Pets MoneySaving

gemmaj

I hope that no-one in the know tells me that carrots and tomatoes aren't good for dogs

Your quite safe! Carrots are *very* good for dogs (although I've never heard of anyone feeding tomatoes!!!) Try BARF websites if anyone else is interested (thats Bones And Raw Food).

Never feed raw potatoes, and apparently never feed a cat tomatoes ("The Feline Future web site offers a rare description of a cat which was close to death from ingesting just one cherry tomato" - internet quote. I never knew that till just now!). And chocolate, crisps and sweets are DEFINITE no nos! Esp. chocolate - its poisonous to dogs and cats. Although my dog has scarfed (my word for stole and ate very rapidly!) several chocolate bars and not suffered (phew!)

mrsn_2

Well, I have 7 dogs. I buy frozen chicken mince in pound packs for 18p per pound and broken plain biscuit mixer for £5.00 per 15kg sack and I use about 2 a month. The big dogs (5 of) get a pound of raw mince and a pound of biscuit each, except when !!!!!es are in season, shedding coats etc. when there meat intake is upped. Terriers get the same but on a smaller scale. This works out very reasonable and I know whats going into their stomachs. I show some of my dogs, so coat quality etc is of importance to me. They also get knuckles from Wilkos at 65p to gnaw on to keep their teeth clean (and to keep them quiet).

With regards to insurance, as I have so many dogs, I also put away money for the unexpected trips to the vets (like the emergancy spey this week at £158.00 !)as it would cost me a fortune to insure monthly. If you only have say 1 - 3 dogs I would recommend insurance.

Karen

PS - onions and raisens are also toxic to dogs.

gemmaj

7 Dogs??? 7???! Good lord. And I'm wandering whether or not I can afford a second!!

gemmaj

I'm no expert at what they shouldn't eat - Max has eaten chocolate, gin, a bar of soap, a door and a Bird of Paradise plant. None of which he was permitted to eat, I should point out!

As for what they should eat:
IMHO, money-wise spend some money now and you'll be able to save later.... buy a Kong (its an orange kind of mini rugby ball, every good pet shop will sell them). They are hollow with a hole at one end (well, actually both ends, not sure why!). You can put so many things in them, and it takes the dog time and energy to get the food out (great behavioural enrichment!).

For a quick easy treat just throw in some of the normal dinner kibble (Max prefers his food in the Kong than the Bowl, even though its harder for him to get too!!). Or put in some biscuits (home baked?) or you can smear in yogurt or peanut butter for them to lick out (you can also get a squirty can of Kong Stuff N Filler that is peanut butter flavoured but possibly healthier than the real stuff!). For a longer lasting summer treat I mix dinner-kibble with a little tinned dog food and freeze it over night. The possibilities are really endless - put Kong Recipes into Google and be prepared...

A word of caution; some dogs just don't get it. It took Max years before I made it easy enough for him to figure it out.. now he is flying! Start with lots of little bits of food that will come out easily, get your dog kicking it around, and good luck! Holly was part/all Spaniel, I think you said? Cocker spaniels may not always look it but they are "working dogs" so should have a good mind-set, intelligence and motivation to figure it all out!

Phew, might of got a bit carried away extolling the virtues of Kongs!!

gemmaj

Me again. Sorry if I am over-posting and boring everyone!! I have just been given 2 bananas (its a Friday at an Office!) so tonight I will be making one batch of Frosty paws and one batch of biscuits. Just got this off the internet;
Pup Cakes Ingredients;
1 1/2 cups oatmeal (I'm going to use regular Oats)
1 1/2 whole wheat flour (Well, I have brown flour)
1 tbsp baking powder
3 bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 teaspoons honey, optional
2 cups water

Steps
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease 36 mini-muffin pan cups.
3. Use a blender to grind oatmeal into a powder. Mix oatmeal, flour and baking powder in a small bowl.
4. Place bananas, vanilla and honey in blender, process, add water slowly.
5. Pour liquid mixture gradually into bowl of dry ingredients, beating well.
6. Spoon batter into prepared pan, filling cups to the rim.
7. Bake until done, 20-25 minutes.
8. Transfer muffins to a wire rack to cool.
Store in Fridge or freeze.

SnowyOwl_2

Hi all

I am getting v.fed up with tinned cat food - it goes off far too fast, plus my cats have had to have teeth removed because it had caused so much decay. My cats can manage biscuits (even if they have to suck rather than chew!) but it would be nice to give them something really tasty which is good for them, doesn't cost too much and is easy to prepare.

Thanks in advance.

blue-kat

cats:
have you read the ingredients on tins of cat food? there's sugar in the stuff !
I tried putting our 3 cats on dried complete food, ( usually give them some tinned with some dried) but they got constipated.

I've got a trial pack of Royal Canin + free storage tin, but not used it yet.

dog food:
my parents used to give their dog netto/lidl corned beef + tinned spag, all dog foods caused messy digestive upset

adding oxo to dog food:
watch out for salt content !

thanks for tips re: rodent bedding, will look out for shredded cardboard, is is safe - i.e. no airborne fibres which might harm rodents lungs?
daughter has been spending a fortune on 'carefresh' and other safe bedding for gerbils and rat.
-
blue-kat

SnowyOwl_2

Yep, have noticed that there is sugar in wet cat food, so no wonder it rots their teeth! I bought a big bag of James Wellbeloved and it had the opposite effect of constipation, poor kitties... I have a number of bags/boxes of biscuits on the go at the moment, trying to figure out which is the favourite, and which one agrees with their digestive systems the best. I give them tinned tuna from time to time, also that cheapo reformed ham, chicken or turkey. Maybe that and biscuits is good enough, but looking at the imaginative recipes for dogs I thought that I should ask if anyone knows of any equally appealing recipes for cats. They are indoor cats, so food is the highlight of their day (other than my coming in of course, they get so excited).

Oh and btw, there was info in a much, much earlier thread about some sort of chicken pellets/food or something being suitable to use as cat litter. Does anybody remember what this stuff is called - cat litter is sooooo expensive!

beachbeth

mrsmab59 wrote:

They both love raw carrots and will sit patiently waiting for the carrot ends when I'm preparing them for our dinners. I also occasionally give them whole carrots or tomatoes as a treat...I hope that no-one in the know tells me that carrots and tomatoes aren't good for dogs

I have had conversations on another forum with a vet and she says that dogs can't digest vegetables in the way that we can and don't need them like we do. So, while the carrots won't do any harm they don't do any good either.

beachbeth

blue-kat wrote:

adding oxo to dog food:
watch out for salt content !

I only put a tiny sprinkle on my dog's dinner. Enough to give a beefy taste.