Having searched through pages upon pages of past threads Im still puzzled. Can you all tell me of your different experiences of different food? At the moment my two are on Nutro in the morning and Nutro and naturediet in the evening. They love this stuff, however, at a little under £50 for what will only last about three weeks can anyone tell me their opinions of some cheaper foods? I've read of a few people who feed autarky and thats cheaper I also know BorderCollieLvr who feeds Dr Johns Silver and all 8 of her dogs (how many!!??) do just fine on it but I'd like some opinions on the foods If i can afford the autarky via the Dr Johns should I or is there a better cheaper food out there. Thanks!!!

i have never tried autarky but it surely has to be better than dr johns , which in my opinion is one of the poorest feeds on the market.the old adage of getting what you pay for is usually true.2 of the better cheaper feeds i have used in the past (before going to a barf regime) were
kirklands chicken and rice / known as diamond chicken and rice in the usa (it is only available from costco at around £15 for 18kg bag) 26 % protien / 16 % fat
and
skinners field and trial superior (around £19 a 15 kg bag) 30 % protien / 20 % fat
both have a meat source as the main ingredient.

Thanks for the replies so far. I was just wondering what people think is the best out of the following brands (prices not included so thats not a judgement) Bakers, Pascoes, Beta, Skinners, Autarky.

Cooper with response to the Skinners field and trial would it matter that my dogs werent field and trial dogs and are just quite active familydogs, thanks!

the only reason they call feeds field and trial,greyhound,working etc is that you avoid paying V.A.T. on it, its a way to make it cheaper thus selling more product.if going with field and trial i would recommend the superior (purple bag) or the crunchy (green bag).

From those options, Skinners or Autarky.

My lab seemed to enjoy Beta, but it made her poo for England!

 
   My two Labradors do very well on Skinners field and Trial Maintainance 18% protien throught out the summer so fammilly pets should be fine on it i know the poster cost was not important but at £12  a sack it is also good value

   Yorker

i also feed my two danes on skinners field and trail meusli mix at 21% protien and i do not have a problem with this food,also if you live in the manchester area you can get it for 11 pound a bag.

Hmm by all acounts Skinners seems the best option, I think Ill probably go for the cruchy or superior with them being slightly more expensive but still very manageable and order them from k9capers as they still owe me some outstanding money. Thanks very much for everybodies opinion, much appreciated.

I have been feeding my labs with Autarky and a few extra bits or meat, veg, bones etc. However my bitch was really smelly and although OK on it was not fab. Not always being organised enough or having time to feed entirely BARF, I found Natural dog food company all in one kibble, which is designed to be fed with BARF type additions and I have to say after 2 weeks the smell is a lot better and she has gone from being picky to enthusiastic!