Cheap dog food doesn’t have to mean cheap ingredients that are harmful to your dogs health, and while the very cheapest brands contain low quality ingredients like byproducts, corn and wheat there are still some very affordable foods on the market that are both healthful as well as wallet friendly.

The main thing when seeking out cheap dog foods is finding one at a low price that contains a larger quantity of high quality ingredients. Keep in mind ingredients found on the bag are listed in order of density inclusive of water weight. Also, meat should be the  primary ingredient in any dog food.

When selecting a cheap dog food make sure the brand you choose does not include certain ingredients.

Ingredients To Avoid In Cheap Dog Food:

Corn, corn gluten meal
Animal by products, chicken by products, by products of any kind
Wheat if at all possible

Examples of Good Ingredients:

Meat listed simply (chicken, beef), meat listed in meal form (chicken meal, salmon meal)

Stay away from grocery store brands.

While it can be convenient and often times inexpensive to pick up cheap dog food while shopping at your grocery store, the brands found in such stores tend to be not only cheap but filled with unsavory ingredients such as by products, corn and other fillers, as well as an over abundance of fat (cheap dog food brands are often sprayed with animal fat in order to make them palatable). Instead, opt for a trip to your local pet store where there are affordable dog food brands available, and while they may not be top of the line, they contain a much higher quantity of better quality ingredients than you’ll find in cheap grocery store dog food brands.

A couple of cheap dog food brands that you may consider are Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul (which we did a write up about on our Dog Food Ratings) page, as well as Kirkland which is available at Costco. Both of these brands are easy on the wallet while being safe food choices for your dogs.