The Best Affordable Dog Foods in Canada

Feeding your pet a high quality pet food is essential for their overall wellbeing. However, with the cost of living steadily on the rise, affordability is now more important than ever. To many pet owners, finding a high quality, affordable dog food can oftentimes seem unattainable. Thankfully, there are plenty of excellent Canadian-made options to consider! 

Here are the top three thing to look for in a high quality, affordable dog food:

Made in Canada Matters

Domestically manufactured foods have less distance to travel before reaching your home, which can make them more affordable for Canadian pet owners. This is a big win for pet owners’ pocketbooks, and the environment, as well.

Look For Common Ingredients

With the prevalence of dietary allergies, sensitivities, and intolerances among dogs in Canada, more and more pet food manufacturers are adding unique meat alternatives to their product lineups. Also known as novel proteins, these offerings often include rabbit, venison, kangaroo, crickets, black soldier flies, and even beaver. These proteins are favourable for pets suffering from dietary issues caused by more common meats, but unfortunately they also come at a much higher price point. Providing your pooch does not have dietary restrictions, common meats like chicken and certain varieties of fish will always be among the most affordable.

Grain Inclusion May Help to Bring Down Cost

Meat inclusion is the biggest factor dictating the price of dog foods; the higher the meat content, the more expensive the pet food. Grain-free pet foods are commonly more expensive than their grain-friendly counterparts, largely due to the higher meat inclusion. 

Unlike wolves, domesticated canines are omnivores and have evolved to readily digest animal and plant-based foods. High quality, grain-inclusive dog foods provide optimal nutrition at a much more affordable price compared to grain-free alternatives.

What Are The Most Affordable Dog Foods in Canada?

ONE: FirstMate’s Skoki Recipe

Cost per pound: $1.55

It’s no secret that British Columbia-based FirstMate is one of our highest-rated and most trusted Canadian pet food brands. Enter Skoki. This grain-friendly dog food is free from less desirable grains like wheat, corn, and soy. Skoki is made with entirely ingredients suitable for human consumption, starting with three delectable meats; chicken, fish (a combination of wild caught herring, anchovies, and sardines), and lamb for a full-flavoured, protein-rich meal. Skoki also includes nutrient-dense plant-based ingredients like oatmeal and rice; complex carbohydrates that contribute to long-lasting energy and improving digestive health.

Skoki, like all of FirstMate’s recipes, is formulated by a Veterinarian, and is produced in their state of the art manufacturing facility located in Chilliwack BC. Rather than paying a co-packer to make the food for them, this allows FirstMate to have complete control over the entire manufacturing process. 

With an outstanding reputation in the Canadian pet industry for almost three decades, FirstMate is a family-owned business that takes great pride in their ingredient quality and sourcing for their super premium pet foods. 

For the majority of high quality dog foods on the market in Canada, the largest bag size offered is commonly 25lbs. To the delight of many, Skoki is offered in only one size; a massive 40lb bag! This makes Skoki an ideal choice for large dogs, or homes with multiple dogs.

Overall, Skoki is the best combination of quality and affordability in a Canadian-made, super-premium dry dog food.

TWO: Summit Three Meat Protein Adult Dog Food

Cost per pound: $1.75

Summit is owned by Petcurean, the same makers of the popular GO! And Now Fresh brands. Petcurean has a long history of making super premium pet foods, and Summit Three Meat is no exception. Manufactured in Ontario, Summit Three Meat combines human-grade chicken, salmon, and lamb with healthy grains like oatmeal for a complete and balanced recipe. Additionally, whole eggs add an extra tasty, easy-to-digest protein source.

Summit Three Meat is rich in balanced omega fatty acids for optimal skin and coat health, natural antioxidants for increased immune support, and the essential vitamins and minerals your dog needs to thrive. It does not contain any added growth hormones, by-product meals, or artificial preservatives. 

Summit Three Meat is offered in a 28lb bag, and is one of your best choices for a high quality dog food at a very reasonable price.

THREE: Canadian Naturals Pork & Brown Rice

Cost per pound: $1.70

Made in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canadian Naturals offers their Value Series; a line of high quality recipes that includes pork, lamb, chicken, and salmon formulations. Canadian Naturals Pork & Brown Rice dry dog food is an appetizing formula that starts with natural pork as the main ingredient. Next, high energy sources of complex carbs are added, such as oatmeal and brown rice. All ingredients carefully selected for this recipe are locally sourced, reinforcing Canadian Natural’s model for sourcing sustainability.

To complement this Pork & Brown Rice formula, other wholesome ingredients include carrots, blueberries, spinach, peas, pumpkin, apples, tomato, bananas, cranberries, sweet potato and more. As an added bonus, Canadian Naturals does not include any corn, wheat, soy, or by-products.

Available in 5lb and 30lb bags, Canadian Naturals Pork & Brown Rice is formulated for dogs of all life stages.

FOUR: Pronature Original Adult Dog Food

Cost per pound: $1.80

Made in Canada, and distributed in over 35 countries, Pronature is made by a family-owned business with roots dating back to 1969. Pronature Original Adult is a premium recipe formulated for dogs of all life stages. 

Featuring chicken as their primary protein, Pronature Original Adult is an easy to digest,  flavourful food that dogs of all ages are sure to love.

Additionally, Pronature’s blend of flaxseed and menhaden oils provide your dog with the key ingredients needed for optimal skin and coat health.

Pronature Original Adult is a high quality dog food that is priced very competitively. 

FIVE: Boreal Proper Chicken Dog Food

Cost per pound: $2.20

With more than 30 years invested in the pet industry, Boreal has maintained their steadfast commitment to quality and nutrition. Using mostly Canadian-sourced ingredients, Boreal Proper Chicken is suitable for dogs of all-life-stages.

This limited ingredient diet is low in carbohydrates, low glycemic, and is completely potato free. 

Ontario-sourced barley and steel cut oats provide high levels of dietary fibre, making this an ideal choice for dogs with sensitive digestive systems.

Boreal Proper also incorporates Zinpro organic zinc, which is two hundred times more bio-absorbable than zinc used in other comparable dog food brands.

SIX: Acana Classics Prairie Poultry

Cost per pound: $2.27

Acana is certainly one of the most recognizable pet food brands in the marketplace today.

Based in Alberta, Acana’s award-winning NorthStar Kitchen sets the standard for manufacturing, ingredient sourcing, and quality.

Acana Classics Prairie Poultry is an innovative grain-inclusive formulation containing 50% fresh, human-grade meats, complemented with an impressive variety of wholesome fruits and veggies like pumpkin, butternut squash, carrots, apples, kale, spinach, blueberries, and more.

Acana Classics is complete and balanced for dogs of all life stages, and is offered in a jumbo 37.5 lb bag, too!

SEVEN: Horizon Complete

Cost per pound: $2.28

Based out of Canada’s agricultural basin in Saskatchewan, Horizon is a family-owned company known for making high quality pet food products since 2006. 

Horizon Complete’s All-Life-Stage formula is a delicious, meat-dense food, using chicken as the only animal protein source.

Your dog will surely benefit from Horizon’s wholesome, GMO-free grains including barley, rye, and oats, in addition to fresh antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables like carrots, apples, blueberries, bok choy, cabbage, and broccoli.

The Horizon brand is known for transparency throughout the manufacturing process.

EIGHT: Harlow Blend Chicken Rice & Vegetable

Cost per pound: $2.29

With over 28 years in the Canadian pet industry, the founders of Harlow blend know plenty about making high quality pet foods, with core values in ingredient quality, manufacturing, and transparency. 

All of the ingredients in Harlow Blend are human-grade, and are sourced from Canada, USA, and New Zealand. This formula uses free range chicken, whole brown rice, and a lovely assortment of fruits and veggies including carrots, pumpkin, cranberries, spinach, broccoli, apples, blueberries, bananas, and more.

The addition of yucca helps to boost digestive health, too.

Harlow Blend Chicken Rice & Vegetable does not contain: corn, wheat, soy, peas, lentils, or chickpeas. 

NINE: FirstMate’s Grain Friendly Line

Cost per pound: $2.32

FirstMate is another family-owned manufacturer of super premium pet foods, and has been in the pet industry for decades. Based out of British Columbia, FirstMate does not compromise on quality, sourcing, or innovation, and resultantly have established themselves among the best manufacturers in the industry. 

FirstMate’s grain-friendly line has four wonderful formulations to choose from: chicken, lamb, fish, and duck. Not only are they grain-inclusive, they are also made with limited ingredients, making them a great choice for dogs with dietary allergies, sensitivities, and intolerances. 

Aside from the choice of four animal proteins, all of FirstMate’s grain-friendly formulations include oatmeal, brown rice, blueberries, raspberries, and cranberries for added nutrition, digestive support, and urinary health. These formulas are free from potatoes, soy, wheat, and corn, reinforcing their status among Canada’s best hypoallergenic dog foods.

TEN: Kasiks Free Run Chicken

Cost per pound: $2.64

Kasiks is another exceptional offering by FirstMate. While FirstMate’s grain-friendly line contains wholesome grains, Kasiks is a grain-free and gluten-free alternative offering the same high levels of nutrition one would expect from such a well-respected company. 

Kasiks is offered in three formulations: free run chicken, free range lamb, and wild pacific ocean fish. Other nutrient dense ingredients include chickpeas, lentils, peas, blueberries, raspberries, cranberries, coconut, kale, and more.

All Kasiks formulations are complete and balanced for dogs of all life stages.

Whether you’re in the market for a new food, or simply looking to save some money, this list of the most affordable premium dog foods in Canada is sure to help.