Feeding Your Dog

[alpha bet]

Just reading another thread and people started to talk about what they spend on their dogs..... made me ponder as for me as I changed my dogs over to the VAN diet in Dec '12 and have raised the last litter on VAN and will also with the current puppies. So have just costed out what I spend on this diet and can then give new families a proposed budget to help them thru the first year or two. Here are my calculations which could probably be done cheaper with a Supermarket diet but this is actually my choice. VAN Diet Cost Per Dog Approx: $67.00/month or $2.34/day (Australian Shepherd).

Monthly Calculation

VAN Muesli approx 2 kg per month $ 21.00

Roo Meat @ 250gm per day @ $4/kg $ 30.00

Marrow Bones approx 2 packs @ $5.00 ea $ 10.00

Eggs & Yoghurt 1 doz eggs & 1 tub yoghurt $ 6.00

Living Conditions: We live on 16 acres with a large dam - dogs are rarely in pens and live in an acre house paddock for most of the day but also have regular chances throughout the day to charge over a larger area and also to swim on most days - therefore due to the high level of activity our dogs are fed twice a day to compensate. I suspect most adult Aussies living in a backyard environment would only cost two thirds of my costs. However for puppy buyers I suspect they would be spending this amount on feeding for the first 12 months before the costs would ease.

Therefore my puppy buyers can expect to spend in the first year: $1,300 and that doesn't allow for all the spur of the moment toys purchased.

( $800 on food - $120 on puppy vaccinations - $40 on worming - $100 initial bed (till destroyed) - $200 Puppy School - $20 treats - $20 brushes )

So that is my story - how do others find the costs and what different situations do you allow for with your dogs.... I think it would be a useful exercise for all of us to consider what we are spending.

Edited April 13, 2013 by alpha bet

[Everythings Shiny]

I feed Super coat or Mate working dog food. I tend to buy when its on special and buy a few bags at a time. I also get a free 3kg bag of hills feed every three months from work. Monthly I spend probably $30 for 3 dogs, but that included their bones they get, treats and Paige's osteo support capsules.

When I was breeding the Smokey kelpies, I told my buyers the upfront cost, vaccination prices etc. I told them what I fed them on, the rest was up to them. Admittedly I was younger and didn't have the knowledge I do now to inform them of everything else. Although my pups were working bred and mostly went to farms, with the exception of a couple who went as pets.

[Sheridan]

Mini gets a steamed chicken thigh and around 250 of kibble a day. I buy a bulk pack of nine which is around $9.00, so that's around $1.00 plus the kibble. I get a premium kibble, though I am looking at another brand cos she doesn't like it much. She's not terribly food oriented. She's decided she loves the Aldi chicken treats. They're around $1.50, I think, and they last 2-3 weeks.

[mixeduppup]

I currently have 7 dogs and spend an average of $50 a fortnight on raw and working dog food.

[Staffyluv]

Zig gets raw meaty bones, roo meat, some Eukanuba kibble (a small bag last a couple of months), cottage cheese, eggs, sardines, a carrot/apple or something similar now and then..

I picked up a bag of beef and lamb ribs/flaps from the local butcher yesterday for $3 - that should last a week or so.

His roo costs about $10 a week and then the other bits and pieces.

He is not an expensive dog to look after (unlike our beloved Ollie dog was)..

[JulesP]

Amber's food is around $100 a month for Hill's Prescription

Poppy's food is around $40 a month for VIP Grain free dry and various over stuff (sardines, meat etc)

They get dentastix as Amber can't have bones at about $14 a week

I buy homemade biscuits at a market at about $20 a month. This is so I get a meat free product for Amber.

Then training treats - no idea how much I spend on those.

Then around $200 per month on medication.

[cali]

Gem's kibble is $79 for 29 lbs, and that lasts about 1 month, Baby dogs kibble is $20 for 10 lbs and that lasts about 1 month, plus about 2 cans of wet a week, at $1.50/can. the raw for everyone else..the chicken is $30 for a 32 lbs box that lasts 2 weeks, but that is mixed with veggies, yogurt, fruit, eggs, organs etc.. plus other meats, but I cant calculate that as it varies, we base what we buy and when on price. overall I probably spend about $200 a month feeding 8 medium/large dogs, which I think is pretty good really lol

I tend to splurge so I am not the one to ask about average cost of other things lol

Edited April 13, 2013 by cali

[Esky the husky]

Assuming I don't win any kibble at all and I feed my winter diet year round, (Which I don't)

then this would be our costs

Food:

1 x Box 1 biscuit- $35 a box- 200 servings- Roughly 17c a day

1 serve of mince- was roo/beef. now chicken / roo. Cost varies a bit but most recent bulk buy. About 30 c a portion

Kibble is Earthborn Hollistic about $100 -$120 for a 12.something kg bag.. Just over a dollar for a serve of that.

About 2-3 times a week she gets bones instead of mince. Either a carcass 25c each or some king of neck between 50c and $2

Rough cost per year

$610 per year for an adult siberian husky working in weightpull and sledding.

That's if I fed racing diet all year. 4-5 months over the hotter months of the year food is reduced by around half.

[Mystiqview]

Black Hawk @ $95/bag (lasts between 4-8 weeks/dog)

Marrow Bones @ $3 each - I cut them to cut lengthways and a dog gets half a bone a week

Chicken necks - generally get those from Woolies/Coles so price is variable but think it is about $3/kg

Fatty Human Grade Mince @ $5/kg - generally done as a topper to the kibble

I buy the value box at around $30 Xlarge dentasticks and break them in half and they get those for treats - cheaper than buying size for the dog

training treats is generally frankfurt sausage or similar

[mantis]

About $25 a week. That includes chicken frames or wings, dog biscuits, dry food, the main meal of meat & veggies, plus treaties of course. :laugh:

[fuzzy82]

I kept a record of expenses for a year (August 2011 to July 2012), and during that year they started out on a high quality dry food mixed with high quality wet food, and about 2/3 through the year I mixed to raw. That year I spent about $400-450 on food for the two of them (small mixed breeds).

Edited April 13, 2013 by fuzzy82

[minxy]

1 dog, fed just on dry (ProPlan) about $25 a week. He gets yoghurt sometimes too which is $10 a tub and lasts him a few weeks. Oh and egg and rice thrown in sometimes too, but that's usually just when I have eggs I need to get rid of or if I've cooked too much rice etc so it's not a specific purchase for him.

[persephone]

We are so lucky ..having goats & rabbits & sheep available .. all it costs is a bullet, some time cutting, and maybe refrigeration .

Otherwise we use Uncle Albers..under $30 a bag ..about a bag a week to keep our bin full .

[Kajirin]

Think I worked it out to about $10-$12 a week to feed Scout - raw with kibble

[WreckitWhippet]

I have no idea, I buy premium dry and raw and they never go without be it food , vet care, toys, rugs etc. I don't bother to add it up anymore.

[Kaffy Magee]

I roughly spend about $200 a month on food for 4 adult Bullmastiffs. I fee mainly chicken frames, whole and minced as their meat/bone source as its cheaper. They get lamb or roo on the odd occasion, plus chicken wings, necks, maryland and the odd marrow bone. They would get Maroow bones more often except they try and charge $8 a bone where I am . They also get Vets All Natural, veges, egg, sardines, yoghurt occasionally and have recently started using Black Hawk Dry as well for convenience purposes. It doesnt matter how I try and work it out I can never get it cheaper than $200 without losing the quality of the diet.

[Sayreovi]

I feed my guys raw and never really added it up before. For 3 medium sized dogs between 14-20kgs I spend about $30 a week if that.

I buy their meat in 20kg lots and it lasts me about a month, I try to feed it 3/7 days and the rest chicken frames but I tend to be lazy and forget to defrost so am going through the meat within 2-3 weeks at the moment.

Once a week I mix together a random assortment of food, so they get offal, eggs, sardines, yoghurt....generally left overs as well, mixed into a slop, I think it's their favourite meal of the week! :laugh:

Offal/hearts $5 a week

Meat is about $70 for 20kg

Frames $1.50 for 3

Last two I could get alot cheaper but it's hard to find decent chopped beef for smaller amounts and the frames are purely convenience related, they come in trays of 3 and usually nice sized with no fat.

Eggs and yoghurt I buy for myself and I don't go through them quick enough, so don't really consider it a dog purchase.

Can't wait to get a designated dog food freezer!

[Nevafollo]

Ive not really thought about it. I feed 3 x adult pointers and 3 x little dogs. I guess it would be between $30-$60 a week depending on what dry I feed and what meat I buy. When I can afford it they are fed advance active or puppy when I cant afford it they are fed either bonnie puppy or working dog or supercoat puppy or active.

[Alibi]

1 bit over 3kg dog I think would be about $40 per month, but that's buying Ziwi Peak which is $45 for a 1 kilo bag, vets all natural, k9 natural frozen, chicken necks, eggs and tinned sardines. There is no way if she was a big dog I would be able to afford to feed her the ziwi peak, but as she is only tiny one bag last for over a month.

[Alkhe]

I'm too scared to calculate. :laugh: For a house of vegetarians, I spend an inordinate amount of time buying meat..