Expensive Dog Food Not Always Best
By: Brian Curtis
Updated: January 13, 2009
Every dog owner knows how expensive it can be to put quality food in the bowl. Some pet food costs more than people food, but how much do you really need to spend? Kristin Kelly feeds her dogs Garbo and Lucky premium organic food. "We spend quite a bit of money on dog food. I suppose relative to what could be spent," said Kelly. So is it possible to feed your dog a quality diet for less?
Doctor Lloyd Fiedler says yes. "You can buy good commercial foods at any grocery story. At any pet food store, any veterinarian," said Fiedler.
Start by picking a food thats formulated for your dogs size and age. Then, read the label to make sure it meets the standards of the "Association of American Feed Control Officials" or AAFCO. Look closely. The AAFCO statement is often in fine print.
Heres another way to save some money: Go with dry food. Its almost always less expensive than canned. And, dry is usually better for a dogs overall health.
Larger stores often have lower prices because of their sales volume, but ask yourself questions about deals that seem too good to be true. "Why is this so cheap? Its so cheap because what they are putting into it is cheap," said Fielder.
Kristin isnt about to cut back on Garbo and Lucky. But if she ever had to spend less, its comforting to know her two best friends would not have to pay the price.
If you are going to make a switch, its very important to do it gradually. Mix your dogs new food with the old stuff over the course of about a week.
