I’d estimate that the ground up meat and bone that I feed my spaniel costs about $1.50 per day. I’d call that fairly budget.
Even then very expensive grain free foods contain ingredients that aren’t best suited to a dogs digestive system - sweet potatoe, potatoes etc are still starchy fillers that are there to replace meat and to help the food be formed into pellets/kibble.
I get many different pets and they get very different food.
Some are happy with laptop pulls, others need at least 30Q. When I have a good day I feed them VTC5A. Others are actually happier with LM34C.
I have many pets with apetites that are smaller or larger than that as well.
My Cat also eats our food off the plates.
Chicken, Roo Meat, Loves my raw Rump.(AND Carrots…)
Cheese. Loooves my Dark chocolate.and even my tinned dark plums??. You tell me.
If it on my plate. he’ll have a serve.
5.2 to 5.4 kg ALL his adult life, except last yr when he was crook for a while. Dropped 1\2 a kilo.
15 of our yrs in April this yr. He’s a registered breed
and cost a bloody fortune for a cat.
Prev couple of this breed only lasted 10 and a bit yrs.
one to Heartworm.
One to a car. which I beat the shit out of the driver for.
He blasted up my back drive without permission and not looking for a cat sleeping on a private. gated drive nobody uses all his life.
Car was trespassing on private property. He won’t again.
Lucky I didn’t slice his throat for him. Almost…
Missus stopped me.
Syd was my mate went through my Cancer with me.
I told him. I ever see him on the street.
I WILL drive over him.
people tell me he moved the following week.
My first dog, which was a purebred Sheltie we fed exclusively Purina and mostly the cheaper brand foods, they were all heavy in grain, and whether it was genetic or not, she had a bunch of health issues and barely hit her life expectancy. (Had a bunch of fatty cysts, licked her paws raw which we found out was a grain allergy, started to have cardiac issues later in life)
We did a ton of research, I got married to my doggo fanatic wife and we got very educated on what to feed our pets.
We got a rescue a year after my first dog passed and we exclusively fed him Rachel Ray Nutrish, Merrick grain free, Weruva Grain free, Zignature grain free or any other food that had a solid ingredients list with little filler. We somewhat recently stopped buying Merrick because we didnt know how Purina buying them out would affect their small batch quality or if it would stay small batch.
All of our local “high end” small business dog shops pulled and do not sell Merrick anymore either.
Good food is expensive, but we look at it like this; our dog wont really be eating anything but kibble and the occasional treat; we like food and he should like his too.
Wellness mostly. My older Aussie is ten years old going on one. Wellness Large Breed has a generous amount of glucosamine to help keep him limber. He keep up with his seven-year-younger mini Aussie female companion every bit as well as she when they're playing chase & retrieve with their flying discs.
Occasionally I'll buy some other premium food like Merrick or Blue Buffalo if they're on sale plus coupon & mix with the Wellnesss. They like a change in taste periodically.
Two vets have said that drug store glucosamine is identical to the pricey stuff pushed by some vets. I'll supplement the diminished glucosamine in mixed brands with a drug store glucosamine-pill-wrapped-in-cheese "treat" for my older buddy every other day when mixing food brands. The young'un just gets a small wad of cheese 'cause, you know... can't give one a treat without the other getting something.
As do most people —- I’m reading these post at what we feed our pets is way better than what we eat—- I didn’t start to learn about food choices until I was 45 —now with achy joint problems and muscle knots I’m trying any and everything to stay away from regular DRs —- I don’t want to live on medication —believe it or not —fresh meats,vegetables,fruits— without grains and dairy helps tremedously —- just ask all these healthy Dogs and Cats we have
Its gone from live locusts and worms for the dragon, frozen rats(then defrosted) for the ball python(one passed, other given back) to a new member Nala. She has gone from biscuit type to barf. Coat much better(does not fart any where near as much!) 16kg of 0.5kg frozen packs delivered to the door every couple of week.
Only now reading back, last time i looked at this thread it was on the 1st page. Nala was on the typical sacks, platinum of a brand. Farts, beeps , the barf diet of which she has 500g for breaky and 500g for tea has more than agreed. She loves it, coats better, beeps once a day lol and does not fart that much!!! win win.