I give up! Orijen is just too expensive! What moderately priced food should I switch to?

[anonymitycodeboanerges]

My dogs have been on Orijen for a little more than a year now and they LOVE it. But I just can't afford to keep buying it. Orijen adult is okay at ~$2.97/lb, but the other flavors are just too much. E.g. My dogs like Tundra best, but it's ~$4.79/lb. I might as well just feed them cheap steaks at that point, haha.

What other great foods are out there that you all like? Preferably high protein, grain free, with no recalls. I've looked into ACANA (b/c they love Orijen so much), Taste of the Wild, EVO, Hi-Tek Naturals, and Castor and Pollux Ultramix. Trying to collect as much info as possible before I buy anything.

Thanks.

 

[wideopenheart]

@anonymitycodeboanerges I really like Taste of the Wild, particularly the fish one (I think "Pacific" something). My dog goes crazy for Merricks Backcountry, also.

 

[anonymitycodeboanerges]

@wideopenheart I bought merrick grain free before I discovered Orijen. They seemed happy with it. I heard that the merrick brand was bought out recently though. I've wondered if quality was affected.

 

[darlingdaughter]

@anonymitycodeboanerges I work at a retailer that carries Merrick. From what the reps have told us, the formulas won't be touched. It usually takes about a year and a half for those changes to hit shelves, so it will be interesting to see what they launch in the fall as those will be the first products created under new ownership.

 

[chrissyboy]

@anonymitycodeboanerges I feed Acana: Grasslands, still higher protein but not too high (as my dog is fairly sedentary)--i really like it. Id feed the fish if it was less smelly, instead i just add my own fish oil.

 

[ivnmetal]

@anonymitycodeboanerges My dog loves Acanaacifica, the fish oil is good for her skin and she loves fish in general. But it's only slightly less expensive than Orijen

 

[inhissight]

@anonymitycodeboanerges Evo gave both of my dogs the runs, and they do fine on other rich foods.

Orijen has been the best for them overall. Acana is also good but not that much cheaper.

I'd also add Sammy Snacks Ancestry and Nature's Logic to your list. Nature's logic is not "grain free" because it uses millet as the starch, but I honestly don't think that's a bad thing--I'll take millet over white potato any day. Ancestry is a smaller local east coast brand, but their website has free shipping.

 

[gallium]

@anonymitycodeboanerges I use Zignature (rotate flavors) and have had no problems and dog loves it! He's got some allergies, so the lack of grains (even potatoes!) is what caught my eye.

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@anonymitycodeboanerges I have a few I rotate between:

Acana
Taste of the Wild
Zignature
Nulo

And I'm thinking of trying pioneer naturals!

 

[seeburger]

@anonymitycodeboanerges I do Taste of the Wild for my guy and he likes it and it seems to be treating him well. He's only ever been sick once in 3 years... well and that time he snuck an entire stick of butter off of the counter.

 

[longing4godtoremake]

@anonymitycodeboanerges The new Acana Heritage is very affordable compared to Orijen. Same company. Just designed for different dogs. My dog has been very happy in it.

 

[immd]

@anonymitycodeboanerges Pure Balance. And they sell it at walmart. Unfortunately my dog can have skin issues and their most expensive version seems to help it. So she eats the bison formula.

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@anonymitycodeboanerges My dog goes nuts for Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Duck flavor. We had been on Fromm's which she loved, but it started to feel too expensive.

 

[njn]

@anonymitycodeboanerges Bison Flavored Pure Balance from Walmart believe it or not is actually a great dog food!