Feeding on a very tight budget

[Tiz]

Thank you Bajoleth and Karma for your messages, you have restored my faith in the forum and I will do a proper introduction over the next few days. 

Cath0104 : I hope some of the advice and suggestions have been of help to you in what must be difficult times and hope your situation improves very soon.

[minimoo]

Having sat on the sidelines reading the forum over the last few months, too nervous to offer any suggestions or comments, for fear of getting shot down, I felt that as Cath0104 had asked for advice on feeding on a budget, (and somebody had already mentioned Butchers) Butchers was a good option whilst on offer at half price.  For the records it is a very similar price to Pedigree at Sainsburys.  So no,  I don't feed my dog "cheap doog food" and I certainly will think twice before contributing to the forum again. 

Please don't be offended by seaanglers posts they sometimes come accross in a way they are not intended, you will get used to his style of posting
I stated earlier that Butchers tripe mix was a good product, my 2 love it on the rare occasion they get wet food, as they are mostly kibble and raw meat fed. Butchers is not one of the poorer quality brands of tinned and I personally would choose it over Pedigree anyday You have made a valuable contribution please don't leave we really are a friendly bunch .. honest

butchers is much better meat than pedigree, pedigree always goes straight thru my lot, please dont leave the forum, you will get used to seaangler honest 

[Loudon]

Having sat on the sidelines reading the forum over the last few months, too nervous to offer any suggestions or comments, for fear of getting shot down, I felt that as Cath0104 had asked for advice on feeding on a budget, (and somebody had already mentioned Butchers) Butchers was a good option whilst on offer at half price.  For the records it is a very similar price to Pedigree at Sainsburys.  So no,  I don't feed my dog "cheap doog food" and I certainly will think twice before contributing to the forum again. 

Please don't be offended by seaanglers posts they sometimes come accross in a way they are not intended, you will get used to his style of posting

Ha,ha soooo true.   I always look forward to Chris's posts, always entertaining and you soon realise he is one of life's good guys.

[garygttdi]

Never mind Tiz if Seaangler could read he would have seen that the original post was looking for advice on economy food! As for his second post about dogs eating boiled up sheep’s heads is out of order and disgusting and as a senior donator think the forum could do without these types of sarcastic comments and he should set a better example.

[seaangler]

Never mind Tiz if Seaangler could read he would have seen that the original post was looking for advice on economy food! As for his second post about dogs eating boiled up sheep’s heads is out of order and disgusting and as a senior donator think the forum could do without these types of sarcastic comments and he should set a better example.

I am sorry if my post afended any one..(And is no way  sarcastic)  The post is about buget on how to buy food for your dogs...is no more different than what i have said in my other post.....Any one can go into a buchers and get a sheeps head...And people out there still buy a sheeps head for there animals (it is not new)!!!

Do we not boil up pigs heads to make jelly that goes into your pork pies
Do we not make stock from boiling up chicken carcass..You would never have soop again....
Do we not make fish stock from every part of a fish
What more discussing is in a pot full of pigs trotters...

And no one feeds there dogs with it  after words...My mind boggles if they dont....

What i have said is not discustin in any way..But the truth...



garygttdi....  To me you may be a young person and would not know.....

[Jane S]

Ok can we get this thread back on topic please. Pack hounds may well be fed with raw offal, sheep's heads and the like but it's not relevant to Cath's thread - she specifically mentions in her first post that raw does not agree with her dogs and is presumably looking for suggestions based on a kibble based diet.

These kind of threads inevitably result in lots of different views (especially in relation to brands of food) but please can we keep it friendly and respect everyone's right to their own opinions

Thanks

[Loudon]

I buy Morrison's Basic frozen mince £1.45 add basmati rice any chicken, cold cuts, sausage, left overs etc and cook in oven for 40 mins.  With Bonio or dog biscuit it will last my two about three days. Cheap pilchards, mackrel or scrambled eggs with cheese makes a tasty meal too. Don't throw away your meats which have reached there sell buy date either.

I buy Butchers tripe mix too but find my dogs prefer Co-op dog food tins at 52p.   

[cath0104]

Thank you everyone.  I too am wary about posting for the very same reason as Taz, hence why i don't post or offer my views very often.  But you have all been very helpful, like i said before I wouldn't have thought about making my own gravy, even though it seems the obvious choice.

The past two days they have had a spoonful of yogurt on their breakfast, and sardines with their tea and have gone to it with their old gusto!!! I will certainly look at buying Chappie or Butchers (sorry but i will steer clear of Pedigree)

Thanks again 

[Helen]

I'm another one who on occasions feeds a can of Butchers anything and tripe - it's like a treat (we call it his 'takeaway'  ) for Jarv, he loves it, and in comparison to a lot of other canned foods I don't think it's too bad   

Chappie has an good reputation for sensitive tummies as well, and I know a couple of COL dogs who thrive on the dried food.  It's not my choice but if it suits your dogs and they do well on it then its up to you

Good luck with the new feeding regime    I would stock up on Lidl's or Aldi's tinned sardines and pilchards, it's a lot cheaper than other supermarkets   

[JohnW]

Hi

I am hoping you may be able to offer some tips regarding feeding my two doggies on a budget.  I have 3yr old Max ESS and 1 yr old Molly a Cocker.

Up until the past couple of days they have both been fed Kibble with a tiny bit of Wainwrights wet food mixed in, But our financial situation has changed and i was hoping to do away with the wet food, but neither dog is having it, and i have tried the 'when you are hungry you will eat' trick and they haven't!! Now Max especially is so lethargic, i can't let this carry on.

I have tried doggie gravy, and they don't like it and Raw doesn't agree with them.  They love our own gravy leftover from meals, but i am very aware this isn't especially good for them.

So my question is....Is there anything that i can add to their food to make it more appetising whilst at the same time, costing very little.  
Any thoughts?

There are several dry foods on the market that are not that bad, Dr. Johns do several dry foods and they range from the cheapest Bronze upto Platinum, Chudleys is also not a bad brand very similar to skinners but not as good in quality IMO, these 15 kg bags come in between 9.99 upto about 20 quid a sack. If your dog has problems with loose stools chudleys also do a cereal based brand which helps. I also use Butchers tinned meat now and again aswell as Raw tripe and meats. But the brand I normally buy is Skinners too as I think it provides everything they need at a reasonable price.

[Geordietyke]

I've been feeding Odie on Dr John's Silver kibble after my brother's and mam's 3 dogs have thrived on it for a couple of years.  He's been on it for about 9 months now and he's doing really well (lovely, firm stools, glossy coat).  It's designed as a working dog food but I checked with my vet and she said if it suits him, it's fine until he's about 5/6 years old, then I may want to change to a non working brand.  £8.99 for 15kgs, cheap compared to lots of brands but it works for us

[Coco]

I think much of it comes down also to how sensitive your dog is. Gizmo doesn't really have a set brand of food.  But she is absolutly fine on anything I give her, wet or dry, raw or human food. I don;t have the space now a days to store any large quantity of food where it will be safe and stay fresh. Obviously i'm not stupid in what I give her but she will have what's on offer sometimes and IMO it makes absolutly no difference to her whatsoever. (Her, not all dogs) The only difference you can ever see in Giz is in how hungry she remains after dinner. False economy some products but there again, it could just be that she likes it and wants more! 

[PennyB]

I'm another one who on occasions feeds a can of Butchers anything and tripe - it's like a treat (we call it his 'takeaway'  ) for Jarv, he loves it, and in comparison to a lot of other canned foods I don't think it's too bad   

Me too - I keep a can or 2 in just in case

[bluegirl]

I only fed raw now a days but in the past I have done tinned food when I lived at home at my parents and we were on a tight budget. We had a poodle brought up on pedigree chum with small mixer biscuits and she did very well off it. We also had a fussy dog who we struggled to get her to eat anything but she would eat butchers tripe, as long as she got a foil tin of ceasars at least once a week.
I hope you get sorted, but for what its worth I don't think people should be made to feel uncomfortable for not feeding one of the newer dog foods as your dog is getting nutritional value out of any food regardless of the quality. It goes the same for us, we may not choose the best food for our diets but we can all thrive.
Good luck in what you decide.
Watch out for discounts in the reduced food section too as things like meat and offal can be bought very cheaply and can be cooked, split up and frozen so you can add extras to the diet, or as others have said tinned fish from Lidl or Aldi is great or even raw eggs three times a week can be used as a binding agent over the kibble if they struggle to eat just kibble.

[Monstersspaniel]

What did you try them with when you gave them raw?
A lot of people go cold turkey (pardon the pun)