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Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby
I think we're missing some information here. What I read:
1. Your vet wants your dog to eat a variety of food which includes grain.
2. Two specific brands, Hill's and Science Diet, are not options for your pup.
That leaves me with the knowledge of several dozen other options, many of which are reasonably priced.
Do you feed your dog home-made exclusively, or is this a supplement to commercial food?
Can your dog eat kibble? If so, why not buy kibble from a brand other than Hills or Science Diet? Instinct "Be Natural", Canidae "all life stages". Orijen has a couple of really good high-quality foods that include fibrous vegetables (such as kale and spinach) but no grain.
But even with the grain-free stuff, you can always ADD grain. Make some rice and add a few teaspoons of natural beef or chicken juice (not broth unless there's no onion or garlic in the broth, which are bad for dogs), let him have a couple tablespoons of that every day.
Otherwise, your pup is likely going to be eating a lot more expensively than you are if it requires only home-made food.
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My vet wants me not to feed my dog grain-free kibble because of his particular breed vis-a-vis the FDA's warning that the lentils and peas used in grain-free food are blocking the absorption of taurine, which can result in heart problems in certain breeds. She states that Hills, Royal Canin, and Purina are three brands that include grain and have done field trials of their pet food.
That is fine, but the last thing that gains benefit from a dog's food is the coat, and my dog's coat turned from silk to straw when I took him off of Orijen and Nature's Logic. Until further studies are done about the taurine/grain-free food causation, I'm not taking the chance of putting him back on grain-free food.
Because we travel so much, I cannot feed him 100% Hills/RC. I am supplementing with half homemade so that when we do travel his digestive system is okay with just kibble. Otherwise it would be 100% homemade.
I have this all figured out--with my dog and with my vet. We have been doing this for 7 months, but in a location with less expensive meat products available.
All I am asking is if anyone knows of a less expensive place to obtain the meet and organ meat than Publix or Winn-Dixie or even Walmart.