1 Year Switch

I think that you'd get the most bang for your buck out of Canidae All Life stages. For a 20 lb dog, he'd get about 1 cup of food per day. A 20lb bag here is about $28.

http://www.canidae.com/dogs/all_life_stages/dry.html 

It all depends on how your dog does on the food, of course. Neiko has been on this food since I got him and his fur is shiney and silky. 

The closest place they sell the Canidae is 1/2 hour away.  I was hoping for something I could buy local, especially with gas prices so high.

 Here's another thought -- Buckel LOVES fruits and veggies.  Would it benefit him to supplement his food with fresh stuff?  Would it be cheaper?  Although he's a Schnauzer with a terrier coat, I'd love it to be softer, since he's just a pet, not a show dog.  Would fresh fruits and veggies do that?

I think supplementing with salmon oil would have a more beneficial effect on his skin and coat than fruits/veggies...which are for the most part not harmful and can have benefits...but not for dry skin or coat as far as I'm aware.  I am sure someone will be along to correct me on that LOL...but I would supplement with fish oil in your situation.

you'd be better off supplementing with fresh meats- fish, eggs, meats, than fruits and veg. Dogs have very little requirement for vegetables in their diets.

Here's a "compare the cost of feeding" analysis (your local prices may differ; the higher the number the more economical it is to feed):

Canidae 70

Eaglepack powerpack 56

Timberwolf wild n natural 46

EVO 43

Nutro ultra 42

Chicken soup 41

natures variety (salmon) 38

EVO reduced fat 34

Eaglepack duck 32

Royal canin lab 31

Mudpuppy, that is brilliant.

I'm going to have to go to local stores and do that, with local prices.  

mudpuppy

Here's a calories per dollar spent analysis (your local prices may differ):

Sorry, maybe a dumb question -- but do I want MORE calories per dollar, or less???

The best food for someone on a budget is to find a food that works and stick with it, it sounds like Nutro is working out for you.    I personally have spent a lot of money trying to find a "better" food only to find out the "better" food was worse and donating the food to a local shelter. 

You want more calories per dollar. 

The more calories you have per dollar means the less food you have to feed each day.

Example - fido needs 1000 calories per day.

If you feed Canidae, you are spending (1000 calories per day divided by 70 calories per $) = $14 per day. 

If you feed Royal Canin you spend (1000 calories per day divided by 31 calories per $) = $32 per day.

Big difference. 

those numbers I posted were based on a complicated estimate of getting a certain number of cups of food of a certain number of calories per cup out of each bag and are not direct estimates of kcal/dollar, just "relative compare the cost of foods" numbers.  Here's an easy way to estimate food relative costs for the math-challenged:  We'll do it for Science Diet Natures Best chicken formula:

look on the bag for kcal/kg. It's 3683 kcal/kg

The biggest bag they sell is 40 pounds. Google for a pounds to kg converter, and you get 18.1 kg per big bag. So multiple 18.1 kg by 3683 and you get 66,662.3 kcal per bag. A big bag costs $37.99 on petfooddirect right now, we'll assume you can get it locally for that price. So you just divide 66,662.3 kcal by $37.99 and you get 1754.7 kcal/dollar spent.

Let's try it for Orijen adult: you get 1134 kcal/dollar spent. A little more costly than SD, but the ingredients are FAR superior.

Nutro max adult: you get 2096 kcal/dollar spent. Much more economical than SD, and the ingredients are slightly superior.

Candidae: you get 2197 kcal/dollar spent. Hands-down the most economical food with nice ingredients available.

All those numbers are making my head spin!  ;-)

I was looking at the Royal Canin website, and they have a specific formula for Mini Schnauzers.  Now, do you think it's worth it to get a breed specific formula?  They don't sell it anywhere around here, so I'd have to order it online.  Can I get it cheap somewhere?  I'll bet that shipping is outrageous.  It seems like all the "good" brands aren't sold around here.

SquishyB

All those numbers are making my head spin!  ;-)

I was looking at the Royal Canin website, and they have a specific formula for Mini Schnauzers.  Now, do you think it's worth it to get a breed specific formula?  They don't sell it anywhere around here, so I'd have to order it online.  Can I get it cheap somewhere?  I'll bet that shipping is outrageous.  It seems like all the "good" brands aren't sold around here.

     I've very recently gone back to using Purina ONE again ... I have the same problem in regards to finding a store that actually sells a good food, since shipping is out of the question. I frequently purchase 3-4 bags in one trip and the shipping would cost me a good $50, if not more   So far, there have been no problems with the switch, and the dandruff they were getting on all raw is gone. Stools are quite firm and they all seem to just generally feel good on this diet. I actually prefer "bland" diets to the frilled up ones that add everything but the kitchen sink & have had some exorbitant Vet bills from the priciest of kibbles. I stick with "mid grade" feeds & seem to get the best, most consistant results from them as well. My 2 cents.  
    

IMO breed specific food is a marketing ploy. Unless you are going for "small breed" dog food which will be smaller sized kibble - for small mouthed dogs - or "large breed" dog food for XL dogs that have specific needs for growth.

My requirements for food are:

1. The dog does well on it

2. It's readily available just about every where. I've had times when I have gone out of town and brought dog food for the duration I thought I was going to be away, only to have to stay longer and run out of food. Then not being able to get that food because it was only sold at specific stores. I'll never put myself in that position again - it's just not worth the trouble.

3. It doesn't break the bank. 

I think Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul would be the best choice for this situation. IMO it's the best reasonbly priced holistic food.

Calories: 4,035 kcal/kg (121 g = 1 cup), 487 kcal/cup (4.26 oz = 1 cup)  

The first ingredients are beef, lamb meal, potatoes, egg, buffalo, lamb, venison... all things that I know what the are, as opposed to chicken by-products, or whatever.  I like that I can understand exactly what he would be getting.

And my major motivation for wanting to feed this is that it suggests 1.2 cups per day, as opposed to the 2 1/2 I've been feeding.  I'd be cutting the dog food bill in half.

Yea or nay?