Kristen Carollo loves her four dogs, but not the high prices she pays for pet food.
"I buy four 25-pound bags a month, and they're $38 a bag."
Consumer Reports ShopSmart checked out prices at supermarkets and at stores like Target, Walmart, Petco and Petsmart in its quest to find where to buy pet food for less.
"We sent a team of our secret shoppers to find the best prices on 23 pet products, including dog food, cat food, kitty litter, and treats," Mandy Walker said.
Consumer Reports also checked pet food prices online.
"PetFoodDirect.com is the biggest pet food e-tailer. But we found it usually charged 50 percent more than the lowest prices we paid," Walker said.
Specialty pet food stores weren't the cheapest places to shop either. Take this bag of Meow Mix Original Choice. While at Petco it cost nearly $7, at Target it cost just under $4. And these Milk-Bone Dog Treats at Petco were $6.50, but at Walmart they cost $2.50!
"In our search, we found Target and Walmart were much cheaper than anywhere else, and their prices were usually just pennies apart."
For specialty pet food, you're better off at Petsmart. Consumer Reports found Petsmart's prices averaged 13 percent cheaper than Petco's.
With savings like those, Kristen won't have to skimp when it comes to feeding her furry family.
If you do need to grab some pet food at the supermarket, Consumer Reports found supermarket prices to be in the middle of the pack.
