cost of food etc

[CraftySam]

Max was on JWB as a pup, at six months I had to change him as he just go so he wouldn't eat it. His recommended amount was just too much and there was no way he would eat anything like it.

I switched him on to Burns and he's been on it ever since. He's done well on it and maintained a good weight.  Sapphi is on the lighter Burns food as she can get a bit porky. She does maintain a good weight on it but is absolutely starving all the time.

Barney is on Royal Canin. He's thrived on it, but I'm afraid it certainly isn't any cheaper than JWB. Fortunately I have a friend who can get a discount on it.

Having said all that, they are all being switched onto BARF this weekend.

I certainly found my food bills reduced when I switched to Burns. I was going to suggest a new food that I've seen called Joe and Jacks, which is 100% natural, but it will work out about the same as JWB.

What I have been interested to read on this thread is that too much Burns can give them a runny bum. Max regularly has a runny bum so maybe that is the reason.

[LurcherGirl]

You might want to look into other foods like CSJ and Autarky or Arden Grange... all have an additive free range. They are both cheaper than JWB or Burns as they are working dog foods and therefore VAT free.

Two of our dogs are on CSJ CP18 (at £28 per 15kg) and it lasts about five or six weeks... and one of these dogs is a lurcher of 20kg and the other a pyrenees of 60kg!!!

Autarky is even cheaper at around £15 for a 15kg bag.

Vera

[Sue67]

I was in a local store today, looking at food and comparing prices to what I normally pay, when I spotted some JWB indulgence treats, read the blurb and thought I'd get some for Indy.

Went through the checkout with all the other goodies for her, new collar, lead, harness, squeeky toy, etc. never thought to see how much they were until we were home and she was having one.

Got the receipt out of the bin - OMG £4.99 for a little tub of treats! 

They will be saved for special occasions!

[Joelf]

I've fed JWB to Spike & Domino since they were puppies; I bought a bag today which was 18kg for the price of 15kg & that was £32.90(however I have paid up to £36.00 for a bag before!)

I find a bag lasts me about a month for the two of them which I thought was quite reasonable; however I do add NatureDiet to it as well & I pay £9.99 for a pack of 18 cartons & use approx. 2 packs per month. This works out roughly £1.75 a day for both dogs.

[Cob-Web]

Monty (15wks old) is going through 15kg of food within a month and its nearly £40 a bag.  I do want to feed him good food with no additives etc but I just think that its so expensive. I have heard Burns is good and they dont need as much of it as JWB and its cheaper per bag, anyone looked into all this?  Don't want to bulk up his food with other rubbish stuff just want something as good as JWB but less expensive.

I worked out a while ago that it was far cheaper to feed Burns than JWB if you compared manufacturers feeding guidelines - I think there is a post about it somewhere    

Although the feeding guidelines are just that, if you haven't used a particular food before, it is worth weighing out an average portion size at least once to see how big it actually is - which then gives you a starting point   Significant overfeeding can cause diarrhoea, so if your dog gets a dodgy tum after changing to a new food, it could easily be blamed on the food itself, when in fact it is the portion sizes that are too big 

[Cathy]

Jazz is on Burns, and I use a 15kg bag which lasts 2 - 3 months. I do also give her raw veg. I find it very cheap. About 27p per day.

[Birtles]

Thanks guys. Think we have decided to look into a slightly cheaper brand, I wouldnt mind if the JWB lasted 2 months but 4 weeks isnt good!!
We think we have been overfeeding because he has always left a little and is never excited about dinner times, so since I started this post we reduced the amount to see how he reacts and have been giving him 3/4 of a cup instead of a whole cup and hes eaten it all within seconds and is very excited at meal times so i think we are now giving him the right amount (no expert though), so think the food will last a little longer now........ We will trial the new amount and also how long its lasting and go from there.
thanks

[Annette]

Thanks guys. Think we have decided to look into a slightly cheaper brand, I wouldnt mind if the JWB lasted 2 months but 4 weeks isnt good!!
We think we have been overfeeding because he has always left a little and is never excited about dinner times, so since I started this post we reduced the amount to see how he reacts and have been giving him 3/4 of a cup instead of a whole cup and hes eaten it all within seconds and is very excited at meal times so i think we are now giving him the right amount (no expert though), so think the food will last a little longer now........ We will trial the new amount and also how long its lasting and go from there.
thanks

Do weigh it at least once though. To me that still sounds quite a lot for a small pup. Buddy is a big cocker and is now on BARF, but when on Burns I was only giving him about 3/4 cup per meal (X2 per day). And that was slightly over the weight guidelines given.

Do include the treats in the daily food allowance too, as you really don't want to end up with a fat dog.

[Birtles]

Thanks guys. Think we have decided to look into a slightly cheaper brand, I wouldnt mind if the JWB lasted 2 months but 4 weeks isnt good!!
We think we have been overfeeding because he has always left a little and is never excited about dinner times, so since I started this post we reduced the amount to see how he reacts and have been giving him 3/4 of a cup instead of a whole cup and hes eaten it all within seconds and is very excited at meal times so i think we are now giving him the right amount (no expert though), so think the food will last a little longer now........ We will trial the new amount and also how long its lasting and go from there.
thanks

Do weigh it at least once though. To me that still sounds quite a lot for a small pup. Buddy is a big cocker and is now on BARF, but when on Burns I was only giving him about 3/4 cup per meal (X2 per day). And that was slightly over the weight guidelines given.

Do include the treats in the daily food allowance too, as you really don't want to end up with a fat dog.

But Burns recommended daily amount is less than JWB RDA. think Burns say 200gms and JWB is 300gms.  Monty is very chunky, can't figure out if he is just stocky/chunky or if overfed, his coat also makes him look twice the size 

[Rhona W]

Have you thought of making your own treats as that would work out cheaper too? Mine love the liver cake and tuna bread. (Be warned - it smells.  ) But a £1 block of liver lasts a long time.
Also, hot dog sausages are cheap and they love them too.   

[Nicola]

Sorry to hijack but where can you get CSJ food from? Alfie's currently on BARF but I like to keep a backup dry food for when he's at the dogsitter etc. and this one sounds pretty good.

[LurcherGirl]

http://www.csjk9.com