Cheaper feeding

Whispered

Due to a change in circumstances we have to look at saving money. One place I said I'd look at is the dog food.

The boys are currently on a food which suits them both, so I'm reluctant to take them off it. Does anybody know if I was to feed one meal of their high quality nuts for brekkie, then a cheaper quality one for their dinner, would it have a major impact on their health?

Alternatively, their nuts for brekkie, then dinner of brown rice and dog mince.

Would I be better off changing all of their food to a middle of the road bag rather than very high quality and low quality?

Finally, is barf cheaper?

Thanks

CL32

Hey,

I give my girl two chicken wings every morning and a bowl of JWB with a small amount of scraps in the evening. The chicken wings are cheap as chips in Tesco and I see lads buying kilos of them even cheaper in meat factory shops. I cut each wing into three 'cos Zola is a bit of a 'wolfer' when it comes to them. I throw six pieces each into freezer bags and freeze the lot, taking a bag out to defrost every night.

TBH I don't know if that would actually work out more expensive for you. If it doesn't, it is a good way of getting at least some of the benefits of raw feeding.

Cutie18Ireland

Only today heard of a food called Autarky seems to be big in the UK and looks similar to burns in ingedients.
Available here 15kg for €28.94.
I pay €30 for 7.5kgs of Burns so half the price basically.

Sigma Force

I'm feeding a mix of Burns and Wagg at the moment to make it stretch Burns is so expensive but they do so well on it but the wagg agrees with them so so far they are still alive and lively and in great health.
Red Mills in the red bag might be another alternative for you.

There are zillions of dog foods on the market with all sorts of ingredients and so many opinions on them all, and dogs are all different too so it depends on your own pooches really.

I can't feed our pooches raw meat just doesn't agree with them, I do cook them the odd meal now and then and while waiting ages for Burns to come back in stock I fed 4 dogs on cooked meat/rice/veggies and it seemed to work out dearer but I guess it depends if you work out a menu you can probably buy in bulk or buy certain meats when they are on offer and freeze some.

CL32

My neighbour gave me a few bags of that Wagg stuff. He got it in bulk and had more than he knew what to do with. The little missy went absolutely mad for it. Loved the stuff. If its an economy brand it certainly passes the fussy eater test with no bad reports. (We're talking farts here Whispered - I remember you said it was an issue before - long live the windy bull breeds)

lorebringer

Just a note on cheaper brands of food - Whites and Best For My Dog are decent foods that are cheaper than the big brands (Royal Canin etc.). Whites is €39 for a 15kg bag and BFMD is between €40 and €48 for a 15kg bag. I have fed mine BFMD, it agreed with them all (small miracle!) and I fed less them the recommended daily amount on the bag so it ended up lasting for ages. Red Mills Leader isn't too pricey either and is decent, they often do special offers on it too so it could work out pretty ok price wise. Red Mills also do cheaper foods in their range.

Personally, I would prefer to feed my guys one meal of good dry food and one meal of meat/veg/rice (or whatever) as opposed to feeding one good food and one not so good food. I have heard of a few people buying really good foods (Orijen to name one) and filling it out with a cheaper food, and it working out ok so if could work for you.

toadfly

Hiya did you end up changing? I am thinking of trying Red Mills Supreme.

Whispered

No I didn't they both do so well on the food they are on I just don't have the heart. I, on the other hand am living on beans and toast .

Wow look at the time - you'd swear I was stalking!

cocker5

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dry_dog_food/burns/burns_adult/156518

Whats your budget?

Im feeding my cocker Burns... €96 for 2 x 15kg bags delivered plus 10% off your first order... lasts about 6 months ends up being €16 per month, €4 week... i reckon thats excellent value... plus to make it stretch.. once per week you could add a raw whisked fresh egg (less nuts) or a tin of tesco sardines in sunflower oil (55cents)....

edited to say... i also give him sgar snap peas as treats, broccoli and carrots etc... instead of giving him the normal doggies treats.. he loves them... and far better and cheaper

what type of dogs? ie how much do they eat per month?

TooManyDogs

My raw diet costs me about €1.50 per kg, that includes the raw bones and veggies.

123 sore

I know its kind of self-explanatory but how does your raw diet break down in your daily feeds?

thanks!

TooManyDogs

I feed my lot once a day and the dinner is made up like this

60% Meaty bones
20% Muscle meat
10% Offal
10% veggies

I calculate how much to give the dogs by 2% of their body weight. Puppies, small dogs and working dogs can eat up to 10% of their body weight

Nollipop

My dog also loves the JWB and does really well on it (had awful gas and sensitive skin problems beforehand) but he is used to three meals a day, so if I were to give that at every meal, we'd be broke in no time as well!

The kibble gets padded out with oats and boiled brown rice for the morning and evening meals, with a 'snack' of rice and tinned fish or cheap cuts of meat halfway through the day.

It gives us an extra third of a bag of kibble, especially if we buy the rice from a Chinese supermarket in bulk (5kg bags) and would save even more if we cooked the meat ourselves/raw diet method.

PinkFly

I have a 10 week old Bischon Frise, is the Red Mills puppy food good nutrionally for him??

andreac

PinkFly wrote: »

I have a 10 week old Bischon Frise, is the Red Mills puppy food good nutrionally for him??

Which Red Mills is it? Is it the Leader? If so its not too abd, but there are much better quality ones out there, all depending on your budget. Is that what the breeder was feeding the pup?

PinkFly

dont have a clue tbh, he wasnt in too good shape when we got him, i dont have a massive budget but want the best for him,yes its the Leader brand. theres so many different options?confusing!!

andreac

Well the Leader puppy will be fine. Just make sure the pup is good condition and his poo's are good. If they are soft that can be an indication that the food doesnt suit.

Doesnt sound like it was a very good breeder...

cocker5

PinkFly wrote: »

I have a 10 week old Bischon Frise, is the Red Mills puppy food good nutrionally for him??

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dry_dog_food/burns/burns_puppy/156531

i would try burns mini bites... it would be prefect for your pup... a 15kg bag would cost €55 delivered... but would last you 5-6 months for a bichon, works out around €9.50 per month

imokyrok

On the subject of dog foods I had to try quite a few to find one my rottie cross could tolerate. He had terrible gas and runs on any food with grain in it no matter how expensive - even the rice ones. I found three brands of grain free foods he does very well on - no more farts! So for anyone else with this problem

One is the James Well Beloved Lamb and VeG Grain free (my supplier orders this in for me and it's €50 per 10 kg.

Another is the Fusspot from Barking Heads which is similar in price. (Can be mail ordered from http://www.petworlddirect.ie/product/Dogs/DogFood/DogDryFood/FP2 and arrives within two days for me.) Actually I've just noticed it's reduced further at the mo. Must stock up.

Lastly Orijen do a grain free as well which is a crazy price - so try the others first if your dog has tummy issues.

zoby

cocker5 wrote: »

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dry_dog_food/burns/burns_puppy/156531

i would try burns mini bites... it would be prefect for your pup... a 15kg bag would cost €55 delivered... but would last you 5-6 months for a bichon, works out around €9.50 per month

I found that the burns mini bites caused terrible tear staining on my bichon :mad: pity tho' cos she loved it :rolleyes: I switched to James Wellbeloved.

A small bag of Burns/James Wellbeloved is about €12 - which should do you for a month (i get about 10 days out of a bag feeding a 8kg King Charles and a 5kg Bichon)

stevoman

I pay €12 for 15kg of resting greyhound mix its like redmills. i feed it to my pair of working springers and they are in great shape, all muscle and ready to for their hunting season. its 22% protein and all the right oils. dont knock the working dogs food. It has all the right stuff they need to be healthy and stay fit.

Ps the stool.is always hard and super easy to clean up after aswell.

imokyrok

stevoman wrote: »

I pay €12 for 15kg of resting greyhound mix its like redmills. i feed it to my pair of working springers and they are in great shape, all muscle and ready to for their hunting season. its 22% protein and all the right oils. dont knock the working dogs food. It has all the right stuff they need to be healthy and stay fit.

Ps the stool.is always hard and super easy to clean up after aswell.

Were do you get it from? I haven't come across that one.