Authority Adult Beef and Rice Savory Cuts

*An article about just dry food coming soon! Also, cat food articles to come.

I am not a pet food expert. The information in this post is only friend-to-friend sharing of information. I'm sure many of you may have better advice and suggestions which are welcomed. What works for one dog or owner, might not work for another.

As owner and pet sitter for Critter Care, I'll never judge someone over what they feed their pets as long as their pets are simply fed and happy. Growing up, we had inside and outside dogs who ate everything from Alpo, table scraps, dead animals, poop, cow patties, sticks, rocks, you name it. Every single one of our dogs lived a long, seemingly happy life (15 yrs plus) with few health problems. However, we all just want to feel good about our decisions, so I'm here to help.

When my husband and I decided to add a dog into our lives for the first time as adults, we fell in love with a mastiff/lab mix puppy. We named him Sam. We wanted to spoil him rotten. We spent hundreds of dollars on toys, food, kennels, beds that he kept destroying, treats, etc. But little Sammy grew and grew until he was 120 lbs. Income fluctuates and affording to feed "little" Sammy often becomes a challenge. It wasn't so hard to foot the bill of the high-end dog food when he only ate a small amount, but now… whoa!

Sam would prefer that I feed him the food, instead of writing about it.

Sam has sensitive skin and a tick-borne disease called Ehrlichiosis (not contagious to other animals or humans), as well as common problems in large breeds, such as joint and hip pain. So, I started reading about dog nutrition and hoped I could ease his problems somehow. I'm not sure if it's helping a lot but his coat doesn't stink as much (his breath still does though!). I'm also giving him joint supplements to help his big 'ole mastiff bones (I've been using Cosequin DS Chewables Plus MSM, ordered from Amazon, $18 for 60 tablets). I can tell a difference in his walking when I don't use them.

I found DogFoodAdvisor.com. Yay! Someone did all the research for me. There are lots of websites ranting and raving about how all foods are killing your pets except only the foods that can be found in rare specialty stores or online. I like DogFoodAdvisor because even some brands found in Walmart are rated highly. They do not discriminate over which store it is sold in. Some expensive brands are actually rated not-so-good. I feel like I'm getting a truly honest and objective opinion.

The search will always continue for dog food that is cheap, good quality, AND tastes good to Sam. All of these qualities in one food is more difficult to find than it should be. Many times, Sam refused to eat the highest rated foods. I guess as a human I'd rather eat McDonalds sometimes myself. HA! Here are my findings of just the canned foods that work for Sam (so far). I mix a can of food in with his dry food each morning. (Dry food is another story that I'll include in another post very soon).

*click on titles to see detailed review

Pure Balance ($1.00-$1.25 at Walmart) Rated 5 out of 5 Stars
*SCORE! FIST PUMPS IN THE AIR!*

Pure Balance canned food has some of the highest ratings in quality and is $1.00-$1.25 per can at Walmart.

NOTE: The ones with "stew" in the title are $1.

• Pure Balance Adult Beef, Vegetables and Brown Rice Stew
• Pure Balance Adult Chicken, Vegetables and Brown Rice Stew
• Pure Balance Puppy Chicken, Vegetables and Brown Rice Stew

Pure Balance 95% – the ones with "recipe" in the title are $1.25 but only rated 3.5 out of 5 stars. Still considered "better than average" and "recommended" according to DogFoodAdvisor. My dog likes this pureed/ground meat stuff better even though it looks gross and costs a little more. So, I buy this and some of the "stews" too and change it up.

• Pure Balance 95% Chicken
• Pure Balance 95% Beef and Chicken
• Pure Balance 95% Turkey and Chicken

My 2nd Choice = Authority ($1 when on sale at PetSmart, or $1.35 other times) Usually on sale the beginning of every month.

Some Authority Canned Dog Food is highly rated and often $1.00 per can at PetSmart

Two of the Authority canned foods are rated 4 out of 5 stars (these are pureed/ground foods):

• Authority Adult Beef and Rice Ground (4 stars)
• Authority Adult Turkey and Rice Ground (4 stars)

These Authority canned foods are rated 3.5 out of 5 stars (which is still better than average):

• Authority Puppy Lamb and Rice Ground (3.5 stars)
• Authority Puppy Chicken and Rice Ground (3.5 stars)
• Authority Adult Beef and Rice Savory Cuts (3.5 stars)
• Authority Adult Chicken and Rice Savory Cuts (3.5 stars)
• Authority Adult Large Breed Chicken and Rice Savory Cuts (3.5 stars)

The rest of the Authority canned foods are 3 stars out of 5, which is "average" and still considered "okay" according to DogFoodAdvisor:

• Authority Adult Lamb and Rice Ground
• Authority Senior Beef and Rice Ground
• Authority Senior Lamb and Rice Ground
• Authority Adult Chicken and Rice Ground
• Authority Senior Chicken and Rice Ground
• Authority Adult Weight Management Lamb and Rice
• Authority Adult Weight Management Chicken and Rice

The DogFoodAdvisor's favorite budget-friendly canned foods (can be bought on Amazon or Chewy.com):

• Whole Earth Farms (Canned) by Merrick Pet Care (5 Stars) – $1.69/can
• Eagle Pack Dog Food (Canned) by WellPet (4.5 Stars) – $1.63/can

For reference, here are DogFoodAdvisor ratings for some other canned food brands found at Walmart. I can't remember what all brands there are or their prices but I'll edit these as I find out:

Natural Life (4 Stars)

Purina Pro Plan Select (3.5 Stars)

Purina One SmartBlend (3 Stars)

Purina Pro Plan Focus (3 Stars)

Purina Pro Plan Savor (3 Stars)

Cesar Bistro (3 Stars)

Cesar Gourmet Filets (3 Stars)

The following are not recommended:

Alpo (2 Stars) – Not Recommended Overall, but there are a few flavors that are rated higher for meat content:

• Alpo Chop House with Lamb (3.5 stars)
• Alpo Chop House Filet Mignon Flavor (3 stars)
• Alpo Chop House Roasted Chicken Flavor (3.5 stars)
• Alpo Chop House Originals Filet Mignon Flavor (3.5 stars)
• Alpo Chop House Originals Roasted Chicken Flavor (3 stars)

Iams Proactive Health (2.5 Stars) – Not Recommended

Ol'Roy Meaty Loaf (2.5 Stars) – Not Recommended

Cesar Original (2.5 Stars)

Cesar Sunrise (2.5 Stars)

Beneful Dog Food (2 Stars)

Ol' Roy Strips in Gravy (1.5 Stars) – Not Recommended

Pedigree (1.5 Stars)

Kibbles 'n Bits (1 Star for the dry food) – there were no reviews for the canned food, but the dry food is the worst rating.

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Source: https://crittercarepetrelief.wordpress.com/2015/02/04/cheap-but-high-quality-dog-food-canned/

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