[Travis A]

My 2, 9 month old dogs are not eating this stuff very much, they started liking it but this is their 3rd bag of it and they will barely touch it, more so when i put some water on it so i’m wondering if it’s because it’s too hard or something, because the other food around the house was Kibbles N’ Bits which is horrible but they will eat that up in a heartbeat so idk what the deal is with the Pure Balance. But they don’t like it that much apparently but just recently so idk just looking for advice on what may be the issue and what are good alternatives for them in a decent price range. They like the Authority from Petsmart and it’s not that pricey but they get bad gas off that one other than that everything else is overpriced for the quality so any other options, i haven’t tried Victor yet as suggested previously for me as its not in my location of OKC, OK. My dogs are pit/shepherd or lab mixes so decent sized males.

[pugmomsandy]

Nutrisource is around $48 for large bags on petflow. They also have a lower price when you buy two large bags of the large breed puppy chicken and rice. If you have a feed store nearby, you might ask them to order Victor.

[Akari_32]

I find that one of my dogs does not like to eat the same food for more than a month or so. Who can blame him, really?

Another thought is that the Kibbles and Bits are full of sugar and flavor enhancers that make the food more palatable. Try mixing some canned food into their new Pure Balance and see how they like that. Some dogs don’t do well going from junk food to healthy food, and they just need some persuading.

[Travis A]

Thank you all for your advice, i actually didn’t have my dogs on Kibbles n bits it was my roommates dogs so they just got a taste here and there because i knew it was crap food. Although our other Pit eats it and seems to be pretty healthy so idk but i will try and mix in some soft food or yogurt or something more tasty until i find a good replacement, i’ve tried Several brands such as Zach’s Quality dog food which i really like but it’s pricey to ship a 50 lb bag so they only had that once then it’s been, Authority, Simply Nourish, Ideal Balance, Wellness, Iams, Pure Balance, and Exclusive so they have had a variety of decent foods throughout i’m just trying to find a nice rotation of affordable food they will eat. I’m in OKC, OK so Victor isn’t around my area but i’ll look into yall’s suggestions, thanks again and god bless.

[DogFoodie]

Hi Travis,

Have you ever taken a look at Infinia? It’s made by Purina Mills, the feed division of Purina, and is frequently available at feed / grain / tractor supply stores.

Sorry you didn’t have success locating a local retailer for Victor.

[Travis A]

No I havent heard of that, I’m a little hesitant with Purina anything though. But thank you for the advice I appreciate it. I just picked up a temp bag until I get paid again of the Rachel Ray stuff which i know isn’t the best but still better than Kibbles N’ Bits and my dogs still don’t eat it up, they will go for the Kibbles everytime though so idk but i gotta get them to eat some better food. They’ll eat the food i give them but it will take them a long time of picking at it here and there. I’d like to go raw but that’s expensive too and i don’t have the time to prep it all myself so idk what i’m going to try next but i appreciate the suggestions, thank you very much.

[Akari_32]

The RR food isn’t that bad. It’s got the synthetic vitamin K in it, which can be problematic over time, but in a rotation, I don’t see anything wrong with it. My guys love it.

As for Purina, I’ve used Pro Plan, Beyond, and Friskies (for the cat, obviously lol) with no problems. Beyond used to have the vitamin k in it, but I’ve not used it since the new formulas came out. Still looks like a decent food, but I don’t know if they still use that vitamin k or not. I wouldn’t use anything Purina for an extended period of time, but they do have some pretty good foods. I wouldn’t blame anyone for not wanting to use Purina products, but for me, price and coupons are a factor, so I get what I can lol

[Bobby dog]

I agree with Akari, mix some canned food in with the kibble; reduce the kibble accordingly so you don’t over feed. The added moisture is healthy and canned is easier for them to digest. Pure Balance stews at Wal-Mart are five star rated and $1/can. Tractor Supply has 4Health for 99 cents/can and they are 4.5 star rated.

Rachael Ray Zero Grain does not include K3 in it’s recipe; it’s in the other kibble recipes.

Beyond still includes K3.

Infinia is Purina Mills Incorporated (PMI) Nutrition (Land O’ Lakes, no checkered flag), not Purina (Nestle’). I believe at one time they were part of Purina, not positive though. I am not sure if PMI manufactures their food or uses a co-packer.
http://www.infiniapetfood.com/default.aspx

Check out this thread started by Akari for some recommendations:
/forums/topic/budget-friendly-dog-foods/

And check out this thread for more recommendations on food and suggestions to help out with pet food budgets:
/forums/topic/2-dogs-2-different-sizes/

[Akari_32]

According to the class Purina just gave my vets office, Nestle bought only the petfood part of Purina. If you don’t see it in grocery or pet stores, it’s not Nestle’s part of Purina. If it’s sold in only a feed store, it should be PMI. I’m fairly sure Purina in general makes their own foods. Which is nice, considering.

[Bobby dog]

I just checked out the FDA website and PMI at least uses a co-packer for their Red Flannel cat food so chances are they use co-packers for other recipes as well.

[Akari_32]

Interesting. Well I do know that Nestle Purina makes all their foods, anyways.

[DogFoodie]

And, ironically, I just saw a Purina commercial yesterday that was bragging about how they own their own production facilities where the product is manufactured.

[Travis A]

Thank you for the helpful info I appreciate it, I’ll try some soft food to mix with it, I’ve done that before when i have it but they just recently started being picky about their kibble. I too am on a “the best i can afford” thought but my budget isn’t very high so i try to stick with the cheapest best quality i can find for my price range. But i’ll try to mix some things up, again thank you all for your information.

[Akari_32]

Dogfoodie, Nestle Purina does make all of their own products, from the Prescription Diets to Friskies (and whatever zoo feeds they make, as well). The farm feed side of Purina is the one that apparently doesn’t make their own products. They are two separate companies now, but share a (very similar) name.

Travis, I feed out about 2 lbs of food a day in just dog food alone. I’ve got two large dogs and a small dog, a cat, 4 reptiles, 5 aquariums and two large londs. All these are fed on about $10 a week (sometimes more, sometimes less), on mostly upper-mid to high grade foods. It’s a bit of a challenge, but if I can do it, anyone can 😉 Learn how to use coupons and find deals, and you’ll be feeding better food for less than what you’re paying now, I guaruntee it! 🙂

[Bobby dog]

Travis:
Here’s a great download from Steve Brown that I always recommend “See Spot Live Longer the ABC Way.” It helps you improve any kibble diet affordably by adding fresh foods from the grocery store. There is a menu plan you follow according to the quality of kibble you feed and the size of your dog. I add fresh foods as toppers for several meals rather than feeding in one day. Check it out:
http://www.seespotlivelonger.com/home/sll/page_41/see_spot_live_longer_the_abc_way___electronic_down.html

[DogFoodie]

I’m trying to find confirmation of this, but last I knew, Diamond co-packs for PMI.

[Travis A]

Well thank you I feed close to 4 lbs a day with just my 2 dogs. I give them 2 cups in the morning and 2 cups in the evening and they aren’t overweight at all in fact i feel they could put on some weight actually but I will keep a lookout for coupons and such, thanks again….. I’m wondering how you manage to feed only 2 lbs for 3 dogs when i feed around 4 lbs with my 2 dogs ha, granted they are pit/shepherd or lab mix so good sized dogs but maybe my measurements are off but aren’t about 2 cups in a Lb? I know it’s volume and weight so it doesn’t convert but it should be around 2 cups = 1 lb I think.

[theBCnut]

With kibble it is usually about 4 cups per pound. Some kibbles are denser, some airier. I have 3 dogs and feed about 1 lb a day of dry and 1 lb of raw.

[Bobby dog]

Hi Travis:
Not Akari, but she also adds canned and fresh foods to her meals so the amount of kibble is reduced a bit to compensate.

Betsy:
Here’s one of the articles from the FDA website pertaining to PMI; it’s from 2008 though.
http://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls/archiverecalls/2008/ucm162800.htm

The most recent recall has no mention of a co-packer name.
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm383066.htm

• This reply was modified 10 years, 2 months ago by Bobby dog.

[Akari_32]

To be honest, for the big dogs, I don’t take away any kibble when I add canned. I don’t give it to them often enough to make any difference lol Ginger gets canned and dry nightly, so for her I do.

Foods that are higher callorie are more dense, and weight more per cup than foods that are lower callorie. The 5 1/2 cups I feed between my three (2 1/2 cups for Haley, 60 lb, 2 1/2 cups for Dweezle, 130 lb, and 1/2 cup for Ginger, 12 lb) weighs just under 2 lb (checked last night just to be sure lol). The food I’m using right now is about 400 callories per cup (mix of three or four different foods).

[Bobby dog]

Ooooops, I thought you were still adding eggs to the big guys’ meals a few days a week.

[Akari_32]

Nah, my roommates been buying the eggs and she actually uses them (no one else eats eggs but the dogs), so I don’t want to take them all lol Even then, I didn’t take away any kibble. They do still get the odd goodies thrown in, though!

[Travis A]

Ah i see, thank you. And i’m sure the higher quality food the less that is needed. They still won’t really want to eat the Rachael Ray stuff either, normally i’d get better food but $$ a little short at the moment. My boys are about 45-50 lbs right now at around 8-9 months old so i’m not 100% on how big they should be at this point for feeding. Like I mentioned they are mixed and what i was told was Pit/Boxer at first but they don’t really seem to have Boxer in them their snouts are much too long for that i think they are more Shepherd or Lab. Based on coat texture/color and the shape of the face and ears are fairly droopy. They do have the white underbelly and on their paws and their paws are webbed so maybe more lab than shepherd idk i’ll get a DNA test eventually to narrow it down but they will probably be around 70-80 lbs maybe by adulthood i would imagine.

[Akari_32]

For some reason, and I’m not sure why, but shepherd mixes tend to have white paws and chests. It’s pretty weird IMO lol However, your guys could very well be multiple breeds mixed together. My aunt and uncle have an Akita/Golden Retriever/Pit Bull/Boxer mix, with a short pit bull shaped boxer nose, a boxer sort of body, and Akita stance, brindle color, and tail shape, but has that tight, short boxer coat, too. No golden look to her at all, but some of litter mates had golden shaped heads, and were all fluffy and cute lol

I’m surprised they dont like the RR. The grain inclusive ones have beet pulp, which makes it sweet and irresistible to most dogs (mine included!). I’m not sure the the grain free has it, but my guys like it well enough, as well.

[Bobby dog]

DogFoodie and everyone else of course. I received this e-mail from PMI Nutrition today:

Thank you for contacting PMI Nutrition and for your interest in our Exclusive and Infinia pet food. Pro Pet manufactures our Exclusive and Infinia diets using our formulas. Please let me know if I can ever be of further assistance. Thank you.

Cassie Scott
PMI Nutrition

[DogFoodie]

Very good to know!

Thanks B Dog!

[Bobby dog]

🙂 You’re welcome! I have been eyeing two Infinia recipes to replace my “budget friendly” 4Health GF from TSC. I am not sure those last two recipes won’t go to Diamond at some point. Quick reply from them too.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 2 months ago by Bobby dog.

[pugmomsandy]

Wasn’t there a Topic that had the names of the manufacturers and what foods they made? Can’t find it!

[Bobby dog]

Oooooh, if you find it, I would love to read it!

[aquariangt]

/forums/topic/whats-the-article-about-who-manufactures-what/

I think there was an older one, but i had to ask one time too

[Bobby dog]

Thanks!

[Travis A]

Thanks for all the info, and @ akari, I assume them to be a mixture a few breeds, i got them from a questionable source so could be anything. They are litter brothers and IMO neutered too early as i got them about maybe 4-5 weeks they were pretty small and they were already neutered and healing up which the vet said looked good but may have been too early, what problems can be associated with doing that too early? One of the boys has a coarse redish/brown Shepherd coat and the lighter one is a fawnish softer Lab type coat slightly longer but both have longer coats than a pit or boxer. Their snouts are kind of dark but not to the extent of a boxer and they don’t have the short boxer snout, but def pit mouth and jaws with the wrinkles in the cheeks so my guess would be pit/lab/shepherd/golden maybe idk, they do have webbed paws too and their eyes are a gold emerald color with kinda droopy ears but i’ll let ya know what the DNA test finds when i get one done.

[Travis A]

Hmm on my last statement i just said litter brothers and the word “brothers” was edited out??

[Travis A]

ha wow i’m trying to say male siblings the definition for that.. opposite of sister and it edit’s it out what’s up with that? I promise i’m not cursing haha.

[Cyndi]

That word is also a brand of food and because of ongoing debate and drama about it, it is not allowed to be typed, lol! I can imagine you thought you were going nuts, lol! Dr. Mike, who runs this site, must have it so anytime that word is used, it gets eliminated.

Don’t worry, we know you weren’t using a bad word, lol!

[theBCnut]

LOL!! It’s the name of a food that the very mention of it attracts a very nasty troll. It’s a great food though.

[Akari_32]

If it makes you feel any better, it does show up in the email alerts lol

[DogFoodie]

It is a great food! I’m getting ready to open a fresh bag of the venison soon!

[theBCnut]

I just opened one of the venison, well, it’s half gone now, so not just.

[Travis A]

haha oh ok I understand, But on a more serious note- what kind of complications can arise from my boys being neutered too early?

[theBCnut]

They are more prone to joint issues and bone cancer.

[Travis A]

Are there any precautions I should be taking as far as diet and exercise go?

[theBCnut]

Keep them thin and exercise but don’t over exercise.

[Travis A]

Ok well they are at a healthy weight right now, they don’t get a whole lot of exercise so may need to increase that but alright, thank you all for the helpful information i appreciate it very much, yall have a blessed day.

[Author]

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