Huh? Kibble?

 Um... no Purina is not on my list of good brands.  Its low in things that are good for a dog. 

You really have to forget about original price.  A more expensive food is likely better quality, which means you feed less.  For instance, I pay $46 for a 16 Kg bag of Acana.  My sister pays 38 for a slightly bigger bag of Pedigree.  She feeds 8 cups of food to her 60 pound dog in a day and I feed 4 cups of food to my 2 dogs(45 and 96 pounds) combined in a day.  Her  bag lasts her 2 weeks.  Mine lasts a month or more. 

 
Check out the nutrition archives for more info though.  There's lots to be had there. 

ETA: Oh and yes Kibble is dry dog food.  Kibble is not bad in itself.  What the kibble is made of makes it good or bad.   

Holy Hannah!  I am a terrible furmom!  I put Purina in a bowl, leave it on the floor, and refill it when it needs it.  I thought I was a good furmom.

Please help me!.......or, Lucy. 

Check out the nutrition section.  There is a lot of good info over there.  It does get a little heated over there from time to time, but there are a lot of people who know their stuff over there!

Mom2Lucy

I put Purina in a bowl, leave it on the floor, and refill it when it needs it.

Yeah, that's not a good idea. It's generally best to feed two meals a day- a set portion with about 15 minutes for them to eat it each time. It helps to encourage a healthy appetite, you control the portion size and you can also see how much they are (or are not) eating. That's really good for monitoring their health.

As far as dog food brands, I definitely don't recommend Dog Chow or any brand sold at grocery stores. It's basically junk food for dogs with a multivitamin. There are a lot of good brands out there, but two that are inexpensive are Canidae and Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul. Canidae is around $33 for 40 lb. of food and Chicken Soup is $29.99 for 35 pounds. Here are links to their websites and if you're interested, they both have store locators.

www.canidae.com

www.chickensoupforhtepetloverssoul.com

By the way, I think it's great that you're doing research and trying to do the best for your dog! :)

www.petfooddirect.com

has a lot of good brands and DEAD cheap shipping, if you cannt find good food in your area.

Dry food is absolutely fine as a staple food, as long as it is good quality. Some people add canned, some add homecooked, some add raw, some add nothing at all - it all depends on you and the dog - as long as you stick to high quality products, nothing is really right or wrong or better or worse as long as your pup is doing well on it. Some other suggestions

Innova

Canidae (very cheap and excellent! one of my favorites!)

Blue Buffalo (can be found at Petsmart, actually)

California Natural

Evolve

Natural Balance (another favorite of mine)

 Actually many people here rotate foods including me - it is an old wives tale that dogs MUST be kept on one food...as long as you transition slowly, it works to counterbalance any innate deficiencies in any one food. Plus, everyone loves variety!

You are NOT a terrible furmom!!! Heehee don't worry about it...some people here are just very passionate and sometimes accidently come off sounding wrong, including myself sometimes. Free-feeding, in my opinion, can be all right if your dog is a sparse eater anyway - I have always free fed mine and have never had a problem. However, if your dog is prone to over eating or weight issues, or if you are working on an NILIF (and obedience program called Nothing In Life Is Free - is not NEARLY as mean as it sounds, don't worry :) Just google it) plan, then I would definitelty schedule mealtimes.

 If you are feeling adventurous and creative, there are also people on these boards that can help you design a balanced homecooked or raw diet.

 

I know most here don't like Purina, but I have owned, healthy, happy, long lived, active dogs for 51 years and every one has been a Purina dog. These dogs include English setters used for quail hunting, irish Setters and Golden retrievers. My dads setters and pointers were alwasy on dog chow and now scraps. My one golden is on purina one weight control and my other was on the purina One senior--until recently and i have not been able to find find so have put her on Nutro Senior. but will go back to the Purina One if i can locate it again. I also crock pot cook for them simpliy because i like to do it and they enjoy it. About 1/3 of their daily food is the crock pot chicken stew I made for them, or fresh or canned mackeral or salmon. But I have to add, it is only the last couple of years i have cooked for them, except for doing fresh caught fish pretty often--fish like redfish, snapper, trout, flounder--flounder fetches about $7 a pound in the grocery store and that is with it's head, skin and bones. Mine only get filets.

I fed Luke Purina ProPlan for the first couple years of his life and honestly, I think he did great on it.  Unfortunately he started itching & licking like CRAZY out of the blue one day and developed really dry & flakey skin.  It was recommended that I try changing his food -- I switched to Innova Evo and haven't looked back since.  He has done *great* on Evo and gets complimented almost daily on his beautiful sleek coat.

What was posted above about feeding amounts is so true as well.  On ProPlan I had to feed him 6 cups a day (he's 90lbs and very active).  I only feed him 3 cups a day of Evo.  The 28lb bag of Red Meat that I'm feeding now costs me $55 and lasts a month or so.  The regular Evo is only about $45, but I decided to change for a while because he got itchy after his bout with anaplasmosis late this summer.

Just wanted to say that we feed our Danes Eagle Pack kibble, and we can get it at Pet Supply Plus.  Its a great meat based food that is made by a smaller company, not one of these giant companies that purchase their ingredients from whoever they can get them cheapest at the time.  The company has a website in which you can get it shipped from also..or they have store locators on their site also.   You can get coupons there for each purchase and I do believe they have a place to get a deal to try it for the first time.

First rule of thumb for improving the food you feed your dog is to go to a pet store and immediately walk past any food you've ever seen sold in a grocery store. I have no idea why good foods don't get sold in regular grocery stores, but they don't.  Just doing that right there will put you in a higher realm of food. Among the foods that are left, there is still a broad spectrum of quality and that's when you have to start reading ingredients, and also working with what is available in your area. When reading ingredients, remember that dogs are carnivores. Unlike obligate carnivores like cats, they don't have to soley eat meat, but it is what they do best on. The more meat in a dog food, the better. Ingredients on all foods (human and pet) are written on the bag in order of how much is used in the food. The first ingredient is what there is the most of (I believe calculated by weight), the last ingredient is what there is the least of. If the first few ingredients in a dog food are specific forms of meats, you're on the right track (but run away if it just says "meat meal" or "animal byproducts" because if they don't specify the animal it could literally be anything, from road kill to euthanized cats and dogs). These are good basic rules of thumb that you don't have to be a nutrition expert to go by. Nutrition has never been my primary "thing" with the dogs, but I keep to what I know will lead me to a higher quality food, and supplement with raw treats and snacks a few times a week (I'm probably the only vegetarian in Pittsburgh with a freezer full of chicken wings, beef liver and marrow bones currently!).

I'm going to back everyone else up here on the price issue. I feed Natural Balance Ultra Premium which I get for $30 for a 35 lb. bag. (Sometimes I switch to Blue Buffalo which is more expensive). Whenever I've spoken with someone who feeds a lower quality food I am just shocked at the amount they feed their dogs--they must be blazing through 40 lb. bags on a weekly basis! I have two large dogs  (85 lbs. and 55 lbs.) and we go through 1 35 lb. bag of Natural Balance every three weeks or so. Unless you are feeding the absolute bottom of the barrel generic corn-and-food-coloring food, if you measure it meal by meal I am only spending a few cents more per meal per dog than something like Iams or Beneful. My 85 lb. dog eats 3 cups of kibble per day, my 55 lb. dog gets 2.  I hear of people routinely feeding 5-6 cups of kibble a day to their medium sized dogs and mainly I am just thankful I'm not the one having to scoop what must be just enormous, bountiful poops!
 

whtsthfrequency

www.petfooddirect.com

has a lot of good brands and DEAD cheap shipping, if you cannt find good food in your area.

 

Unfortunately PFD's shipping to Oklahoma is anything but cheap, so unless you have one of their 20-22% off codes AND a good sale it's really not worth it.

I like k9cuisine.com (free shipping over $50, prices are a little high) and heartypet.com (great prices and free shipping occasionally) and dog.com (occasional flat rate shipping offers but not a great selection).

Mom2Lucy, depending on where you are in OK I may be able to recommend some stores.

I have no idea why good foods don't get sold in regular grocery stores, but they don't. 

One of our grocery stores sells Castor and Pollex which I believe is pretty good dog food~!

 I just wanted to add that you are being a great fur mom for caring enough about your dog to learn what would be best for her! Good for you!

There is a ton of great info on this forum, and a lot of really experience advice to be had.

PS - We also feed a higher quality food, and feed less of it, plus the better food helps us avoid costly vet bills by keeping the pups in peak condition.

Here is the deal.  Even if I looked at the ingredients, you might as well be speaking Japanese.  I don't know what that stuff means.

Like, how much should I feed her, and how often?  She is 45-50 lbs., fairly active.

Is PetSmart a good place to go for food? 

Mom2Lucy

Here is the deal.  Even if I looked at the ingredients, you might as well be speaking Japanese.  I don't know what that stuff means.

Like, how much should I feed her, and how often?  She is 45-50 lbs., fairly active.

Is PetSmart a good place to go for food? 

I understand. When I first started looking into dog foods I would read the ingredient lists and not have the first clue what I was looking at. You just have to start somewhere with doing research. If you read in the nutrition forum there's A LOT of info.

As far as how much to feed her- it depends on the food. All foods have a recommended feeding amount on the back for the dog's weight. Usually they run a little high, so it's a good idea to feed slightly less. Then adjust according to your dog's body condition- adding or subtracting a little more until they're where they should be. It's usually best to feed twice a day, with about 15 minutes to eat each time.

I don't really recommend Petsmart foods for the most part. Almost all of them are midgrade and you can get better foods for the same price (like Canidae and Chicken Soup that I mentioned in my post above). Most of the better foods are sold at small, non-chain petstores. If you find one you're interested in, the websites always have a store locator.