UKC Forums - Dog food study/challenge

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Posted by truly on 12-12-2009 05:53 PM:

Dog food study/challenge

I am going to do a detailed analysis of my dog food cost and performance over the next month or two. I am going to calculate the exact amount of food used per pound of dog that is fed. I use Hi Standard purple bag which is 26/18. I pay $24 per bag [minus a bulk purchase discount which I am not going to consider for this]. I feed three hounds that weigh a combined 131 pounds [according to vets scale]. They spend the majority of their time indoor, so are not subject to burning extra calories to stay warm.
Today is December 12, starting with a new bag as of noon. My dogs get full feed. When I have used 50 or 100 pounds I will calculate cost. I will also note nights hunted- if I hunt all three dogs one night, I will call that three nights hunted- So if you hunt five dogs but only hunt one- note that accordingly.
Will anyone join me in this study? Please no guessing or estimating. Let's not use growing pups [under one year?] as their food use is different. Also note whether your dog is subjected to cold weather for a majority of their day- should we call average daily temp below 32 as cold?

I know many threads have covered dog food preferences and costs and people guess as to how much they use, but let's try to put together good data for comparison.
Thanks.

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Posted by Dan Dogs on 12-12-2009 06:00 PM:

ben, are you also going to do a body score, or weigh the dog on the last day of the trial..

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Posted by truly on 12-12-2009 06:27 PM:

No, I won't need to as this is the brand that I have fed for a long time and there should be no changes. Just looking for a fair comparison to maintain a healthy dog.

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Posted by Dan Dogs on 12-12-2009 06:48 PM:

i have a 130lb great pyrnese you can use on your test..lol i'll send him up to you and you can feed him for a yr or so...

Posted by MIKEG on 12-12-2009 08:09 PM:

dog food information

if you use the shed dog information , which states a hard working dog (5-7 nights a week for 3-4 hours a night ) that lives out side .
needs 2400 kcal per day and the best way is two 0r more feedings a day

BEST WAY TO BUY IS IN VOLUME GET TOGETHER WITH THE GUYS IN YOUR AREA AND BUY A TON AT A TIME PRICING SHOULD COME DOWN 2.00-5.00 A BAG
POWER IS IN THE NUMBERS DON'T LET THESE COMPANIES GET AWAY WITH OVER CHARGING , THERE IS NO REASON WHY WE SHOULDN'T BE ABLE TO BUY A 50 POUND BAG OF GOOD 26/18 FOR 16.00-18.00

USE THE BROAD TO TELL EACH AREA WHAT YOU ARE BUYING & HOW MUCH THE COST IS , THAN GO TO THOSE CHAIN STORES AND ASK THEM WHY YOU CAN'T BUY AT THAT PRICE
IN PA TO JAN 1ST
SPORT MIX 24/20 19.99 EVERY TEN GET ONE FOR FREE
" " 26/18 21.99
JOY 18.75 EVERY TWO TON GET 4 FREE

NEW YORK

TLC DIAMOND 24/20 19.99
COUNTRYMAX SPORTMIX 26/18 21.50
JOY 24/20 18.25

TLC WILL GIVE YOU 5 OFF A BAG FOR EVERY TON

Posted by Lee Currens Jr. on 12-12-2009 08:13 PM:

i would switch feed already 3 dogs 131 lbs.
avg. of 33 lbs a dog.
i have a 6mth old pup bigger than that.

Posted by HIGHVOLTAGE on 12-12-2009 08:41 PM:

weight

with my pencil and paper 131 pounds devided by 3 is 43.666667 average.

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Posted by Lee Currens Jr. on 12-12-2009 08:49 PM:

right!!! you are still running beagles.
you have had 3 chances put some nailor
in them and grow your dogs up and quiet
worring about cost if you cant afford them
cut back on numbers.

Posted by Jim Hill on 12-12-2009 09:56 PM:

ben can afford it just fine ,and as far as his dogs go he my pack them small but they are coon dogs from what ive seen there blueticking ,and as far as nailor dont do that then yall have a bunch of cows around like i do lol

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Posted by micooner on 12-12-2009 10:02 PM:

I did this last year and figured out I could feed a $30 bag of high quality feed that has no corn, wheat, or soy in it instead of what i consider cheap junk feed with lots of fillers. On the prohound site look up dick whitmore and his thread about dog feed if it is still available. When trying this it takes time to measure out the food and some are not willing to take the time to do this. They feed the dogs as if they are cattle and hogs with a scoop mentality. I've stated this before if your feed has corn or other grains they crap like hogs, dont tell me you have less to clean up and its a good stool. I've been farming way to long to believe that. And if you don't have much to clean up feeding the grain base then they must be crapping in thw woods LOL

Posted by truly on 12-13-2009 04:33 AM:

quote:
Originally posted by hjames888
ben can afford it just fine ,and as far as his dogs go he my pack them small but they are coon dogs from what ive seen there blueticking ,and as far as nailor dont do that then yall have a bunch of cows around like i do lol

Yes, and I can afford it because I pay attention to details like these.

And to those who don't think a 43 pound average can get coon treed- gee- wasn't the overall high scoring female last year at walker days saturday night about a 32 pound dog? Last time she was at my house and I weighed her that is what she was anyhow.

This post wasn't started to quibble about size of dogs, or speculate about food use. It is to actually do an experiment with fellow houndsmen and compare results. Please join in.

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Posted by Jim Hill on 12-13-2009 05:01 AM:

quote:
Originally posted by truly
Yes, and I can afford it because I pay attention to details like these.

And to those who don't think a 43 pound average can get coon treed- gee- wasn't the overall high scoring female last year at walker days saturday night about a 32 pound dog? Last time she was at my house and I weighed her that is what she was anyhow.

This post wasn't started to quibble about size of dogs, or speculate about food use. It is to actually do an experiment with fellow houndsmen and compare results. Please join in.

ben some are a little slower than others lol

Posted by truly on 12-14-2009 05:50 PM:

Come on guys [and gals] , join in on this. This could be useful info, and I am as curious about the outcome of other brands of dogfood as I am curious about my own.
Mike G makes a good point about calorie use, but what I have heard that a lot of dog food has "undigestable" calories and nutrition. Which is why a comparison of real use of dog food that is fed to similar species would be nice.

Next time you open a new bag, note the date, let us know how many dogs and their weight, and then tell us when you finish the bag.

__________________
patriotism is supporting your country all of the time and your government when it deserves it.
if you think the price of education is high, check out the cost of ignorance!

Posted by truly on 01-03-2010 04:49 AM:

Re: Dog food study/challenge

quote:
Originally posted by truly
I am going to do a detailed analysis of my dog food cost and performance over the next month or two. I am going to calculate the exact amount of food used per pound of dog that is fed. I use Hi Standard purple bag which is 26/18. I pay $24 per bag [minus a bulk purchase discount which I am not going to consider for this]. I feed three hounds that weigh a combined 131 pounds [according to vets scale]. They spend the majority of their time indoor, so are not subject to burning extra calories to stay warm.
Today is December 12, starting with a new bag as of noon. My dogs get full feed. When I have used 50 or 100 pounds I will calculate cost. I will also note nights hunted- if I hunt all three dogs one night, I will call that three nights hunted- So if you hunt five dogs but only hunt one- note that accordingly.
Will anyone join me in this study? Please no guessing or estimating. Let's not use growing pups [under one year?] as their food use is different. Also note whether your dog is subjected to cold weather for a majority of their day- should we call average daily temp below 32 as cold?

I know many threads have covered dog food preferences and costs and people guess as to how much they use, but let's try to put together good data for comparison.
Thanks.

So I filled the bowl tonight to use up the last of the food. It will last through tomorrow, making it 22 days. This works out to $1.09 per day for three dogs, or $.36 per dog per day. During this time the dogs hunted about 6 nights- I went out only three times due to cold conditions, but hunted two dogs each night.

Note- Dave started his bag on Dec 22.

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if you think the price of education is high, check out the cost of ignorance!

Posted by Dan Dogs on 01-03-2010 05:02 AM:

is this a house dog study or outside dogs?? i pay 18 dollars for 50 lbs and that will last three days feeding 7 dogs. and mine are starting to get heavy because they havn't been hunted for about 10 days. i would guess the average weight would be 60lb dogs

Posted by Dan Dogs on 01-03-2010 05:43 AM:

ben your dogs must be living in 72 degree temps because your averaging way less than a pound of dog food/ dog / day..i'm feeding 2 lbs per day/ dog..but 2 of mine will weigh as much as three of yours and mine are outside all the time..average temp 15 degrees..i think your study has more to do with how tempeture has to do with food intake..stick your dogs outside for the next 22 days and see if the food intake increases..then tell me how long a bag will last.

Posted by on 01-03-2010 06:52 AM:

I think keeping dogs indoors is going to drastically effect the results, and without reading all the posts, I'm assuming Ben will take that into consideration.
In warmer months, I was feeding the 2 dogs I was hunting about 1 cup of Purina Dog Chow a day. My dogs looked great. Weight, Coat & Conditioning, all were above average. Might feed an extra 1/2 or 1 cup to a dog after hunting them harder than the typical night.
Sky is around 50-53lbs. I'm guessing Sky Rocket to be about 40-44 lbs.
I was paying around $23 for a 44lb bag of Purina.
Around Oct, I switch to Pzazz 26-18 which I can get easily, currently at $20 for 50lb bag.
I keep my dogs on regular rations until harder hunting or cold weather (whichever comes first). Then as I prepare for winter I put them on a self feeders until early spring.
Pups or growing dogs I always give self feed until their over a year old. Usually Purina Puppy Chow until 6 months or so, then to whatever I'm feeding at the time (Pzazz or Purina Dog Chow).
I'm just guessing but I bet I burn through 50lbs of Pzazz in a week between the 2 grown dogs, and the pup ain't far behind.
I've really never looked into how much it costs me per day. If I can get a dog food at a decent price (less than $25 a bag) and it is readily available (as in I can go get it without driving more than 30 minutes) and my dogs continue to look healthy, I'll feed it.

Posted by on 01-03-2010 06:54 AM:

On another note, my wife has a 6lb Chihuahua that we feed whatever she overpays for at the grocery store, about 1 cup of dog food every 3-4 days. Easiest keeping dog ever. Doesn't even go outside to do its business, litter box trained. And she's fat from my 2 year old feeding her constantly.

Posted by evan ashley on 01-03-2010 10:35 AM:

quote:
Originally posted by truly
No, I won't need to as this is the brand that I have fed for a long time and there should be no changes. Just looking for a fair comparison to maintain a healthy dog.

how is this possible. if you hunt a dog hard it will loose weight you run 5 miles a day for a month straight and see if you don't loose weight. I know this for a fact because last month in december we hunted in 20 hunts starting on december the first and ending on the 31 first not including the two weeks leading up to december to get her ready to run that month. she did not have two nights for the whole month of december off and the two weeks before december. and yes she lost weight was getting feed twice a day and the right amount each time. but all the hunting and road time she did loose wieght and i feed native level 4 thats 35/25. hunt them dogs more on the level you feed them and see if it don't change.

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Posted by truly on 01-03-2010 12:48 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by evan ashley
how is this possible.

This will be possible if enough people will do an accurate measure of their dog food use and tell us the conditions that their dogs live in.
For me, seeing that my three dogs cost a combined $1.09 per day already puts things in perspective. I took the wife and kids to an Asian Fusion restaurant last night. The bill came to $62, plus tip. No drinks besides tea and water. I think I might start eating dog food instead!!

Yes D.D., my dogs are inside- we keep it around 64 degrees. I would love to see an exact comparison of feed use, feeding the same feed to the same dogs at different temps. What if it turned out to be cheaper to have a little bed warmer in the dog house than to feed so much?

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patriotism is supporting your country all of the time and your government when it deserves it.
if you think the price of education is high, check out the cost of ignorance!

Posted by truly on 01-03-2010 12:53 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by Dan Dogs
.stick your dogs outside for the next 22 days and see if the food intake increases..then tell me how long a bag will last.

It's 11 degrees below right now! I wouldn't want to have to go outside to feed and water them! It's bad enough having to open the door a crack to let them in and out!

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patriotism is supporting your country all of the time and your government when it deserves it.
if you think the price of education is high, check out the cost of ignorance!

Posted by Dan Dogs on 01-03-2010 01:20 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by truly
It's 11 degrees below right now! I wouldn't want to have to go outside to feed and water them! It's bad enough having to open the door a crack to let them in and out!

LOL

Posted by Bluedogman on 01-03-2010 01:39 PM:

Dang! That's enough to stop a watch from ticking. 20 above is cold enough for me. It's costing me about $3.78 a day right now to feed my three Purina ONE. About 235# of dog. Outside dogs and cold.

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Posted by evan ashley on 01-04-2010 09:15 AM:

quote:
Originally posted by truly
This will be possible if enough people will do an accurate measure of their dog food use and tell us the conditions that their dogs live in.
For me, seeing that my three dogs cost a combined $1.09 per day already puts things in perspective. I took the wife and kids to an Asian Fusion restaurant last night. The bill came to $62, plus tip. No drinks besides tea and water. I think I might start eating dog food instead!!

Yes D.D., my dogs are inside- we keep it around 64 degrees. I would love to see an exact comparison of feed use, feeding the same feed to the same dogs at different temps. What if it turned out to be cheaper to have a little bed warmer in the dog house than to feed so much?

so you can hunt them every night and 5 or 6 hours a night and it is still going to cost you $1.09 per day to feed your dogs. for the feed you feed at the exact measurements on the bag?

Posted by Mizzou on 01-04-2010 01:39 PM:

Re: Dog food study/challenge

quote:
Originally posted by truly
I am going to do a detailed analysis of my dog food cost and performance over the next month or two. I am going to calculate the exact amount of food used per pound of dog that is fed. I use Hi Standard purple bag which is 26/18. I pay $24 per bag [minus a bulk purchase discount which I am not going to consider for this]. I feed three hounds that weigh a combined 131 pounds [according to vets scale]. They spend the majority of their time indoor, so are not subject to burning extra calories to stay warm.
Today is December 12, starting with a new bag as of noon. My dogs get full feed. When I have used 50 or 100 pounds I will calculate cost. I will also note nights hunted- if I hunt all three dogs one night, I will call that three nights hunted- So if you hunt five dogs but only hunt one- note that accordingly.
Will anyone join me in this study? Please no guessing or estimating. Let's not use growing pups [under one year?] as their food use is different. Also note whether your dog is subjected to cold weather for a majority of their day- should we call average daily temp below 32 as cold?

I know many threads have covered dog food preferences and costs and people guess as to how much they use, but let's try to put together good data for comparison.
Thanks.

I just came across the post, wow that is cheap!! I currently feed Hi-Standard also. I have all of my dogs outside and I am going to start today with 5 of them to see if I have similar results.

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