# Please recommend a food for my friend!



## RachelsaurusRexU (Sep 4, 2010)

A friend of mine has an active, 50lb Border collie mix. I'm trying to help her find a dry food that's much better quality than what she feeds now, but similarly priced. She's currently paying about $34 for 40lbs of this:

Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein 22%
Crude Fat 12%
Crude Fiber (max) 4%
Moisture (max) 10%
Calcium 1.65%
Phosphorus 1.0%
Copper 20 mg/kg
Manganese 70 mg/kg
Zinc 180 mg/kg
Vitamin A 11,000 IU/kg
Vitamin E 220 IU/kg
Taurine* 0.03%
Omega-3 Fatty Acids* 0.21%
Omega-6 Fatty Acids* 2.22%

Calorie Content:
390 kcal/cup (calculated)

Ingredients:
Lamb Meal, Ground Rice, Ground Barley, Rice Bran, Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken Fat (Stabilized with Mixed Tocopherols), Ground Oats, Ground Beet Pulp, Natural Flavor, Ground Flaxseed, Calcium Carbonate, Yeast Culture, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Sweet Potatoes, Dried Chicory Root, Blueberries, Dried Yeast Fermentation Solubles, Vitamin E Supplement, Taurine, Choline Chloride, Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Niacin Supplement, Ferrous Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, d–Calcium Pantothenate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Copper Sulfate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Calcium Iodate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Selenium Yeast, Sodium Selenite, DL–Methionine, Rosemary Extract, L–Ascorbyl–2–Polyphosphate (Source of Vitamin C).


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## rescuedoglover (Sep 26, 2010)

1 meat source. Corn Gluten meal, and lots of grains. Shouldn't be hard to find a better food. Go to dogfoodadvisor.com or dogfoodanalysis.com to see where her current food is ranked and go from there. She may have to pay a little more than 85 cents/pound to get a better food.


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## SamWu1 (Oct 15, 2010)

She needs to understand that it may just cost more than what she's paying now to feed a dog properly. The least expensive food I would recommend is probably Wellness SuperMix, around 45.00 for 30lbs. I can't think of a single kibble that cost 34.00 for 40lbs. that I would recommend.


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## RachelsaurusRexU (Sep 4, 2010)

It's not that she doesn't understand that, it's just that money is tight right now and I'm trying to help her find something decent and affordable to get her through the rough patch. I know that what she's feeding is crap! And I'm not necessarily looking for the best of the best, just something better for her dog that she can afford to feed right now. When the situation improves, the food will also. I'm actually hoping she'll eventually consider homecooked or raw.


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## Khan (Jan 17, 2010)

Remember that when you are feeding a better quality food you don't need to feed as much. So although the cost may be higher for a bag, if you are only buying a bag once every 6 weeks vs once every 4 weeks, you are actually saving.
Just something to keep in mind.


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## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

Rachel,

If she has to stay around that $1/lb price range, Taste of the Wild is the best option though its gonna be slightly above that price.

If she absolutely must stay under than $1/lb range, she'll need to get into a Canidae, Diamond Naturals, 4Health, Kirkland, Chicken Soup, Healthwise, Premium Edge.... those are about the only options that come to my mind that are under $1/lb. Heck, I have a farm store nearby that sells Diamond Naturals for 50 cents/Lb. Not the greatest food, but decent. 

Make sure she understands that she'll probably have to feed less w/ a better food. 

I wouldn't call her current food THE worst food, but its grain heavy and lacks meat. She can definitely do better. Good luck.


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## Doc (Jan 17, 2009)

Kirkland Signature Adult
Diamond Naturals Lamb and Rice

for the price, they are hard to beat.


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## RachelsaurusRexU (Sep 4, 2010)

Thank you, all!

I relayed all the info and she's definitely going to switch. I'm not sure which she'll choose yet but at least it'll be better than what's she's currently feeding.


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## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

Rachel,

I will say this....

Of all the foods I listed, from a shear ingredient perspective, Canidae is indeed pretty amazing for the price. The ingredient list is pretty stellar(for a grain inclusive food) and I've seen Canidae under $1/lb. 

BUT, I would caution...many Dogs didn't do well on Canidae following the ingredient change a couple years back. My little Beagle got very sick when I attempted feeding Canidae. Many do great on it though. 

So your friend has some good options now...hopefully their financial position improves. Times are certainly not easy right now...for many.


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## cprcheetah (Jul 14, 2010)

At the Vet Clinic I work at we recommend Kirkland for those on a budget, it is by far one of the 'best' values for the price for a medium quality food. We feed it to our adoption cats as well can't beat $15 for a 25# bag of cat food. The dog food is about $25 for 30# (I think that's the size). Interestingly enough my dad (vet) feeds it to his dogs, and one who was on c/d hasn't had bladder issues for 3 years when before she was having issues all the time while on c/d.


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## RachelsaurusRexU (Sep 4, 2010)

It's very unfortunate. I'd just hate to see her dog suffer for it, so I'm glad there are better options! I'm sure I'll speak with her after work today and we'll see if she's made a decision. I'm sort of hoping that she'll do her own research on these foods before she picks one. I think it's great that a lot of people rotate foods and I think something like this could also help her to save a bit of money, but I truly can't see her doing it. I'm going to mention it anyway. Certainly can't hurt. 

Well, thank you for all of the information! This will certainly be beneficial to her and her dog!


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## RachelsaurusRexU (Sep 4, 2010)

Woooooo!!!! Not only is she going with TOTW, but I've managed to convince her to do a rotation of the four formulas!!!


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

That's awesome! Chalk another one up for Rachel!! :biggrin:


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