Pet store food

[juliefurry]

Ok, my husband has announced that he is sick of the half an hour drive one way to get the Eagle Pack that I feed the dogs and he said from now on we are shopping at Petsmart or Petco (since we drive past three on the way to the regular food store). IF I can't persuad my husband to change his mind what would be some useable alternatives to Eagle Pack? I went into Petsmart today and looked at Authority, and Nutro, and they also have the Natural Raw.

 

[Fran27]

I would say your best bet is natural balance at petco if you can... If not nutro and royal canin are decent.

I've never heard of natural raw though, I'm sure Mordy will be more helpful.

 

[Zoom]

Sawyer is doing fantastic on the Royal Canin I buy at Petsmart, and Authority is actually a pretty decent food for being a store brand. It's better than Iams and Science Diet anyway.

 

[Mordy]

authority is junk, i'd definitely stay away from that. the only dry food brand worth buying from petsmart is the blue buffalo and it's quite pricy compared to other high-end brands.

nutro isn't a particular great brand either, especially considering that it contains barely 30% meat, the rest is all grains and additives. you have to feed more of it than of better foods, so you aren't going to save any money.

your best bet is probably natural balance, which is sold at petco. they have a "buy 10 bags get one bag free" program, which is nice. make sure to check out your local petco stores, some do carry solid gold products (one in my area does for example, while the other doesn't). if they don't, ask if they'd consider special ordering for you.

either way, i don't think that you are going to save any money buying at the two chain stores, so maybe that'll convince your husband.

 

[Zoom]

I've never heard of Blue Buffalo before. Shall have to check that out

 

[juliefurry]

well everything comes down to the price of gas for him. He just wants to go to the closest store run and run out. I asked about ordering online and ofcourse he rolls his eyes at that. Luckily I bought three bags of Eagle Pack last time we were there so there is plenty to last my two. Usually I feed the three but since we no longer have Mack I only have the two to worry about.

 

[Saje]

I'd go less often and buy more. You can store it in clean garbage cans in a cool place and it should last. I think so anyway but food never lasts around here

 

[juliefurry]

That's what I have been doing. I'll save thirty bucks out of each paycheck and buy three or four bags at a time but I guess that's not good enough for my husband. I think I'm just being mad at him for everything. I should just go by myself and not tell him that I'm going, what's he gonna do...ground me? I think I'll just go while he's at work once a month and not tell him that I'm going I don't care I'll use my paychecks for gas and food.

 

[Mordy]

julie, you know eagle often also posts coupons ont heir sie to print out, right?
http://eaglepack.com/pages/programs_coupons.html

the offers change frequently, so make sure you check now and then.

 

[juliefurry]

yeah, I've used them occasionally when they have the product that I feed. They had one for the treats for a dollar off but the place that I go has the treats for buy one get one free so I got two bags of the treats for less than 3 dollars.

 

[Whitedobelover]

the problem with those that you buy at petsmart and petco is that they ALL contain fillers and fillers are horrible for your dog...they can not digest CORN and all of the food you will buy at petsmart or pet co has corn in it... though if you want something that is good and almost holistic go with Blue Baffaulo... it is good and my dogs love it when they were eating it... but they are picky and wont eat anything now that comes fromt here... except a mixture of science diet which also has fillers...

all those from Petsmart and Petco also have additives in their meats... chemcials that hurt our pets... so i hope that this helps to understand that Eagle Pack is the best for your dog... and even though your husband doesnt wanna drive that far... you have to tell him the differences and how it is going to be hard on your dog chanign to a premium food...No Offense to those how swear by it...

hugs you guys

 

[Mordy]

whitedobe, actually the claim that dogs can't digest corn is untrue. they can digest it just like other types of grain. the problem with poor quality foods is that they use corn as a major source of protein, and plant protein is harder for dogs to digest than animal-based protein.

in a nutshell, if corn is combined with good quality meat in a kibble, the simple fact that it contains corn doesn't make it worse than one that has rice, oatmeal or whatever other grain.

 

[Manchesters]

Corn

whitedobe, actually the claim that dogs can't digest corn is untrue. they can digest it just like other types of grain. the problem with poor quality foods is that they use corn as a major source of protein, and plant protein is harder for dogs to digest than animal-based protein.

in a nutshell, if corn is combined with good quality meat in a kibble, the simple fact that it contains corn doesn't make it worse than one that has rice, oatmeal or whatever other grain.

I have always wondered where the "can't digest corn" myth came from. I guess people don't remember maize, which was a staple of the Native Americans. And then of course, closer to home there is corn bread, corn pone, grits, corn meal porridge (YYUUUMMMY!!!!). All kinds of good stuff from ground corn!!!!! Don't know how well we digest it, but it sure is good going down, rofl.

 

[Fran27]

For us yeah, but dogs were never 'made' to eat grain, lol.

 

[Tail_Chaser]

So is this a list of good foods to choose from or not? Anymore?

Innova EVO
Wellness
Natural Balance
Solid Gold
Eagle Pack
Canidae

 

[yuckaduck]

I do not know what is good and what is not but I feed Kirkland Signatures Chicken and Rice, unfortunately it can only be bought at Cosco because it is cheap $20 for 18.4kg [Canadian funds]

 

[juliefurry]

well unfortunetely where I drive for dog food is my husband choice. I wouldn't be surprised if he tries to tell me what to feed them next. We have been looking into getting an adult standard poodle but the breeder said that she MUST be keep on a high quality non pet food store brand such as Eagle Pack or Innova (the dog is on a raw diet now). So if he wants this dog bad enough (and I think he does) then he'll keep driving the extra time.

 

[Tail_Chaser]

There is not a PETCO or PETSMART close to where I live, in fact I've never been in one. But I did go to the pet store today, to get some mice, and they sell Innova, Wellness, Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul, and Natural Balance.

 

[Mordy]

tail chaser, trust me, you aren't missing out on anything.

i find very few items worth buying at these two huge chains, especially the food and treats are mostly of pretty poor quality, petsmart probably even moreso than petco. sadly, some people don't have other options.

i walked into a petsmart the other day while waiting for my husband and wanted to buy some training treats but came up totally empty handed. didn't find a single thing that was acceptable, except for the pet botanics meat roll but i didn't have a knife with me to cut it up.

the website has a better inventory and they often have pretty good deals, but i usually find other sources cheaper. and cheaper = more doggie stuff for the same amount of money.

 

[Tail_Chaser]

oh ok. so this question?

So is this a list of good foods to choose from or not? Anymore?

Innova EVO
Wellness
Natural Balance
Solid Gold
Eagle Pack
Canidae