I tried to get to the bottom of it, but I didn't find much. I did find an article that said food prices in general may be rising due to El Niño, so that may be a factor. Also, an article about general consumer dissatisfaction with higher pet-food prices: http://www.petbusiness.com/January-2016/The-Cost-of-High-Prices/
And, stats from last year that show that pet food prices fell to a fairly low point in August 2015 (which may explain why they're going back up now): http://www.petbusinessprofessor.com/petmarket/buying-pet-products-price-matters-petflation-update-and-more/
I was feeding my Basenji brand blue and she started getting crystals in her kidneys. With the recommendation from my pet store owner (Pet Ranch), switched to Nature's Variety Instinct RAW. Withing 2 months…all crystals are gone. Now Basenji, Rotty, and Puppy Mastiff/Pitt all get Nature's Variety. Their coats are very shiney and teeth are so white.
I once had a pup under treatment at the Bristol Veterinary hospital. When they finally sorted the problem I was told now you'll be able to give him real food meaning kibble!1
I always feed raw and whatever but never complete dog food. Having said that it seems that over here we get a new dog food manufactutrer every month and all claim that theirs is the best!!
I agree with Pat. If the 'best' dogfood gives your dog gas, or loose stools, it isn't the best for that dog.
Like Petra said, you feed a good to great quality food, hi or medium protein, whatever your dog likes that agrees with them.
I went to two health food type pet stores yesterday and asked a bunch of questions about the different types of holistic dog foods and other foods that they had. I came away from both stores with several brochures and tons of food samples!! From one store I got a plastic grocery bag FULL of Timberwolf Organics and from the other store I got a bag full of EVO Innova samples. Enough to feed these guys for more than a week!! I had no idea that you could get samples from the stores!! The dogs seem to love both brands. We're taking it slow though so I can keep track of the reactions. They currently eat Nutro Max Ultra Puppy.
We just switched to Canidae over Nutro Max. We've fed our others Nutro for years and haven't seemed to have a problem, but I'm curious how the dogs would feel if they ate a better mix. Canidae has a very good ingredient list and got a A+ rating on this list! It actually isn't noticeably more expensive per pound than the Nutro we've been getting. A 40# bag was $40. So far they gobble it up, so they must like the taste at least.