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Saving Money on Pet Food |
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Commercial canned dog food has a lot of fillers in it and that can sometimes cause problems with dogs and their "poop".
I used to buy the generic or "retailer's own" brand of canned dog food until my Border Collie had puppies.
I discovered a little known fact. The more expensive dry dog food, is better for your pet than the generic or low cost dry food and surprisingly it ends up to be cheaper in the long run.
You can expect to pay around $90 for a 20 kg bag of dry food in Australia. That is a premium dry food usually bought from stock feed merchants. I thought the salesman was trying to push me to buy when he told me that it was cheaper to buy the more expensive brand, until my vet confirmed his story. So I decided to go back and buy it.
I needed a good food for my dog when she had the puppies and got the one for lactating dogs. The salesman told me that if I gave some to my other dog, I should cut down on other food because it was very concentrated and I should only give him a little because it would give him too much energy and that I didn't want. So I bought another bag of food similar in quality but without some of the extra vitamins.
I ended up saving around $18 a week by doing this.
Also, if your dogs like bones, why not try this cheap alternative. In Australia, we have a franchise that sells everything to do with chicken meat. That means they are left with huge amounts of chicken frames. I used to buy them for soup at 20c a frame or 45 frames for $5. I have an upright freezer which I used to freeze them.
When I get them home I break them up (believe me you don't want to freeze them in the bag together, we learnt the hard way they all stuck together).
Every day the dogs get a chicken frame each. That's 2 frames per day at 11c each, or 20c each if you only buy enough to last a week. 22c or 40c a day is a huge saving.
Cooked chicken frames are a no-no for dogs, but uncooked ones are fine. It's only when the bones are cooked that they become brittle and can cause damage to the dogs' throats.
Also, we found another "side effect" of feeding the dogs the more quality of the dry food. The dogs' poops are smaller and not messy at all. The reason for this, I was told by my vet, is because the food is better quality, there is not much left over after the food goes through the animals' systems.
I love our dogs and want the best for them, so finding a quality food that is cheaper than I expected, was certainly a bonus for me.
By Ozbev from Rockingham, Western Australia
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RE: Saving Money on Pet Food
Sent in by email:
In addition to Onions and chocolate, grapes and raisins are toxic to dogs.
Judy Cruickshank
Board member of
Golden Retriever Rescue of Michigan.
People don't care how much you know
until they know how much you care.
RE: Saving Money on Pet Food
I have a Vita-Mix blender, and one sales lady told me that I can make my own dog food with it. She said to take all my turkey/chicken bones, put them into the container, add some broth, and whiz away until the mixture look like a slurry. The Vita-Mix is actually a very high speed blender (commercial quality). It will totally pulverize the cooked chicken/turkey bones. I then add cooked rice and vegetables. My dog loves this home made food.
RE: Saving Money on Pet Food
I agree completely. I only feed my two rescue Dobies quality food (Science Diet) and. It is not only better for their health, but cuts down on the clean up.
Jennifer
Northern Virginia
RE: Saving Money on Pet Food
May I add that feeding a better dog food cuts down on the piles you have to clean up in the back yard? We had 2 larger dogs and it really made a difference in the input and output!
RE: Saving Money on Pet Food
You are correct about feeding your dog a better quality food. Real quality would be feeding our dogs from our kitchens with veggies, meats, bones, fruits, etc. but I can't do that so I feed my dog Innova. It's the next best thing. It is five dollars more expensive than the IAMS he was eating but this food is so much better. Real meats, vegs, grains.
When dogs eat better food they don't eat as much because they are satisfied. When they eat off brand dog food or food that is mostly fillers and cast-off 'junk' meats (the dried food is sprayed with animal fat to taste better), the dog has to eat more to feel full.
I love my dog and want him around for a long time and if I could afford it and had the time, I would make all of his food in my kitchen.
Everyone should check out a more natural and healthy way to feed their dogs. You will save in the long run.
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