The return on better dog food, stated plainly

Return on investment implies a measurable return. For dog food there is exactly one, it is not about brand, and it is worth understanding precisely.

We sell this food, so treat what follows sceptically and check the numbers. They are all sourced.

What this costs, for a 45 lb dog

Computed from the printed panel rather than rounded for marketing:

• Complete meal: 3.2 cups a day — about $14.75, and a 14 oz bag lasts 2.4 days
• Quarter bowl: 0.8 cups a day — about $3.69, and a bag lasts 9.8 days
• Over a year at a quarter bowl: roughly $1,346

Hold that number in mind for the rest of this page, because everything below is a comparison against it.

Body condition, not the scale

Ribs findable under light pressure, a waist visible from above, a tuck from the side. Weight alone hides muscle loss masked by fat gain, which is exactly the trade that goes wrong quietly in middle age.

Anesthesia is the hidden multiplier

A great many veterinary procedures require it, and its cost scales with bodyweight. A dental clean on a giant breed and on a terrier are the same procedure at very different prices, before anything is actually found.

The second dog changes the arithmetic

Households with two dogs frequently measure both bowls with the same scoop and free-feed to avoid conflict at mealtimes. Both habits make portioning approximate, and approximate compounds.

Which bill do you want

You are going to spend the money — on food, or on the vet, or most likely both. The bill was never the question. The question is which one: the one you choose, in a bag, at a price you decided. Or the one you do not choose, at 9pm on a Sunday, when the only thing you want to hear is that it can be fixed.