This is what I have been trying to tell people.  It may actually be cheaper to feed your pets the higher end foods than the economical ones since you feed less of the high end food (not even taking into account the health issues that possibly can be caused by the economical foods).  So if you think you can't afford higher end foods, you might want to think again.  JMO. 

My dogs for example.  Two 80-pound German Shepherds get a total of 3-1/2 cups of CORE a day EACH, and they need to lose a little weight.  I looked at the bag and I'm actually over-feeding them at 3-1/2 cups a day, believe it or not.   

Susan Thixton has a post about it.

http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/SaveMoney.html

I have charts with the $ breakdown of many low end and  a  few "high" end .. it is actually funny to see a persons face when they realize better food is cheaper...

lol.. JustMe ... and wt same food but mine gets 3.5 cups to hopefully add another 3-5 lbs;)

One thing the article did not address is wt of cup ... most grocery foods a cup holds 5-6 oz per cup  but many high end hold 3-5 oz so you are feeding less cup wise but also oz wise ....

ex all are of premium foods but;)

food a = 5oz food in 8 oz cup ( 3.2 cups per lb )( 96cup in 30 lb bag )( 60-90lb dog eating 3 cups ) (bag last 32 days

food b= 4 oz in 8 oz ( 4 cup s per lb) (120 cup per 30lb bag ) ( 60-90 lb dog eating 3 cups a day) bag for 40 days

food c= 3.5 oz in 8 oz cup(4.6 cup to the lb) (138 cups per 30 lb bag) ave 60-90lb dog eating 3 cups a day this bag last s 46 days


I have always weighed the food for density ... but recently I changed no grain brands and found out one cup was 7 oz and since it was lower cal my dog at 6 cups a day ... on core he eats 3-4 cups and the little one 1/2 to one so a 26 lb last awhile

Oh yeah.  Definitely agree with that.  It's a huge difference in "crap".  I reuse the little plastic grocery bags you get at the store to scoop out all the boxes each night.  I used to fill one of those little bags about halfway every day of big volume stools, diarrhea, blech!  Now it's just a few tootsie rolls a day.   

The best high end food for my pets is IMHO what I can also eat!! They love fresh food raw or home cooked!!!

You know, before we switched to grain free kibble/raw Cliff had over $1000 in vet bills between his heart and his allergies and he wasn't even 2 years old! Since we switched we have not had a single problem! That is a wopper in savings! They can't even hear his heart defect any more!