We give our shih tzu Blue Buffalo. Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula (dry food) does not use animal by-products and their gluten-free recipes do not contain any artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. Their food also does not have corn, wheat or soy, which have been known to trigger allergies.

You can go to the website: http://www.bluebuff.com and read more about the products they have. You can also request a free sample (and a $3 coupon) so you can see if your dog is going to like it before you buy a larger bag.

Their treats and canned food were on the recall list so I don’t recommend those.

Diamond
Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul

To be honest dry dog food is not good for a dogs digestive system and you would be best getting chappie. i had my dog on a dry dog food and it collapsed because the food was too heavy, we took it to the vets and they recommended chappie.

Nutro Natural Choice is good and so is the Nutro Ultra. They cost around $35 for a 40lb bag (in my area). I’ve also heard great things about Canidae but it’s a bit more pricey about $45 for a 40 lb bag.

Depending on where you live will determine which brands are available and each store will vary in price. You might want to google “Best Dog Food”. It will give you a few websites that compare dog foods to each other. Once you have a short list you want to consider, go to your local stores and check out prices. Keep an eye out for sales and promotions in stores that will also cut the price.

My computer is not working too well or I would have listed several links for you.

you can look into any programs the food companies have for free bags.

many co. have it where you buy so many bags you get 1 free. you just save the proof of purchase and recietps.

Sorry I cannot help with the best food for the $ as I feed an all raw diet…..

CANIDAE. i spend 40.00 for a 40 lb bag and it goes almost 3 weeks. i have 5 dogs and 3 are 100 lbs. real ingredients = less to feed. great for my budget.

Goodlife Recipe works great. We use it for our two pomeranians and they love it.

Have you checked into Blue Buffalo. You can buy it from Petsmart

http://www.bluebuff.com

Of grocery store brands that are naturally preserved I’d go with ONE. I have used Pro Plan for 15 + yrs with great results on all my personal dogs and fosters and it costs $25-30 for a 37.5lb bag. and have used ONE in a pinch.

Its hard to really rate how economical different foods are without knowing more about your dog. You can feed less of the higher protein foods depending on your dog’s size and activity levels, so it may be cheaper to stay on something like Innova Evo if your dog is big and moderately active. (My 120 lb competitive agility dog eats 2.25 cups of Innova Evo per day, but I would need to feed her 6-8 cups of Nutro Max Large Breed to meet her nutritional needs. When you compare the cost of the two as 40-pound bags of food, one $50 bag is cheaper than two or three $35 bags.) For a sedentary dog, you can feed a little less than is directed on the package for most foods. If your dog is fairly small, this could mean big savings for you! Anyway, that’s something to consider when selecting a food.

Some other good brands that are fairly natural, but less expensive, include:

-Natural balance (sold at Petco–offers grainless formulas if you need them)
-Nutro (All varieties)
-Blue Buffalo
-Castor and Pollux
-Newman’s Own (Organic chicken!–can be a good deal depending where you buy it, or can be overly expensive)
-Merrick
-Frommes (sp?)
-California Natural (made my Natura, the company that sells Innova)
-Wellness
-Solid Gold (many flavors to pick from, older and reputable company)
-AvoDerm
-Pinnacle

You might also want to check into some of the freeze-dried, “add your own meat” foods out there. I feed raw food to two of my dogs (the big girl can’t handle it, she has a very touchy digestive tract), and when I’m too busy to make my own veggie glop to go with it I’ve used Honest Kitchen brand mixes. A little bit goes a looooonnng way!

I use Kirkland dry dog food it is a middle brand way better than the grocery store ones and it has no corn or wheat in it!
You can check it out at http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/. It is about $23 at costco for a 40lb bag!!

Canidae is a great food and is somewhat cheaper than Innova, etc. Some shopping around will get you the best price. You really can’t cut costs too sharply with dog food. The cheaper stuff is all crap. If you can’t afford Canidae, you need to rethink your household finances and whether you can afford to have a dog!

purina one pro is very good but also try to see the prices for hills science diet becasue that is very healthy also eukanuba isnt bad either good luck

I used to feed my dog Innova EVO, but like you, it got to be too expensive. So I switched him to California Natural, and he’s actually doing better on it than he was on EVO. And it’s cheaper! At least where I buy it from, the EVO was roughly $2.60/lb, and the California Natural is about $1.30/lb. That’s half the cost of the EVO! It also comes in a bigger bag than the EVO (less trips to the pet store!), AND it’s still a really good food! I feed 2 cups a day (the same amount I fed with the EVO), and he’s still a very healthy weight, so it’s not like you have to feed a lot more of the California Natural either.

Good luck finding a good dog food!

Nutro has 3 lines: max, natural choice, and ultra. max is cheapest n ultra is more expensive. its all natural and if ur dog doesnt like it, it is guaranteed and u can return it to the store with a receipt!!!!

If you order Taste of the Wild through petfooddirect.com, you can get 5% off your order by clicking in the top right corner.
http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/shop_brands.asp?brand_id=1074&AffiliateCode=DIAMOND

This site also has it on sale right now:
http://www.waggintails.com/store/DisplayProduct.php?sku=TODK-001&name=Taste+of+the+Wild+High+Prairie+Canine+Formula+with+Roasted+Bison+%26+Roasted+Venis