# eat more on better food?



## ruckusluvr (Oct 28, 2009)

I have heard that my dogs would eat less on a better food there for making the better food cost the same, or only slight more. but by reading the back and prices of the bags it does not seem so!

For example, what my dogs are on now 

4 health high proformance chicken and rice $34.99 for 35lbs
Animal Weight - Daily Amount
5 or 10 lb. - 1/2 to 3/4 cups
10 to 20 lb. - 3/4 to 1-1/4 cups
20 to 30 lb. - 1-1/4 to 1-2/3 cups
30 to 40 lb. - 1-2/3 to 2 cups
40 to 60 lb. - 2 to 2-1/2 cups
60 to 80 lb. - 2-1/2 to 3 cups
80 to 100 lb. - 3 to 3-2/3 cups

I feed my dogs a little less than the guidelines show.

And Acana grain free 58.99 for only 29.7lbs

Weight of Dog For Active Dogs For Less Active Dogs
2 - 11 lbs. ¾ - 1½ c ½ - 1 c
12-22 1¼ - 2¼ c 1 - 1¾ c
23 - 44 lbs. 2¼ - 3¼ c 1¾ - 2½ c
44 - 90 lbs. 3¼ - 5 c 2½ - 4¼ c
90 - 110 lbs. 5 - 6½ c 4¼ - 5 c

am i not reading this right? it looks like my dogs would eat MORE on the better food???? or if not more the same. definitely not enough to make up the price difference. I wish things werent so tight money wise for us right now.
Acana looks like a great food, looking at the ingredients.


----------



## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

If you've read any of the many posts on this forum then you'll know that we never suggest feeding off the guidelines on the bag as they are always way too much.

For some reason they have set the feeding guidelines too high, when my rescues were on Acana they were getiing 3/4c twice a day and they are 45lb active dogs, they have since been moved to raw but they did great.


----------



## ruckusluvr (Oct 28, 2009)

i was thinking that most people here dont follow the guidelines. i know i dont. But even if you look at the Kcal per cup of the two foods, not that big of a difference! 

Lynn my 32lb sheltie only gets a cup of food a day on what she is eating now. do you think I could cut it down to three fourths a cup if she was on something better? but still that doesnt help much with the price. Lynn would have to eat a half a cup to make up.


----------



## ruckusluvr (Oct 28, 2009)

whiteleo said:


> If you've read any of the many posts on this forum then you'll know that we never suggest feeding off the guidelines on the bag as they are always way too much.
> 
> For some reason they have set the feeding guidelines too high, when my rescues were on Acana they were getiing 3/4c twice a day and they are 45lb active dogs, they have since been moved to raw but they did great.


i read EVERY new post, i am on twice a day. BTW


----------



## ziggy29 (Feb 1, 2010)

whiteleo said:


> For some reason they have set the feeding guidelines too high


Might it be that they can sell more food that way? 

Seriously, though -- there have been times when I'd look at feeding guidelines on different foods, and some of the more calorie-dense kibbles recommended more cups per day for the same size dog than one with fewer calories per cup.

These are very much only guidelines anyway; they don't account for the dog's metabolism or its age or activity level among other things. The best thing to do is to feed a certain amount per day (perhaps to the recommendations or slightly below it) and watch the dog's weight over the next few weeks. If the dog appears to be putting on some unwanted extra pounds, cut the feeding by 10-20% and see how the dog's weight responds.

On days when all of our dog's calories come from kibble (she does get raw from time to time), we feed about 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 cups a day (she's about 40 pounds which appears close to ideal weight). That's almost always less than the bag recommends.


----------



## RCTRIPLEFRESH5 (Feb 11, 2010)

ruckusluvr said:


> I have heard that my dogs would eat less on a better food there for making the better food cost the same, or only slight more. but by reading the back and prices of the bags it does not seem so!
> 
> For example, what my dogs are on now
> 
> ...


4 healths reccomended guidelines are very low so im surprised your dog is doing well on less than the reccomended. acanas are very high which shocks me. im not a fan of acana,its only 60 percent meat. those numbers are high.


----------



## ann g (May 6, 2010)

My 86lb baby is on acana wild prairie grain free and he eats about 3/4 to almost a cup less than the guidelines and his weight remains steady, he has been on this food for 4 weeks now and doing great.


----------



## ruckusluvr (Oct 28, 2009)

thanks! I am strongly considering giving a better food a try. 
on 4 health i can feed up to a 1/2 cup LESS than the guidelines, so maybe i can feed a lot less than the acana guidelines.

my dogs are active, so i am surprised they can eat so little of the 4 health too. I am not happy with my dogs stools on 4 health. they all did great for a while, but now they are ending soft. they look great until the dog gets to the end, and lots of mashed potato consistency poop comes out!
i have heard that is a sign that i am over feeding, but that is clearly not the case at all.


----------



## ann g (May 6, 2010)

Good luck, its takes awhile to find just the right food. I've been searching for about the past 5months.


----------



## ruckusluvr (Oct 28, 2009)

i have been searching for 4 years!
We have fed, as followed

purnia puppy chow
nutro
diamond naturals
taste of the wild
4 health

right now i bounce back and fourth between taste of the wild and 4 health.
Taste of the wild has been the best for my dogs so far, but I have to feed MORE TOTW to keep my guys in ideal condition and the price is a bit high since i am feeding more of it.

after 4 years, and checking this forum daily i am STILL not sure how i feel about dog food and what is best for my dogs.


----------



## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

ruckusluvr said:


> i have been searching for 4 years!
> We have fed, as followed
> 
> purnia puppy chow
> ...



Just for a reference for you on the higher end dog foods and how much is fed, here is how much I feed my two dogs.

Chelsy - 17 pounds - 1/2 cup a day of EVO
Rocky - 75 pounds - 2 cups a day of Orijen or Evo. 

Rocky maintains his weight just fine on that little amount of food and never acts hungry. Sometimes his food sits there all day before he eats it at night (I let him free feed). So in my case, it is cheaper for me to feed the better foods. A bag lasts a very long time for me.


----------



## ruckusluvr (Oct 28, 2009)

thank you! I am thinking that Ruckus would eat much less on a better food. at 40lbs he eats 2 cups of 4health a day.


----------



## sal101011 (Jan 17, 2010)

has anyone remembered Orijen, Acana is a Canadian product, a measuring cup in Canada is 250 ml, where a measuring cup in the states is 240 ml, not a big difference hehe, but it could account for some differences. I think also, the bag should state what size of a cup they use when determining the feeding and kcal/cup :wink:


----------



## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

I feed Acana. 

Feed my 2 bigger guys(both 55-60lbs) about 1 1/2 cups per day. Thats all. Any higher and weight starts to go up. 

Number one issue in feeding is most people don't realize how little you actually need to feed. 

I'm not a fan of anything Diamond puts out....but I wouldn't rule out that you might be feeding a bit too much. 


Ruck, I don't want to point you too much towards Orjen or Acana because I think I rubbed you the wrong way when I did this earlier. But I think you know how most of us think of Diamond vs. Orijen/Acana.


----------



## 1605 (May 27, 2009)

ruckusluvr said:


> i have been searching for 4 years!
> We have fed, as followed
> 
> purnia puppy chow
> ...


How about this:

Our GSP used to need 4 cups of Exceed Chicken and STILL looked thin. Plus there was lots of "waste product". For the past year he's been on EVO Chicken & Turkey, getting 2 1/2 - 2 3/4 cups per day. He's gained muscle mass and is definitely putting out less "waste" than he was on Exceed.

Exceed costs less at the checkout. But once you factor in his eating about 1/2 as much of the EVO as he was of the Exceed, it winds up that the EVO costs less.

It sounds like you need to settle on one food & stick with it, otherwise you are encouraging them to be picky eaters.


----------



## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

Great point from Sub. 


Most people don't do the math. they see some food for $20-$30/bag and automatically think its "cheaper." 

I feed SO little Acana to my guys that we're talking one full tank of gas in my Tundra(about $60-$70) would feed my guys for almost 3 months. 


No way I'm not gonna feed them the equivalent of a tank of gas. 

NO WAY.


----------



## ruckusluvr (Oct 28, 2009)

kevin bradley said:


> I feed Acana.
> 
> Feed my 2 bigger guys(both 55-60lbs) about 1 1/2 cups per day. Thats all. Any higher and weight starts to go up.
> 
> ...


I am, for my own reasons...actually a Diamond fan. I know there is better, but Diamond does have some really good foods i do not hesitate to use.

Thanks everyone. I am digging around and doing the math to see if I can feed better for the same price.


----------



## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

...then I will say this...as far as the Diamond line goes...I don't think its even close....Taste of the Wild is the best option. 

If you are partial to Diamond...I'm comfortable saying that you should be feeding TOTW. Not even a discussion.


----------



## ruckusluvr (Oct 28, 2009)

it definitely does not have to be a diamond food! i just do not want a feed like TOTW ruled out because its from diamond.

or a food like diamond naturals ruled out for those on a tight budget.

TOTW wasnt working for my guys unless i fed a bunch of it.

I am actually looking in to wellness super mix


----------



## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

ruckusluvr said:


> it definitely does not have to be a diamond food! i just do not want a feed like TOTW ruled out because its from diamond.
> 
> or a food like diamond naturals ruled out for those on a tight budget.
> 
> ...




I like Wellness. No issue there. Especially CORE. Great food if you can afford it.


----------



## ruckusluvr (Oct 28, 2009)

nope, cant afford it. no way


----------

