[qnkmatson]

Hi everyone! My husband and I adopted a puppy in December. She is now about 6 months old. She was eating Iams when we got her. She changed to over to Rachel Ray's Nutrish.

I am concerned we aren't feeding her the best food we could. We can't really afford the high end food, but are willing to adjust the budget in order to give our baby what's best for her.

She is a larger breed. She's a mixed breed, we really have no idea what she is. She's about 6 months old and is around 30 lbs.

Thank you so much for any possible recommendations! I really don't know what is best to be feeding her. Thanks!

 

[malluver1005]

Hi there! I recommend Orijen for a puppy. This is an expensive food, but it is grain free. And with grain free, you will feed a lot less than the grained. So, a bag might be expensive, but will last you a while.

Another great food is Acana. Made by the same people that make Orijen. But not as expensive. This too is grain free, so you will feed less.

 

[spookychick13]

I second Acana and Orijen!

Grain free is great.

 

[CorgiPaws]

I am concerned we aren't feeding her the best food we could. We can't really afford the high end food, but are willing to adjust the budget in order to give our baby what's best for her.

You have a lot of options, and while a lot of people will tell you to feed only grain free, I don't necessarily agree with that, so feel no pressure to spend the big bucks if your puppy is doing fine with grains for the time being. Many grain free foods can be WAY too rich for a lot of dogs.

If you have a CostCo membership, Kirkland Signature is definately the best bang for the buck. It's only about $22 for 40 lbs. It's not an absolute top notch food, but definately leaps and bounds better than anything even close to that price.

If you can stretch your budget just a little bit more, Canidae is also pretty affordable, and a pretty good food as well. It's roughly $50 FOR 44lbs.

Going a little pricier, there's Blue Buffalo, Wellness, Innova, Nature's Variety Prairie, and Taste of the Wild (grain free) and Grain Free Canidae which are all good choices.

Absolute top notch grain free foods are very expensive, and while on paper, they're the "best" that doens't do much good when the dog can't handle them. But by all means, if it's in your budget give them a go. Orijen, Evo, Blue Buffalo Wilderness, nature's variety Instinct.


Take a look at what you have locally, what your options are. The best food in the world does you no good if you can't get your hands on it.

 

[Unosmom]

Here are some foods on the budget that are still decent, I marked the ones with * that I would be my first choices:

1) Taste of the Wild*
2)Healthwise *
3)Whole Earth Farms
4)Premium Edge
5)Chicken Soup for dog lovers soul
6)4Health
7)Diamond Naturals
8)Kirkland Signature

Most of these you will be able to find at feed stores, but I reccomend going on manufacturers website and at the top theres a link for store locator. Most of these are in the range of $30 for 30 lbs. Taste of the wild is around $40 for 30 lbs, but since its grain free, the dog eats a bit less which ends up costing about the same as other brands.
Kirkland Signature is a costco warehouse brand and is around $22 for 40 lbs, very affordable, but wouldnt be my first choice.

 

[qnkmatson]

Thanks everyone! We live in a small town so really we don't have access to much, but we are going to order online and have something shipped to us so we have access to just about everything.

I really appreciate the recommendations. And we are going to look into them!

 

[goujon]

It won't cost you much more to feed a quality food because your pup will need much less of the quality food. My suggestions are:

Orijen, Blue Buffalo, Halo, Dogswell, Taste of the Wild, Innova, Pinnacle, Solid Gold, Wellness, Nature's Recipe Farm Stand Select, Castor & Pollux.


Blue Buffalo, Halo, Dogswell, Pinnacle, Solid Gold, Wellness, Nature's Recpie Farm Select and Castor & Pollux can be found at PetCo.

Blue Buffalo, Nature's Recpie Farm Stand Select and Castor & Pollux can be found at PetSmart.

Blue Buffalo and Taste of the Wild can be found at Tractor Supply.

 

[BabyHusky]

Though it won't cost as much as people think, it still costs more. Especially on the pricier brands like Orijen. Out here in so cal, my feed stores charge $71 for the larger bags. Its pretty steep, of course my munchkin is worth it so I get it anyway but yea...it doesnt even out to the prices of crap Pedigree or Hills products.

If price is an issue, Kirkland isnt too bad, especially for its price. Like someone stated, 40lb bag for $22! I don't get why people would still choose Eukanuba lol. I suppose people still feel that the Costco brand isn't reliable.