Dog food homemade or store bought

[oatmilklatte30]

We're (hopefully) getting a dog this year and I'm doing some research regarding budgeting what we need. Looking at the cost of dog food it is quiet expensive so with that in mind is it cheaper to make your own and can it be done or do I need other sources of nutrition for my dog too. My only experience of dogs is minding family members pets whilst they were away and all food was given to me. I know onions, garlic is a no no but I'm a bit confused. For context we're thinking Labrador thanks

Honestly? You can make your own, but it can be a lot of hassle and you'd need to be careful include everything a dog needs. I'm happy to rely on food produced by a firm that's fed a lot of dogs I know, who have lived long, active and healthy lives. I use a mid-range food which is good value and easily available as it's produced quite close to where I live.

If I was getting a Lab (and they can be utter dustbins) I'd start with whatever the breeder had them on and then transfer them to a puppy kibble produced by one of the firms specialising in food for gundogs (Skinner's, Dog and Field, etc) if they weren't already on that.

I tend to add wet food and table scraps as one is a picky eater.

We raw feed our cats and will raw feed our dog. When I've costed it it works out cheaper than premium pet food but more expensive than midrange or cheaper wet food or any type of kibble. It's a faff and you have to research to ensure you are creating a balanced diet usually adding vitamin powders.

I'd be surprised if you could make homemade food cheaper than good quality kibble. Of course if you're comparing to something like butternut box than you could probably save there. It wouldn't be for me, I'd be concerned about getting the balance right

And in overall costs of owning a dog, feeding them is not much of an expense at all. Our lab costs about 15 a week including treats/chews.

If you're already worrying about food costs, I would have a good think about whether you can afford a dog at all - they are really not cheap pets.

You also don't want to deliberately go for a low quality food as it will affect their overall health and behaviour in the long-run. Making your own food isn't as easy as it seems as you need to get the right balance of nutrients, vitamins and minerals etc.

A great website is www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/

Saw it on another thread but a super easy way to compare different foods

@Eyeofthetiggger

A great website is www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/

Saw it on another thread but a super easy way to compare different foods

The website is not run by anyone with a veterinary nutrition qualification. Many of the supposed good quality grain free foods are now being linked with the heart condition dilated cardiomyopathy. Either buy from a pet food company who employs a phd level veterinary nutritionist (not all do), or take advice from a phd level veterinary nutritionist on how to hone cook.

If you have the freezer space I would just go for butternut box.
My dog has never turned his nose up at it, smells amazing - he's just the right weight (we do 25% kibble) and his farts don't smell!!
I can't see how you could replicate for cheaper unless you have a lot of time on your hands and even more freezer space