Where the Money goes

All the health concerns completely aside, have you ever considered how much money you are really spending on a product that appears to be fairly inexpensive at first sight? How much money do you spend on dog food every year? Do you compare just by looking at the price tag on the bag?

Below is a calculation that compares one grocery store brand, one popular brand sold at pet stores and one high quality brand. The comparison is based on the requirements of a hypothetical, adult, moderately active dog of 50 pounds. I am aware that each animal is different and for individual feeding amounts other factors have to be taken into consideration, but for the sake of a comparison in regards to ingredient quality and price, let's just keep it simple and stick with the manufacturer's recommendation.

The examples were calculated using actual, existing brands but I have left out the names since they are not required to make a point. If you absolutely have to know, check the source code of this page, the names are in the commentary. The initial cost for each brand was based on the biggest bag size and price average calculated from several sources (online as well as local stores), and the manufacturer recommended feeding amount. The amount of cups per bag and pound were calculated from the manufacturer's statement on caloric content per cup and per pound or kilogram of food (e.g. if you know a kibble contains 1,683 kcal per pound and 365 kcal per cup, you can easily deduct that a 40 pound bag of kibble contains 40 x 1,683 kcal = 67,320 kcal. If you divide that by the amount of kcal per cup, you get the amount of cups in a bag: 67,320 kcal/365 = 184.4).

As you see, the price tag on the bag should not be the deciding factor. A quality brand convinces not only with superior ingredients but also economically.