# Wanted to share... cost of dog food / day calculator.



## pgiven (Nov 4, 2011)

Just wanted to share something I worked on this afternoon. 

Dog food shopping can be difficult. Looking at price per pound doesn't necessarily tell the whole story as some foods provide more energy than others. This helps determine the true cost of a food based on prices per pound, the amount of food the dog needs daily, and the amount of energy contained in a cup of food. 

Here is the spreadsheet (you can download and modify from there, good in excel): 
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...E45NjdkZnhabUJBSmhQOXdJTHdUSEE&hl=en_US#gid=0

*To note:*
- The foods I have listed are all chicken-free (as one of my dogs is allergic) as well as grain free. 
- I pulled my prices only from PetCo, MrChewy and Amazon.
- Necessary cups per day was calculated at - Dog Food Calculator
- Going from cups to grams is based on an AVERAGE of 120 grams per cup. The true number for foods is between 115-125grams per cup. This is mainly based on the size and weight of the kibble which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer.
- 435 grams = 1lb.
- I added in a Nutro........just for fun.​

*To do this yourself you will need the following:*

- Food
- Food Prices
- Food bag size
- Your dogs weight
- Food's kcal/cup 
- This calculator Dog Food Calculator​

I basically made this after realizing that EVO, while $2.38/lb, required far less food per day over something like TotW (at $1.53/lb). I wondered where those two things met in the middle. A notable surprise is Acana, which ended up near the bottom in pricing.

Hope this helps someone, it really helped me to see the true cost of foods.


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## PDXdogmom (Jun 30, 2010)

I'm impressed with all the work; plus I think it's useful information.

I read in so many places where people highly recommend to buy TOTW because it's so inexpensive to purchase compared to many grain-frees. Those savings aren't realized when you have to buy bags more frequently.

Now if someone promotes TOTW due to how well their dogs do on it, then that's another thing.


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

The thing I find funny about this is if I put in Brody's need at 20lbs for TotW's Pac Stream(which is what he had been on) it shows that he needs between 1.31-1.60cups....ya, nope, he ate just over 1/2 cup and did GREAT on it. Or for Acana Ranchlands(which he was also on) it says between 1-1.25cups...once again, he only needed just over 1/2 cup.

So I would kinda doubt the truth behind this calculator.....Im guessing its the same one that the manufactures use in their listings on the backs of bags...which are nearly ALWAYS off!!:wink:


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## pgiven (Nov 4, 2011)

PDXdogmom said:


> I'm impressed with all the work; plus I think it's useful information.
> 
> I read in so many places where people highly recommend to buy TOTW because it's so inexpensive to purchase compared to many grain-frees. Those savings aren't realized when you have to buy bags more frequently.
> 
> Now if someone promotes TOTW due to how well their dogs do on it, then that's another thing.


Thanks! That's exactly why I created this.

I do disagree slightly though, I think the savings are realizedd. At only $.91 a day its more than a full dollar cheaper than many foods. It isn't what I feed, but for some it is considerable savings.


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

Scarlett_O' said:


> The thing I find funny about this is if I put in Brody's need at 20lbs for TotW's Pac Stream(which is what he had been on) it shows that he needs between 1.31-1.60cups....ya, nope, he ate just over 1/2 cup and did GREAT on it. Or for Acana Ranchlands(which he was also on) it says between 1-1.25cups...once again, he only needed just over 1/2 cup.
> 
> So I would kinda doubt the truth behind this calculator.....Im guessing its the same one that the manufactures use in their listings on the backs of bags...which are nearly ALWAYS off!!:wink:


With Mikey at 45 lbs (now 40 lbs thanks to PMR), he was getting 1 cup a day of TOTW. He still hung on to that fat. I couldn't imagine what that would do to Brody! LOL


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

Sprocket said:


> With Mikey at 45 lbs (now 40 lbs thanks to PMR), he was getting 1 cup a day of TOTW. He still hung on to that fat. I couldn't imagine what that would do to Brody! LOL


EXACTLY!!!

LOL

He would be 45lbs....an only what...12" or what ever he is tall!!:wacko:


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