# Does everyone feel this way?



## lk9984 (Aug 20, 2009)

Does everyone really feel that you really feed less of a more expensive/better quality food? To the point that you really aren't spending much more money?

I have an 18 month old dane I've tried on a variety of kibble. The research and reading everyone's opinions makes my head spin. Cost is an issue for me, especially with several giant breed dogs in the household. Orijen and the like ($50+ a bag) is out of the question for me at this point. I would honestly like to try raw, but that's not an option for me at this point, either, with many dogs and not a good source/ a lot of travel. Anyway, my point to this post is, After trying several different kibble, he was on Taste of The Wild consistently. I was pretty happy with the quality and price. My local feed store stopped carrying it or having on hand and the next closest place to buy dog food is an hour and 1/2+ away and I can't get out there regularly. Because of many reasons he has been on ProPlan for several months. I'm not happy with the ingredients or quality, even for the price, but I've seen many dogs do well on it, it is easily acceptable and it has to do for now until I can find something else. 

He is getting the same amount of proplan as he was of TOTW (about 10-11 cups), possibly even a tad less of the Proplan, and he has gained weight. He was a pretty good weight on the TOTW, maybe a little slender for my liking, but he has filled out a bit and looks great now. It has been in my experience that I (and people I know) haven't *really* fed less of a higher quality kibble. I am certainly not saying feeding a better quality isn't absolutely better, however I see a lot of people trying to "promote" (for lack of a better word) their expensive kibble saying you will feed less so it really won't cost that much more, and in my experience I find this not always to be the case, so using that to make people feel better about spending more isn't always fair. You aren't going to switch from Pedigree (or even diamond naturals, proplan, etc) to Orijen and come out even because you feed less. 

Does anyone else feel this isn't a fair statement?


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

lk9984 said:


> You aren't going to switch from Pedigree (or even diamond naturals, proplan, etc) to Orijen and come out even because you feed less.
> 
> Does anyone else feel this isn't a fair statement?


Yes and no. I think like everything else it varies from dog to dog. I have seen feeding less working in my personal experience.

My GSD mix has been on several foods, and has always maintained his weight his feeding regimen was as follows:

Pedigree Large Breed Adult: 5 cups/ day (before I knew better)
Beneful: save as above
Nutro Ultra: 4.5 cups/ day
Wellness: 2.25 cups/ day
Canidae ALS: 3 cups/ day
Kirkland: 3 cups/ day


SO no, perhaps it won't even out going from something like pedigree to orijen, but I haven't seen people make this claim. I've seen people claim that the difference in cost isn't as extreme when you factor in that you feed less, which in my experience has been a true statement.


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## ruckusluvr (Oct 28, 2009)

on TOTW, no. I actually do not feed less, I feed a bit more!


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## dobesgalore (Oct 21, 2009)

We at one time fed Solid Gold, and I was feeding a ton of it and still couldn't keep weight on most of my dogs, but others did OK. Then we fed have also fed as low quality as Pedigree, and I still was feeding them a ton. They didn't really gain much weight but they ate like they were starving to death every time they ate. Now, they are on Diamond Naturals and all are doing fine. They have even gained back to there normal weight. So, I think it really depends on the dog.


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## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

I agree with the OP. Especially with EVO, Orijen, and Wellness...you probably won't save MONEY on FOOD with those. Sure you'll feed less but they are all around $2/lb. compared to other foods that are 50 cents/lb. 

I doubt most are going to feed 4x less with any Premium foods. Maybe 2x less, sure.

One thing I don't get is people feeding really garbage food like Old Roy or Pedigree....NOW, in THIS instance, they would save a helluva lot by going to something like Diamond Naturals....

Diamond Naturals Performance has 470 kcal/cup. That is nearly what EVO has(537).

I'm not saying Diamond Naturals is anywhere near EVO, but I would bet that someone would save money on DN over Purina. Maybe even quie a lot.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

I guess it depends on an individual dog because foods like Orijen/Acana/Core Horizon, last me quite a while. 
For example the Orijen big bag, chicken formula is $60, I feed less then 1/2 the ammount of grain inclusive kibble. Which ends up costing me $30 a month, or $1 a day for feed a 67 lb dog.


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## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

Uno,

Plus you have the intangible reward of giving money to a company that is 100% devoted to doing whats right and not compromised in any way, shape, or form. 

I sleep a helluva lot better every night knowing that there is a bag of EVO or Innova waiting for my boy each and every day. 

even if my wallet is a bit lighter


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## lk9984 (Aug 20, 2009)

thanks for the posts and thoughts everyone! It is good to see that in your experience you were feeding less, so even though the dog food costs more, you're not quite feeding the same amount (and as Kevin said, knowing you are doing better for your dog does make you feel better  Maybe this has just been in my experience that I haven't had to feed less of the better quality food... or maybe I just can't come to terms with feeding less and feeling like they aren't getting enough? Hmmm, I'm wondering if maybe I should try something other than TOTW for my boy? I really don't think in my current financial state I could afford a $55+ a bag dog food, does anyone have a suggestion for something between say TOTW and Orijen? My boy *does* have allergies, I think since he's been on the grain inclusive (ProPlan) they may have gottena little worse (basically red eyes and he licks his front legs from time to time) but the problem wasn't completely gone on TOTW. Any suggestions would be great


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## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

funny you should say that...I still struggle giving 2/3 cup 2x/day of food to my boys. It just doesn't "Feel" right. And with EVO, I have to make SURE that's all they get. 

You just have to be smart about it and realize that you will HARM them by feeding them too much. 

Number one issue with Evo and Orijen is feeding too much. You MUST feed less of these foods. They are super dense and rich foods...you'd get gas too if you ate the same amount of Chicago Style Pizza as you do thin crust pizza


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## notilloc (Jan 14, 2010)

When I was feeding royal canin to my boxer I was feeding close to five cups a day. I am not saying royal canin is a great food but i would definately say it is better than science diet which my dog was on for a month and I was feeding close to seven cups a day just to keep weight on him. He is now on evo red meat and I feed a max of three cups but usualy 2.2 cups a day. I am trying to find a balance for him. He loses weight at 2.2 cups a day and gains weight at 3 cups. I actually do save money this way i think. Havent done the calculations and Im not going to because I really dont care if I am paying a little bit more. My dog is much healthier and much happier even when only being fed a little bit.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Back when I was feeding kibble I didn't see a measurable difference. I never really "measured" their food since I free fed them and they were never overweight. I just knew I was spending an arm and a leg on the premium kibbles...and to be honest...I'm not so sure that I saw a huge difference in health. I might have seen one if my dogs were a bit older because at the time they were only puppies (1 and 2).


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

Just for another comparison.....Rocky is an 18 month old Chow/husky mix at 75 pounds and he runs around an acre yard and walks at least 2 miles a day. He eats between 2 1/2 and 3 cups of EVO a day. Some days he'll eat it all and some days he'll leave some in the pan. He also gets about 1/3 can of a grain free canned food every morning for extra meat. He also eats Orijen and gets the same amount. I would have to think if he were on a lesser quality food, then he would be eating a lot more but that is all he's ever eaten so I can't say for sure. 

It doesn't seem like much food to me for his age, size, and activity level.


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## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

man, Chowder, that is one well fed DOG! Evo AND Orijen? 

Very nice.


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## SaltyDog (Mar 10, 2010)

Both of my Weims are on Orijen and my monthly dog food bills have decreased by $60.

I was doing a combo wet/dry feeding previously.


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