Petflation Forces Australians to Surrender Pets. ABC News 21/4/24

[Deeds]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-21/petflation-forces-australians-to-surrender-pets/103739960

[persephone]

A worrying trend , too, is people buying el cheapo food , and making their own with predominantly rice..I feel dog health in general will suffer . Cats, too .

 

[tdierikx]

How many people have come here to ask what is the best food to buy for their dog? And our answer is usually that the "best" food is whatever your dog does well on. Some here feed supermarket kibble, and others go the whole hog to make their own perfectly balanced diets for each of their dogs, but most are somewhere in between, yes?

 

Personally, I think that kibble is an easy choice, as it's ready to serve, and some brands are relatively cheap to buy, so that is what the general public think they have to feed. This is not helped by the industry (mostly unregulated) pushing their own sales agendas by making claims of "complete and balanced" (even though that "balance" is mostly chemical additives, etc)... and vets pushing the same tenets.

 

I am yet to find a commercial dog food that is perfect for every dog I've ever owned. Like us, they can be different as to how they process the foods we give them, and may have different taste/texture preferences, etc.

 

My rescue foster dogs are fed a mix of raw and dry Savour Life dog food... and that is basically because Savour Life actually provides it to us for free. So far, all my fosters have done well on it, so I have no issues with feeding it... and the fact that it's not costing us/me anything is a bonus. If the dog wasn't doing well on the feed provided, there would be discussions about trying something else.

 

T.

[Little Gifts]

I'm on a couple of Simple  Savers type pages and pet care is a big topic right now. The good news is many people are telling others that cheap dog food is false economy because of the potential health effects (and then vet costs) but also because you have to feed your dog more for them to feel full and then they poop most of it out anyway. They been offering other ideas for making your own and having a good balance for your dogs. Same with people food. People are encouraging others to find ways to still have a balanced food intake rather than eating cheap and nasty carb laden diets.

 

So many people who have never struggled before suddenly finding their income no longer covers everything. I'm glad I've still been living like a pauper.

[persephone]

21 hours ago, Little Gifts said:

I'm on a couple of Simple  Savers type pages and pet care is a big topic right now.

I'm on a coping with low income page - and similar is happening. Looking at posts - most folks cook up meat /veges/rice/pasta - but a lot are buying meat offcuts /chicken feet/hearts & feeding that I feel for those who have big dogs  and little money .

[DogsAndTheMob]

On 27/4/2024 at 5:12 PM, persephone said:

A worrying trend , too, is people buying el cheapo food , and making their own with predominantly rice..I feel dog health in general will suffer . Cats, too .

 

Sadly, increasing costs over the last decade or so seem to have impacted the quality of some midrange and premium brands, judging by ingredient lists. I worry about people feeding their dogs on rice  but I also worry about people who are shamed into spending excessive amounts on dog food (both kibble and manufactured “raw” foods) while feeding their families on pasta and rice. 
 

I spend a lot of time looking at ingredient lists provided by dog food manufacturers and, honestly, snazzy marketing, clever social marketing and price are not always good indicators of quality.

[persephone]

35 minutes ago, DogsAndTheMob said:

snazzy marketing, clever social marketing and price are not always good indicators of quality.

That's for sure !

[coneye]

Remember has a kid we always had dogs ,  they were mine so my job to feed them , and  i cannot remember anything except opening a can of pal , chappie , chum , i suppose  we were poor so they got the cheapest plus any scraps  left over .my old man would always say  good enough for us good enough for a dog , and if they turned there nose up at it  they got the same treatment has us kids ,   eat that or nothing be grateful  for what you got .Very strict  parents who really believed in the old saying s , like   get what your given ,    be thankful for what you got , ect 

Point being i can't ever remember having a sick dog ,  later on in life ALL MY DOGS , have been healthy  eating   kibble mainly ,  except for 2 boxers i had  in the good old days of cheap meat , a friday  on way home from work and pop into the abattoirs  , pick up  20 kilo or so of rump steak ,   spend a couple hrs cutting it into chunks and feed it the dogs , my mother in law used to go bunta , she thought it was sacrilige because in England where she come from , she said they could'nt afford meat ,  changed has'nt it .

 

Fast forward to now and i'm at the vets AGAIN  in a couple of hrs ,  poor dogs got  more licking paws , shaking head and    lay down feeling sorry for himself  , probably another ear infection ,  , i blame it on partly bad breeding and partly  dog food , reason i say dog food , is because  although he still gets it  , the symptoms don't come has often since i now make his food , usually  ,  3-4 veg  pumkin  / sweet potatoe  / beans / carrotts ,  and cooked roo mince  usually mix up  around 3 kilo of veg with 3 kilo cooked roo mince . . If this is a bad diet i'm  open for suggestions , he gets distictivly worse on kibble ,,

 

Personaly   i'm at wits end with this dog , he's 10 now but will definetly be the last small  dog i get if i ever get another that is , facts are  if i was to  jump back  30 years  i could'nt afford this dog ,  he's cost more in vet bills  than all my previous dogs put together

Edited May 1 by coneye

[DogsAndTheMob]

1 hour ago, coneye said:

  3-4 veg  pumkin  / sweet potatoe  / beans / carrotts ,  and cooked roo mince  usually mix up  around 3 kilo of veg with 3 kilo cooked roo mince . .

I’m no expert on raw diets but I believe that it’s important to balance the ratio of bone to muscle meat, as per these guidelines.https://perfectlyrawsome.com/raw-feeding-knowledgebase/biologically-appropriate-raw-food-barf-adult-dogs/

 

I feed my dogs human grade meat/poultry/fish in addition to their kibble instead of pet mince and other pet meats because I’ve had bad experiences with the latter. In particular, I had a border collie that was allergic to the preservatives often used in pet mince and other dog foods. He would develop horribly itchy skin within hours of being fed a food with preservatives. I discovered that most pet mince and chicken sold as pet food was loaded with preservatives to mask the fact that it wasn’t fresh.

 

For one of my favourite economy family meals, I buy a whole, raw chicken and butterfly it, cutting away the spine and rib cage to feed to the dogs. I roast the butterflied chicken on a bed of vegetables. Any leftover vegetables make a flavourful addition to the dogs’ food.

Edited May 1 by DogsAndTheMob

[tdierikx]

There may be something in the various claims by anti-commercial food proponents that commercial food is actually making our dogs/cats unwell.

 

When I was younger, most people tended to feed their dogs in particular food scraps leftover from our own meals and maybe top up with some cheap supermarket kibble or wet food. Bones were cheap or free from the butcher shop, and lamb shanks were basically considered as dog food. Dogs were maybe vaccinated regularly, but mostly not. Despite the fact that diets were not necessarily "complete and balanced", it was rare to find a dog with chronic allergies, kidney/liver issues, or any ailment other than a touch of arthritis as they got old... and generally they seemed to live to ripe old ages back then too.

 

Is anyone else concerned that our pets are seen way more often by vets for a much wider range of ailments since we started being pushed to feed them commercially prepared "complete and balanced" food?

 

Over my dog-owning years as an adult - where I've been the one making decisions about what I feed them - I've definitely noticed that my own dogs have always seemed much healthier and easier to maintain good body condition, etc, when I've fed them diets that aren't high in commercial food products. This has applied to dogs of pure/pedigreed backgrounds AND BYB crossbreeds/rescues.

 

T.

[Kazm]

Being a total novice when we got our first dog, ( over 20 years ago) we just fed him commercial tin food and dry food. Only as years went by our vet, at that time, started talking about what was really put into all the commercial stuff. Our boy got cancer at 10 and had to be given his wings. He was actually mostly a healthy boy his whole life. Although his skin was not real great. We had our girl Zena, by then and I started taking notice of what I should be feeding and doing with her. I fed her fresh food. Roo mince, chicken necks and veges and of course dry food as well.  She was a healthy girl. No skin issues and not many vet visits either. Sadly though she got cancer at 9 and was given her wings. By this time we had our current girl Molly. She’s been bought up on the same fresh food but I had changed it up to cooking her veges and adding it to her food. The only difference is that she’s never been a fan of dry food. I can give it to her, mixed with the fresh meat but definitely not every meal, and definitely not a bowl on its own. She’s been quite a healthy girl, no major issues except for developing itchy skin when she was about 6. I know it’s environmental as I can pin point the exact dates when she needs a cytopoint injection. However last  year, due to an issue my son had with his dog, I began looking at dog shampoos and I decided to change and I have since used goat soap to bathe Molly. I can honestly say she’s had less cytopoint injections. She doesn’t scratch anymore. As for her diet, it’s changed. By her choice. I bought a different roo/ beef mince mix from Petbarn as they didn’t have my usual and Molly actually refused to eat it. So I bought roo meat from elsewhere and she wasn’t fond of that either. I now buy her human mince and mix the veges with that plus some dry food and alternate that with chicken wings. All of this she goes nuts over. It’s not costing me any more and I figure if we eat it, she can eat it. And it’s just great to see her looking forward to her meals again. I don’t know why she went off the other food, she’s always been a dog that will eat anything but has decided to be a bit fussy in her older age, but she’s a very happy little girl, maintains her weight, bounces around and all is well. And it’s her 13th birthday in 11 days. 

[coneye]

 I'll try human grade meat ,  more of it less veg ,   tried pet chicken mince , couple hundred dollars  vet bills later , vet said it was no good too much bacteria giving him problems , better on cooked roo mince ,  but  human grade mince is'nt much different in price , don't really care about cost ,  vets are not cheap , i know today  before i even get there , its going to be   consult walk in door $90 ..  take swab of his ear and look at it $80  ,  antibiotics $80   steroids $80   and if he can catch me out again ,  which they will not  . ear wash  i can buy at  petbarn for $40   his charge $85 . 

 

 

[DogsAndTheMob]

2 hours ago, coneye said:

 I'll try human grade meat ,  more of it less veg ,   tried pet chicken mince , couple hundred dollars  vet bills later , vet said it was no good too much bacteria giving him problems , better on cooked roo mince ,  but  human grade mince is'nt much different in price , don't really care about cost ,  vets are not cheap , i know today  before i even get there , its going to be   consult walk in door $90 ..  take swab of his ear and look at it $80  ,  antibiotics $80   steroids $80   and if he can catch me out again ,  which they will not  . ear wash  i can buy at  petbarn for $40   his charge $85 . 

 

 

Mince of any description will contain more bacteria than larger chunks of meat from  the same source because it’s more difficult for bacteria to penetrate solid chunks of meat.. 
 

I have read that dogs are more likely to be allergic to chicken than to other types of meat. I don’t know whether that’s true or if it’s a correlation caused by other factors such as the more frequent use of chicken in dog food or the greater contamination of chicken with bacteria, preservatives and other chemicals. 

Edited May 2 by DogsAndTheMob

[batgirlbc]

I think most people are finding pet food really expensive these days. Both myself and my partner work so have always tried to feed decent pet food, but definitely feeling it financially a lot more these days than we used to. Even cans in the supermarket are around $4 these days, and I always question how healthy those brands are.

 

We've found Spudshed a good place to stock up on fresh meats, organs, meaty bones etc. Usually organs and more "yucky" stuff is reduced, so that saves money and helps keep costs down.

[persephone]

On 02/05/2024 at 7:15 AM, Kazm said:

. And it’s her 13th birthday in 11 days. 

Oh my! She is doing so well, still enjoying her camping trips etc I have never thought of her as 'old' .

[Kazm]

3 hours ago, persephone said:

Oh my! She is doing so well, still enjoying her camping trips etc I have never thought of her as 'old' .

Thanks Persephone. I know it’s off topic but yes, still enjoying her camping trips. Loves going in the car.  We went  away last weekend and friends came with their 12 month old kelpie x border collie Max. She loves him and they had a ball. Still a young one at heart 

[coneye]

When at the vet , last week , had a good chat with the vet  , he said    he's happy with his diet , this batch   mixed veg ,    and roo mince , has long has i cook the mince , which i always do  cook his meat ,   i asked if   it would be better to give human grade mince , he said no he's happy with roo provided its COOKED ,, he also suggested ,   give him a  egg once twice a week ,  which i already do ,  and every now and then poor some olive oil on his food ,  i already cook the meat in olive oil and do sprinkle a spoonfull over his food every now and then , so all in all good to know i'm on the right track .