Kirkland Dog Food - opinions?

[croman7]

Hey everyone...
I remember reading a while ago that people were talking about the best dog food, within a reasonable price range...

I need to start one of my dogs on a new food. He's getting a skin rash (looks sorta like exczema (spelling?) on humans) and I want to see if it's a food allergy. he started a new brand a while back, and i think the rash came shortly after that.

I remember a thread about dog food, but can't seem to find it. if i recall correctly, lots of people said that the Costco brand was a great one for the price. True? If anyone's tried it, i'd appreciate your feedback. I think i also heard good things about Blue Buffalo (i think it was)... what do you guys like, what's the best for the price?

I want to avoid the really fancy ones that are specially formulated for allergies, cuz they'll be mega bucks... If i can start with something simple like Kirkland or something and try that, that'd be a great start. if it doesnt work within a cpl months of using it, i'll evolve to a more specially formulated variety.

Thanks in advance for everyone's opinons on any brands you use. I appreciate how this online community can come together and be so helpful to one another. Have a great day everyone!

[i_forget]

I had my Lab on the Costco brand dog food and he too had a rash that I could not get rid of. I did originally buy him Pedigree, then went to the Costco stuff, tried a few other cheap ones too.
Eventually I bit it and went out and bought him the expensive food ...and voila....2 days after I switched him the scratching stopped and his rashes went away (his stomach was covered and he had them in the creases of all his legs).
By talking to many people (a couple vets and owners of other Labs) I learned that many dogs are allergic to the chicken bi-products that are in most dog foods.
If you think that your dog has an allergy, it probably is, so switching to a different brand with the same ingredients will not make a difference....your best bet is to switch to a food that is made with something that they are least likely to be allergic to, like Salmon.
I am using Performatrim Ultra, it is in a red bag with a star on it....I buy it at Pet Valu.
It might cost a bit more, but the allergy will be gone and you will save by not having vet bills for treating the skin condition....and trying a million different things....
HTH

[croman7]

thanks, I'll try eliminating chicken ingredients first and see if that works...

[dol09]

My dogs eat the kirkland dog food and don't have any problems on it. For the price and quality I think its great! Much better then stuff you'd buy at the grocery store. Last time I was in costco I noticed a new food in there in a big blue bag. It was 2 kg smaller and about 8 dollars more. It had salmon and sweet potatoes in it and was grain free. I thought about getting that for my dogs but seem to be doing ok on the kirkland food.

[PinkLincoln]

The Kirkland dog and cat food is great! I have tried high end brands to avoid discount brands, however, I didn't like any of them. For awhile we had our German Shepperd on Royal Canine German Shepperd blend, it made him lose insane amounts of weight no matter how much we fed him, and we had our chihuahuas on Nutrience and Nutro small breed food. My Chihuahua's aren't very sensitive and can eat just about anything without any problems.

The kirkland Adult Dog food has 3 different kinds, Chicken & Rice ($22ish) Lamb & Rice ($24ish) and the previously mentioned grain free Salmon was around $30. Ive fed all my dogs the Chicken or Lamb for about 2 years now. I have no complaints about it, they're all healthy, not overweight. They have quality ingredients, better then a number of premium brands we had our pups on before. We were hesitant on trying it at first, but after we read the ingredients, we were sold. First ingredient is meat, and the food has lots of quality grains (rice & barley), fruits, and vegetables.

Also, the cat food is very, very cheap too. About $10-$12 for a large bag. I don't have cats, but since Ive been getting it for my grandmother she said it's helped her cats coat be less greasy since switching, so she's happy with it.

Hope it works out for your furry friend, but if chicken is the problem check the Lamb or Salmon blends and see if that works. They're a little more expensive, but still way cheaper then what you'll find anywhere else.

[CouponNinja]

Whatever you do, don't let your vet talk you into the Medi-cal or the Science Diet...friggen cancer in a bag that stuff is!

[Brandy Hunter]

Switching the dogs food itself can cause a rash. How long has he been on this new one?

[miztia]

I was told by a friend that works at a vet, that buying any dog food from the grocery store is equivelent to basically feeding them floor sweepings. LOL
I buy Nutro, and my Shepherd does good on it. If I change her food even slightly, even to other flavor of the Nutro, her poops change color, scratching begins, ect.
I always bought from Pet Value, and it was $60 a big bag, but have found if you sign up for the PetSmart membership, they send coupons to you, and always seem to have online coupons available. I always get great cashiers there that let me combine offers as well. I dont think Ive spent more than $38 a big bag in the last year that I started going there.

[LovelyLaeticia]

I use the Pet Value brand food, I think it's called Performax?? It's their brand anyway. I buy the Large Breed stuff, as my puppy is 110 lbs. It's quite a reasonable quality, the biggest bag costs us $60 + tax. This may be the pregnancy hormones talking... but it even smells good!

[safielstar]

My dog has been on Kirkland brand food since she was a puppy at the breeder's.

The breeder herself feeds all her dogs the Kirkland brand, even the puppies. I figure if the breeder has been breeding dogs for years on end and is as reputable as she is, she must know a few things. Our dog is going to be 3 in March and she's been on the Kirkland Chicken and Rice since she was a puppy and she's perfectly fine, but granted she's a fairly healthy dog to begin with. Her digestive system on the food is wonderful, so no complaints from me there. The food is cheap and because she's a smaller dog, one bag lasts us several months (we empty the bag into two drums with tight closing lids to keep it from going stale).

[Pinkflowergirl86]

Totally agree. My lab had such problems on any type of chicken based dog food. He is currently on Purina One Smartblends Lamb & Rice and his coat and weight are both healthy now.

I had my Lab on the Costco brand dog food and he too had a rash that I could not get rid of. I did originally buy him Pedigree, then went to the Costco stuff, tried a few other cheap ones too.
Eventually I bit it and went out and bought him the expensive food ...and voila....2 days after I switched him the scratching stopped and his rashes went away (his stomach was covered and he had them in the creases of all his legs).
By talking to many people (a couple vets and owners of other Labs) I learned that many dogs are allergic to the chicken bi-products that are in most dog foods.
If you think that your dog has an allergy, it probably is, so switching to a different brand with the same ingredients will not make a difference....your best bet is to switch to a food that is made with something that they are least likely to be allergic to, like Salmon.
I am using Performatrim Ultra, it is in a red bag with a star on it....I buy it at Pet Valu.
It might cost a bit more, but the allergy will be gone and you will save by not having vet bills for treating the skin condition....and trying a million different things....
HTH

[croman7]

The Kirkland dog and cat food is great! I have tried high end brands to avoid discount brands, however, I didn't like any of them. For awhile we had our German Shepperd on Royal Canine German Shepperd blend, it made him lose insane amounts of weight no matter how much we fed him, and we had our chihuahuas on Nutrience and Nutro small breed food. My Chihuahua's aren't very sensitive and can eat just about anything without any problems.

The kirkland Adult Dog food has 3 different kinds, Chicken & Rice ($22ish) Lamb & Rice ($24ish) and the previously mentioned grain free Salmon was around $30. Ive fed all my dogs the Chicken or Lamb for about 2 years now. I have no complaints about it, they're all healthy, not overweight. They have quality ingredients, better then a number of premium brands we had our pups on before. We were hesitant on trying it at first, but after we read the ingredients, we were sold. First ingredient is meat, and the food has lots of quality grains (rice & barley), fruits, and vegetables.

Also, the cat food is very, very cheap too. About $10-$12 for a large bag. I don't have cats, but since Ive been getting it for my grandmother she said it's helped her cats coat be less greasy since switching, so she's happy with it.

Hope it works out for your furry friend, but if chicken is the problem check the Lamb or Salmon blends and see if that works. They're a little more expensive, but still way cheaper then what you'll find anywhere else.

Thanks everyone for all the great info! I particularly like that they carry the Lamb or Salmon blends. That way I can eliminate the chicken, adn try a new brand at the same time. The grain-free is also a good option considering he's a bit overweight. it should help slim him down! I do have about a year's supply of my current food if I decide to keep my husky on the old stuff... He's not reacting funny, so I think I'll keep him on it. Plus, he's picky, so I wont mess with it if he's liking it for now. I'll have to tag along next time my MIL goes to Costco and grab a bag for little pughead. (lol, he's a cocker-pug...i dont know how we started calling him pughead, but i do...) I'm VERY excited that this seems like a good route to go! Yay! Thanks everyone!!!

[croman7]

Whatever you do, don't let your vet talk you into the Medi-cal or the Science Diet...friggen cancer in a bag that stuff is!

It's amazing how little we can trust the vets for nutrition info, eh? Last time i was at the vet, they tried to sell me diet pills. Um, no.. I need to find a good quality food that will help keep his weight healthy, not pills. thanks. (ps, yes he walks regularly and runs with me sometimes too)

[PinkLincoln]

Some vets are good, some are bad. When I lived in Toronto, I could never find a vet who wouldn't try to sell me garbage I didn't need.

I finally have an amazing vet, never tries to sell me anything at all even though they have a food store in the clinic. They know all my dogs are on the kirkland brand, and they never said anything bad about it. The only suggestion they ever made was to stray away from certain big brand dog foods, but did recommend budget friendly food that they approved of, that they didn't necessarily sell in store. When my German Shepperd was losing weight, they just suggested I switched to puppy food, or mixed puppy food in with his adult food. Never pushed me to buying any specific brands, or tried selling me anything in the store. One of my Chihuahuas has a collapsed trachea, when he gets excited or moves around too much, he has difficulty breathing and makes a noise that just makes me sad. Vet assured me it didn't harm him in any way, and there is a surgery available but isn't necessary and not worth the money pretty much. I think this clinic realizes, if you try to up sell and make a person broke because they love their pet, they will realize they cannot afford to keep one and potenially get rid of it. Growing up I had a lab/collie. He got very sick, and my grandmother spent close to $5000 on visits, medication, and even surgery a various different vet clinics that didn't fix the problem. Eventually, her last leg was going to an exotic vet that was across the street from her the whole time, but they also saw dogs & cats. The vet knew what the problem was immediately, he gave her the medication for free hearing what she had been through and that she was considering putting biscuit down because she couldn't afford to spend anymore money and having him continue to suffer. He was fine after a week.

[mgrumbolt]

My dog has been on the kirkland for 5 years and its great! Saves us so much money!
They do have a lamb and rice if you didn't want the chicken.