With the rise in prices of pet food, is it even possible to find the best cheap dog foods while sticking to a strict budget?
That’s exactly what we are here to find out!
Every pet parent wants the best for their best friend, but sometimes life gets in the way. Sometimes pet owners are unable to afford a $60 or even $70 for a bag of food, no matter how much they want their dogs to eat it. However, what most pet owners don’t realize is that there are ways to feed your dog a high-quality healthy diet without breaking the bank in the process.
In this post, we will give you some basic tips and guidelines to stick with in order to find the healthiest and best cheap dog foods on the market and avoid overspending in the process.
Does a Good Cheap Dog Food Even Exist?
Surprisingly, yes.
If there is anything most pet owners should learn is not to judge a food based on its packaging or price alone. There are plenty of cheap dog food options out there that still provide all of the necessary healthy ingredients your dog needs to thrive. When it comes to dog food, a high price tag doesn’t necessarily mean the quality is better. There are plenty of expensive dog food brands out there that are filled with useless ingredients and flavors, all of which can still prove to be harmful for your best friend.
There are plenty of factors that go into determining the price of a dog food, all of which doesn’t necessarily reflect what’s in the bag such as marketing cost, packaging cost and shipping cost. Never use the price of a food to justify whether or not it is packed with healthy ingredients.
4 Qualities to Look for When Buying Cheap Dog Food
There are a few things pet owners should take into consideration when looking for cheap dog food brands to buy.
1. The Packaging
Pet owners should take the packaging of a dog food into consideration when choosing a quality pet food for their dog. Pet parents should be considerate of the front label designs. Is the front label cluttered? Or does it focus on the quality of the ingredients inside the bag? Most labels that are placed on the front of the bag, if they are filled with low quality ingredients, tend to focus on large and colorful designs in order to avoid explaining what kind of ingredients they use in their formulas.
2. The Ingredients
This is one of the most important qualities to look for in any pet food, regardless of its price. Typically, the first five ingredients are considered the most important as this is what the dog food primarily consists of. Most labels show the ingredients listed based on weight rather than type. This could mean a meat listed as the first or second ingredient could be making up 70% or more of the entire product.
Always look for ingredients in which their sources are named specifically such as “Chicken,” “Chicken Meal,” or “Salmon.” Try to avoid ingredients that use generic terms such as “Poultry Meal” or “Poultry By-Product.”
3. The Brand
Another thing to consider is the brand itself. Unfortunately, some brand names are synonymous with low quality ingredients and recalls. Be wary of formulas deriving from brands such as Purina as they have a long history of offering low quality pet foods made with low quality ingredients and regular recalls on many of their formulas.
4. Consumer Reviews
The last thing you should take into consideration are reviews from other pet owners. Take a look at the latest reviews and see how other people’s dogs are reacting to the food. Do they like it? Has their system tolerated it well? Has it exacerbated allergy symptoms? Has any of the dogs gotten sick off of the food? Are the dogs rushing to clear their bowl the moment the food is poured in their food?
Final Verdict
The wish to buy the highest quality dog food at the cheapest price is completely understandable. However, most of the time a lower price means lower quality ingredients are used. Finding the highest quality dog food at a price you can afford may be difficult, but it is possible. Just take into the consideration the kind of ingredients are used, what other pet owners are saying about the food and the kind of packaging used to help you choose the right food for your best friend at the best price.
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