A Word or Two (or Three) About Pricing, Sizing, Quantities, And Other Pertinent Marketing Glitzy Gimmicks, Glamorous Give-A-Ways and Dancing Bears

We have been into dog management for almost 3 decades and one thing that we have learned along the way, when using different products, is to use the "per day per dog cost" of analyzing the dollar value of any product at our Labrador kennel and training facilities.

Many a times the same supplement is packaged by different companies. One company might dilute the product and offer it at less strength or potency; another brand will pack fewer quantities in the same size container. Pricing can also be misleading and confusing, so can the advertising on the labels be misleading. Although there are laws that govern all types of advertising and packaging, there are just as many loopholes for the slick marketing types to take advantage of.

Sometimes a seemingly great deal is offered, but upon close scrutiny a different story emerges. Here are a few cases we'll use as examples;

• Recently a product came to our attention by one of our clients. A Glucosamine and Chondroitin supplement was being sold by a large department store at a phenomenal price. "Too good to be true", came to mind right away. This brand was offering 60 tablets of the complex, with the label reading 1500mg Glucosamine and 1200mg Chondroitin, for less than $18.00 per bottle. Most other brands with the same potency were selling at two to three times the price. Using our time-tested "per day per dog" way of cost analysis, a full grown Lab will benefit greatly with 500mgs of Glucosamine and 400mgs of the Chondroitin on a daily basis, so if we gave 1 pill a day of this brand our Labs would be getting their full benefit. Which means that the 60 tablet count at $18 would last us, 60 days for 1 Lab or about .30 a day or $9.00 a month. That was a considerable saving over what was being used at the time. Where was the catch? It took a little of investigating, but a very sharp eye was able to pick up the "too good to be true" part of the story. In very small and fine print, in a very out of the way part of the label was this statement; (6 pills gives the full daily potency of 1500/1200mg), in case that is too hard to make out, it reads (6 pills gives the full daily potency of 1500/1200mg). Which translates into 250mg/200mg of each nutrient per pill. So now we would have to give a full-grown Lab 2 pills a day to achieve the desired effects. So the "cost per day per dog" rises to .60 day. Now the "too good to be true" comes into view, because they used misleading advertising to make it sound like this was a great buy.
• In using product comparisons, the amount of pills in a package also contributes greatly to the "cost per day per dog" analysis. Take this instance where 3 different brands were offering the same exact product, at the same strength, however the quantities per bottle were different. Product A. had 30 pills @ $3.99

Of course other considerations must be taken when buying any supplement, besides potency, quantities and sizes, of paramount importance is the quality of the supplement. Read the label to determine what sources were used to derive at the nutrient or supplement. Also what preservatives where used, and what additives are part of the total product. Many companies will add inexpensive fillers to create a large quantity. Fillers such as wheat, corn, soy, rice, oats and other grains are relatively cheap to package and to keep fresh, so you'll find these as the leading ingredients in many products. So what may seem like a lot of product, might just be a lot of filler. So reading the ingredient list will give you an idea of the contents of the package. According to labeling laws, the ingredients must be listed in order of quantity. The more of the ingredient, the higher it is found on the list. The label law does not go far enough in requiring exact amounts of those ingredients. So the label might list fishmeal as supplement, however the amount might be just a trace.

Something to also keep in mind when comparison buying, the more advertising a company does, the more colorful the packaging, the more glitzy and glamorous, the more they have to add to the price of the item. Someone has to pay for the neon lights, spotlights in the sky and the dancing bears, and that someone is the ultimate consumer. Generic brands and bare bones products will generally give you a better "per day per dog" value. Compare the ingredients; get to know what vitamins, minerals and nutrients are essential for the wellbeing of your Labrador. An educated consumer is one that knows the facts, reads the small print, compares label ingredients, and uses some type of cost analysis to arrive at a well-formed conclusion.