Best dog food for not a lot of money?

Money has gotten really tight here, and we're having to cut corners. I can't afford to spend as much on dog food right now, but I don't want to feed her junk.

She is an elderly dog (12-13 years), and she is a large-ish dog (about teh size of a golden retriever). What can I feed her that's not going to break the bank?

 

What were you feeding her?

How bout making your own?
Dogs need a diet that consists of 40 percent meat,
30 percent vegetables and
30 percent starch.

Try making a mixture of ground turkey, rice and carrot
Add a tiny bit of cooked garlic to your dog food.
Liver and kidneys are very good. ( and inexpensive)
Dogs enjoy the flavor and garlic is a natural flea repellent.
But raw or spoiled garlic may be poisonous to dogs.
Oatmeal, pasta, rice or potatoes are good for your dog's starch requirement.



Grind eggshells
Eggshells have a lot of nutrients.

 

^^ What she said. Also what is cheaper than even cheapest dog food but so healthy that even rich people feed, is raw. Bones and all. (NEVER FEED COOKED BONES)

This CAN be dangerous for an older dog that has not learned HOW to eat the raw bones. If you do this, you need to research the entire diet, so you know what you're doing. You need to learn the best way to transition her without making her sick (there's like a 2 week detox with lots of diarrhea but it's worth it once you get past that). And if you feed raw, especially for a dog that age, I would suggest that you grind her food... you can buy an industrial meat grinder, get a used one for cheap and clean it up really good, then every 2 weeks buy 2 10-pound bags of chicken leg quarters and spend a saturday morning grinding it all up and portioning it out and freezing it. It takes about 2 to 3 hours to do this, so if you don't mind a little work you can save money AND feed your dog even better than what she was on before. Also, don't forget what the poster above me said... yes, a dog can actually be fine on ONLY raw meat and bones but really they are better off with some veggies, starch, etc added in if you can afford it.

 

i feed my dogs and cats prey model raw, and even if i was a billionaire i would not change their diet (except perhaps i would be able to buy bigger joints of meat for them!)
i feed 10-15% offal (half of that amount is liver)
10% ish bone and the rest glorious juicy muscle meat.
canis lupus familiaris, the beloved domestic dog is a sub-species of the wolf, more closely related than the coyote is to the wolf and more closely related than we are to apes.
the wolf has no dietary need for carbohydrate, and the myth was brought about (as far as i can see) by the pet food companies who are looking for a cheap filler.
dogs cannot digest cellulose, so cannot digest plant matter in its raw form. dogs also cant cook so i assume they have no need for cooked plant matter either!
dogs have no grinding molars nor any side to side action of the jaw, unlike herbivores and omnivores. they cannot process plant matter themselves.
it has been said that wolves go for the stomach content of their prey 1st, but dr. mech (a leading authority on wolves) has shown that the belly is the 1st target because it is soft and an ideal place to 'get stuck in' so to speak. the stomach itself is eaten, but only after a vigorous shaking to empty out the contents (which may them be rolled in, niiiice!).
a dog can get absolutely everything it requires nutritionally from meat, bones and offal.
however..
if you cannot afford grass fed free range meats, you may want to supplememt a good fish body oil (not cod liver oil!) to boost the omega 3 that is lacking in meat animals reared the commercial way.
if you want to feed a few veggies and your dog doesnt show signs of allergy to them (yeasty infected ears, itchy skin etc) it aint going to do any harm, but i would add them as an extra rather than take up a percentage of my dogs meat ration. same with healthy leftovers from the human table, although i never do (my ratties get my leftovers). be sure never to feed onions, raisins/sultanas or chocolate. never ever ever feed cooked bones.
i have changed over many many dogs including an aging foxhound with missing teeth teeth, he managed whole breast of lamb just fine!
personally i dont like to feed ground meat, as it is the chomping action of the jaws that stimulates acid production in the stomach, and i have found one of my dogs used to get belly ache when i did feed it. also the chomping action of the jaws stimulates the production of serotonin (i think thats the right one!), hence the reason many dogs get so blissed out whilst getting a good cham on a bone!

i have at the moment 1 border collie bitch and a terrier cross, and five cats.
if they are having chicken that evening i simply take 2 chickens, whack one in half with my cleaver and hand one half to brighid my bc. the remaining half is cut in two, and squirrel the terrier has one of those pieces. the other chicken is whacked into four, so thise plus the remaining piece from the 1st chicken are lobbed out onto the lawn for the cats! it takes about 4 mins start to finish for me to feed 7 pet carnivores each day, but it takes them longer to eat it. i love to see them getting a good workout from their food, and i feel sad for the dogs who's dinner is gone in 10 seconds cos they can shovel the kibble back so quickly. if you have a dog who sucks food down in a few seconds, i would recommend starting raw using big pieces, ie a whole or half chicken.
a dog cannot swallow a chicken in one gulp!
the bigger the joints of meat, the safer they are to feed! i try to feed pieces that are about the size of my dogs heads. they cant swallow summat that big whole!

this is possibly the most helpful link i can give you. they will give you all the help advice and hand holding you could possibly need if you want to change your baby to raw. its worth joining hun!

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfeeding/?v=1&t=directory&ch=web&pub=groups&sec=dir&slk=1

 

nice post, bunjies! I do agree with you about ground, but you have to remember that unfortunately many people do not realize the importance of researching this type of diet and taking care to help their pet learn to eat raw bones. The problem is her pet is really rather very old, and it is better to suggest she grind his food to prevent breaking his teeth which are probably not the strongest since they've not spent a lifetime breaking down bones, and also not EVERY dog automatically knows how to get around a bone without choking on it. I had to teach one of mine how to eat bones, and she still doesn't chew the knuckle parts of drumsticks and chokes or throws them up. If she takes care to really do the research and supervise every feeding and help her dog learn to eat it if she needs to, then yes, whole is better. But I am trying to prevent someoen thinking "oh cool" and then tossing a piece of raw chicken and going about their merry way and being lazy about it. You never really know when someone reading this thread may do that whereas upon reading what I wrote about grinding it would make them at least realize that their pets need far more care and supervision then simply tossing them a chicken leg.

Since one of my dogs has trouble with the "knuckle" of leg quarters of chicken, when I feed raw I do just grind up all their food because I am unable to drive should one choke. BUT, I also give them each one chicken wing twice a day unground for chewing teeth cleaning purposes, as they completely demolish those since they are small and I don't worry as much about choking.

 

i see what you mean hun, and i confess i miss read how old the dog in question was.
i do watch mine like a hawk when they are eating, just in case. strangely i have the opposite problem with mine! they will occasionally try to swallow a chicken wing whole! little gannets. for me the solution is feeding larger pieces that are impossible to get down in one.
personally i think every dog should be supervised whilst eating, just as you would a young child. i have heard of dogs choking on kibble in their hurry to get it down their necks.
if mine are having a particularly awkward meal that i know could take an hour to eat, then i get a book to read or something and settle down for the duration!

so for all you potential raw feeders out there...
research research research!
dont just take our word for it, but find out the info for yourselves!


lilyrayne, out of interest, what kind of doggies do you have?

 

I have 3 One is a almost-9 year old lab, a 6 year old terrier mix, and an almost 5 month old Toy Manchester Terrier. The terrier mix has NO problem eating raw, I didn't have to teach her anything. The Lab had to be taught, and she is the one that still won't chew and break down the knuckle bones **rolls eyes**. I haven't tried the puppy on raw yet. I'd like to. Unfortunately all mine are on (expensive) dog food right now, my own health prevents me from being able to spend the effort to grind and prepare and get all the other supplements and stuff right now, but once I'm up to it I will switch back to raw again. I'm interested to see how the puppy does with it! She's 4 pounds, lol.

 

i have fed dimond dog food for yr.s fair priced and as good as any fancy brand name, better then some .. i buy it at farm store its few dollar's cheaper then at the pet marts, ect. in 50 lb. bags

but then i know a lot of people who feed wal-mart dog food .. it is just as good as brand name
in fact read lable both same .. i buy dimond & mix wal-mart bones food in with it while pouring into container i my case 30 gal. plastic garbage can .. it will stay fresh as long as keep lid on for long time, i buy once a month ..

 

http://www.royalcanin.us/

Royal Canin is fucking awesome. It is exception healthwise and not too expensive, though its obviously more costly than that crap you can get in the grocery store. And also its the only dry dog food that my snob of a dog is actually excited to see me come home with.

 

You can try Wellness Super 5 Mix "Just For Seniors" the price is reasonable and it's part of a good holistic diet.