Pet Nutritionist Compares the Best and Worst Affordable Dog Foods On A Budget
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- Опубліковано 19 бер 2023
- I constantly have people asking about the price per pound or concerned that the high-quality pet foods I tend to recommend are unreasonably priced. In today's video we calculate the COST PER FEEDING to find out whether or not high-quality pet foods are actually way more expensive than their "budget friendly" counterparts.
You may be surprised by just how many high-quality foods may be within your budget!
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I am a certified dog trainer and pet nutritionist and focus on holistic wellness and force-free, positive reinforcement-based training methods. I have been training dogs and horses for the last 7 years or so, and training/consulting full time for the last 3 years. I am very passionate about animal health and wellness and my goal for all of my clients is to have their dogs as healthy and happy as possible.
If you have any nutrition questions or wish to get a customized nutritional consult form me, you can get in contact with me at:
www.topdogbehavior.com
topdogbehavior@gmail.com
*The topics discussed into this video are my opinions, formed by my own personal research and professional experience. Differing opinions are always welcome on this channel, as long as discussions are civil and science-based research is available to support factual claims. My advice does not replace veterinary care and I am not qualified to diagnose or treat medical conditions. *
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FAQs
Where are you from?
Oregon
What certifications/education do you have?
ABC-DT
CTDI
Pet Food Specialist - DNU
Raw Food Specialist - DNU
2 year nutrition apprenticeship
What kind of pets do you have?
I have dogs, birds (cockatiels), turtles, frogs, a leopard gecko, and a variety of fish.
What kind of dogs do you have and what are their names?
Tiki (16), Lhasa Apso / Poodle mix
Luna (3), Silver Lab (Lab / Weimaraner mix)
Misty (3), Husky / Shepherd mix
dog training train teach puppy dog nutrition pet nutritionist food
#onabudget #afforabledogfood - Домашні улюбленці та дикі тварини
Thank you for your hard work putting content like this together! I love it!
You put a tonne of effort into your videos and it really shows! Love your work!
You make excellent content. I have always wanted to give my service dogs (retired and in training) the best food possible to help them with thier hard work. You educate so thoroughly and touch on all of the things I care about including ethics behind the companies. Really this shows you can feed a high quality food for less than you may think. Love it!❤
Thanks so much for this information! What you say here makes soooooooo much sense, and you've presented it so clearly. I used to be one of those folks who only looked at the price per pound, but duh! - now I totally get it. I look forward to watching more of your videos, cheers!
Thank you for making these videos. You put a lot of effort into them and I appreciate it!
This was an excellent video to make!! I even knew that you feel less of a high quality food...but I wasn't considering that at all for some reason. Thank you thank you thank you. Well done
This is super helpful, love this! Happy to see Fromm on here since that’s what I use. Interested to see what Kirkland brand would be in there and for cats
Great video! Very insightful! Thank you for all the time and effort you put in your videos!!! ❤
Thanks for watching!
This was such an informative video! You’re so down to earth & authentic, I think it’s so easy for experts in this space to take an elitist approach on what & how to feed dogs. I would love for you to do a fresh food review series! I see SO many reviews between Farmer’s Dog & Ollie - but I’ve been feeding my pups Nom Nom and am wondering about that?
Thank you so much for this video!! It was super informative and will help us save money and get our boy eating the best food we can afford. Great video!!
You literally deserve an award for making these graphs and doing the math on price per serving/day of feeding your pet. These would make it make sense to so many people who are skeptical of higher quality foods due to the price.
Thank you for your all your work. Good information for most people who really care about their pet’s health.
That's the goal!
I stumbled on your video while researching how to get my picky chihuahua puppy to eat. I need to say that as an autistic dog lover who obsessed over dogfood quality 15 years ago when I was still kid free and had nothing but my Pug to occupy my mind and time: this video pushes ALL my buttons and makes me interested in the idea of canine nutrition as a career (or extensive hobby).
So interesting and informative!!!! Instant subscribe. ❤
Thank you as always for your videos. Our frenchie has been doing great on Carna4 kibble and Farmina wet foods based on your recommendations but at $200 a month for a 30 lb dog we’ve been looking at budget friendly options so this video hit home with us.
This is so helpful!! Thank you! I found you when looking for a good wet dog food to incorporate in my dogs daily feeding and now I’m armed with so much knowledge in general! My dog thanks you!! 🐕
I appreciate your video and knowledge about these foods and getting the information out to us pet owners and helping us be better informed on the stuff we give to our fluffy loved ones. I was curious to know if you had an opinion or more information about the Purina One True Instinct dry dog food? I was wondering how similar it actually is to the Purina Pro food, that you covered in this video. Thanks! And your doing a great thing for pets and their owners! 🥰🤘🏻
I've never read a book so fast! ua-cam.com/users/postUgkx1_veP7CApJK_GWy_TczaMciuG64PqJeU Learning about his dogs and experiences was just the icing on the cake - bed this book through and through. We're working with our new pup and Brandon's advise was just what I needed. Wish he'd just come and train for me haha but it's good for us and happy to have this new set of tools to use on our pup.
This is a great way to think about the cost of dog food. One brand that I would love to hear your thoughts on is Kirkland’s natures domain.
Except when she conflated ounces with fluid ounces. You can convert from pounds (a weight) to cups (a volume) by dividing by 2. You would have to divide the mass of the food by its density, which we won’t know when standing in the store.
Super informative video! Can you do a video on calculating the cost per serving of freeze dried food like Small Batch Dog?
You are my go to for when i finally get a dog. I love your channel and these videos. God bless ✝️❤
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Nutrisource Element series. I work at a feed store and this is the kibble I recommend the most. On the back of the big bag it tells you there's 87 cups of food in the bag so the cost to feed is quite a bit less than the estimate in the video.
I wanted to try this one for mine but it’s over 100 bucks for a 24 pound bag 🫣 and I have 3 pit bulls, I hate how they upped the prices and made the bags smaller 😢
@@Lala.10 look into their Super Performance. It's a 40# bag for about $20 less than Element. And it's 32% protein 530 kCal/cup vs 34% 500kCal
I loved this! Trying to find a good quality food that aids your dog and helps them in the long run is WORTH IT! They rely on us to take care of them and feeding good quality food or supplements that helps them achieve the best then they can be! 🥰 I’d be curious on seeing Nutro or Simply nourish!
I just watched your cat food reviews and I've been comparing prices. Not gonna lie, I'm awful at math and would love a video like this for cat food. Great videos! Keep up the great work!
Thank You very much for this. I've been trying hard to improve my pets foods over the last few years. This totally clears up the decisions I need to make. I'd love to hear your opinion on 'Badlands Ranch' brand.
Thank you for including First Mate. It's sooo good for the price.
I’m getting a puppy next month and I was planning on feeding taste of the wild but now I think I might go with nutrisource. This video was super helpful. Please do one for cats next!
Congratulations on your new puppy!
@@TheTattooedDogTrainer Hi would you recommend the brand nutrisource?
Excellent coverage ❣️🤩😎🧁🧁🧁
At our home, we love Victor! I have Boxers, they have ALOT of allergies, and Victor has solved our problems after many mistrials ❤❤
Great info, thank you. My pup gets Fromm and is doing well.
For years I thought I had a great balance between my dogs nutrition and my wallet…turns out I’ve been burning money and my dogs could have been eating better!
Super thankful for this info!❤
Yes! This was a wonderful breakdown! Thank you!!! It's definitely a struggle for many pet parents to see the value of a high quality kibble ... not just on the surface but also over time with reduced vet bills and health problems. ❤
We're so used to people food where a jar of peanut butter is going to have the same caloric density from one brand to another so the cost per ounce actually means something. Not here!
Thank you I will be trying to switch my dogs based on this info!
Hi Skylar, thanks for the videos, they are full of useful information for sure! I do have a question. I was just on the First Mate website and was reading the ingredient list for one of their foods. I am confused about why this is one of your recommended brands. I was looking at the Free Range Lamb and Oats formula and the first ingredient is lamb meal. And that is the only meat ingredient. And didn't you tell us you were not a fan of meals? I'm just trying to put into practice what I got from your pet ranking videos but now I am thinking I misunderstood something.
Can you review the Open Farm food?
Awesome video!!! Thank you! 😊
Thank you for your info, it’s been really helpful. Was wondering your opinion on Sportmix canineX chicken dog food.
Great video! Between the nutri source, firstmate and Fromm which you you recommend to have the better ingredients?
So helpful--thank you! The shelter was feeding the cat and dog both Hill's (dry only!), but I can do better!
Hey Skylar, great videos, very informative, wondering if you've reviewed Satori Dog Foods before. It's a Canadian company.
Hi, thank you for the helpful videos you post. I’m currently feeding my GSD essence but I think it may be too rich for her, she’s extremely sensitive. I’ve had her to the vet numerous times trying to figure her out. I’m wondering if you would suggest us trying something like nutrisource (regular or pure vita, element may be too rich?) thank you! ☺️
I’d like to say that my personal vet has seen the differences in diet for a litter of puppies and their bone density and she says that puppy formula causes joint issues and to use adult dog food. Do with that what you will, just wanted to put that out there.
I’m definitely going to check out a pet supplies plus and see about nutrisource or Fromm. I think they even have ziwi and zignature. This has been immensely helpful since I’ve been thinking about switching from Orijen since Mars bought them out.
I've watched your past videos and then took a canine nutrition course! my senior dogs eat diamond naturals duck formula, my puppy eats wellness core puppy food. I also add bone broth and cook them their own dog food on occasion. And yes the way diamond naturals does it- if you get the bag with duck as the #1 ingrediant they only sell it in bags up to 18lbs and I have to buy 2 bags of it per month (I have 4 senior dogs 1 is a pitbull) its extremely expensive at $36 something a bag.
Can you do a video on fresh dog foods like freshpet, farmers dog, full moon, Ollie... Kinda rate from best to worst. I'm thinking of trying the full moon fresh food on my corgi/Chihuahua mix. She's so picky! She refused kibble and canned at the shelter. Ive tried raw, but she's not crazy about it... She likes freshpet but I don't like all the peas in it...
Omg I hope she does this type of video! Thanks for recommending this!
My vet recommended AllProvide, would love to see that on the list ! I was also looking at the brand Raised Right since they also use organ meat in the recipe
Well, fresh pet will be last. Kinda crappy
I’ve tried a lot of the fresh food brands, I feed my dog 50/50 fresh and dry food (tend to avoid canned food because of BPA). In my opinion, the best two are Spot & Tango and Ollie. S&P has the highest meat content and their quality seems the freshest and most appealing, but Ollie also seems quite palatable and maybe a bit more digestible since they mash/cook the vegetables a bit more. When feeding a small dog, the price difference is negligible, but with a larger dog Ollie is definitely the more affordable option.
Both of these brands also serve a dry food, but my dog wasn’t the biggest fan of Ollie’s baked food. We haven’t tried S&P’s unkibble though.
What dry kibble do you use? Also, I’ve got a 61 lbs english bulldog. Do you think Ollie is the best for fresh?
I agree with the idea of what you are doing here--measure cost based on a day's serving size and not based on cost per pound. But the assumption that all dog foods have the same weight per cup (you used 8 oz per cup) is a huge assumption that can really affect your results. Some food brands are going to be more dense, and that could be why they suggest giving your dog less cups of food. If you actually measured the weight per cup for each brand, then you'd have an accurate representation of the cost per serving for each brand.
Edit: Now that my pup has grown up, I thought I'd come back to this to re-calculate because I'm deciding on an adult food. The density of the food (oz per cup) matters A LOT, and not taking it into account skews the results. A lot of dog food makers actually provide the serving size in weight as well as volume (usually in grams, so it just needs to be converted to ounces) or if they don't, every brand provides the kCal per cup and kCal per kg for their food, and the number of oz per cup can be calculated from there. Below are the costs per day that I got when taking this into account. Note that this is based on the price I can get these foods for--it's going to be different depending on where you live--but all my prices were pretty close to yours. Also some of your serving sizes were off (Fromm and FirstMate were very far off) based on the info I could find on each company's website, so the amounts are based on what they had on their website.
Nutrish: $1.58
Iams: $1.80
Purina Pro Plan: $1.96
*NutriSource: $1.98
*Fromm: $2.21
Taste of the Wild: $2.46
Blue Buffalo: $2.49
*FirstMate: $2.69
*Zignature: $2.83
As you can see, FirstMate ends up being one of the most expensive, and that's because it is by far the most dense food. It is nearly 5.5 ounces per cup, and the next most dense is Taste of the Wild at 4 oz per cup. Also, like I said, the serving sizes you had aren't accurate according to the company's websites, which also affected the results.
Thank you! Can do you a review or let us know your thoughts on open farm?
Can you do a review of Sunday, Ollie, Farmers dog, etc - the freeze dried and/or refrigerated or air dried options?
I was considering switching back to nutrisource (what my feed store has most readily) this video made me think that is a heck yes
Can you do a video on vitamins and supplements? Like coat health, coat shine, joint health stuff?
Excellent! Thankful! Thank you!
Glad you found it helpful!
I’ve really enjoyed the rankings. Can we get a ranking of the “Limited Ingredient” dog foods?
Thank you!🐕
What are the best shampoos for dogs?
I have a question regarding the food called Unkibble by Spot and Tango. Any comments on that food? I’ve been hearing a lot of about air dried and freezed dried. I current feed my dogs Nutri Source element series. I have tried Farmer Dogs which became very unreasonable to feed due to having to stay freeze and I just started a travel job which will be hard to have space for freezed food. I would appreciate some help regarding the freeze or air dried food.
I really wish you had a video for foods that are best for our dogs with reoccurring yeast infections and if the diet significantly will make a difference.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on the Annamaet brand. Been feeding it for years.
Hi! Thanks for your videos. Could yo do Diamond Naturals Puppy formula? What are your thoughts?
Hello! So I’m not American and most dry food that I actually can source in my country is honestly very bad quality, one of the best or more premium brands that I can get are ones like Royal Canin, there’s these brands that are starting to be imported, and I’d like your opinion on them since you haven’t named them on your reviews and I can’t find reviews on them; they are: Nutrique, Eukanuba, Cibau. I do try to cook my own dogs food but there are situations when I really don’t have the time to prep and make their food, so I’m looking for alternatives for those occasions, I do try to feed them kibble just a few times a week so they don’t get used to having only freshly cooked food because we travel for my health quite often and I can’t always have access to a kitchen. Thank you so much! I really been enjoying your videos!
Please review Natures Logic Distinction vs Carna4. This would be super informative!
Can you do a video on diets for specific dogs, like cane corso
You are the best. Thank you
I rotate brands and proteins for my 2 Labrador Retrievers that are 90lbs and 65lbs (male and female) we use Victor which comes in 50lbs bags along with Nutrisource the most. Shopping sales really help me keep costs down as they both eat about 20lbs of food a month. Thanks to sales and coupons from my local pet store (pet supplies plus) I can get 2 or 3 months worth of food for around $100 a month. Taste of the Wild is on sale often at the store as well so I will try adding that into rotation next. My big concern for Taste of the Wild is that they have recall history Victor does not have any recall on their foods.
Thanks for this! Any suggestions for deciding which line of Nutrisource is best? My two shih tzus love it so far but they have a ton of choices to choose from!
Depends on what you're looking for!
Choice: Budget line
Nutrisource: standard line, gf and w/ grain
Purevita: Limited Ingredient (sensitivity-friendly) gf and w/ grain
Element: high-protein w/ grain
We need one of these each year a review as well puppy food and small breed
I have a question in pruina pro plan. The sensitive stomach formula don't have corn, wheat etc so are those considered better quality?
any chance you'll do a best dog treats? i know you do a best dehydrated dog treats but what about the rest? is dehydrated the way to go? or are other options still feasible at a lower cost?
I’ve been doing Steve’s raw food for my 3 babies. At first I was nervous because of the cost but it’s been going really well. I was adding a tiny bit of kibble but I think I can fully transition and if not the. I’ll go back to a mix between the two! ❤
I'm so glad it is working well for you!
@@TheTattooedDogTrainer thank you ☺️
I make my own and add it to their kibbles. Mine has tons of veggies, wild caught salmon, chicken thighs,quinoa, etc. i also use a small shaking of probiotics to their meals. I have BIG dogs so making my own helps me balance the expense of a good kibble. My fur babies LOVE my food and so do many doggies in the neighborhood. ❤
Hi there! I had a question on ash. I’ve seen it in some dog foods and was wondering what exactly it is-I read it’s the minerals like calcium/phosphorus/magnesium-things like that. But what is the nutritional requirements (min/max)? Is there a thing as too much ash? Mainly the food I am referring to is NutriSource. Thanks in advance!
Hey Skylar! Could you do something like this for cat food as well? This video was really helpful 💜
No she hates cats
@@u2fkeys665 in what way??
I believe she already has a few videos on cat food!
I have an extremely picky 11 month old Rottweiler who generally dislikes any kibble. Even though I give her canned wet food too, she often lets the kibble sit for an hour or more before getting hungry enough to eat it. She grew tired of Purina ProPlan Salmon & Rice limited ingredient kibble, so we now have her on Zignature Salmon kibble. What helps her eat the kibble is a topper. Either bone broth, or Katherine Heigl's Badlands Ranch Superfood (quite expensive). I can't imagine feeding a dog dry kibble alone, much less inexpensive, unhealthy, low quality kibble. I realize that family budgets often necessitate lower quality dry kibble dog food, but it can't be healthy at all.
I feed my dog Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream grain free recipe. I thought it was a decent brand especially since my dog has a lot of allergies, and it’s hard to find a good dog brand that is affordable, and there r some good brands I can afford but they all have mixed meats in there recipes or they all have pumpkin, and my dog is allergic to chicken, Turkey, pumpkin, dairy and I think she is allergic to beef to, so it’s very difficult to find something for my dog including treats. I was gonna try Zignature but my dog was already eating taste of the wild so I stayed with the brand just changed the flavor. And I always add toppers because my dog is picky, she can’t eat on kibble without toppers. That’s just me lol
@@janelle4700 Thanks for sharing. Always good to hear from others regarding how and what they feed their pooches.
I make my own bone broth from scratch. I use the leftover bones from raw pork, beef, chicken and boil it with ginger, turmeric, and parsley. He loves it.
Just walked into the pet store and saw a new offering for Acana called "butchers favorites" or something like that. Can we get a review/analysis of it?
I would love if you could review a brand called Roosevelt! They’re a Minnesota brand, very inexpensive and from your vids I think it’s pretty good nutrition wise? I’d love your thoughts
Can you do a video on 4heath endurance formula?
I know this is off topic, but I think you are som beautiful in this video. You're rocking those bangs and your makeup is on point.
Great video, I have my dog on Nutrish which I always thought was high quality. Do you have any specific dry food recommendation for a 155lb cane corso?
Hi, can you detail your education as a pet nutritionist? There are some nutrition certification programs that only require a quick 2 week course. I like to check on rhis type of thing before taking internet advice. Thanks.
acana heritage light vs
fit dog vs. orijen fit trim dry dog food ?
Which one would be best for a Schnoodle- I hear Schnauzer have issues with pancreatitis and want to prevent that she is half Schnauzer - but also Toy Poodle 🐩
I love your videos. I've been feeding my dog Liberty by Bixbi but now Petsmart isn't selling it in stores anymore. Now I gotta find an alternative.
Same 😭😭 now what?!
ok this legit opened my eyes I just found out the food I have been feeding just had a recall. I was trying to find something affordable but good quality. I guess I will be giving firstmate a try. how about seinor foods where the dog might struggle to stay at a healthy weight.
Have you ever done a review on the dog food, chicken soup for the soul?
If so, where can I find it? I've been considering trying that for my pomsky 🤔
Is there a particular reason you chose the weight managemtn for Fromm?
Hi.. I have been watching you since few months back and your content really helps a lot.... I need a help, can you please compare n&d and orijen cat food?
Hey!
I could never find anyone reviewing Alpha Spirit (Spanish company), and I'm inclined to think they have good ingredients (human grade, etc). Same with some other local Portuguese Brands like Barkyn. Is there anyone talking about those?
Thank you! Your videos are super helpful!
Could you suggest what to feed my new puppy, she's currently 8 weeks old and still eating the grainfree dry kibble she came with from the breeder. We live in Europe so brands are different. Should I swap to a cold pressed dry food with some added wet? What are your thoughts? I don't know if she has any allergies yet
Can you please do an in-depth review video on a couple of FROMM products? Like the dry Puppy and Adult or something? :)
I'm trying Fromm chicken rice, and salmon dry - coming off Purina one chicken rice small dog. My ol' English Bulldog eats it. My 2 chihuahuas won't.
I suggest looking these up on FDA. Only two on this list aren't cited for congestive heart failure in dogs...
Thanks for this comment. I also look for brands that have never been recalled.
There is no evidence linking legumes to DCM. Do your research and read peer-reviewed articles
Which are they?
What kibble do you think is best between "Farmina N&D Ancestral Grain Chicken & Pomegranate Recipe Adult Mini Dry Dog Food" and "The Honest Kitchen Whole Food Clusters Small Breed Grain Free Chicken Dry Dog Food"?
In any of your videos have you reviewed instinct (with grain recipes)?
Can you do a review on Carnilove it’s a dog/cat food brand from the czech republic i’ve heard that it’s a good choice but i want to hear your opinion aswell.
Can you please review Nulo? Specifically dog and cat kibble and wet cat food-mousse packets. Would love your take!!!!!♥️
Thank you so much! I’m adopting a dog in June and I was so worried that I would have to spend $300+ a month to properly feed my 60lb dog. What is your opinion on subscription based dog food companies? I’ve been getting a lot of ads for them recently.
I like diamond natural imo it’s a good brand or taste of the wild ancient grains ❤❤
Okay, so after doing my research, you intrigued me about FirstMate Grain Friendly Chicken and Oats, so I'm going with them. I calculated that for my 75 lb (used 2.5 cups/day) Seizure Response Service Dog, I will pay about $87.44/mo. Do you think this is a good choice for a Service Dog, which are usually recommended to eat higher quality food?
While looking at more FirstMate products, there is a FirstMate Skoki Dog Food. For the same 75 lb dog (again, 2.5 cups/day), the total came to be $60.94 cost/mo. To cut the cost is tempting, and when I looked into the food it's actually rated pretty highly by some credible sources (won't be named because I don't want to step on your toes), but I decided to stick with the grain friendly because there are some products that are better in that food. I am curious as to where Skoki would fall on your list, though, because for the value, it's an interesting food.
Also, do you have a specific recommendation of food for a Service Dog (and please keep value in mind)?
Also, a video comparing cat food would be great!
What at sealing and freezing portions of kibble to keep the freshness? Would freezing negatively effect the kibble?
On the subject of cost per anything. Like you said, larger quantities tend to be better values, as long as they're consumed before going stale or bad.
I'm considering the method of storage.
QUESTION: Would a large, sealed (air-tight), tote be a worthy storage method for kibble, when using oxygen absorber packets?
Of course the packets should be changed out regularly, to ensure function.
What are your thoughts on the hills science diet weight maintenance or adult dry dog kibble ?
Do you recommend feeding dogs once or twice a day? Thank you
Is Beef Pro Puppy good? What tier would you put it?
Skyler! Where are you? I miss your insights on such topics! Please can you share your thoughts on using freeze dried (raw) food for dogs? I plan to use them as treats
Could you please review spot and tango's UnKibble? It is about .24 cents per ounce (3.84 per pound). After looking at your ranking video of wet dog food I noticed that the price is comparable to the wet food you ranked in "Hell Yeah" and "Chef's Kiss" and this kind has no preservatives such as guar gum or carageenan so I wondered if it would be a better option than wet dog food?