With the rising cost of goods and services, dog owners all over the world are looking for value priced dog food brands. One of the many questions we get asked on the street a lot is which dog food brand do we use, what’s our favorite, and if we believe the Costco dog food brand is a good brand for their dog.
As a dog owner and dog business owner, we take the food we feed our dogs very seriously. We have done a lot of research on the brands we do like, the brand we currently use or have used in the past, and we research the different treats we get for our dogs too.
We know there are plenty of videos out there on social media that lift up select dog food brands and others that try and destroy it. We are also aware that some more popular dog influencers post videos that break down the Costco dog food ingredients and usually share some negative opinions after that.
Let’s be clear from our stand point. We are not in the business of forcing our “opinion” in a gift wrapped verbal exchange to win you as a follower. What we are going to do is share some hard facts and our thoughts and experiences related to those facts.
Let’s start with the Costco dog food brand. Did you know that the Kirkland Signature Dog Food brand is manufactured by a very well established and long time dog food manufacturer? The dog food is simply rebranded exclusively for Costco. That brand is the Diamond Pet Company.
The Diamond Pet Company has different dog food brands they manufacture for. These brands are sold in big box stores and on the biggest online petstore websites. Some of these brands are higher priced compared to many on the market and are not that familiar because of it.
What most people don’t know is that this repackaged signature dog food brand sold at Costco is an absolute value buy for the type of food you are getting. Yes, you can break every dog food brand down and find something negative about every single one out there and then soft pitch your opinion to get others onboard with yours. Going negative tends to get more views. There are lots of videos and lots of different influencers out there who do this.
However, if you are looking for a dog food brand that has been in the market for quite some time and you have the opportunity to get that same quality but for a lower price. Wouldn’t you want to know some actual facts about that? The Kirkland dog food brand works the same was as the Kirkland batteries. Duracell is the maker for the Kirkland batteries, they are simply repackaged specifically for Costco. We love both the Energizer and Duracell brand so we never go wrong when we buy Kirkland batteries.
If your average dog food spend ranges between $60 to $120 dollars a bag. Then the Kirkland dog food brand may not be for you. If you’re concerned about what a dog influencer said on not having enough food ingredients they would feed their own dog, then pick up a big bag of frozen peas, a bag of potatoes, and some blueberries. All these items are low cost at Costco and you get a lot for your spend. Then you can alternate one of these items to add into your dog’s daily food. Or you can combine smaller amounts with all 3 in your dog’s daily food. Either way, it’s still much cheaper than being a dog food snob because it didn’t have just the right amount of a select item you would normally give your own dog.
Yes, we have used this brand in the past also. We found that this brand holds up very well to some higher well known dog food brands out there. The reason we don’t actively use it anymore is for the following.
Different brands use different food sourcing for their products. Different dogs develop allergies to eating the same brand over time OR they develop allergies because of where the food was sourced for a brand. Some dogs develop gut issues or allergies because the food they used to eat was a higher food grade and eating the lower food grade created issues. That doesn’t mean the lower food grade is not a good brand, it just means a dog can’t process it without having some sort of discomfort. And lastly, some dogs just perform better on different brands, even if it’s a cheaper brand. Sometimes it’s just how that dog is wired. Is that the norm, no it’s not but it happens. For our dogs, the food sourcing locations seemed to be the issue because the trainees we would give it to as a treat sure seemed to enjoy it and had no issues with it.
When it comes to the dog food you are choosing. You have all the control the make it better, change it up, mix in variations, and have so many different options for your dog. Don’t get caught up in what a social media dog influencer says. They are usually working towards getting a deal with someone else, working for views, may be upset at the brand, but generally have an agenda. Even if that agenda is living a life much better than your dog does. So try out the dog food brand for yourself. Make your own decision based on how your dog responds to it. And always remember you can add other ingredients to the dog food to round it out.
Our Final Opinion is that it is a great price point and the dog food manufacture is a long time established player that rebrands their food for Costco. Why would you not want to at least consider it?
