Dog food and other supplies

[kellia]

Just got a puppy yesterday... after much sole searching I decided that I wanted one as much as my kids, so Zoey is mine but I'll let the kids play with her, too! She's an adorable little mutt! Though after crying and barking ALL night last night, I am exhausted and a little resentful that she is NOW sleeping on me foot...

I got her Science Diet Puppy food. For the future, is the Sam's Club brand as "good"? It is a heck of a lot cheaper, but I don't want to give her something that isn't as good or going to cause other problems with her health.

Any advice on other budget tips for all of the dog expenses? Where to get shots, meds, etc?

Thanks!

 

[mcorbo]

Just got a puppy yesterday... after much sole searching I decided that I wanted one as much as my kids, so Zoey is mine but I'll let the kids play with her, too! She's an adorable little mutt! Though after crying and barking ALL night last night, I am exhausted and a little resentful that she is NOW sleeping on me foot...

I got her Science Diet Puppy food. For the future, is the Sam's Club brand as "good"? It is a heck of a lot cheaper, but I don't want to give her something that isn't as good or going to cause other problems with her health.

Any advice on other budget tips for all of the dog expenses? Where to get shots, meds, etc?

Thanks!

If there's a Banfield near you (www.banfield.net), they have a basic plan for puppy's that costs $20 per month. My dauhgter just enrolled hers and for the $20, all required shots are included as well as check ups as often as necessary. Ours is located inside the local Petsmart store.

 

[VanessasMom]

Well, actually no packaged dry dog food is good for the dog. It is a lot cheaper and easier than you think to feed your dog a raw diet. I switched a month ago and would never go back. The health benefits are great and it costs me about $.50/day for a 95 lb dog. A puppy and smaller dog would be so cheap! Take a look at these sites for some more info.

http://www.pet-grub.com/
http://www.barfworld.com/html/learn_more/barf_pups.shtml
http://www.njboxers.com/faqs.htm

I found it very informative. There are also books out there and plenty of other sites. Please look into it. It is worth it!

 

[trulygoofy]

I have always given my dogs Purina Puppy Chow or other puppy food at Sam's, and then switch to Beef 'n More from Sam's once they are no longer puppies. Beef 'n More has beef as the first ingredient instead of yellow ground corn.
We just get rabies and bordatella shots instead of the entire round of shots once they are out of the puppy stage, but they do get monthly heart worm pills.

Have fun with Zoey!

 

[crisi]

I'm partial to low volume dog food - less needs to go in and less comes out.

Talk to your vet, big breeds may do better on a lower protien food. Lots of protein and fats can make a gassy dog even gassier.

But dogs are expensive - I've put almost $1000 already into the mutt we just adopted last week. Between puppy (neutered, all shots) at $300 and the crate for a large dog ($200), plus the food, treats, initial vet check, license....and the fence guy hasn't even stopped out yet.

 

[hsmamato2]

actually, think about all the recalls.... what it really means is that most dog food manufaturers have products coming from the same source,logic would lead us to conclude that no,there is not a major difference in the cheap-expensive stuff.
No emotions involved here,but that's reality. Science diet is not high quality food,it's full of the same corn and filler stuff that Ol Roy at Wlmart is. So if you don't mind all the added stuff dogs don't actually digest or need, just buy Ol Roy.... I used to feed my dogs Ol Roy,and they were fine,they just pooped more-but i wouldn't pay $$$ for the same quality elsewhere,it was cheap-vets seem to sell science diet, but it's overpriced,and not worth it.
I buy Canidae for my dogs, no grains,or cheap fillers,and it costs about $35 for a 40 pound bag,which lasts my 2 dogs months-and,way less poops to deal with
Also agree with a pp, it's cheap and easy to make your own,even cooked food- Oprah had a guy on last week detailing how- it's basically hamburger,mix in some cooked brown rice,and some grated carrots- I intend to make a batch for my dogs when the Canidae is gone....
Petco has vax clinics on Saturdays around here,much cheaper than the vet for shots,you just have to get in line early-
If you don't have a crate,I suggest buying one,and using it -
I'd put Tink in her crate next to my bed,and if she whined the 1st few nights(after I took her potty) I'd just drop my fingers through the bars-she'd lick them and go back to sleep....it's the easiest way to potty train,and night time train a puppy,
also get some books on training out of your library,I personally love clicker training to teach puppies good behavior- also, recommend gating pup in the kitchen or somewhere easy to clean for the first few months, somewhere there are people for comfort,but not easy to tear the rest of the house apart,till she's older and trained.....
good luck! the first few weeks of potty training are the hardest,and remember,you *never,ever* need to hit a dog to train it- just use your voice,and clear commands to teach-(not that you'd hit,just general advice)

 

[hsmamato2]

I'm partial to low volume dog food - less needs to go in and less comes out.

Talk to your vet, big breeds may do better on a lower protien food. Lots of protein and fats can make a gassy dog even gassier.

But dogs are expensive - I've put almost $1000 already into the mutt we just adopted last week. Between puppy (neutered, all shots) at $300 and the crate for a large dog ($200), plus the food, treats, initial vet check, license....and the fence guy hasn't even stopped out yet.

agreed, you can check these forums www.chazhound.com for lots of expert doggie info....esp. food questions
but Crisi,isn't it funny how these "free" dogs seem to get so expensive? I've got 2 "low cost" mutts here....

 

[kellia]

Thanks! No, I knew she wasn't going to be cheap... we paid more than the $50 adoption fee at Petco this morning just for collar, tag and a couple toys!

Does Petco or any other places have reduced prices on getting them fixed? I obviously don't want to take her anyplace not safe since it is actual surgery!

 

[rocky41102]

We use Chicken Soup, Canidae, Merrick, and Solid Gold dog food. More expensive than others, but not a whole lot more than Science Diet type foods. We have 2 big dogs, so the difference in poop volumes and consistency makes it worth it (sorry if that's tmi)!

Also, sometimes local pet rescue agencies run low cost spay/neuter clinics so you could check with them.

 

[hsmamato2]

Our local humane society provides lower cost spays and neuters- I thought Petco provides a certificate when you adopt through them? Around here, they're humane society animals,and provide a certificate when adopting-
if not, you can check your local hs, when I got mine done, I can't remember where I got this, but I googled online for my state,and maybe aspca(?) or something similiar was selling reduced spay coupons- I looked on the site for participating local vets,bought the coupon,it was about $90- and made an appt.-
after a certain series of puppy shots, you don't necessarily need a lot of boosters,do some research and decide what's best for you-
agree w/ pp, those are all high grade dry food-so they're worth the extra bit of $$$-b/c you actually feed less and let's face it, it is easier to feed kibble most days(I have kids too )
for pups, think disposable,they tear through most things- you can buy cheap fleece at the walmart fabric dept, cut to size,needs no sewing,makes easy dog beds,easy to wash, my dog loved to chew through them,so it worked for us
tennis balls are cheap,and puppies love them- one good solid shin bone sold at pet stores can be stuffed and keep pup happy for hours-
if you don't use a crate,use a cardboard box with fleece in it, easy to dispose of whe it gets messed up,and it will
They even have some very nice collars at walmart or dollar tree,b/c pups always grow....
My point is, dogs can cost a lot,or many times much less than you see at first. Walmart is much cheaper for dog supplies,chewies,etc.
old stuffed toys your kids have outgrown,remove small buttons,etc and let the puppy have its way with it.....

 

[kellia]

We use Chicken Soup, Canidae, Merrick, and Solid Gold dog food. More expensive than others, but not a whole lot more than Science Diet type foods. We have 2 big dogs, so the difference in poop volumes and consistency makes it worth it (sorry if that's tmi)!

Also, sometimes local pet rescue agencies run low cost spay/neuter clinics so you could check with them.

Where do you get those brands of dog food? I haven't seen those at the pet stores. I definately like the 'less poop'!

Thank you, everyone for the great ideas!

 

[Livin'4Disney]

www.eaglepack.com

Check the Store Locator on the site.
And you can print off coupons off the site to use in store and if you keep the UPC's and send in 11 or 13 of them they send you a coupon for a free bag of food. A little pricey (38.00/ 30lb bag).
BUT INCREDIBLE FOOD!

 

[earthfaries]

Well, actually no packaged dry dog food is good for the dog. It is a lot cheaper and easier than you think to feed your dog a raw diet. I switched a month ago and would never go back. The health benefits are great and it costs me about $.50/day for a 95 lb dog. A puppy and smaller dog would be so cheap! Take a look at these sites for some more info.

http://www.pet-grub.com/
http://www.barfworld.com/html/learn_more/barf_pups.shtml
http://www.njboxers.com/faqs.htm

I found it very informative. There are also books out there and plenty of other sites. Please look into it. It is worth it!

This is true. Most people don't know it though. The best is either make your own, or buy dog food from your local health food store. If not you are drastically reducing you dogs life span, you should do the research, it is scary. That way you are not getting things in your petfood like undigestable grains and animal by products and meals, which is what the mainstream stuff is. Be prepared to pay a lot more though if you get prepackaged dog food from the natural food store. Once we learned about what was in the food and converted we now pay $30.00 for 14 pounds of cat food instead of $8.00 for 18 pounds at Sams. But we just eat a little less so our animals can eat real food that is not slowly killing them!

 

[kellia]

This is true. Most people don't know it though. The best is either make your own, or buy dog food from your local health food store. If not you are drastically reducing you dogs life span, you should do the research, it is scary. That way you are not getting things in your petfood like undigestable grains and animal by products and meals, which is what the mainstream stuff is. Be prepared to pay a lot more though if you get prepackaged dog food from the natural food store. Once we learned about what was in the food and converted we now pay $30.00 for 14 pounds of cat food instead of $8.00 for 18 pounds at Sams. But we just eat a little less so our animals can eat real food that is not slowly killing them!

Which brand does Sams carry?

 

[earthfaries]

“Dogs and cats should live into their 20's, yet most die between 13 to 15 years...WHY?”

http://www.healthfoodforpets.com/kellyjane/petfoodvideo.htm

Check out this video about dog food if you love your dog!

I don't have a dog anymore. Now I have 3 cats and I bought them Kit n Kaboodle which I think is made by purina. They have a lot of different types of dog and cat food for cheap at Sam's, but nothing natural.

 

[trulygoofy]

This is true. Most people don't know it though. The best is either make your own, or buy dog food from your local health food store. If not you are drastically reducing you dogs life span, you should do the research, it is scary. That way you are not getting things in your petfood like undigestable grains and animal by products and meals, which is what the mainstream stuff is. Be prepared to pay a lot more though if you get prepackaged dog food from the natural food store. Once we learned about what was in the food and converted we now pay $30.00 for 14 pounds of cat food instead of $8.00 for 18 pounds at Sams. But we just eat a little less so our animals can eat real food that is not slowly killing them!

Sorry, but I have to disagree with this. We have had many dogs and they live longer than we expected for their breed and we feed them Beef 'n More. It does have the grains, but the first ingredient is meat. I had an Australian Shepherd that we recently had to put down at the age of 15. He grew up on Purina dog chow. We also have an 11 (going to be 12 in June) year old Boxer that still acts like a puppy. He is having typical old dog issues like going deaf, but that is because of age.

 

[earthfaries]

Sorry, but I have to disagree with this. We have had many dogs and they live longer than we expected for their breed and we feed them Beef 'n More. It does have the grains, but the first ingredient is meat. I had an Australian Shepherd that we recently had to put down at the age of 15. He grew up on Purina dog chow. We also have an 11 (going to be 12 in June) year old Boxer that still acts like a puppy. He is having typical old dog issues like going deaf, but that is because of age.

They say dogs should live into their 20's, not their teens. Anyway, it is just like people who eat crappy food. You can get lucky and live a long and healthy life, but if you really research and compare numbers, the crap we eat, and even worse, feed our beloved pets causes cancer and sickness. You can disagree all you want but there is no denying what is printed on an ingredient label, and the ingredients that is in commercial pet food is crap. Read the label, look it up and you will see that no matter how long or happy your dog lives, you are feeding him bad non-nutritious by products that are not good for him!

 

[hsmamato2]

I don't know about life expectancy...but I do know that you can get healthier options for not much more money-
We went through the Purina or olroy food way faster than the Canidae- we buy from a local feed store- Agway around here- but for real budget healthy food, it's easy enough to make your own.
Canidae is richer,so you use less

 

[mom2minniemouse]

Another vote for Canidae... expecially for my doggies. Both have (different) skin conditions, and it's getting better after only a handful of days!

 

[trulygoofy]

They say dogs should live into their 20's, not their teens. Anyway, it is just like people who eat crappy food. You can get lucky and live a long and healthy life, but if you really research and compare numbers, the crap we eat, and even worse, feed our beloved pets causes cancer and sickness. You can disagree all you want but there is no denying what is printed on an ingredient label, and the ingredients that is in commercial pet food is crap. Read the label, look it up and you will see that no matter how long or happy your dog lives, you are feeding him bad non-nutritious by products that are not good for him!

Actually, no. A smaller dog will have a longer life expectancy than a larger dog. It depends on the size/breed of a dog that determines average life expectancy. While a small dog may very well live to be 20, I would like to see a St. Bernard or Great Dane that lived that long. A good rule of thumb is to see what the main ingredient is. Look for dog food labels that start with meat instead of yellow ground corn.