Switching dog food because of price and availability?!

I also switched from PPP, mainly due to cost. I switched to Victor Hi Pro Plus. Locally it is a little cheaper, my dogs coats and stool got quite a bit better. I buy 3-4 bags at a time, so I hit up one or two local feed stores and can get enough to last for a couple of months. I was considering diamond, but if I remember correctly they had some issues with recalls that made me nervous. Another food I looked into was Joy, but I can't find it locally.
 
When you are comparing diamond to brands like Purina/Joy/Victor which have never had recalls (to my knowledge at least), that will make some nervous. I know many people that feed diamond with no issues, just didn't sit right with me
 
I too was a Purina fan for many years. Diamond Brand Dog Foods have many options to choose from, like Purina & others have. Not all their options were recalled. Just particulars. That's where the "Advisor" can help a person make a decision on his choice of dog food. Knowing exactly what's in it. And, how's it getting there. We all have choices.
 
Science Diet chicken & barley. So far it’s the only one that doesn’t give her diarrhea. Even changed the lap dog’s food to the same ingredients since my Golden is a food thief. All the premium foods are expensive. $56 at Petsmart for 35# or so.
And I’m in the group that feels guilty if I don’t buy the premium stuff.
 
I've been feeding Taste of the Wild grain free to both my young (6 years) and old (11 years) labs for the last few years. The younger dog has a "grain" allergy of some sort which this food seemed to sort out. The older dog had lived 10 years on Royal Canin Labrador formula without a glitch until her kidneys started failing, had a stroke and so on. Seemed easier to put them both on one food. The older dog was on Royal Canin's kidney formula until her stroke, then we started feeding whatever she would eat to keep her going for a while longer. Part of that was wet (canned) food and we tried Purina Pro Plan sensitive skin and stomach as we give a (very) little to the younger dog as well. We have a Tractor Supply nearby where we bought the Taste of the Wild and the canned PPP. They also stock dry (kibble) PPP sensitive skin and stomach so I thought I would try it. Unfortunately, what I found was that food has a lot of fines in it, which is usually due to a low quality binder, which Purina may have found necessary to achieve their goals for the "sensitive skin and stomach", but I just don't like a food with a lot of fines in it. We will feed this one bag then go back to Taste of the Wild. I'm disappointed in that Purina is one of only 3 companies in the U.S. that actually does dog food research. All the other companies are piggy-backing on that research or simply formulating food to minimum standards and making a lot of claims that likely are not true. Personally, I think the dog food industry is out of control. It is essentially unregulated, except for minimum nutritional requirements, so any manufacturer can make any claim about their food without proof or repercussion.
 
Wife picked up the last bag of PPP Sport at tractor supply yesterday and was $7 more…..good grief🙄
 
4shot said:
Wife picked up the last bag of PPP Sport at tractor supply yesterday and was $7 more…..good grief🙄
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I know. It's ridiculous. My dad was born in 1911. All his people were dog men. Mink dogs, Fox hounds, and bird dogs. He used to tell me that they would go to the feed mill and buy or trade for oats. Then go to the butcher and do the same for all the leftovers. Cook it all down in a big kettle over an open fire! Now we pay more for one bag than he made shucking corn for a week.
 
I suppose I am an "outcast", but I feed my dogs IAMS. Yep - IAMs. Prime age bird Brittanys get Lamb & Rice and when they turn about 8 they get the senior version. Breeder always has Diamond, but I slowly move the Diamond puppy chow over to my brand.

During hunting season I watch their performance and visually watch their weight.

During the hunting season I typically supplement their food with 80% lean hamburger cooked but not drained and eggs. That protein boost has worked well for me for a very long time. A couple of biscuits or biscuit with a tablespoon of peanut butter on a mid-day break of an all day hunt.

My Brittanys have been very healthy, look good, and have lived long ... zero complaints.
 
4shot said:
Wife picked up the last bag of PPP Sport at tractor supply yesterday and was $7 more…..good grief🙄
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Went up $7 at Tractor Supply here too. Pro Plan has always been considerably cheaper than the other premium foods. Guess they are playing catch up.
 
I sent an email to American Natural Premium (WI) regarding the price increase and received a phone call from their VP. We spoke for about 20 mins, he explained that prices on chicken, eggs, and packaging seem to be increasing on a monthly and/ or even weekly basis. His east coast shipping costs have nearly doubled. He said they’re getting hit from so many directions and their company, family owned, has eaten some of the increases, but unfortunately have to pass them on now to the consumer. I believe this will be the same soon with all dog food producers.
He also asked about who I was switching to and discussed what I liked about their brand, it was a nice, friendly conversation.
He said he would speak to his sales rep to see if there was any room for savings or deals for buying in bulk.
He thanked me for my loyalty and then he even sent me a complimentary 40# bag, something nice to be said for dealing with a family owned company. I recently found some more at another feed& seed store at the old price, so I bought as much as I could and will be good now through the end of the year.
 
Powderhorn Jim said:
I've been feeding Taste of the Wild grain free to both my young (6 years) and old (11 years) labs for the last few years. The younger dog has a "grain" allergy of some sort which this food seemed to sort out. The older dog had lived 10 years on Royal Canin Labrador formula without a glitch until her kidneys started failing, had a stroke and so on. Seemed easier to put them both on one food. The older dog was on Royal Canin's kidney formula until her stroke, then we started feeding whatever she would eat to keep her going for a while longer. Part of that was wet (canned) food and we tried Purina Pro Plan sensitive skin and stomach as we give a (very) little to the younger dog as well. We have a Tractor Supply nearby where we bought the Taste of the Wild and the canned PPP. They also stock dry (kibble) PPP sensitive skin and stomach so I thought I would try it. Unfortunately, what I found was that food has a lot of fines in it, which is usually due to a low quality binder, which Purina may have found necessary to achieve their goals for the "sensitive skin and stomach", but I just don't like a food with a lot of fines in it. We will feed this one bag then go back to Taste of the Wild. I'm disappointed in that Purina is one of only 3 companies in the U.S. that actually does dog food research. All the other companies are piggy-backing on that research or simply formulating food to minimum standards and making a lot of claims that likely are not true. Personally, I think the dog food industry is out of control. It is essentially unregulated, except for minimum nutritional requirements, so any manufacturer can make any claim about their food without proof or repercussion.
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A short update on PPP "sensitive skin and stomach" food. After 2 weeks the lab that has shown allergies to things like corn in food has started vomiting again, pretty much every day. When she started this about 4 years ago our vet did an upper GI scope ($1,300) and found her digestive track was very red/irritated. He suggested Blue Buffalo grain free diet, which worked almost immediately, but periodically we would get a bag that must have had something very distasteful in it as the dog would refuse to eat. We switched to Taste of the Wild grain free and haven't had a problem since, until, in a stupid moment, I decided to try PPP sensitive skin and stomach. I knew better, but it sounded so good. Well, 10lbs into that 50lb bag, it goes in the trash. I have had similar problems with PPP in other dogs. No idea why. Lots of folks feed it very successfully. Anyway, back to her old diet. Hopefully, no damage done.
 
Powderhorn Jim said:
A short update on PPP "sensitive skin and stomach" food. After 2 weeks the lab that has shown allergies to things like corn in food has started vomiting again, pretty much every day. When she started this about 4 years ago our vet did an upper GI scope ($1,300) and found her digestive track was very red/irritated. He suggested Blue Buffalo grain free diet, which worked almost immediately, but periodically we would get a bag that must have had something very distasteful in it as the dog would refuse to eat. We switched to Taste of the Wild grain free and haven't had a problem since, until, in a stupid moment, I decided to try PPP sensitive skin and stomach. I knew better, but it sounded so good. Well, 10lbs into that 50lb bag, it goes in the trash. I have had similar problems with PPP in other dogs. No idea why. Lots of folks feed it very successfully. Anyway, back to her old diet. Hopefully, no damage done.
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I would never feed my dog grain free food. It was a fad a few years ago, but not now. Lots of bad side effects to feeding grain free.
 
I am feeding PPP Sport Salmon 30/20 to my hunting dogs and I also supplement during the season with some high fat canned food to encourage eating when they are tired. The can food prices have gone up pretty significantly. I just put away a case for next season but I am probably going to stop buying it and just supplement with something I make myself in a crock pot. A concern I have is companies not only raising prices but changing formulas because of cost or availability of ingredients. If that happens, I will probably make a switch pretty quickly.
 
Never thought about mercury in dog food but I will look into it. I lost a dog a couple years ago and she hated the PPP Sport chicken. Wouldn't eat it. When I got a new dog, I thought about my old girl and picked up a bag of the Salmon instead of the chicken. My GSP seems to like it and has done well on it but it is one more thing to think about. We live in the country in NW Arkansas and I am a bit limited on convenient options but life isn't always convenient. Thanks.
 
westksbowhunter said:
I would never feed my dog grain free food. It was a fad a few years ago, but not now. Lots of bad side effects to feeding grain free.
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I agree that current research indicates grain free dog foods have problems, but as my mother always said "never say never". In our case one of our labs had a diagnosed allergy to corn and other grains. Our choice was to let her vomit every day and live a miserable life with an inflamed digestive tract or feed her grain free foods and hope that the side affects were less problematic than the allergies. I should have known better than convert to PPP as one of the main ingredients in their "sensitive skin and stomach" formula is oats, which one would think wouldn't be a problem, but apparently is to our allergic girl. She reacted almost immediately and went right back to vomiting daily, where she hadn't had a problem for over 4 years on the grain free diet. We can only hope for the best regarding possible side effects.
 
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