Canidae, Nutro, anything else?

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Clover's Mom

Super Boxer
Well Clover is currently on Canidae, and has been for some time (tried Innova, but that was to rich for her) and seems to be doing farily well - she itches all the time, but that is not due to her food - rather she is allergic to the pollutants in the air, and since the air is so dry - well this is off subject.

Due to some circumstances I would like to try and find a cheaper dog food - at the commissary they have Nutro Natrual Choice, I read the ingredients then went home and read Canidae's ingredients I can't help but notice the difference in the first few ingredients alone. Would I be a horrible mommy if I switches little Clover over to a cheaper food for awhile, or should I just stick to Canidae since she is doing well on it? I guess I'm asking is Nutro a bad food, or an okay food? Is there another brand that is cheaper. Canidae here is anywhere between $30 - 32 for a 40lb bag, that seems to last only 2 - 3 week.

Nutro:
Chicken Meal, Rice Flour, Ground Rice, Rice Bran, Poultry Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of natural Vitamin E), Oatmeal, Sunflower Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of natural Vitamin E), Natural Flavor, Dried Beet Pulp, Potassium Chloride, Dried Egg Product, Dried Kelp (source of Iodine), Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C), Biotin, Niacin, Garlic Flavor, Manganese Oxide, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement (source of Vitamin B2), Vitamin A Supplement, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of Vitamin B1), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of Vitamin B6), Chondroitin Sulfate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of Vitamin K activity), Calcium Iodate, Folic Acid.

Canidae:
Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Brown Rice, White Rice, Lamb Meal, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, Rosemary Extract), Herring Meal, Flax Seed, Sun Cured Alfalfa Meal, Sunflower Oil, Chicken, Lecithin, Monocalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Linoleic Acid, Rosemary Extract, Sage Extract, Yeast Culture, Dried Enterococcus Faecium, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus Oryzae Fermentation Extract, Dried Bacillus Subtilis Fermentation Extract, Inulin (from Chicory root), Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Fermentation Solubles, Yucca Schidigera Extract Mixed Tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Cobalt Amino Acid Chelate, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C), Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (source of B2), Beta Carotene, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Calcium Iodate, Folic Acid, D-Biotin, Sodium Selenite, Dried Papaya, Vitamin B12 Supplement.
 

boxer

Boxer Insane
Personally I'd stick with the Canidae - it is a significantly better food than the Nutro (for which the major ingredient appears to be rice. Note that they 'split' the rice content (ingredients 2,3,4) into component parts, but together they almost certainly outweigh the chicken meal. And there isn't another meat protein source there...). Better food now is likely to mean less costs later in veterinary bills ;)

The other thing I'd suggest is that you take a look at the feeding guidelines. I'm not sure how much cheaper the Nutro might be, but with a lesser quality food you generally have to feed a greater amount of it. So the bag might only last 2 weeks instead of 3. That actually sometimes makes the lower-quality food more expensive ;)

Last thought - Nutro do make one formula that is pretty good. That's their Natural choice Ultra. No idea of the cost, but if that one is cheaper than Canidae it might be worth trying. It probably isn't quite such a good food as the Canidae, but it's pretty close and significantly better than the other Nutro formulas.
 

bobbiram

Boxer Pal
Mixing

Hi we adopted another boxer puppy and had to think improvise to help reduce costs. We found through searching old threads, costco's kirkland brand dog feed on boxerworld (relatively inexpensive compared to the quality you are getting). We have been mixing canidae with kirklands and the boys love it and are doing great. This has reduced our expenditures on food by half.
 

Honey's Dad

Boxer Pal
Re: Kibble

We have tried Nutro Natural Ultra, Fromm, and Chicken Soup. Our dogs eat less and have better looking coats w/no itching on Fromm and Chicken Soup.

Just my observation.
 
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