The #1 Dog Food in the USA - Page 1

According to my research WalMart's Ol' Roy is the #1 dog food brand sold in the USA and the feedback on WalMarts website says it is just wonderful. Presently priced at $19.99 for 50 pounds it is the same price as an expensive goat feed. There is a reason for the pricing similarity and that is the ingredients. The price for the 5 most important ingredients in Ol' Roy dog food include 6 cents per pound for corn, 16 cents per pound for meat and bone meal, 16 cents per pound for soybean meal and 28 cents per pound for corn gluten. I left out 2 cents per pound for mystery animal fats.  The dog food is AAFCO approved for "complete" nutrition at all stages of a dog's life ( womb to tomb ) so it has to be good. I would estimate the cost per pound of ingredients for Ol' Roy at 16 cents per pound or less so a 50 pound bag costs the manufacturer $8 in ingredients or less before processing and bagging and profits. The best thing I can say about Ol' Roy "Complete" is that it is just as good as Purina Dog Chow Complete ( $24.13 for 50 pounds at Wally World ). 

Bubba : Here is a face thriving on raw ( high protein, high fat, very low carbs ). No grains, corn, soy. Look at the gleam  and lively curiosity in her eyes( no tear stains ), moisture of the nose , lip ,and tongue, color of the tongue, texture of the inner ear, shine ,  texture and luxuriance of hair. Photo less than 2 weeks old.

Approx $ 10 ( food + supplements) / day.

If you feed balanced raw your dog doesn't need supplements .. My GSD do great on a raw animal protein and fats diet but it doesn't cost more than $1.50 - $2 per day per large dog which is about what the majority of human beings spend on food per day worldwide. For most dog owners cost is a limiting factor but they need truth about what they are feeding and not government allowed lies from dog food corporations. My post was pointing out that decades of lies by the dog food corporations now have owners feeding junk food to their dogs with the belief that their garbage dog food is "complete". The very fact that Ol' Roy "complete" and Purina Dog Chow "Complete" are able to be sold and certified by AAFCO ( the dog food makers front organization ) as nutritionally complete means the whole system is a lie.

Raw costs less than $10 per day for 7 dogs. I don't know what you're feeding Mithuna (filet minon?) But it can be done much cheaper.

Melissa

I feed duck, rabbit, turkey, lamb, fish, chicken, beef ( each about $2.50 per pound from healthier pets.org ), and eggs. I buy 85% lean beef from the supermarket at $3.43 /pound. Dog eats 3.5 lbs per day. I add nutri vet plus ( or nu pro ) , probios, prozyme, and dasaquin ( with msm ).

 

Melba:   10 dogs for $7 per day. What and how much of it you feed the dogs? In the local super market here we can get chicken quarters for    39-59 cents per pound , but I never rally used it.

We feed chicken, turkey, venison, rabbit, squirrel and ostrich. Nupro silver.

The only things I buy are chicken (.24lb and .40 lb ) and turkey (.50lb) the rest are free.

Dogs eat between .5lb and 4lb per day.

Melissa

Im comfortable with what Im doing.
No bad breath or doggy odor ( we bathe once in 6 weeks ) , and no smelly poop. Dog poops once per day I which is only a small fraction of the intake ).
Never been to vet for any  major health issue. 

The highest cost ingredients that I use are canned pink salmon ( approx. $2.50/lb ), beef ribs ( $2.25/lb ), beef liver ($2.00/lb), pork ribs ( $1.84/lb ) with chicken quarters at 65 cents per pound being about 60 % - 70% of the combined diet. Liver and salmon once per week as a supplement for vitamins and Omega 3's. Ribs every other day for teeth and something different. Salmon or beef liver on one of the non-rib days. One or two days they will get only chicken and they get some chicken every day with the amount depending on the other ingredients.  I hand feed everything to the individual dogs all at the same time ( once per day ) so no squabbles and they can eat as slow or fast as they want.  I am overfeeding as my dogs are too fat. The ribs are for teeth and jaw strength but add a lot of cost and could probably be reduced but I do not feed any treats, teeth cleaners, or supplements so the ribs are their treats as well as helping keep their teeth clean, pacifiers, and chew toys. All of my dog food is human grade from local food markets. I do not think everyone can do what I do nor am I saying they should. What the public should know is what good food for their dogs is and stop accepting the lies from those making money from selling the equivalent of corn flakes as good food for our dogs as a lifetime diet. It is even difficult to find out who makes the Ol' Roy for WalMart as the string of mergers and acquisitions leads back to Menu Foods .. the company that made Ol' Roy and "Special Kitty" for WalMart when the Chinese ingredients sickened and killed thousands of dogs and cats. It appears the WalMart buys their dog and cat food from Simmons pet food which has their headquarters next door to WalMart's headquarters in Arkansas. Probably just a coincidence??

@bubbabooboo - When you feed beef rib bones, do you let your dogs consume the whole bone or do you take it away shortly after giving it to them? I screwed up my dogs teeth (wore down the k9's) when he was young by giving him marrow & shank bones not realizing/knowing that "Weight bearing" bones are generally considered a no-no. Since then i have been hesitant to feed most bones as i don't want to damage the other teeth. I now mainly feed turkey neck to cover my "meaty bones" needs with occasional OX tail. I am wanting to add additional bones into the rotation but am not confident which to go with. This particular dog does not like raw chicken so backs are a no go with him (I do feed chicken backs, necks and quarters to my wifes dog). How do you feed beef rib bones? Will/Can these wear down teeth like beef shanks?

I don't agree with your stance on Sport/Organizations and "What a working dog is" but i deff value your opinion on feeding healthy...

 

Sorry for taking the thread off track :)

  

It depends on the dog ... Beef rib bones that are hard enough that my big ones can't crush them immediately then I pick them up within a day or two as they only get harder with age, drying, and sun exposure once fed. Most of my dogs seem to know not to chew on the bones once they are white and dry hardened. I buy a rack or partial rack of beef ribs and only the largest ones in the rack are too big for the larger ones to crush and eat. I have more problems with teeth from dogs with super or crazy high drives getting teeth damaged on kennels or picking up large rocks carrying them around in their mouth. I had one female who was allowed to carry a metal bowl around as a toy as a puppy and she had wrecked her teeth before I got her at 8 months. I kept her even though she had the bad teeth because she was integral to my blood lines. I spent $2000 on her teeth and she turned around and screwed them up again. Super high drive dogs are all well and good if you want police or high end sport dogs but they can be self destructive to themselves and create chaos in the kennel for the other dogs. Some dogs have good sense and don't do self destructive things while others I have to manage or they can hurt themselves.