The number one draw back being the cost difference. Regardless of cost, you should strive to treat your animal as well as you do yourself if not better. The less expensive brands are exactly that: cheap in price as well as quality. Many veternarians have likened some of these dog foods to pouring gravy over cardboard and serving it up to our much loved friends. It will fill the space in their stomachs but it won't give them the nutrients they need to thrive.



You'll find that once your pet adapts to the higher levels of nutrients and good calories they tend to eat less of the higher quality dog food than they did with the lesser versions. The long and short term benefits of this upgrade are innumerable. Higher quality foods, including home made dog food recipes which are abundant and easy to find online if you search for "home made dog food", provide your animal with a shinier coat, clear eyes, normal bowel movements and a generally happier disposition.

Many dogs are allergic to the lower quality ingredients found in cheap dog food. You might find that with a better dog food your pet will have less "itchies" and shed far less as well. Better health decreases the amount of yeast in the ears which some breeds are prone to.

Also once they have the nutrients they need their bodies will be capable of healing faster after a surgery, accident or procedure. Animals learn best when their needs are met. So if you've been relying on low quality food and haven't had much luck with training, changing to a higher quality might be part of the answer. No one feels like producing good work when they're hungry or living on a diet of garbage. Same holds true with our furry friends.

Own a big and beautiful Saint Bernard. Adopted him after he was hit by a semi truck, no kidding, and walked away with just a scratch. After the stitches were in place his owner decided that he wasn't what they considered to be "show quality" and dumped him at a shelter. We brought him home and kept him on the generic brand food the shelter had been feeding him.

He had a few raw spots on his legs and back that we attributed to a rash he'd acquired in the kennel. I took him back to the shelter to see what they recommended. A simple ointment was the suggestion I left with and after 2 weeks it had done no good. He had been steadily having loose bowel movements and I worried, took him to my vet and after a few minutes she came out with a diagnosis. He wasn't getting enough protein from the food in his diet.

Upgraded to the next most expensive brand, thinking that a 180 pound dog would eat me out of house and home. His rashes got a bit better and a couple of them went away. It wasn't until I bit the bullet and went in for the higher quality food that saw the best results. After 3 weeks his raw and tender spots were completely healed, his itchy ears were under control and his demeanor had calmed immensely.

Now he has a full, gorgeous coat and has gained almost 50 pounds. I am a firm believer that your results are determined by what you put into it. Animals need to have a good diet as much or more than humans do. It's essential in every aspect of their being and to cheap out on the care you provide them is not only unnecessary and detrimental, but uncaring and neglectful.