Which food would be best?

[cassiek]

Hi all -

Looking for some advice here. I'm kind of in a tough situation.

Currently, I feed half raw and half Acana or Orijen. In an ideal world, I would feed 100% raw but had switched a few months back to half kibble to cut down on the cost.

My financial situation is going to be a little tight here for the next few months, and I'm wondering what I should do in regards to the dog's food. What I consider to be my options are keep them on half raw and switch to a lower quality kibble such as Kirkland Lamb & Rice (I would still have to keep my little fella on Orijen 6 Fish as he has allergies, but even just putting the two big dogs on the Kirkland would save some cash), or I am wondering if I should switch them 100% to a top quality kibble like Orijen and forget the raw altogether.

I've looked at the prices and they work out about the same. Currently I can buy raw for about $1.00/lb. The Kirkland is much cheaper than the Orijen as it's about $30.00 a bag here for a 40 lb bag, where Orijen runs at about $65-70 for a 30 lb bag.

I feel really bad that I am going to have to downgrade the pups food a little... ideally I would feed 100% raw if I could afford to, but just can't right now. What do you guys think? Under normal circumstances, I like to stick to high quality kibbles as much as possible, but it is my understanding that the Kirkland is not so bad... I've looked at the ingredients in it and while it does have grains, overall I think it receives 3 stars on dogfoodanaylsis.com (I know, still not great). But I really like feeding the raw, and hate to give that up.

Thoughts?

[luckypenny]

Only if your raw is really balanced well, I'd probably go with the raw and the Kirkland. How much do your guys eat? When it gets really hectic at work (and I keep forgetting to take the raw out of the freezer), I'll supplement with Orijen. They all get 1/2lb raw meal for breakfast and 3/4 cup Orijen for supper so still rather affordable. They're weights range form 25lbs to 68lbs.

[cassiek]

Originally Posted by luckypenny

Only if your raw is really balanced well, I'd probably go with the raw and the Kirkland. How much do your guys eat? When it gets really hectic at work (and I keep forgetting to take the raw out of the freezer), I'll supplement with Orijen. They all get 1/2lb raw meal for breakfast and 3/4 cup Orijen for supper so still rather affordable. They're weights range form 25lbs to 68lbs.

Hi LP,

That's was I was thinking too... stick with the raw and switch to Kirkland.


For the big pups, I feed eitheir chicken backs/necks or chicken or turkey with bone ground in. Sometimes, I supplement with the chicken or turkey with bone in and veggies and fruits. I also give organs sometimes. Brynn gets approx. 1/2 lb raw in the A.M. and Diesel eats about 1 lb raw in the A.M. In the P.M. I have been giving about 3/4 c. Orijen to Brynn. Right now, we have been trying to put weight on Diesel so he is getting about 4 cups a day (2 cups in the late afternoon and 2 later on in the evening).

For Sassy and Furby I usually stick to turkey, chicken, beef, lamb, rabbit etc. with organs and veggies/fruits. Furby I feed 1/4 c. 6 Fish Orijen in the P.M. Sassy eats so little and usually refuses the kibble so I usually feed her all raw.

[Gail P]

I've been feeding the Kirkland chicken, rice & vegetable for over a year now and I'm really happy with it. Not expensive and my dogs are doing fantastic on it. Beautiful shiny coats, good stools, lots of energy etc. Feeding 9 dogs ranging from 39-90 pounds, they maintain their weight on 1 1/2 to 3 cups/day depending on the dog. I do also sometimes feed them whole raw eggs and when they're training/racing I also make lots of extras for them...chicken (since I raise my own) broth, soups, stews, etc. plus leftovers, meat trimmings, gravy etc. When they're not working they eat basically just plain kibble with the odd bit of leftovers here and there. Oh and they love veggies and get bits and pieces when I'm cutting stuff up in the kitchen and peeling carrots etc. Also when I have fresh garden veggies they get to snack on things like beans and carrots.

[mastifflover]

I used to feed Bud Kirkland and he did really well on in fact better than some much more expensive foods. I think for the money it is a good value

[cassiek]

Thanx for the input, everyone!

I think I will probably stick with the half raw and half Kirkland... at least until the finances look a little better

I was surprised when I was looking at both the Kirkland and Orijen, that the amount of cups they recommend feeding based on the dog's weight were very close. Usually I have noticed that a higher quality kibble usually does not need as much fed to the dog, as it is more highly digestible.

In any event, I have heard some good things about Kirkland and feel confident to feed it to my pups.

Thanx again everyone!