Canned Dog Food Shortage?

[DWalt]

I have noticed that over the last several months, the local supermarkets have cut way back on the amount of canned dog food on their shelves, and much of what little they have is of the "Premium" (expensive) brands. I saw yesterday that the closest store to me had nearly empty shelves in the canned dog food area, so I bought some cheap hot dogs for my dogs instead until I can go to other stores. Is this shortage going on everywhere?

 

[Old_Cop]

Due to the inflationary cost of food many people are trying less expensive alternatives.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Don't know about dog food but we order a lot of canned, dry and Temptations cat food from Amazon. We have never experienced an availability problem.

 

[pawngal]

Part of it might be due to numerous recalls on dog food.

 

[MRB1]

Due to the inflationary cost of food many people are trying less expensive alternatives.

There's probably a lot of truth to that statement.

 

[glenwolde]

Dinty Moore Beef stew might make a good alternative.

 

[glenwolde]

Oh yep...sure enough.... direct from "Supermarket News"..

"With the pet food industry coming off a banner 2020, strong demand due to a growing pet population and supply disruptions are causing scattered shortages of pet food across retail channels."

"The latest APPA data on the total U.S. pet market showed growth of 6.7% in 2020, reaching $103 billion for the year — the first time sales have ever topped $100 billion. Pet food was the main driver for this growth, increasing 9.7% for sales of $42 billion."

Pet food shortages reported as demand and supply disruptions grow | Supermarket News

 

[SMSgt]

The shutdown increased the number of pets among those on lock down, thus an increased need for pet food.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Coincidentally Ruthie is at Meijer picking up a few things. I called her and asked her to check the inventory levels in the pet food department. She said they appeared to be well stocked.

 

[robrossk]

I noticed that Petco was really short of product at times. Have not had any problems recently.

 

[twodog max]

A friend had a labrador kennel. When the pandemic hit people started buying puppies like never before and paying a lot more for them. She sells her dogs through a like a broker. All she does is ship the dogs as the buyer wants or delivers if close. She told me that she makes over 10K a litter after costs depending on litter size. People even hire services for a courier to fly to the pickup airport and escort the dog to final destination. My nephew is doing this part time and is paid 600.00 a delivery.
Crazy times we live in

 

[cherrypointmarine]

We feed our Aussies raw . There is a local pet food store that has it made for them . You can get almost anything , beef , bison , lamb , you name it . Last year we had some problems with delivery . Seems they were having problems hiring truck drivers and workers at the meat factory . But all the high end foods , which most have never been recalled , are still on the shelves . There's a company , they advertise on TV , that will deliver to your house . We order freeze dried raw from them and it's delivered within 48 hours .

 

[s&wchad]

Due to the inflationary cost of food many people are trying less expensive alternatives.

I heard of a guy who went on the dog food diet. He lost 30 lbs, but ended up in the hospital.

NO, the ingredients didn’t do it. He was sitting in the street scratching his ear and a truck hit him!

That’s the clean version. Use your imagination for the original, but don’t post it here.

 

[Faulkner]

It's not just the pet food shelves that have bare spaces, it's people food too. I'm not a for real prepper, but I have been buying extra canned goods and things like soap, shampoo, toothpaste, and other items I can store long term in the basement. I've also stocked up on dog food as well.

I just have a gut feeling things are going to get tough in the short run . . . maybe long term too.

 

[Nevada Ed]

I better start shoving more food under my bed.

For me and my dogs !!

 

[Onomea]

Some fifty years ago, my Japanese work colleague in NYC told me that he'd met a newly arrived countryman over the weekend.

He asked the new guy how he liked the food in the US. The new guy said he thought on the whole it was pretty good, but that kitty brand canned tuna sucked.

We had a good laugh about that.

 

[john14_18]

I buy all my canned and dry dog food from Chewy. Haven't had any problems.

 

[quikdraw67]

We saw a shortage of the type of food that Mrs. QD67 buys for Chessie. It has since become more available.

Oliver gets prescription food. No problem with availability, but the price has gone up, just like everything else except McDonald's coffee

Mrs. QD67 takes care of feeding the cats

I get to scoop up the aftermath.

 

[Telecaster]

We buy FreshPet brand and it’s very hard to get lately.

 

[SteveA]

We have a Simmons pet food factory here running three shifts. My oldest son worked it for about a year and a half before deciding he'd rather go to college. They pay well and have great benefits, but its hard work and they are constantly hiring. Most of the folks working there are immigrants, some legal, some not. ICE tends to come through monthly, making staffing difficult.