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help with dog feeding
Hi, I just got a new dog and am not up on all the dog foods out there. Are the higher priced ones really worth the extra money? What do you recommend? My dog is 80 pounds so money is a factor. Thank You for your help!

The better brands are a money saver for several reasons.
The foods you normally buy in grocery stores and feed stores, like the Purina brands,for instance, have fillers in them. these are non-nutrive additives that fill up the bag, to make it look like you are getting more for your money.It is legal, and the fillers don't necessarily harm the dogs, but they do nothing but increase the volumn of the dog's stool.
The better brands do not have these fillers, so you feed less. That just about evens out the cost.the dog eats less volumn of food, therefore you have less to clean up from your back yard.A 20 pound bag last longer thn the 20 pound bag of the cheaper food.
The better food is healthier, and saves you vet bills later on, by making your dog healthier.
The formulas are varied, for the ages of the dog, and size etc.
Get the formula best suited to your dog's size and age. Older dogs need less fat, and other nutrients for energy. They need a formula to help control their weight. You can even get formulas for bone and joint health, to ease Arthritis etc.
Iams is now sold at Walmart, at least in my area, and it is a little less than Iams sold at the pet store. I think Walmart stores all over carry the same brands of murchandise.
Iams is as good as you can get.
Other good brands are science diet, Walthams, and some others I can't remember the name of.
Brands like Old roy, Good Boy etc, have little food value.
Go to Walmart, get the Iams, in the formula your dog needs. For under 1 year of age, get the puppy formula. For dogs up to 5 or 6 years, get the adult formula, and at about 6 years, it is best to start on the senior formulas, especially if your dog has a tendance to gain weight.
You can compare the amounts you feed, and the nutritive value on the different foods, by the chart on the back of the bag.
The better you maintain your dog's health in the early years, the healthier it will be when it ages. You will save on veterinary bills with a healthy dog.
Start now to raise a healthy dog, but watching it's diet, keeping all immunizations current, and seeing to proper exercise etc.
just like raising a child. You atart early to avoid health problems down the line.

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