cheap dog food

WolfSong2000

found a website on the raw food diet...pretty much explains everything

http://www.belamba.co.uk/barf/index.html

UKTigerlily

If the Butcher's is anything like the Cat version it's not great? Natures:menu & Nature Diet are good wet brands, any natural foods are IMO. Agree with the eating fast theories totally!

WolfSong2000

Nature diet are good, but they're not all that cheap...if you're going for quality (and the corresponding price!) then Burns dry food is excellent, as is James Wellbeloved

foreign_correspondent

Cheap dog food isn't necessarily bad at all - my last dog made it to about 16 or 17 on Wagg working dog at a tenner a 17kg bag, and my dog is in nice condition on it, as is my mum's lurcher.

Personally, I would rather fed that than Butchers cans to be honest!

I would avoid any foods that contain artifical colours etc, but in my opinion, like with most things a lot of pet food marketing is a con to get us to upgrade brands (and some dearer brands rely more on flashy packaging then good ingredients anyway!). Plenty of us humans in here live happily on value brands etc, and most dogs live perfectly happily and healthily on a cheap complete food, so long as it isnt junk!

It's worth considering that dogs have evolved for thousands of years to live on varied human leftovers, not prime cuts of meat!

Lots of people also recommend Dr Johns and CSJ, both of which are reasonably priced. However, I buy Wagg working dog as I can get the 17KG sacks at ASDA which suits me!

I also add natural yogurt, smart price sardines, rice, meat and veg leftovers etc occassionally to add variety and extra nutrients!

I feel very strongly that if people are struggling financially it's better to buy the dogs a basic but balanced cheap complete food and be able to keep them, than to get so stretched trying to afford expensive food that it becomes impossible! So many dogs are being dumped at the moment because of finances, sadly.

Helsbels, what sort of dogs do you have? Or how big are they? If you let me know I will have a look at how much dry food they will need and how much it would cost to feed them on Wagg according to the feeding chart.

My dog is 12kg, and a bag of complete food lasts her three months, so she costs me less than a quid a week to feed her!

WolfSong2000

not saying all cheap foods are bad, but I am more wary of them. Haven't used Butcher's in a while, but last time I checked it was free of artificial additives, etc...has that changed?

And you're right, a varied diet is ideal for dogs. I hate seeing dogs who are fed purely on dry food, no matter how good the quality. Can you imagine how boring that must be for the dog?!

foreign_correspondent

I am not sure that they get bored in the same way we do - my dog looks happy when any food is on offer even if its the same dry food she has been eating for weeks! Funny animals ;-) (mine will do tricks for a piece of her dry food, so she must enjoy it!)

However, I do think they enjoy a change occasionally, and I also think that healthy additions to a dry diet can add extra nutrition, for example sardines are full of omega oils for coat, joints and central nervous system!

I cannot find an ingredients list for Butchers anywhere online, so I dunno for sure, sorry! I seem to remember it is a bit fatty though and used to give my old dog the squits! Again, I think its a matter of... if it isnt full of carp, and your dog likes it and is fit on it, and it suits your wallet - then it is fine!!

WolfSong2000

I'm just going on experience...I know if you tried giving any of my boys just dry food they'd look at you as if you were crazy, and as one's half labrador, that says something. lol.

Also my mother used to dogsit, and I always noticed that the dogs who had just dry food seemed to be very envious of those with a better variety and would do anything to get at the other dogs food. Some dogs who were "picky" with their dry food also did much better when some variety was added, even if it was just a little wet food.

bigheadxx

12 small tins of Pedigree Chum was £5 in Morrisons last week.

GonzoAston

I personally wouldnt use Butchers food. I think Chappie is the best canned food you can buy IMO anyway

Even if its cheap, and money is tight, I try to stay away from food that is cheap, as its usually full of all the stuff that isnt great for your dog.

Instead, I do buy a higher quiality food (Burns). As its higher quality, I dont feed mine as much as I would on another food that is just basically full of rubbish. They do get offal, meat fish or veg ontop also.

Most pet foods tell you to feed too much to your pets anyway, which is why alot of pets are overweight. Of course ammounts need to be subject to excersise.

I buy a 7.5kg of Burns for 2 dogs. GSD and Petterdale Terrier. Usually lasts about 6 weeks. They have their toppings (as mentioned above) and raw bones. All in all costs about £3-4 a week for both of them.

You could soak the biscuits and add extra tasty bits to it like I do (I dont soak though). Works out quite cheap for me, and they're getting good food. Both are well within their normal range for weight, and have alot of energy.

UKTigerlily

natures:menu cans are much better than Chappie, Chappie is good for upset tummy's as it's bland but it's not a good brand of food as such. My SBT has Orijen dried & then at night she has 1/2 pouch of natures:menu with it (Adjusting the Orijen accordingly) & sometimes some Pilchards or something.