Dog food costs. How do people afford it?

[Anonymous]

I have a 60lb dog, picky. He’s currently putting himself on a hunger strike. I made the mistake of giving him some human food now he will paw me at dinnertime looking for scraps.

I try switching foods around, right now he’s loving dehydrated food but it’s unbelievable expensive. Even can food is expensive. How do people pay for this? Do they just mix cheap food with the good stuff? Yo think Ai wanted a second dog.

[Anonymous]

I just do 95% kibble and it's gotten crazy expensive.

I think dog food has been hit harder by inflation than many things.

[Anonymous]

We do cheaper things like veggies, tofu, quinoa, chickpeas, beans. But we also have a smaller dog.

[Anonymous]

After switching foods a few times because eventually they stopped liking even the expensive ones, I decided I was done and they were all getting Costco food.

[Anonymous]

Wait until OP learns about the cost of vets, grooming and boarding.

[Anonymous]

I have two small dogs and used to give them Science Diet, which got up over $80 a bag and I didn't think it was worth it. Switched to Costco dog food which comes in nice flavors.

Our dogs also get way more food scraps than they should.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We do cheaper things like veggies, tofu, quinoa, chickpeas, beans. But we also have a smaller dog.

What? This is healthy?

[Anonymous]

I have a 60lb lab. I buy the Kirkland brand kibble and the Kirkland canned food. I put about a 1/4 of the can on the kibble each meal so a can lasts 2 days. We also occasionally give him
Some Costco rotisserie chicken with kibble.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a 60lb dog, picky. He’s currently putting himself on a hunger strike. I made the mistake of giving him some human food now he will paw me at dinnertime looking for scraps.

I try switching foods around, right now he’s loving dehydrated food but it’s unbelievable expensive. Even can food is expensive. How do people pay for this? Do they just mix cheap food with the good stuff? Yo think Ai wanted a second dog.

Your dog has trained you well.

The good news is, you're the human and can flip this if you are so inclined.

The vast majority of dogs in the US are over-fed, some grossly so. If your dog is overweight/overfed, there are some savings to be captured there.

Step one is to read the label and feed according to the amount specified based on the weight of the dog. If your dog is overweight but is otherwise healthy with no other conditions begin gradually cutting down the amount fed daily to the the amount of the target weight.

Step two is to feed on a schedule, ideally 2 to 3 times a day, dividing the amount determined by the weight and label on the feed bag. You put the food down for 15 minutes. Whatever they don't finish is then removed - do not leave it there for free feeding. Keep repeating this and stick to it as if your life depended on it.

If you follow through with this and don't waiver, you dog will be habituated and re-calibrated within 2 weeks, typically less.

You should not do this with senior dogs or dogs with other health conditions. Other than that, I've never failed at re-setting a dog with this approach. But, the whole family needs to be on board.

Good luck and keep us posted on how it goes.

[Anonymous]

We use Kirkland brand dog food. Our dog likes it, it's easy to get, and very reasonably priced.

I just wish they had a salmon kibble with grain. We have an 80 lb retriever, btw (who needs to lose some weight).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a 60lb dog, picky. He’s currently putting himself on a hunger strike. I made the mistake of giving him some human food now he will paw me at dinnertime looking for scraps.

I try switching foods around, right now he’s loving dehydrated food but it’s unbelievable expensive. Even can food is expensive. How do people pay for this? Do they just mix cheap food with the good stuff? Yo think Ai wanted a second dog.

How much are you actually spending on the food? I used to feed my 2 giant dogs Honest Kitchen and Ziwi Peak and it was still not significant compared to the cost of vets and boarding. I knew dogs could be expensive and planned accordingly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We do cheaper things like veggies, tofu, quinoa, chickpeas, beans. But we also have a smaller dog.

What? This is healthy?

Have you read the ingredient list on the average bag of kibble?

[Anonymous]

I've only given my dog dry food. It never occurred to me to make a dog fancy meals. Occasionally, I give him a few small pieces of leftover chicken or roast beef.

[Anonymous]

Dogs can starve for a few days without any ill effects provided they get water throughout.

So keep him on kibble and ignore the begging. He'll be fine.

If you cannot afford kibble, you cannot afford a dog.

[Anonymous]

PP had good advice on resetting, but if your dog is literally not eating after five days, call your vet.

When my dog was dying, he refused dog food except for the most “high value” (and chicken nuggets).