Treats: Why so expensive?
I'm pretty casual about dog food. I read labels carefully, but all except the cheapest grocery-store brands rarely have chemicals, sweeteners, flour, or dye. Most use a named meat source as their primary protein and first ingredient. If you want a nice food, there are tons of choices out there (I realize other people have different criteria, but I'm talking about just the basics).
Treats on the other hand--- oh my gosh, so many are loaded with sugar, food dye, chemical preservatives, and plain flour. Since my Corgis (like most) are on a limited calorie diet, I do try to find treats that have some nutritional value, and since I like to buy "Made in the USA" when possible, I've found that an awful lot of the treats out there are just not acceptable to me.
But recently I've begun to think about price. Why do they cost so darned much? For instance, Blue Buffalo kibble (hardly a cheapy) retails online at Petco at anywhere from $1.75 per pound for a 30-pound bag, to $3.30 a pound for a six-pound bag. Obviously buying in bulk saves.
Now compare the Blue Buffalo treats. Basic bars, similar enough profile to their food. And they retail for--- $9.99 a pound. That's three times as expensive as their highest-priced bag of basic kibble.
What gives? I realize they probably don't make treats in the same large batches they do kibble, and that in manufacturing there is cheapness in numbers. Still, it seems a little ludicrous to me, especially since they are sourcing most of the ingredients from the same place as the kibble.
I can't help but wonder if they charge so much more just because they can.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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Just did some calculations for Wellness and it's a similar thing: $1.88 to $3.29 per pound for kibble (based on size of package). $6.79 per pound for basic dry treats that have grains as their first few ingredients. I realize soft treats have a lot more meat (and then the softening agents) and so would expect to pay more, but not for the bars which must be made with a similar process to the kibble.
I don't buy treats from either of those brands, by the way. :-) They are way too much, even on sale. We find some great treats from companies that only do treats, and tend to buy what is on sale (except for training treats, which need to be tiny and soft).
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Permalink Reply by christy fry on
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I honestly buy the cheap safeway or whatever biscuit style treats for mine they get so few of them I'm not to worried about it. I do agree some of the treats from companys like Blue Bufallo and the like are just laughable in the price they want. I will also cut the treat coupons from the paper every once in awhile and give them the super yummy puparoni sticks
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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I don't buy too many treats but like the Charlee Bears because they're small and last long. I usually make my own with the peanut butter I eat and they love them. Saves lots of $$$$ and I just cut them with a pizza cutter as I am not going to make fancy little doggie cookies, they don't care.
It is crazy the prices they charge but people sure do buy them. Pampered pooches...companies found a way that they can make big $$$ for providing people who "love" their pets with special treats.
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Permalink Reply by Katy on
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Ditto to what Jane is saying here, I've found a few cans of pumpkin and peanut butter + other ingredients are cheaper and healthier for the dogs since you know exactly whats going into them.
But I think yes, they do charge like that because they can. And people will pay it.
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I do think that's wonderful and around the house my dogs are happy to eat that, but out in the woods or on the agility course where there are major-league distractions, I do need to use treats that have higher value than whatever they are thinking about doing (chasing a chipmunk, rolling in coyote poop) so I do tend to buy treats with very high meat/fish content.
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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on
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I feed my cat the same brand of food as my dogs. Why should cat food cost double?!? I too think it's "because they can".
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Permalink Reply by Megan C on
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Cats do have different requirements for food than dogs. Cats cannot synthesize Taurine so they need a food that has it added.
http://www.royalcanin.us/library/dog-health-feeding-dog-food-to-cat...
A cat may be fine for a little while on dog food but eventually they will have issues. The food costs more because it has more protein and supplements.
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I also get the free sample packs of the good food and put them in my treat jar. They're small but the doggies love them for treat when they come in the door:)
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Permalink Reply by Jane on
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I agree. I like to have lots of different treats for training purposes so they don't get bored, and it's hard to find ones that aren't a total ripoff. Usually I buy Zuke's Mini Naturals from Amazon, I think they're around $6 for a 1lb. bag and you can break them into tiny pieces.
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I agree about rotating the treats to keep them interesting. I need variety for agility and I also like to take super-yummy stuff when we walk the trails in the woods so they have high motivation to come back, and also when we play in a big unfenced area.
I like the Zuke's mini naturals. I also buy their jerky-type treats and rip them into little pieces.
The biscuit-type treats are the ones that make my eyes pop. We sometimes get lucky with buy-one-get-one sales and the like, but otherwise the price is off-putting.
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Permalink Reply by Yuki & Ellie on
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I agree that treats are far more expensive, but it sort of makes sense. It's sort of like granola cereal vs. granola bars for people. One ends up being more expensive than the other even though they contain pretty much the same things. The cereal is something you'd eat daily whereas the bars are meant as an occasional (and usually not daily) snack.
I usually avoid store-bought treats all together. If I do buy treats, I try to buy something sort-of healthy, like dried salmon treats. Otherwise, I just use food (either their usual stuff or something in a different flavor) or make my own treats. There are lots of recipes out there for homemade treats, even ones for dogs who are diabetic, on a diet or have a gluten allergy. And I like the added bonus of knowing what's in the treat. ;)
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