I have been feeding Salters kibble for the last few years and have been really happy with it but the price has gone up to £50 for a 15kg bag which lasts around 3-4 weeks.  This is proving to be pretty expensive in the current climate and I am looking for something of a similar quality but a bit cheaper.  having looked around £50 for a 15kg bag seems about average but seems expensive to me!  I often supplement with raw (more often in the summer) but don't want to go totally raw.

I have previously fed burns and my staff didn't like it, my rott was originally on Beta and his poos were huge so that is a no go.  I am wondering whether to keep buying salters but mix it with something cheaper or whether to just switch totally.  Chudley's and chappie are both very cheap but I am guessing this reflects the quality.

Any suggestions for cheap but good quality?

I recall a friend of mine saying that Salters food was the best. Can't see it myself when they give the primary ingredient as ground maize :-O

However, what suits a dog suits it. Not one I'd try though. I've tried Burns, then dropped to Arden Grange as prices took a hike as did dog numbers, I'm now feeding Skinners Field and Trial Duck and rice - can't say I've noticed any difference between any of them, other than the price. I'd recommend any of them. I've previously fed Fish for Dogs too, but stopped when they dropped the fish content and replaced a big portion of it with pea flour!

Millies Wolfheart is also one I'd consider feeding - better ingredients than Salters (in my opinion) and cheaper, plus Simpsons Premium looks very good.

I did try Chudleys once but found the coats lost condition and they also produced tons of poo :-O

Don't knock Chappie ... tinned is far from cheap to feed (I can feed two dogs on Acana for the price of the one dog I have with a very sensitive tum and can only tolerate tinned Chappie), also the dry chappie is very good for dogs with sensitive tums, much cheaper than tinned to feed daily. The girl I feed on wet Chappie is the picture of health and vitality :-) Good job dogs can't read the labels and maybe we should take notice of them ;-)

Sure there'll be plenty of other suggestions ... food threads always gets lots of opinions :-)

I find raw feeding to be really cheap! For my two year old GSD, I spend around £25-£35 (depends on what is on offer etc) and he eats more than the 'suggested' amounts as he's a very active dog :)

You have already mentioned that you are happy to use raw so why not halve your kibble quantities by using more raw, your poo's ( I mean the dogs ) will become firmer too, as you must have noticed.

Does the size of poo bother you, unfortunately if you use a cereal based product made with bulky cereal, the waste bulk has to come out at the other end in some shape or form !
Do you have a local butcher who you can aproach and ask for some of his waste, I have 2 locally who I aproached as a total stranger,and now sometimes get more than I need, so anything that is not suitable I mince and put out for the wild birds.
Our butchers in this area have to pay to have their waste removed weekly and are more than happy to give me a couple of buckets full each week!
It must be worth a try !! :)
But as already mentioned you are bound to get many opinions with this type of thread.

Good luck.

>The girl I feed on wet Chappie is the picture of health and vitality

I will second this.  :-)

My male Border Collie was put on tinned Chappie years ago.  He had a very sensitive tum.  He has recently been to the vet for his booster.  After his jab, my vet stood back, almost in admiration, as he said, he's in super condition.  I just smiled.  I didn't say, you make that comment every year.  :-)

I switched to raw too but only because of the amount of POO!!Omgoodness! And what a difference I have noticed.
I feed 2 smallish gundogs, a medium gundog(who works) and a very active GSD for £40 per month on raw.  I bought a bag of Burns thinking that I could half and half if I felt they were missing out or hungry but that was months ago and there must be 10kgs still in the bag. 
My first noticable difference was the amount/consistancy of the poo's.  I really didn't believe it would be so different but.....
Then it's the build up of muscle on my dogs(who were fit before).  Now they are like solid and tight and firm! No flabby soft areas at all.
I always thought the coat condition was good but now, the doggy aroma has went! They smell like fresh air and not funky dampness!

I'm not a 'preacher' for raw.  I still feed kibble sometimes and I mix in leftovers from the house and I don't weigh out ratios perfectly but my dogs are happy and healthy and that's all that matters.

caracar I agree 100%,
I have 6 of the small gundogs of which I allow "about" 8oz each of various meat per day, depending on the season and if they are working or not. If they need a top up I will use a kibble and all household scraps/vegetables and fruit are also used.
I have fed raw for 35 years depending on supply and amount available.
Anyone who is prepared to offer raw food even if only as part of daily a diet will or should notice a difference in their dogs health and condition.

My staff gets very constipated on raw so its an occasional thing for her but I could up the ratio for my boy.  My butcher is good for food but not particularly cheap.  I will look at some of the kibbles suggested and see what I think of them as I want to stick with mainly kibble.

Thanks for the input so far, its all appreciated.

As others have said, there are so many different views on this and what suits one does not suit another ...

However, for what it's worth, after trying all sorts I now feed Arden Grange Lamb and Rice, very successfully.  I do 'top up' (but not every day) with some raw - usually raw minced tripe, or chicken and tripe (e.g. Prize Choice frozen freeflow mince - very easy).  This works very well for my boys in terms of good firm poos (and not too many of them!) and lovely condition and coats.  And they love it!

Like you, I prefer to feed mostly kibble but this combination has been brilliant so far.  Also the amount of AG they need to keep them the right weight etc. is quite modest - right at the lower end of the guidance on the pack, so quite economical.   No upset tums and happy dogs who look really well.

Good luck with your choice!

If yuur dogs do well on a Maize containign food then have you tried Autarky. 

I fed this to some of my oldies, and it cured the yellow bile episodes one of them was prone to in the mornings, as it has various herbs added.  http://www.gjwtitmuss.co.uk/autarky-working-dog-food/cid653/autarky-working-dog-food.asp?gclid=CPzthqWVh7YCFc3HtAodXlEAFQ

I'd never heard of Salters, til I looked just now, but I'm surprised it's so expensive

As others have said you're bound to get a range of differing replies but in order to keep costs down I would always buy food online and buy multiple bags if it helps.  GW Titmuss seems to be the cheapest for Salters at £45.90 per bag with free delivery (at the moment!)

If you're going to look at changing I've tried Fish4Dogs and Arden Grange and rate them both v highly for food AND customer service.  I've fed through the change to pea flour in F4D and it doesn't worry me or the dogs - in fact I like the fact that their kibble is now harder with fewer fractured pieces and much less dust in the bag.  I feed primarily raw but like to keep kibble in the cupboard for the odd top up, and a handy travel food.  I've also fed CSJ but my dogs didn't like the kibble size in the one we tried - the food seemed ok though.  Another food I like the look of - and the taster bags went down well - is Laughing Dog.  I've seen them over the years at Crufts and if I ever needed to change I'd certainly analyse the ingredients and look at them as an option.

Cheap isn't always worse and expensive certainly doesn't always reflect quality- I expect Bakers is pretty expensive but I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole :)

>I fed this to some of my oldies, and it cured the yellow bile episodes one of them was prone to in the mornings, as it has various herbs added.

My rottie often has morning bile if he got his tea a bit early or didn't get his morning feed until a bit later.  I will have a look at that one too.  Thanks

Lots of good suggestions here so I will look into them and make a decision.  I buy the salters food direct from the manufacturers and they told me that after having standstill prices for the last 2.5 years they need to put the price up which is understandable but my pockets are already hurting without added stressors!  I do get free delivery though which is good and I buy 4x15kg sacks at a time to qualify for this.

I use Autarky as an emergency back up  I purchase mine from Berriewoods 2X15kg bags Chicken  with free delivery for less than £40  copmared to Jollyes at £19.99p bag

Berriewoods and Titmuss often have competitive offers on foods.

Wonderful food
http://www.millieswolfheart.co.uk/#/salmon-vegetable/4567346779
http://www.millieswolfheart.co.uk/#/countryside-range/4567346306
free samples http://www.millieswolfheart.co.uk/#/home/4565991860