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The True Cost of Pet Food

Feed Better for Less! 

We all want to get the best food possible for our pets but the reality is most of us have a budget.  So how do we get the best pet food possible and stay within our budget?   

The common solution is to take a quick glance at the first few ingredients, look at the price of the bag and maybe consider the bag size.  Some quick calculations and we grab it from the shelf. 

The bad news is that does not give us all the info we need to determine how much that pet food is costing us.  The good news is that by doing a bit more math we can often get far superior pet food within our budget. The key is understanding the relationship between feeding guidelines and how that affects our true cost. 

Here is an easy example: Brand A and B have the same cups of kibble per bag, but Brand A is half the price of Brand B. Therefore, we believe Brand A is cheaper.   

What we have to consider now is the calories per cup of each food and where we see that is in the feeding guidelines.  So in the example of Brand A being half the price of Brand B, if Brand A requires twice the amount of food to meet your pet’s daily calorie requirements, then in fact those 2 bags will end up costing you the same amount of money. 

Sure, Brand A is cheaper initially but Brand B is going to last you twice as long.  More calories per cup often reflects a superior food with less fillers not to mention less in = less out. 

Breaking down how much it costs per day to feed your pet is a valuable tool as it often demonstrates that you can feed your pet better quality food for the same price or even less!!  Hence our slogan “Feed Better for Less!”  At RuffMutts we use this math to ensure we bring in the best food possible at every budget.  We also ensure we only bring in food that we would be willing to feed our own pets.  The best part of that is even though we ensure the food we carry is of the highest quality we can still save you $$$. Almost every food we sell is Canadian made with Canadian ingredients! 

Below is a graphic demonstrating the cost per day of some of the foods we carry compared to some of the competition.  We are able to personalize this for you if you want us to compare something you are currently feeding to something we carry.   

*Tables show cost per day based on a 50Lb lower/normal activity dog: 

Brand/Recipe First 10 Ingredients Cost per Day Cost per Year 
Orijen Original  Fresh chicken (25%), raw turkey (8%), fresh chicken giblets (liver, heart) (7%), raw whole herring (6%), raw whole hake (5%), fresh eggs (5%), raw turkey liver (5%), dehydrated chicken (4%), dehydrated turkey (4%), dehydrated mackerel (4%)$1.68/day  $613.20/yr  
Performatrin Ultra Original  Turkey, Turkey Meal, Peas, Salmon Meal, Duck Meal, Sweet Potato, Spray Dried Egg Product, Potato, Potato Protein, Chicken Fat$2.75/day $1003.75/yr 
Now Fresh Turkey, Salmon and DuckDe-boned Turkey, Potato Flour, Peas, Apples, Whole Dried Egg, Pea Fibre, Tomato, Potatoes, Flaxseed, Canola Oil (Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols)2.38/day $868.70/yr 
Blue Buffalo Wilderness ChickenDeboned Chicken, Chicken Meal (Source of Glucosamine), Peas, Pea Protein, Tapioca Starch, Menhaden Fish Meal (Source of Omega 3 Fatty Acids), Dried Tomato Pomace, Chicken Fat (Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols), Flaxseed (Source of Omega 6 Fatty Acids), Pea Starch$2.84/day  $1036.60/yr 
Brand/Recipe First 10 Ingredients Cost per Day Cost per Year 
Acana Prairie Poultry Fresh chicken (21%), chicken meal (20%), pearled barley, whole peas, oat groats, chicken fat (8%), whole oats, chickpea fibre, fish oil (1%), potassium chloride$1.19/day $434.35/yr  
Performatrin Ultra Wholesome Grains Chicken & Brown RiceChicken, Chicken Meal, Brown Rice, Oatmeal, Rice, Pearled Barley, Spray Dried Egg Product, Salmon Meal, Millet, Rye$2.31/day   $843.15/yr 
Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe Adult Dog Food Deboned Chicken, Brown Rice, Barley, Oatmeal, Chicken Meal, Peas, Pea Starch, Pea Fibre, Potato Starch, Natural Flavour$1.92/day $700.80/yr  
 Royal Canin Medium AdultBrewers Rice, Chicken by-product Meal, Oat Groats, Wheat, Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken Fat, Natural Flavors, Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Fish Oil, Calcium Carbonate $2.81/day $1025.65/yr

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