What Garbage Kibble Should I Buy?

[NeylasMom]

Well, I never thought I'd be asking this since I'm such a food snob but I'm looking for suggestions on a kibble I can get at Petsmart that is on the less expensive side that might work for my non-GH foster. When I got her the kennel sent some of her food so I could transition her and she had nice bouncy poops. I was told that they get donations of all kinds of foods so they just mix them all together with the thought that each dog will get some higher quality stuff and some lesser quality and do okay overall.

 

I transitioned her to Kirkland's grain free kibble because that's what I happen to have. She did fine with the transition, but now that she's been on the new food for a bit, I'm noticing some issues. She'll have a normal decent consistency stool, but then she'll squat for a solid minute or two while she works really hard to squeeze out a little pile of lighter colored pudding poo. I'm thinking the food is too rich and/or creating too much volume for her to handle. She also had some accidents in her crate yesterday - I'm not sure if that was due to the food, or me giving her too many lamb lung treats on the walk (I suspect the latter).

 

Anyway, I want to switch her back to a "normal" kibble. I'd love to try a higher quality kibble, but I've noticed in the past that those tend to create a lot of stool. I'd also be happy to have her on the regular Kirkland chicken or lamb and rice, but I don't want to buy an entire bag only to find it doesn't work well for her.

 

Thoughts? I've liked the Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach for some fosters in the past, but I don't think she needs that. She'd probably do just fine on Beneful to be honest, but I guess I'm looking for something middle of the road. Not super expensive or any sort of special diet, but not total crap with dyes and by product as the first ingredient.

 

And as soon as I get my answers, I'm asking the mods to delete this thread so there's no record that I ever asked.

[Guest KsFrets]

Our local Pet-Smart is a rip-off when it comes to cheap kibble... selling 35 pound bags for the same price that Wal-Mart and Tractor Supply sells 44 and 50 pound bags for. The basic kibble that has given us the best results is basic green bag Purina Dog Chow. $21.95 for 46 pounds from Wal-Mart. Bouncy poo. Decent coats. Our greys do fantastic on it straight. But we have been mixing it with some better stuff, not because of results, but because of ingredient lists. If money gets tight, the Purina is fine. Our last non grey foster thrived on it.

[Remolacha]

Lot's of people seem to like the Iams' Green Bag. I've never used it, mine don't like Iams for some reason, but I get the impression it is reasonably priced. You can probably get a smaller bag at first to try. I was going to suggest Kirkland, but I understand not wanting to buy the huge bag without knowing if it will work.

 

(Please, no Beneful!! there's crap and then there is Crap )

[NeylasMom]

Our local Pet-Smart is a rip-off when it comes to cheap kibble... selling 35 pound bags for the same price that Wal-Mart and Tractor Supply sells 44 and 50 pound bags for. The basic kibble that has given us the best results is basic green bag Purina Dog Chow. $21.95 for 46 pounds from Wal-Mart. Bouncy poo. Decent coats. Our greys do fantastic on it straight. But we have been mixing it with some better stuff, not because of results, but because of ingredient lists. If money gets tight, the Purina is fine. Our last non grey foster thrived on it.

Ack, I don't know if I'm going to be able to do it. Looked at ingredients - corn, meat meal, corn meal, soybean meal, meat by product in that order. This isn't food imho. I have heard decent things about Blue Buffalo stuff, and I like Wellness. I wonder if either of those would meet my smaller stool volume/not super expensive criteria? The one good thing is that my foster is only 30 lbs so she eats 2-3 cups of food per day rather than 4-5.

[fionasmom]

My pointer does well on the Iams green bag. I tried to switch her to something more holistic but she didn't do well; it seemed to be too rich. I have had several non-grey fosters and they all have done well on the Iams. Both BJs and Walmart price it about $1 per pound.

 

Don't buy the 5 lb bag at the grocery store; it will cost about $3 per lb.

[NeylasMom]

Lot's of people seem to like the Iams' Green Bag. I've never used it, mine don't like Iams for some reason, but I get the impression it is reasonably priced. You can probably get a smaller bag at first to try. I was going to suggest Kirkland, but I understand not wanting to buy the huge bag without knowing if it will work.

 

(Please, no Beneful!! there's crap and then there is Crap )

I think we're getting closer with that. It's still got by-product and a lot of corn meal, but plain old meat is the first ingredient.

 

And yeah, we won't be buying Beneful although I know there was some of it in the kennel mix (it was nice and brightly colored ). Sugar in dog food, no thanks.

 

Oh god, I am sounding like such a snob. I can't help myself!

 

Eukanuba adult maintenance looks similar in ingredients/quality and comes in much smaller bags so we could try it easily. Pro Plan adult formulas look better than either of those to me, but are significantly more expensive (~$30 for a 17-18 lb bag versus ~$20).

 

ETA: I think I'm going to try the Iams green bag. The minichunks formula comes in very small bags so we can try it without spending a lot of cash. They also make a "healthy naturals" version that I like a tiny bit better based on the ingredient list, but it doesn't seem to come in smaller sizes, but we could always try transitioning to that once we've established that the green bag is working. I would still love to hear more feedback on brands and formulas that have worked for others though. And thanks, I appreciate it!

Edited June 26, 2012 by NeylasMom

[OwnedBySummer]

We feed the Costco "Nature's Domain" Salmon & Sweet Potato. Yes, it's a huge bag. But the price is so good that even if your pup didn't like it, it's not a large investment. And if you could always donate the remainder of the bag to your adoption group, to go into their kibble mix. I know regular pet stores will take back opened bags of kibble if it doesn't work but I have no idea if Costco will.

[NeylasMom]

We feed the Costco "Nature's Domain" Salmon & Sweet Potato. Yes, it's a huge bag. But the price is so good that even if your pup didn't like it, it's not a large investment. And if you could always donate the remainder of the bag to your adoption group, to go into their kibble mix. I know regular pet stores will take back opened bags of kibble if it doesn't work but I have no idea if Costco will.

That's what I'm currently feeding her and what I suspect is causing the issues we're having.

[HoundHeavenAZ]

Another vote for Iams mini chunks green bag here. We mix with Costco lamb/rice and get great results But Petsmart might be the last place I'd go to buy food - too overpriced here.

Lot's of people seem to like the Iams' Green Bag. I've never used it, mine don't like Iams for some reason, but I get the impression it is reasonably priced. You can probably get a smaller bag at first to try. I was going to suggest Kirkland, but I understand not wanting to buy the huge bag without knowing if it will work.

 

(Please, no Beneful!! there's crap and then there is Crap )

[NeylasMom]

Another vote for Iams mini chunks green bag here. We mix with Costco lamb/rice and get great results But Petsmart might be the last place I'd go to buy food - too overpriced here.

 

Where do you buy yours from? I'm just getting the first bag at Petsmart because I want to get it today and Petsmart is convenient, but I just compared prices at Petsmart and Walmart and Petsmart is actually cheaper for the smaller bag size. For the big bag, Walmart is a buck less, but I'd spend that in gas getting there and back.

[Guest badderh]

I use nature's recipe Lamb and Rice its $37 at the pet supplies plus in my area, I like it because its almost as good as some of the expensive stuff but cheap enough that I could actually afford it.

 

* it comes in a 35 pound bag for that price

Edited June 26, 2012 by badderh

[MerlinsMum]

I used to be all about the best ingredients and expensive food. And when we adopted him Sagan used to eat a really expensive food mixed in with a little Iams (large breed chunks) and didn't do well on it the most expensive food once we tried to wean him off the Iams. In the end we gav eup and just fed him Iams. He got an upset stomach on the Iams mini chunks for some reason, one time when I bought the wrong kind by mistake, but he's always done so, so well on the Large Breed chunks. That's when I decided that I would never again be a food snob His poops are amazing. Every single time. AND it's cheap and easy to find everywhere, which is refreshing since buying Merlin's I/D every 2 weeks or so is expensive and inconvenient (my vet office is not around the corner from me.)

 

PS the title of the thread made me "Garbage kibble"! love it

Edited June 26, 2012 by MerlinsMum

[Hubcitypam]

Another vote for Iams green bag. It is $18.97 a bag at Wal-Mart and a bit more at Kroger. It's a *gasp* "grocery store food".

Currently my guys are all doing well on Purina One Smartblend which is $22 a bag at WalMart or Petco.

Beneful is Dog Chow dressed up in Sunday go to meetin' clothes with a bunch of dye and sugar added. Much better to feed Dog Chow.

Don't think that you're going to get away from by-products in a garbage food...and by products are not all evil. They can be organs (which raw feeders pay a pretty price for), ears and snouts (for which people in St. Louis pay good money be served to them on a bun) and even the same chicken feet people seach out for treats.

 

Look at Purina One Beyond, available at Grocery stores. It is a couple of bucks more than the two above, but I seem to think it doesn't have by-products. I may be wrong. :dunnno I sems to have good ingredients for the price. It is pretty high in calories.

 

http://www.purinaone.com/products/dog-food/beyond-chicken-and-whole-oat-meal-recipe#ingredients-and-nutrition

[NeylasMom]

 

Look at Purina One Beyond, available at Grocery stores. It is a couple of bucks more than the two above, but I seem to think it doesn't have by-products. I may be wrong. :dunnno I sems to have good ingredients for the price. It is pretty high in calories.

 

http://www.purinaone...s-and-nutrition

I somehow overlooked that one. Looks a bit more expensive, but could definitely work. I'll check that one out too when I'm at the store, tx.

[OwnedBySummer]

We feed the Costco "Nature's Domain" Salmon & Sweet Potato. Yes, it's a huge bag. But the price is so good that even if your pup didn't like it, it's not a large investment. And if you could always donate the remainder of the bag to your adoption group, to go into their kibble mix. I know regular pet stores will take back opened bags of kibble if it doesn't work but I have no idea if Costco will.

That's what I'm currently feeding her and what I suspect is causing the issues we're having.

Note to self: Pay closer attention to the original post. Oops! My only excuse: Kirkland didn't equate to Costco in my brain at that moment. But even still, if you did try to the regular Kirkland stuff, the price is still low and your group would welcome leftovers if your dog hates it, assuming Costco won't take it back.

Edited June 26, 2012 by OwnedBySummer

[NeylasMom]

We feed the Costco "Nature's Domain" Salmon & Sweet Potato. Yes, it's a huge bag. But the price is so good that even if your pup didn't like it, it's not a large investment. And if you could always donate the remainder of the bag to your adoption group, to go into their kibble mix. I know regular pet stores will take back opened bags of kibble if it doesn't work but I have no idea if Costco will.

That's what I'm currently feeding her and what I suspect is causing the issues we're having.

Note to self: Pay closer attention to the original post. Oops! My only excuse: Kirkland didn't equate to Costco in my brain at that moment. But even still, if you did try to the regular Kirkland stuff, the price is still low and your group would welcome leftovers if your dog hates it, assuming Costco won't take it back.

No worries. And there's a good chance I will try that if it seems like she's going to stick around for a while, but I expect she's going to get adopted soon and funds are pretty tight on foster expenses since I had to get some other supplies for her, so I really want to start with a small bag of something. I also don't have anywhere to store that large of a bag since my bin is still filled with the grain free stuff.

[Feisty49]

I hate posts about food. I hate posts about food. I hate posts about food.

 

So why do I read them???? Arggghhhhh!!! I have no freakin' idea!! Maybe 'cause if feels good when I stop?

Edited June 26, 2012 by Feisty49

[NeylasMom]

Well I ended up with something that wasn't discussed at all. Petsmart apparently makes their own food marketed to be healthy and "natural" called Simply Nourish. No corn or by-products - first 4 ingredients in order are chicken, chicken meal, brown rice, & oatmeal. It's a little more expensive than Iams, but the 7 lb bag happened to be on sale, putting in back in the same ballpark so I figured I'll give it a shot.

 

Of course, it was only once I was back in the car that I thought I could have bought the Iam's and tried going 50/50 with the Kirkland grain-free she's already on, but I think I'll try that with the Simply Nourish and see how that goes. I'd love to use up the stuff that I have and I couldn't decide whether to transition her or just switch her cold turkey so this will work.

 

If this food doesn't work at all, the Iam's green bag will definitely be next. Thanks for all of the input everyone and aside from the last pointless comment, keeping it light.

Edited June 26, 2012 by NeylasMom

[Walliered]

I am currently switching mine from Science Diet ID to Blue Wilderness. But, I mix both of them with canned Wilderness and raw hamburger meat. Also turkey necks twice a week (will try to find tripe) and give to them also. My goal is to eventually have them on raw. Maybe I will have to keep putting a little kibble in with the raw because I do not know anything about vitamins and such. Lady has a gurgling stomach yesterday and refused food. Vet put her on Metrondazole.

[Guest KsFrets]

These threads interest me, in fact I’ve started a few. I grew up feeding my dogs Purina dog chow. For nearly 50 years it’s been fine. My dogs have lived long happy lives. My first greyhounds (over 20 years ago) did fine on it. In fact I didn’t even know there was such a thing as designer dog food, and I’ve never been much for small expensive pet stores. I grew up on a farm, and we just got whatever the feed store or K-Mart had. We got Maggie and Magnus in 2008. They came from a program that got the cheap volume charity mix as mentioned in this thread. They did great on it. Being me, I got a bag of Purina dog chow, they came home, and they did great and proceeded to act and poo like normal dogs. Enter technology and the internet, and Greytalk. Oh my gosh I found out I was killing my dogs by feeding them ground up flea collars and humain society remains. Give me a break. But, loving my dogs, I decided they needed to be healthier than all the dogs I ever had before them, so I made the transition to Nutro, and was willing to spend the extra $$ because they were worth it. Oh my. Hershy squirts were flying all over the place, it was nasty. After a couple bags I was questioning my sanity. When Magnus started hacking yellow bile all over our white carpeting, I had had enough, and made the transition to Canidea. The extra $$ was worth their health. Yeah. The hershy squirts didn’t stop, at least Magnus stopped puking all over the house. But after several bags, and further educating myself by all the internet dog health info, I decided to mix it with $omething called Call of the Wild or $omething like that. No help, and the only thing I could pick poo up with was the garden hose. Same results with Chicken soup for the meal lover’s soul. FINALLY someone in our group let us try some specially mixed stuff our group special mail ordered. Finally a real poo, and the stuff, when bought in bulk, was fairly priced. So what if they were eating 5-6 cups a day, still looked too thin, and pooing 4 or 5 times a day. It was also hard to get them to eat it. They simply didn’t like it. But hey, the label said it was good. Such as it was for a couple years or so... until one fateful month... when I forgot to order the special stuff. OMG. The dogs are never going to survive. I was going to have to go about 3 weeks before they got the good stuff. In a panic, I went to Wal-Mart and got what I had fed my dogs for the previous 50 or so odd years. Purina dog chow. To my surprise... they dove into it, they loved it! They licked their bowls out, they checked each other’s bowls. In a couple days... OMG REAL DOG POO!!! Pouncy poo... it was almost fun to pick up... anyone want to play catch? And quite noticeably they pooed lots less, and started gaining weight. Their coats look better than they ever have. They eat 3-4 cups a day, and poo twice a day. Haven’t seen a soft-serve in many months, and no one has puked. Today, we still get the special stuff from the mail order, but we mix it into the Purina... like I said in a previous post, not because of results, but simply because of what labels say. Sort of like us taking a multi vitamin, weather it’s doing anything for us or not. If I had to make a choice based on the results, I’d take the Purina over anything else we've fed our dogs. BTW, our cats eat IAMs and our last one lived to 20.

[JenniferS]

When I used to feed Iams, I bought it at Target, always low prices & my dog did fine on it.

[NeylasMom]

When I used to feed Iams, I bought it at Target, always low prices & my dog did fine on it.

Thanks, Target is right next to the Petsmart near my office so I'll compare their prices.

[Houndtime]

I didn't read every post, but we have switched our dogs to Iamz in the green bag. We feed the regular size chunks. The mini chunks were too small for my food scarffers. They would cough it up. I used to turn my nose up at people who fed supermarket dog food. I was a dog food snob. Well, we moved and there is no Costco, Petco or Petsmart here. BJ's sells Iams in 50 lb bags. Initially, I mixed in home cooked oatmeal, but, now I just add a tablespoon of Iams canned food and warm water. If you decide to go with the Costco and don't like it, they will take any product back for any reason for a full refund.

[NeylasMom]

If you decide to go with the Costco and don't like it, they will take any product back for any reason for a full refund.

Thanks, that is really good to know.

 

KsFrets, this really isn't meant to be a thread about the value of feeding one diet or another. There are plenty of threads for that, including one in soapbox that Hubcitypam recently started. The "garbage" in my title was tongue in cheek - I really just wanted to know what's worked for a lot of people and I got the answer I needed, seems like tons of people have had success with the Iams.

[Guest WhiteWave]

I have fed the Iams naturals to fosters with good results. A lot of times you can get good deals on Purina One at Petsmart. Join the pro club from purina and save weight circles and after so many you can get $7 checks (use like a coupon) off each bag. When I had 3 foster dogs at once I was able to get 3 big bags of pro plan performance and 3 purina one sensitive for $120. But dog chow never worked here. Dogs looked horrible and huge piles of pudding poop everywhere. My neighbors fed it to their hunting dogs and there yard always smelled horrible even though they cleaned the kennels. And their dogs coats were horrible. Rebel came eating dog chow and I fed it 2 days before I switched him. Huge loop bad coat and the smell of the food made me nauseous. Left the stupid bag in the laundry room and it caused rats. Never had them before looks like they came in the dryer vent. They ate the dog chow and left the grain free food alone. Too bad I stuck my little terriers in there and the rats are no more!

 

I Hate autocorrect! Poop not loop!