any body use expensive animal foods?

[swynx]

Just wondering if you've used them and saw a difference in your animal. I know it might be hard to see a difference in your animal from the change from cheap to expensive foods. Could be anything from higher senses to longer life.

All my life we always bought cheap dog/ cat food.

I'm assuming the difference is in taste and how the nutrients are broken down.

I take a multi-vitamin and used to take Centrum one a day. Went to my local gnc and got some expensive-er multi-vitamins that were supposed break down better. And I do notice the difference when I take them. I'm assuming ita the same thing. Plus the animal will have a better coat

 

[shane96ranger]

I thought this was going to be talking about the price of steaks.....

 

[cvar]

Yup. We switched ours from kibble to raw meat, long ago, when our older dog's kidneys failed. Awesome results. Her health returned. They're all so much healthier now: teeth, fur, breathing, energy, etc. Much less need for vets. Less poop, too! They adore eating meat. We have no further use for PetSmart stores. We buy cheapest (unsalted) meat from human grocery stores, and just hand it to the dogs, as is. Sliced into strips for cat. Cheaper to buy in bulk, on sale, and freeze. It's so easy, and overall same price as kibble. Maybe cheaper than kibble if you account for lack of vet bills (eg, dentals).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3wLTlqnMMg
http://preymodelraw.com/2010/12/24/why-a-raw-diet-is-just-plain-logical/
http://www.rawlearning.com/rawfaq.html
http://rawfeddogs.org/rawguide.html
http://www.rawfedcats.org/benefits.htm

And there's a Yahoo group devoted to helping people with it:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfeeding

Ask yourself: If there was kibble for humans, would you live on it? Then why feed pets that crap?

It's all marketing. And we fell for it. But raw is just as convenient as kibble, and MUCH healthier. I wish we had known this years ago.

 

[straycat]

Hills Science Diet for our children pets!!!!

 

[PanamaExpat]

All I have noticed between say Alpo Prime Cuts and IAMS was a bigger hole in my pocket with IAMS... Our 3.5 year old pit bull eats what I eat and some dry dog food. Our vet is amazed at how healthy and physically fit our dog is as compared to her other client's PAMPERED and fed high priced dog food animals are.

Of course our dog has a huge yard and plays with me on a daily basis. So take it as you may.... I think you are wasting your money on the expensive stuff. Basically all you need do is look at the label and see how much protein as compared to fat is in it. More corn meal base means bigger piles of ...... in the yard.

 

[cvar]

Raw meat is not free, but is not expensive either. Chicken is well under $1/lb. Pork & beef about $2/lb. Less if on sale. Each small dog eats only about 140 lbs per year, so it doesn't add up to very much. Cat is half of that. I don't think cheapest is the only desirable attribute in food. Dogs & cats are carnivores, not intended to eat veggies. Thankfully pure raw meat is cheap. And mother nature's own meaty diet for them turns out to be rather inexpensive. It's exactly what we once fed them on the farm, years ago. It's just fallen out of fashion due to overwhelming advertising. Kibble is marketed as if it's healthy stuff, but it's just over-processed junk food. Human's wouldn't touch it. Pure meat is good. It's win-win. Yet humans seem averse to feeding meat? Go figure.

 

[Doofy]

Tried all the expensive dog foods for the beagle. He didn't take to any of them. Total waste of time and money. He likes the old cheap nutra-nugget he was fed as a pup. DAMN good beggar at mealtime, though. He'd much rather eat what we are having.

 

[wizkid00104]

My boxer has eaten Blue Buffalo dry since we got her. She is a year and a half now. She is completely fit. Very lean and I swear as fast as a greyhound. Beautiful coat and very sweet personality. We use to mix her food with wet food to thicken her up a bit, but it just caused diarrhea most of the time.

And she too is a damn good beggar at meal time.

I know to watch for dog foods that have corn and rice as one of the first 3 ingredients. These foods are like eating a plate of rice that taste like a steak compared to eating a real steak. I want many good year with my little girl and I am willing to shell out a little cash on her food if it will keep her happy and healthy

 

[brinker88]

Do NOT use any Diamond brand dog food products. They have been having recalls on MOST of their food for years.

I use 4Health from Tractor supply. Best damn food you can buy for them IMHO. It's almost $1.00/lb but I can tell a difference in energy, stamina, and by their coat how much better it is than the Ol' Roy I was feeding them.

 

[wizkid00104]

Do NOT use any Diamond brand dog food products. They have been having recalls on MOST of their food for years.

I use 4Health from Tractor supply. Best damn food you can buy for them IMHO. It's almost $1.00/lb but I can tell a difference in energy, stamina, and by their coat how much better it is than the Ol' Roy I was feeding them.

Whenever I think of Ol' Roy, all I can see is Clark and Cousin Eddie walking through Wal-Mart on Christmas Vacation and Eddie keeps piling food in the cart for Snots

 

[tmcalavy]

Used to feed Ol' Roy to my late choc lab, and basic purina to my dogs before that. With our current Choc lab I was feeding him Pedigree small bites in the yellow and blue bag? ( I think). Switched to purina high protein (meat, lamb or chicken) in the red bag and he is satisfied on about 4 cups a day (2 morning, 2 evening). He also gets meat scraps from our table leavings on his food at night. He is stronger, rowdier and has a shinier coat (course I add meat grease just like grandma taught me on the farm and a raw egg every now and then) and he poops less...that's worth the slightly higher price alone. Protein counts...too much is too hot (think of eating big heavy meals in the heat of summer) and so does the source...real meat products or weird, unspecified byproducts (think feathers, feet, peckers and lips). Rice is the better grain source than corn or sorghum or barley...which is what we feed to cows and hogs and birds to fatten them up, and it's what we get too much of in human food from the stores...what your body doesn't use it stores away as fat or it goes out the poop chute. If we really knew what is in most grocery store packaged foods, and how it is processed most folks would be outraged. Try to find anything you like that doesn't contain salt, potassium, saturated fats, and good old sugar...the day will come when you doc tells you to do just that and it's a bitch.

 

[snake]

Grain free--- that seems to do the best, stay away from the grains and animals seem to thrive.

 

[det107]

I thought this was going to be talking about the price of steaks....

I feed my 3 dawgs raw meat mixed with some dry dog food (buy 50pd sacks at True Value Hardware or the local PX at military base). I have 2 pit hybrids that are big time chewers & give them beef neckbones.
Rice, string beans, corn, applesauce and mac & cheese are part of daily diet. during hot spells, I'll give the cats & dogs vanilla ice cream w/ 'real' label-

 

[PirateB]

I feed my dogs premium gluten free dog food, but my groomer who has some dogs from our blood line does raw feeding (beef hearts, chicken, etc) and her dogs appearance (coat, skin, weight) as well as overall health are miles above my dogs I hate to say. Since seeing this I have moved to a 1/2 raw diet and supplement with dry food and my dogs coats already look better after just 6 weeks.

Switching to the gluten free food over just premium dog food helped with my dogs tremendously. They all had itchy, dry skin which was though to be seasonal allergies but turns out it was the food. Since switching to a gluten free diet they have not had a single skin-related or digestion issue.

My neighbors dog was getting constant yeast infections all over her body. I suggested she switch from her WalMart brand to a premium food and that alone cleared up her dogs skin problems. Raw diets or "wild" dog food (forumlated to mimic a wild dogs diet) are the only way to go. My vet believes that because dogs have been eating this crap food for so many years (decades, even) that they are developing allergies.

 

[killj0y]

Yup good quality food or kibble makes a world of difference

Kind of a cop out but the easiest way to explain is imagine you yourself eating poorly, it's adequate but your appearance and well being will definitely be affected. Switching to a healthier diet will do you a world of good. I see cheap food as filler mixed with low quality protein, vitamins, and minerals with a lot of filler. As opposed to a food that starts with quality ingredients that fulfills those requirements and needs a lot less filler.

A plus is more of the food is broken down for use and therefore is absorbed. Leading to having to feed less than with lesser quality food. This also leads to less waste so to speak, and that waste will be smaller and firmer.