Royal Canin #24 - Page 1

To those of you that feed Royal Canin #24 to your Shepherds, I have fed that food for over a year now and have had good results. The price keeps creeping up and I have been looking at other dog food that might be a little cheaper. My question is,

I saw that Royal Canin makes a food called (Large breed) and it is $10.00 a 35# bag cheaper than #24. The protein is 26% compared to 25% and the fat content is 2% higher than in #24. I wonder why you could not feed this? I think there is a picture  of a Boxer on the bag instead of a Shepherd.  Is there something I'm missing? Seems to be the same food.

Dave

Hi Dave,i just got done argueing with them yesterday cause they have changed the GSD24  two times now in the last 5 or 6 months.They keep changing the formulation in my opinion to boost profits but will tell you that it is due to ingredient availability which is BS.The food your talking about is the Maxi large breed and its 2% higher protein BUT it has in it corn gluten(which is plant based  protein)INSTEAD of the more digestible hydrolysed  soy isolate.The GSD24 also has a higher fat content (19%)than the Maxi large breed.I also beleive the Maxi has a different fibre source unlike the GSD24 which uses both cellulose and beet pulp.Also the kibble shape and size is different in the 24.All in all you could feed one OR the other.They are slightly different in some ways but i dont think its that much of a big deal UNLESS for example your dog is allergic to corn then the Maxi LB would not be the right choice.I keep going back to the 24 because i like the idea of the higher fat in it.Thay have now added barley in addition to the oats they added originally a few months ago.I think that if the one is working good then  DONT change it cause you may run into problems you dont need.Good luck and let me know if there is anything else i can help you with.       Domenic

 Hi Guys,

I feed Royal Canin exclusively here, going through almost a bag a day. The price has risen about 5 times in the last year and one half and just one month ago, again. This time, the price change was $6.00 per BAG higher for the RC Maxi German Shepherd 24 and $4 a bag for the Maxi Large Breed Puppy food. They also raised the price of the Maxi Large breed food several months ago and most of the bags are also now 5 lbs less weight.

I wrote RC and expressed my displeasure and received a communication from them that their chicken and rice prices, for example, have risen more than 40% and in some cases 50%. I am sure this probably IS true as we see a huge rise in prices for family foods here as well. So  even though I do not like it much, I believe they are trying to stay competitive. If you look at the price per pound of any other decent kibbles on the market, they too are just as expensive, and sometimes more per pound. 

I switched all the GSDs here to the Maxi Large Breed food and within a month or so saw their coats not as nice as before. Granted, it has been very, very hot here, and until this weekend, extremely dry. But when they raised the price of the Large Breed AND I saw coats not looking so nice as before, I switched right back.

I also ordered a bag of the Large Breed Pro formulation they have and after reading the ingredients (chicken by-products), will not feed it here. It is more than $14.00 per BAG cheaper that the GSD 24, but I won't compromise that much.

What all people need to do is write RC if you feed their foods. I believe they spend an incredible amount of money that perhaps might be spent on keeping the price lower. I know that my price, as a distributor is very high and if they raise it again, I probably can no longer afford to feed it. I told them that, not that they will care about a single facility dropping their food.

Change to Pro Plan large breed athletic, I did, after feeding Royal Canin for years, still not cheap but my dogs always look super, their coats are in better condition and I find I feed a little less no corn only lamb and rice.... also no artificial colours or preservatives,

Pro Plan is made by Purina  , the world famous liar of dog foods.  They have been exporting all they can from China. No thank you to Pro Plan.

Purina couldnt tell the truth if they had to.

Nestles is a food company that makes addictive food for people with Chocolate flavoring on everything.  lol

Me hunt wolf and bird and buffalo for my dogs. Much safer than Chineese WOn TON  TOM

The service of Royal Canin is very poor. They feel many years ago they are the top and have lost interest in  their customers. Even more they are present only in some countries. Now they are having still a chance because in the past they have make a good job. The food is very good but their service awful. Better tried with Eukanuba or Propack.  Also in Canada they are manufacturing very good quality foods.

Thankfully here in the bay area, there is a Pet Food Express and they sell all dog food buy three get one free, so even though the cost is creeping up, I am still paying about $40.00 a bag and this food is the one food that I have seen consistent coats, small poop that is easy to pick up and not smelly.

My coffee creamer has gone up from $2.75 to $4.25 in one year, and I can wine about that, but it's still cheaper than only ONE cup of coffee from Starbucks.

With my dogs, I will stick with what works and would rather someone raise their prices rather than skimp on quality.  I used to fee Nature's Variety, however they changed their formula a few years ago, and claimed now they can make more in larger facilities blah blah blah, the price also went up, so I changed to RC.  I really like it and so it seems do the dogs!  ~Kari

I too have notived (ouch!) this latest and largest price increase. The last two (2) bags I purchased cost me more than $50.00 each. Fortunately I use but one (1) bag every seven (7) days but this still adds up to more than $2,600.00 annually and is higher than (a) my personal grocery bill, (b) my annual expenditure for gasoline, and (c) the annual repair and maintenance of my motorbike and truck..

Basically, anything that uses corn directly or indirectly has incurred a substancial price increase over the past year due to (a) ethanol production and (b) the tight market for corn. This autumn will be worse due to the flooding of vast areas of Indiana and Illinois where much of our corn is grown. I for one was excited to see that a small farmer finally had a chance to make a bit of real money while reducing government subsidies, but I do not think this is the year for it.

The GSD Maxi 24 is a good food with an established reputation and Royal Canin does spend a lot of money promoting the Sieger and related shows. The only other food that I will use is Bil-Jac Select Large Breed, and I have not fed that continually for any length of time. I do not think the price of Royal Canin (or any other dog food) will drop even if the next year produces a bountiful harvest and we have a corn glut.

So, I will continue to use it, but that is my choice.

Best Regards,

Bob-O

Thank's for your feedback, my dog's did great on Royal Canin but they keep jacking the price up and it get's a little annoying and I started looking around at different foods at a better price but it seems like all the dog food prices are going up.

Dave