Thoughts on Kirkland brand dry dog food sold at Costco?

[celticfox]

Does anyone feed this to their dog(s)? WOULD you feed this to your dog(s)?

My husband is in love with the price but I wasn't 100% sold on it after seeing beet pulp and chicken fat in the ingredient list. It looked decent otherwise but then again, I read the ingredient list very quickly before moving on.

This is the Lamb and Rice dry food sold at Canadian Costco stores, if that makes any difference. They also have a chicken version but I didn't check the ingredients.

[Frenchy]

You probably won't get woo and aaah about it here But I do feed it to my dogs, the lamb and rice formula. They have no problem with it. I use to feed another brand $20-$25 more than the Costco one and it had the same ingredients. I heard some dogs had problems with the chicken formula tough.

[Byrd]

Willow's sister (my friend's dog) gets this food. I think it's comparable to Pedigree. Phoenix is fine with it, but I wouldn't buy it.

[breeze]

i fed kita the chicken one it's the only one she can tolarate why i don't know but it works for her.

[Prin]

Wooo and ahhhh... (Just to make Frenchy laugh.)

It's not the best food, but there's nothing horrible about it. Chicken fat is actually a good fat. Beet pulp isn't the best, it's a stool hardener, but it's not the worst ingredient either.

Let's just say there's nothing unethical and there's nothing that will harm your dog in the long term in this food. But ONLY the lamb. Not the chicken. The chicken one has byproducts and stuff.

[Frenchy]

Originally Posted by Byrd

I think it's comparable to Pedigree.

Please compare the ingredients before you say this. At least it has no corn. I know many brand that are far more expensive where corn is in the first 3 ingredients.

[rainbow]

I agree. It's certainly not the best food but if price is an issue it's better than what's available at the supermarket and Walmart. I'd stick with the lamb and rice one too.

[heidiho]

ooohhh aahhhhhh !! i had to

[Frenchy]

Originally Posted by heidiho

ooohhh aahhhhhh !! i had to

thanks Prin and Heidiho

[TeriM]

Originally Posted by Prin

Let's just say there's nothing unethical and there's nothing that will harm your dog in the long term in this food. But ONLY the lamb. Not the chicken. The chicken one has byproducts and stuff.

Interesting enough I was just at Costco yesterday in the US (quick shopping trip ) and was looking at this food. There was actually three types there and the chicken/rice, lamb/rice were pretty much identical. There was another type there though that was kirkland nuggets that did have byproducts in it. Not sure if this is a US/Cda thing or not?

[heidiho]

It was just to tempting,,,,,,,,

[Prin]

I've checked the bags to be sure that the pamphlet I was given one day (sample day) was the same as the bags in the store and they were and the chicken ones had byproducts... There's a thread around here somewhere where I typed up the ingredients....

Definitely better than pedigree, purina, Iams... Definitely. It's even better than most of the Nutro formulas.

[TeriM]

I agree, not the best but definately a good value for the money.

[Byrd]

Originally Posted by Frenchy

Please compare the ingredients before you say this. At least it has no corn. I know many brand that are far more expensive where corn is in the first 3 ingredients.

Hence the word think. I'm not a food guru, don't claim to be, but, I've been told by others in the "doggy world" that that's the comparison. It's a grocery store food. If I made a mistake.... sorry.

[Prin]

Here's the post where I compared the lamb and rice of Nutro to Kirkland's...
http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread....69&#post308969

(I didn't go into too much detail, but if you need me to I can...)

[coppperbelle]

Originally Posted by Prin

Definitely better than pedigree, purina, Iams... Definitely. It's even better than most of the Nutro formulas.

Yup, I agree.

[technodoll]

if you add some real proteins to the kirkland's dry food (canned fish, cooked meats, eggs, yogurt, cottage cheese, good canned foods, etc), it will make it even better!

[4thedogs]

Kirkland is comparable to any other store premium kibble. (not grocery foods)

Feeding all the things that were mentioned would boost any kibble food no matter what brand it is.

In regards to kibble there are 3 general levels

Grocery
Pet store premium
Specialty premium

[LibbyP]

For those wondering here is the list of ingredients for Kirkland Chicken and Rice

chicken,chicken meal, whole grain brown rice,cracked pearled barley, chicken fat(preserved with mixed tocopherols & vitamin E), egg product, beet pulp, potatoes, fish meal, flaxseed, natural flavor, brewers dried yeast, millet, carrots, peas, kelp, apples, dried skim milk, cranberry powder, potassium chloride, salt, choline chloride, rosemary extract, parsley flake, dried chicory root, glucosamine hydrochloride, vitamin Esupplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, chondroitin sulfate, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride(vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex(vitamin K activity) riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid

crude protein 26%
crude fat 16%
crude fiber 4%
moisture 10%
calcium 1.0%
phosphorus 0.8%
zinc 200 mg/kg
selenium 0.4mg/kg
vitamin A 15,000IU/kg
vitamin E 150IU/kg
omega-6 fatty acids 2.5%
omega-3 fatty acids 0.4%
glucosamine not less than 300 mg/kg
chondroitin sulfate not less than 100mg/kg

3,754 kcal/kg(362kcal/cup)

[Prin]

My categories are a little more specific:
Commercial
Not terrible commercial/Almost holistic
Holistic

[Prin]

omg, Libby, thanks for posting that. I was remembering the cat ones. Sorry everybody. It's the Kirkland cat ones that are full of by-products. Sorry.

Kirkland Super Premium Maintenance Cat:
Chicken by-product meal, ground yellow corn, brewers rice, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and vit E), corn gluten meal.....

Sorry about that! The dog chicken is actually ok.

[4thedogs]

Same list different words

[Prin]

Originally Posted by 4thedogs

Same list different words

Yep.

(Just that commercial foods ALWAYS use "premium" in their food names)

[celticfox]

Thanks so much for your honest opinions.

Our dogs are doing okay on the Holistic Blend Lamb and Rice they are on (our older dog, Rusty, has been a bit gassy on it) and I've been reluctant to switch because things didn't go so well when I tried switching them to a new food a couple of weeks before Christmas. Some of you may remember me posting about my experience with Natural Balance Potato and Duck. We're still not sure if it was the food or the raw bones I fed the dogs around the same time but our dog Raven became quite ill days before Christmas with what the vet believes was a mild case of pancreatitis (blood tests were normal but symptoms were consistant with pancreatitis). Thank heavens she recovered beautifully within a couple of weeks.

I've been contemplating switching them again because I suspect the Holistic Blend may be giving Raven horrible breath (see post in the health section ). Her breath did improve while she was on the NB Duck and Potato and also while she was on the special canned food prescribed by the vet for 10 days. Once she went back to her regular food the smelly breath was back again and is steadily getting worse. The poor girl can clear a room in seconds when she starts panting. LOL!

Anyhoo, I'm getting a bit off-topic here but I'm thinking I should probably avoid putting her on another lamb based food given her breath issue. Perhaps I should try the Holistic Blend Chicken and Vegetable instead? How do these ingredients look? Would you recommend another non-lamb based food instead?

Low ash chicken, whole ground brown rice, hulless barley, whole oats, chicken fat (preserved with rosemary), rosemary extract, ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), natural chicken flavour, tomatoe pomace, salmon, dried whole eggs, nutritional yeast, kelp, sunflower oil, garlic oil, whlole dried carrots, whole dried potatoes, beta carotene, calcium carbonate, chelated minerals (zinc proteinate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, iron proteinate), sodium selenite, potassium chloride, cobalt carbonate, calcium iodate, vitamin A supplement, choline chloride, vitamin E supplement, d-calcium pantothenate, biotin supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, vitamin K1 supplement, vitamin D supplement, vitamin C supplement, folic acid.

Thanks again for your opinions!

[Prin]

Too grainy. When the chicken loses its moisture during cooking, it loses around 70-80% of its mass and falls much lower on the ingredient list, putting the rice at #1.

Canidae makes a better chicken food.

http://www.canidae.com/

Originally Posted by Canidae all life stages dry

Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Brown Rice, White Rice, Lamb Meal, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Herring Meal, Flax Seed, Sun Cured Alfalfa Meal, Sunflower Oil, Chicken, Lecithin, Monocalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Linoleic Acid, Rosemary Extract, Sage Extract, Dried Enterococcus Faecium, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus Oryzae Fermentation Extract, Dried Bacillus Subtilis Fermentation Extract, Inulin (from Chicory root), Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Fermentation Solubles, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Mixed Tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Cobalt Amino Acid Chelate, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C), Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (source of B2), Beta Carotene, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Calcium Iodate, Folic Acid, D-Biotin, Sodium Selenite, Papaya, Vitamin B12 Supplement.

[angeldogs]

i like the canidae.we have our shih tzu on it now.good price.

[vfrohloff]

I fed the Kirkland Lamb and Rice for a while and Sophie did really well on it. However, Benny has a chicken allergy (I didn't know that back then) and it gave him the barfs and the splats. I think it's pretty good value for the money, better than grocery store brands for sure. I may have kept Sophie on it if the nearest Costco wasn't 45 minutes away, it wasn't worth paying the membership fee for me to go once every 2 months.

[Prin]

Hey! Another chicken intolerance! WOO!! Sorry, but I was feeling like Boo was the only one ever in the history of dogs.

[coppperbelle]

My dogs have been eating Canidae for about 3 weeks now. So far/so good, shedding is down and they are no longer biting their legs which they began doing on the DVP. The price is also very reasonable. I give them cans of fish and other meats as well.

[vfrohloff]

Originally Posted by Prin

Hey! Another chicken intolerance! WOO!! Sorry, but I was feeling like Boo was the only one ever in the history of dogs.

Yep, took me the longest time to figure it out (like almost 2 years). Poor Benny, I couldn't figure out why he was puking yellow bile every single day and his poops were never normal. He was in good health otherwise, and Sophie didn't have any of the same problems so I figured he must be intolerant to something. I tried feeding him 4 times a day, tried all kinds of different foods, some of them Lamb and Rice but with chicken or eggs hidden in them somewhere I finally tried Holistic Blend Lamb and Rice and he was fine after that. I realized that the only thing different about it was that it had no chicken products in it at all. I've since tried giving him a few bites of a chicken kibble and he gets the bile pukes again so I'm pretty sure about it. He also gets sick when he eats (or should I say steals!) chicken meat or eggs.
Sorry for the threadjack!