# more expensive food cheaper than the cheap food



## thegoodstuff (May 12, 2010)

:hungry:​
After the Diamond plant debacle, it was time to stop feeding Kirkland. My concerns were cost vs quality. I pointed out that "good" dry food can cost 50% more than Kirkland. InkedMarie commented that she fed less of a higher quality food and one of the foods she suggested was Nutrisource.

I am pleased to say that was a great suggestion. I started feeding Nutrisource Grain Free Large Breed Lamb Meal Formula. Nicky was getting a total of 1 can Trader Joe’s Lamb and Rice and 2 scoops of the Kirkland Lamb and Rice per day. That’s 33oz of food per day. I started the Nutrisource at their recommended serving size for Nicky’s weight - a 60 lb dog gets 265 grams per day which is about 9.5 ounces. That’s a reduction of more than 65% of food per day. One serving (1 cup) of the Nutrisource doesn’t even cover the bottom of the 10 inch bowl! It looked like he was eating a bird sized meal. He really likes it too. But since hunger is the best sauce, he would probably like a bowl of fresh wood chips just as much. His poops are smaller and very uniform from one to the next. I started it the first week of June and weighed him every day for a month and every couple of days after that. His weight hasn’t changed, 62 pounds right on down the line. .
$55 for a 30lb bag, good for 50 days. That’s a even few bucks cheaper than the Kirkland/TJ’s diet. InkedMarie gets a cookie! :whoo:


:hungry:​


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## Breathing Borla (Apr 30, 2010)

your title sounds like something yogi berra would say, LOL


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## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

I like the looks of Nutrisource as a company... Just don't know much about them. My local feed store sells it for reasonable prices. Aren't they a relatively small company out of Minnesota?


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

You know I suggested this food to my neighbor after telling him about diamond recalls and he's going to try it. When I went back to look at the formulas, I realized that the large breed grain free is only 23% protein vs regular grain free lamb meal is 28%, so personally I would pick the higher protein. Grain Free Lamb Formula Dog Food


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## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

I think I'd really consider a company like Fromm or NS... maybe feed one of their more cost conscious formulas...and just plan on adding extra meat. Could be a nice strategy.


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## PDXdogmom (Jun 30, 2010)

kevin bradley said:


> I like the looks of Nutrisource as a company... Just don't know much about them. My local feed store sells it for reasonable prices. Aren't they a relatively small company out of Minnesota?


Yes, they're located in Perham, Minnesota. They've made dog food for many years and have never had a kibble re-call. Know Your Source Dog Food and Cat Food


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## domika (Jul 15, 2012)

I didn't know they were a mn based company! The grain free lamb looks nice. I may need to try and support my local state more. We have tried the small and medium breed puppy but I wanted grain free so this is good news.


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## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

Can't find any statements on Ethoxyquin.... Don't love the "Fish Meal"--kind of a vague term. You've also got the Beat Pulp controversy....But most of what I see I like about the company.


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## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

Glad you,re having good luck with Nutrisource. I'll have chocolate chip for my cookie, please!


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## thegoodstuff (May 12, 2010)

Unosmom said:


> You know I suggested this food to my neighbor after telling him about diamond recalls and he's going to try it. When I went back to look at the formulas, I realized that the large breed grain free is only 23% protein vs regular grain free lamb meal is 28%, so personally I would pick the higher protein. Grain Free Lamb Formula Dog Food


I dont know how I missed that. I poured over a whole bunch of choices. Annamaet and Nutrisca have products that are 30 and 32% protein but expensive. The large breed grain free and the regular grain free lamb meal have the same first 6 ingredients, just in different proportions, there is more salmon meal in the Grain Free Lamb.

Grain Free Lamb - Lamb meal, peas, salmon meal, pea starch, chicken fat, pea flour
Large Breed Grain Free Lamb - Lamb meal, peas, pea starch, pea flour, salmon meal, chicken fat

They both cost the same - $61/30 lbs (↑ $3 since May). When this one is finished, I'll get the other one. Too bad Mr Chewy doesn't carry Nutrisource, they have free shipping and automatic delivery.





InkedMarie said:


> Glad you,re having good luck with Nutrisource. I'll have chocolate chip for my cookie, please!


make that <strike>one</strike> two chocolate chip cookies comin right up


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

Do you live in U.S. I found this site that has a good deal on Nutrisource if you sign up for autoship and shipping is free on order $49 

PetBest.com :

You can also use a coupon code: PETFOOD for additional 10% off (expires aug. 15th)


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## thegoodstuff (May 12, 2010)

Holy crap!! Thats almost $15 less (with tax) than the supply place _and_ delivered! And the auto ship will prevent that ugly scenario where its time to eat and I open the bag and all I see is the bottom of the bag.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

Glad you can use it, I will probably order in the future from them too, they seem to have good selection and pricing, costs about the same as our local feed store except they have more options (I've only seen lamb and chicken formulas here).


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## lovemydogsalways (Mar 4, 2012)

I wish more people would realize you really do sometimes "get what you pay for." Glad the food is working for you. I have fed the grain formulas in the past because I didn't have access to the grain free. Now I do so it will be in my rotation.


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## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

make sure you guys check your locals. I found NutriSource for $35/35 lbs. at my local Ma and Pa Farm/Feed store.


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## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

kevin bradley said:


> make sure you guys check your locals. I found NutriSource for $35/35 lbs. at my local Ma and Pa Farm/Feed store.


for the biggest size bag? If yes, that is one heckuva deal!


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## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

yep, it was either 33 or 35 lbs bags(I forget exactly). The people at my store are really cool... they even go open sample bags for you because the sample bags have $1 off coupons on them. Then they pour the sample bags into a brown bag for you to take home. 

I was going to actually post on the subject... I'm seeing more and more local stores beating the online outfits. I can get Fromm Classics for under $1/lbs at another local store. 

It takes some searching, but I think local places are popping up more and more with nice pricing.


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## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

It used to be that an online place would offer free shipping but their food was so much more than buying IRL that it was't a good deal. I think the 2007 Menu food recalls caused more places to open up.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

kevin- I wish we had your prices here. There's only couple feed stores in the area that sell it and cheapest I found is $43 for a large bag


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## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

Admittedly, the lady did tell me once they get thru their current batch, the sale is likely to end and the price will go to 39.99. Still pretty decent though I'd say.

Oh yeah, for fun, I shot an email to Nutrisoure about their cooking methods... According to their CS person, all of their meats are slow cooked. Interesting.


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## Kibblelady (Jul 13, 2012)

kevin bradley said:


> Admittedly, the lady did tell me once they get thru their current batch, the sale is likely to end and the price will go to 39.99. Still pretty decent though I'd say.
> 
> Oh yeah, for fun, I shot an email to Nutrisoure about their cooking methods... According to their CS person, all of their meats are slow cooked. Interesting.



The "meats" or the kibble products?


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## thegoodstuff (May 12, 2010)

Unosmom said:


> ...When I went back to look at the formulas, I realized that the large breed grain free is only 23% protein vs regular grain free lamb meal is 28%, so personally I would pick the higher protein.
> 
> 
> Do you live in U.S. I found this site that has a good deal on Nutrisource if you sign up for autoship and shipping is free on order $49
> ...



Just finished the second bag of Nutrisource Grain Free Lamb Meal Formula (not Large Breed). It lasted 54 days. The individual kibblets are pea sized. The Large Breed's were Junior Mint sized. The Large Breed Grain Free Lamb Meal is 441 kcal/cup and the Grain Free Lamb Formula is 506 kcal/cup. By the feeding guidelines on the bag, Nicky maintained his 62 lbs.

Petbest's price is $39.99/30 lbs. Since free shipping is only for orders over $49, I throw in a few treats to bump the price up and it is still almost $15 cheaper than buying it locally, _including_ almost $10 in treats (about 93 cents/day). The auto shipping is nice, they send a 48 hour warning email before the order ships so you can change it if need be. 

All in all, a pretty good deal :thumb:


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## monster'sdad (Jul 29, 2012)

kevin bradley said:


> I like the looks of Nutrisource as a company... Just don't know much about them. My local feed store sells it for reasonable prices. Aren't they a relatively small company out of Minnesota?


It is a candy and snack food company that took over a bankrupt feed mill. The company also makes Tuffy's and has several lines of foods all the way down to convenience and grocery store brands.

KLN is the parent company.


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