[pinkdiamondracing]

ok I gotta ask, where are you buying your TOTW where its $45/bag? What size bag, the 15.5 lb? I pay $25 for the 15.5 lb bag...I can certainly understand not wanting to spend that much money on a big dog, but just something to consider. If you buy the better quality food, they actually do end up eating less b/c it fills them up better than the cheaper stuff b/c it has real meat in it not the meal or by product...

I got really lucky-- My little feed store here in the little town I live in special orders it in for me ( pretty sure she gives it to me at cost+ freight) because I buy all my grain from her. I was paying almost $45/bag for it from TSC, and when I made a comment to her about how expensive it was, she called the company, asked them if she could order 2-3 bags/month, and then gave it to me for much less than I could go to Paris and buy it from TSC. I am the only one in town that feeds it, and so she only gets enough for me. I buy the big bags, and I think the last time I looked at my charge slip, it was $40.

[Watermark Farm]

Costco's Kirkland brand is pretty decent and about $25 for 40lbs.

Congrats on your new "Foster." Danes are amazing dogs!

[wendy]

price per pound isn't a very effective way to choose food- you need to find out price per kcal. Many of the cheaper per pound foods are quite non-calorie-dense so you end up having to feed tons of it and end up spending more money than if you bought a more calorie-dense food. TOTW is actually quite non-calorie dense, as is Chicken soup. No idea about the costco brand since we don't have costcos here. I once calculated it cost more to feed Chicken soup than to feed Nature's variety instinct (due to the dramatic difference in calories per cup) despite the apparently high price tag for Nature's variety instinct.
Of the cheaper, mainstream foods Purina's sensitive stomach formula is actually quite decent in ingredients. Pedigree is complete and utter garbage and is not worth feeding or buying- read the ingredients. It's a bag of corn and is NOT worth the price they ask and will not support dog health.

for example, rough estimate: a big bag of TOTW, Chicken Soup, and Purina sensitive systems all cost approximately $45.
But due to variations in caloric density,
TOTW you get 1124 kcal/ dollar
Chicken soup you get 1269 kcal/ dollar
and Purina sensitive you get 1384 kcal/ dollar

which frankly aren't all that different, and maybe ingredient quality should be considered = TOTW.

[HydroPHILE]

TOTW, Kirkland, Chicken Soup....are all made by Diamond Diamond Naturals is comparable to Kirkland and less expensive than TOTW.

We pay $42 for the 40 lbs bag and can sometimes get it on sale for $35-$37 per 40 lbs bag.

[wendy]

well, again, you have to check the caloric density to see if the food is actually a deal-
If you want to know how to calculate how many kcal per dollar, check the bag for its kcal/kg; convert the weight of the bag from lbs. to kg; multiply the kg of the bag by the kcal/kg so now you know how many kcal per bag you have. Then you just divide that kcal number by the cost of the bag.

Diamond naturals does come out pretty good, at 1907 kcal/ dollar (assuming you can get it for $35) and it has decent ingredients.

[pinkdiamondracing]

I fed Diamond for almost 2 years, and the whole time my one dog I have who has skin allergies had to have monthly cortisone shots-- since switching to TOTW-- not only is he cortisone free, but he has gained weight, and his haircoat is much better. I may possibly consider putting "Foster" on Diamond since I can also get it at my little local feed store, but the others will be staying on TOTW-- those 5 are happier, healthier, and heavier since taking them off Diamond-- all the scientific data doesn't mean squat to me if my dogs don't look good, and they do.
I only bought the Pedigree for the Dane because I really didn't expect him to be a permanent resident-- I figured someone would come forward and claim him, but so far, no dice. His next bag of food will be something much better for him, now that it looks like he will be mine.

[bort84]

Dog food brands, the great debate!

I feed TOTW, but I know a lot of fellow greyhound owners have had good luck with the Kirkland grain-free.

I love great danes! How fun that you decided to keep him = )

[pinkdiamondracing]

well, again, you have to check the caloric density to see if the food is actually a deal-
If you want to know how to calculate how many kcal per dollar, check the bag for its kcal/kg; convert the weight of the bag from lbs. to kg; multiply the kg of the bag by the kcal/kg so now you know how many kcal per bag you have. Then you just divide that kcal number by the cost of the bag.

Diamond naturals does come out pretty good, at 1907 kcal/ dollar (assuming you can get it for $35) and it has decent ingredients.

How about I just post the brand of food, the cost/bag, and then you can calculate it for me?? Kg's, not my strong suit-- I can't even convert degrees into Celcius!!! LOL

[Alagirl]

How about I just post the brand of food, the cost/bag, and then you can calculate it for me?? Kg's, not my strong suit-- I can't even convert degrees into Celcius!!! LOL

LOL
from Fahrenheit to Celsius:
degrees minus 32
___________________
5/9 (or, for quick estimation divided in half)

Sooo, it's 92 right now here:

92-32=60
that's ~30 degrees celsius,

or, more precisely
60 times 5 divided by 9 = 33.33333333

(of course, the other way around is accordingly: times 9, divided by 5 plus 32....)

Kg is kinda easy:
1000g. A metric pound is a shade bigger than an imperial one at 500g(I think without checking 494g per imperial pound) I just estimate if I am not backing...

[HalfArabian]

Another vote for Diamond Naturals for the Dane! I feed my BF's Min Pin and my GSD-X it and have good results with it as previously he used Eukenuba(sp) and I has used Chicken Soup(had a problem with kibble size). If the Dane thrives and no allergy issues, I would go with DN. Just my 2 cents.

KH

[pinkdiamondracing]

So what do ya'll think??/ chicken and rice, or lamb and rice??

We are almost 1/2 thru the bag of Pedigree, and now I remember why I don't feed it to all my others, aside from the obvious reason (skin-issue dog)--- we have some seriously rank air biscuits floating around our house!!!
I know they are coming from the Dane, because last night he discovered my bed, and proceeded to park his smelly butt right in my face!!!! YUK!!!

[Alagirl]

So what do ya'll think??/ chicken and rice, or lamb and rice??

We are almost 1/2 thru the bag of Pedigree, and now I remember why I don't feed it to all my others, aside from the obvious reason (skin-issue dog)--- we have some seriously rank air biscuits floating around our house!!!
I know they are coming from the Dane, because last night he discovered my bed, and proceeded to park his smelly butt right in my face!!!! YUK!!!

I don't think it really matters if lamb or chicken.

lamb was thought to be the cure all hypo allergenic meat, until it was used much more and dogs developed allergies to it!

So toss a coin.

[wendy]

Great Dane Lady doesn't think danes do well on lamb-based diets. Not sure how she came to that opinion. My Dane clearly did better on fish-based diets than on any other type.

lbs to kgs: http://www.metric-conversions.org/we...-kilograms.htm

[Nootka]

So what do ya'll think??/ chicken and rice, or lamb and rice??

We are almost 1/2 thru the bag of Pedigree, and now I remember why I don't feed it to all my others, aside from the obvious reason (skin-issue dog)--- we have some seriously rank air biscuits floating around our house!!!
I know they are coming from the Dane, because last night he discovered my bed, and proceeded to park his smelly butt right in my face!!!! YUK!!!

LMAO Now isn't that tasty

[pinkdiamondracing]

For those who have asked-- and anyone else, you asked for pictures-- so here they are!!!
Meet "Foster"

https://picasaweb.google.com/1073401...NTu-9-66-mwUg#

[Jumpin_Horses]

OMG! super cute!

[Alagirl]

For those who have asked-- and anyone else, you asked for pictures-- so here they are!!!
Meet "Foster"

https://picasaweb.google.com/1073401...NTu-9-66-mwUg#

MO-OM
THERE IS A HORSE IN THE LIVING ROOM!!!



(he's adorable!!)

[Meredith Clark]

No food recommendations but congrats on the Dane!

My friend has 4 and is fostering one. They are the coolest dogs ever, after my Bella dog of course.. (I have to say that cause she's at the end of my bed watching..).

I really want to take over fostering or adopt the foster dog she has now.. he's so cute and sweet and I think he'd get along really well with Bella.

Good luck with your Dane!

[TheOrangeOne]

Hey, check out the forums at www.danesonline.com for some great information. There are a lot of food recommendations there specifically for Danes. I have an 8 month old harlequin right now- he is a handful and a half!

[pinkdiamondracing]

^^^^ Thanks!! Just what I needed-- another forum to kill time on!! Many thanks-- this looks like it will be very informative, and fun too!!!