why do people spend so much

When I tell folk the price of the dog food I use they're shocked..which is a bit silly because they don't realise it lasts 6 weeks, feeds 3 dogs and works out per week at around 10 euro which lets face it is pretty good.

If I were feeding ped chum or the like esp. tins I'd be spending a fortune. Years ago it used to cost me 10 old pounds to feed one dog for a week of ped chum wet and a bit of dry.

I feed Burns for many reasons, mainly because one of our dogs genuinely has a sensative tum and she tolerates the pork and potatoe best. Since one dog is on it might as well be feeding them all the same thing, plus they love the taste.

Sometimes it's hard to come up with the money every few weeks but then you have to remind yourself that it's actually covering you for the next 6 weeks.
I store ours in a large dog food container with lid in their food press and is still fresh to the last bit.

I've just ordered another bag now from zooplus.co.uk and I've saved myself €7.50 compared to what I was paying locally. So it's costing me 50 quid every 6 odd weeks at the mo. It depends on wether other dogs have been visiting because they love the flavour too and can't help helping themselves lol.

I also thing that it's pretty obvious the better the quality of ingredients the healthier wether it's for animal or people food. I know plenty of dogs that have lived long lives on cheaper food with table scraps thrown in.

Blueprint wrote: »

Yeah, went I got my guy he was on Pedigree puppy and it cost around 8 Euro for 1.5 kilos. Which would have worked out way more expensive than what I'm feeding now. Plus he was hyper as anything on it... I also find his eyes get very gunky on anything with grain it.

Goat, I agree about the home cooking, but since none of the humans in this house eat meat and some of them would have a heart attack if I prepared anything containing it in the kitchen, I have to make do with processed.

They do all get the occasional chicken wing.

thought you NEVER give bird bones to dogs cos they're hollow and can splinter?????

{i never have anyway}


we give ours Hills Science Plan.

best of stuff-regulated ingredients.
and cheaper than Ped Chum,Madra,Winstons{?}

etc.

etc

when i go on a really long walk the odd time i buy a pouch/tin of Ped Chum if i forget to bring some of the Hills......you notice the difference in the dog straight away.....Hyper-Runny,stinky Stools,and then a"Come down" if you like..


i'm sure Royal Canin,Hills,James Wellbeloved are very similar tbh...

{ a lot are vendor driven/commission based or so the rumours say:rolleyes:}

used to have a boxer.....on hills......christ he ate a bag a week.....couldn't afford it in the end---switched to Aldi Complete food.....checked with 3 different vets---no problems

BUT..


for puppies if you can buy the best thendo it.

our dog is a member of our family...

and treated accordingly.


rant over;)

thebullkf wrote: »

thought you NEVER give bird bones to dogs cos they're hollow and can splinter?????

when i go on a really long walk the odd time i buy a pouch/tin of Ped Chum if i forget to bring some of the Hills......you notice the difference in the dog straight away.....Hyper-Runny,stinky Stools,and then a"Come down" if you like..

I agree on both scores.

No chicken wings for dogs. They'd love them, but NO.

I've done the exact same thing a few times re the pedigree food and you've only to see the 'stools' to see that its just not good food.

(PS I've never seen a post written that way before, its so spread out:D)

Lucyx wrote: »

I agree on both scores.

No chicken wings for dogs. They'd love them, but NO.

I've done the exact same thing a few times re the pedigree food and you've only to see the 'stools' to see that its just not good food.

(PS I've never seen a post written that way before, its so spread out:D)

thanks lucy



Took a spin up to Petmania earlier this evening.{santry}
....great shop,
great staff.....


Petfood is dearer than the vets on Malahide Road


its only 4e per 3kg bag but still..

in fairness i'd still buy in Petmania to show support,
shops either side of them are closed..so not much passing traffic



they'll quite happily show you their lizards,rabbits Parrots and tons of fish,gerbils hamsters etc etc.

i don't work there,own it or affilliated with it in any way.

I just think its the Dogs Nuts.:)


seriously....if you haven't been.......GO!

Generally what I do is feed a pup on a really good puppy food until around a year old to form good building blocks for the rest of its life as I do believe pups need specialised and correctly balance food, after that I will down scale to a cheaper food and add raw meat and oils to it. I have found an animal food wholesalers where I can buy a 15kg bag of food tailored to working / sporting dogs for between €10-15 to which I will add a spoon of fish oil and depending on what I am cooking that day some raw meat and veg.
Food - €15
Oil - €5
/ 6 weeks
= €3.30 per week to feed 3 dogs, no bad really, my dogs are vet checked yearly and always get a clean bill of health. My 9 year old has always been feed this way and he is as fit as he was at a year old, health coat, sparkling eyes and full of energy. The dog in my sig is fed the same and she is the absolute picture of health.
At the end of the day its each to their own and if someone wants or needs to feed their dogs an expensive food then thats their choice but I have never felt the need and my dogs have never suffered for this.

thebullkf wrote: »

Once you cook a bone you take out all the moisture in it leading it to splinter when the dog chews it up potentially causing stomach and intestine damage, uncooked bones don't tend to do this as the moisture in them keep them softer , less likely to splinter and more digestable.

Hi all, whats best for a golden puppy 8 weeks old, i dont mind paying a bit extra on him

niallo27 wrote: »

Hi all, whats best for a golden puppy 8 weeks old, i dont mind paying a bit extra on him

hills science plan.

royal canin (they do 'breed specific' food)

whatever suits your dog

best of luck:D

We feed a huge mix of things.

A base diet of royal canin. One day a week of just some liver and rice, kongs stuffed with whatever we have had for our dinner as a snack, we give raw beef bones too. We also give him cheaper own brand stuff if we get stuck. The only thing we rarely feed is tinned food of any brand unless in a kong.

He gets a sausage if Kieran is having a fry and if he is having something like a chicken breast for dinner, he will cook an extra one and Harley will get this.

He begs at the chopping board and I'll alway give him a small taste of whatever it is I'm chopping. He loves peppers! He likes to play with cherry tomatoes if you leave them whole. He does the same with malteasers (probably the funniest thing he has ever done involved a malteaser and a cup of tea). I know he shouldn't have choc, but I figure a malteaser once every couple of weeks wont do a large dog much harm.

All in all we're very relaxed with his diet. We watch his condition and his weight and make changes as we need to. We're often complimented on his condition. He's muscular, very fit and has a shiny coat.

The only time I notice a problem, is if he's off the royal canin for more than 1 bag of own brand. He develops problems with his anal glands and it's not worth the hassle.

EDIT: Just wanted to ad, different food were added slowly so we could determine if something didn't agree with him, what it was to avoid it in future.

niallo27 wrote: »

thanks guys, the breeder has them on ready break, does that sound right, i'll find out exactly when i go to collect him, will it be ok to change him straight away to new food or should i do it gradually

Ready brek? at 8 weeks? sorry no, the pups should be on a good quality puppy/weaning food. Ready brek wouldnt have any nutritional value for them at all really so you need to get him on a good puppy food when you get him.

If hes not on any puppy food then gradually introduce the new food to him over a few days and wean him off the ready brek.

andreac wrote: »

Ready brek? at 8 weeks? sorry no, the pups should be on a good quality puppy/weaning food. Ready brek wouldnt have any nutritional value for them at all really so you need to get him on a good puppy food when you get him.

If hes not on any puppy food then gradually introduce the new food to him over a few days and wean him off the ready brek.

I might be wrong about the ready break, they looked very healthy and active and clean when i saw them

lrushe wrote: »

Definately not, Ready Break would have no nutriental value to him and is far too high in salt, your cheapest puppy food would be better for him than this. You have been given a list of good puppy foods please try one of these and introduce it slowly to his diet, what you feed him now can determine his entire lifes health.

Dont worry he will get the best of everything off me, i was looking at this
http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dry_dog_food/hills_science_plan/puppy_junior/128147

its got some good reviews