Purina High Protein Dog Chow

[jsh]

Looking for opinions.

Trying to deal with these ridiculous dog food prices and inflation. I can’t get Showtime, Pride, Comet or some of the other brands y’all mention around me in North Texas. The Sportmix is over $30 for a 44 lb sack and I just don’t think it’s worth it. The only other brand I can get my hands on is Valu Pak, but it’s out of the way for me and over $35 a bag now. Tried it a few years ago and was not impressed enough to change. The TSC feed does not seem consistent with their ingredients. I know this because I keep my dogs in kennels on concrete.

I hunt once a week at best - 4 to 6 hours on average. Dogs don’t seem to gas out or have energy issues.

Saw this Purina Dog Chow High Protein 27/12 and grabbed 3 bags at $28/48 pounds.

Wondering if I’m overthinking this dog food thing. Purina been around for a long time and I’m sure puts plenty of research into their business and with their buying power I would think can be pretty consistent on their ingredients as well as quality of. The man I grew up hunting with in the Texas Hill Country fed his hounds the cheapest food he could buy and those suckers hunted long and hard in really tough terrain. Not saying it’s right, but that’s how it was.

As far as the 27/12, I’ve always heard that a dog needs to burn it’s energy from the fat - not the protein. I guess my question is does the 27/12 provide enough for my hunting requirements? If I was guiding or outfitting 3-5 days a week I’d buy the Victor and be done with it. I have been on that side of things, but currently I’m a pleasure hunter and trying not to waste money on dog food.

Hunted last week in this feed and dogs were fine, but that’s not enough for me to make a conclusion.

Appreciate your honest input.

[Cajun]

   The only time I have really seen a difference in dog feed is when I am hunting a lot in the winter and it does take a higher fat content to keep them up. That being said when I was in my teens and hunted way more, I used to feed Ole Roy and never noticed a difference i how the dogs performed.
  A buddy of mine talked to a nutrienenist and told him dogs do not process high protein that well and it is the higher fat content that will keep them up. I dont know but I do know in the winter we have to feed more feed to keep them up.
  We did recently try a pallet of Tractor Supply Retriever Hi Pro but had to feed a lot more to keep them up then the Pride so I bit the bullet and went back to Pride at 26.00 a bag. Pride is the closest thing to Showtime that I have found.

[NLAhunter]

I think like Cajun said when you could see difference is in winter when you are using em hard I went and visited a running hound man while back and that's what they feed is Purina dog chow and running em pretty hard and his dogs looked good he might be feeding em 50 lbs a piece I don't know I looked at trying the pride feed nobody around me carries it that I found I been feeding valupak for probably 2 years now usely the silver bag 24/20 last 2 pallets was 27 a bag I just bought pallet Friday of blue bag 26/18 28.50 a bag I had to get it from a different place than I usely do

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

[t-dog]

Y’all all know protein is a necessity for muscle function in every way. Yes the fat is that energy source we need. Protein content doesn’t mean usable protein. Protein from grains is only partially usable because the dogs pass so much of it before they can break it down and use it. Chicken by product is all the left over chicken parts. A huge part of that is feather. Feathers are high in protein but completely unusable. Even after being ground and cooked, dogs still cannot break it down to use. That means your money is laying in the kennel floor. Too much usable protein and dogs get hotter faster, usually get loose stools, and if the calcium needed to process and and get rid of the excess protein isn’t in the diet then the body robs from the muscles and the bone. Low fat content usually means less energy and less shear to their hair or coat. I’m a firm believer that you can buy cheaper feeds and deal good about not spending as much. But when I start seeing twice the stool and my dogs don’t look the way I want, then I question if I’m coming out ahead by feeding more, shoveling more, and then not looking as good as I think they should. I don’t hunt like I use to but I’m still particular about how my dogs perform. I feel like a hypocrite if I don’t give them the tools they need to meet my demand. It’s kinda like telling the kids to mow the lawn and handing them scissors to do it to me. I get things are high and getting higher. I get everyone don’t have access to the same things. There is no right or wrong, this is just the way I look at. I have to do my part in order to judge them fairly. I’m always looking for more affordable quality.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[WayOutWest]

You guys in the south complaining about dog food prices blows me away cause Victor runs $50 for 40# bags. We don't have near the pet food producers up here and it is crazy high priced.

[jsh]

WOW Victor is $48.99 here in Texas as well.

[jsh]

Well hell went up 4 bucks…..


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[cajunl]

I feed the purina pro plan and have for years. It's costly but comparable to the others. And you can join the pro club and get swag and money back the more you buy. Like others said you will never see the difference unless hunting hard.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

[make-em-squeel]

FYI energy for stamina comes from the fat not the protein, so if using that low of a fat (12%) add some olive oil or lard etc to their feed the day b4 a hunt to get their fat % up. Despite what old dog and horse men tell you dont use vegetable oil yes it makes coat shiny but not healthy.

[TheRednose]

I have found in my experience that unless you are hunting 4+ days a week that the 24/20 is my favorite mix. But in the past I have trained dogs for pulling and other events and in those cases I liked a higher protein mix of 30+ and I would supplement with raw and other fat sources as I saw fit based on their looks, performance, and attitude.

In hot weather if you are not hunting more than a couple days a week I think 14+ amount of fat would be fine but I personally wouldn't want any less. If you are in a cold climate higher fat percentages are very beneficial to the dogs.

And if you really want to get into the weeds look at your protein source like Tdog mentioned as all protein sources are not equal.

I'm sure if you have well bred and tough dogs they will perform regardless but I am always trying to get every advantage I can even if it is only the slightest.

[jsh]

This kibble is junk. Might as well be feeding them Mexican food.



I should’ve known better.