way that the rest of us can understand, digestibility. Which ingredients are more digestible than others? Also please some sources, links, or where you received your education so we can do further research. It's hard to take one persons word for it when the information contradicts a lot of other information out there.

Maybe the OP can provide 2 foods he/she has in mind with the same kcal/cup content, and you can explain the digestibility theory with specific foods/ingredients.

[Scarlett_O']

It all depends on the dog, the food, and the ingredients.

HOWEVER, Ive never seen a lower quality food with as good of ingredients as a higher quality food(no matter if it is 1-3 star or 3-5 star)!

[magicre]

Magic and Liz - thanks for your replies....but I'm not talking cost.

My question is based purely on calorie count. I guess it could go the same for even 2 premium foods - say one is grain free and one isn't, but both have the same kcals/cup. My question is, would you feed the same amount of each food based purely on kcals or do the actual ingredients make a difference in how much you would need to feed to maintain weight despite the kcals?

i can't necessarily go by calorie count. ingredients, to me, are everything.

upon further review, which is why i'm editing...calories are an obvious concern. no one wants a fat dog. it's not good for them..

but not all ingredients are created equally and many foods contain ingredients that are not in the happily digestable range for dogs....

i would not want a food that contains menadione, which is a synthetic form of vitamin k and affects the liver.

i would not want grain heavy as it puts too much strain on the pancreas and liver, when dogs are not created to eat grains. they are not herbivores.

i would not buy a vegetable heavy product because, again, dogs are carnivores, not omnnivores...

i would have to see the choices you make before commenting whether it's a dry food that i would feed or would have fed....which is why i say that ingredients are everything. i can always measure a cup of food that is appropriate for the size of my dog, but i have to feed ingredients that are high quality and not heavy with corn and soy and wheat and other un necessary products that will tax my dogs' organs.