Budgeting and dog food

[puppydustbin]

We've had our dog for a year, and also have two cats.

We've always fed him James Wellbeloved and the cats either that or Iams.

I've been buying it from the website in large bags whenever I have a discount code.

We really need to cut some costs. Is there a massive difference between these and cheaper brands?

The pets are eating better than us at the moment.

Sometimes cheaper food can be a false economy because you have to feed more. So when you look at prices also compare feeding guides
I tend to have about 4 months minimum stored at home just in case of supply issues so you could look at buying more when there is an offer on.
allaboutdogfood gives quality scores. I think Arden grange might be more economical for you and not sacrifice on quality, Burns and skinners are also worth a look.
I’d go for one that is available from a number of retailers hoping that most times one might have an offer on.

www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk is a good independent comparison site that allows you to compare price and nutrition

They calculate it on a per day basis rather than per gram because with a higher quality brand they need to eat less of it as it's more nutrient dense.

There's a huge difference in nutrition between different brands but it's not directly linked to price.

I really dislike all about dog food. The man who runs it has 0 qualifications and what suits one dog won’t suit another.

For what it’s worth OP I had my oldest boy on very expensive hypoallergenic diets for years and one particularly bad month financially bought a bag of DR Johns titanium.
Im sure it gets slated on various websites but my dog has never looked better. He has a gorgeous coat, firm normal poo and has stopped itching. It’s less than £20 a bag as it’s classed as working dog food so vat free.

Ive also used skinners duck and rice which again isn’t expensive but my dogs looked very well on it!

What suits one dog won't suit another.

My beagle got an upset stomach on the highest rated foods so we feed a slightly more mid-range brand (Harringtons) which seems to agree with him.

He has solid poos, a shiny coat and good teeth and has plenty of energy without being too hyper.

We buy it in bulk from their website and are on their subscription programme so it just arrives at the door every 10-12 weeks. It works out to be around £10 per week for both wet and dry (we mix together).

If you are on a budget, its always worth seeing how your dog gets on with Chappie. I know lots of dogs who thrive on it, and you could always feed it with smaller amounts of complete kibble plus suitable human leftovers

My dog has pancreatic issues, irritated by fat in food. The vet recommended Chappie (we use wet only) & my dog is thriving on it. She is small and older with arthritis so limited exercise so only eats 1 can a day and it's very economical. We tried lots of combinations before this, including Arden Grange and Cappie has proved the most suitable. Often available at Home Bargains for £15.49 for 24 cans.

Give the supermarket own brand a go - my ddog likes the Tesco one (standard not value) and it has no ill effects though he eats more of it than the expensive food so its not that different

I have a pancreatic prone diabetic and Chappie has been the best thing for him, and it's cheap as chips. My vet recommends for any dog and it's what they feed the inpatients. Most of the rest of it is fancy branding.

TBH james wellbeloved is not the best food and for its nutritional value pretty pricey. It is a very carb heavy food and generally carb dog food will be cheaper (but you may need to feed more of it) Look at the ingredients if meat is the main/first ingredients and it is not meat derivatives it will generally be a good food for most dogs.

It is up to you if your dog prefers a high protein diet or high carb food.

eg Harringtons is a very high carb food as is James Wellbeloved. Harringtons is pretty similar to JWL but cheaper similar meat content it does have beet pulp which is a very cheap filler with little nutritional value and JWL doesnt.

A high protein diet may appear more money but you will give less of it. Millies is similar price to JWL but has a higher meat content so should work out cheaper.

Chappie is always suggested on MN but it really is full of rubbish and if your dog is healthy then I really would not recommend it. If has no meat/fish in it at all only derivatives which can be pretty rubbish nutritionally. Its main igredient is "cereal" which could mean pretty much any cheap filler.

Autarky salmon or Skinner's field & trial worth a look & think both classed as working so VAT free, they are similar not high energy type

The really good thing about allabout dog food are the piecharts on all foods used and the ingredient lists.

That has to be accurate and does save a lot of time researchig food for most people.

You dont really need any qualififications in nutrition to understand that food with meat as an ingredient will be better than unnamed meat derivatives or that food containing cheap fillers is not such a nutrionally high value food to other foods.

The costing also have to be accurate so is really helpful for budgeting.

I buy Aldi's Langhams grain free biscuits and meat trays.

i think the main rule is to avoid any food which lists derivatives as an ingredient.

AADF is great for finding brands with no marketing budget but a good nutrition rating.

Of course you've got to check any food is going to be helpful for your own dog's circumstances but it is at the very least a "first sift" sort of tool.

For someone who is currently feeding Bakers, as many do, if they find AADF and act on it then the outcome for their dog is almost certainly going to be an improvement. Think of it as being some NHS healthy eating advice, not a degree in nutrition.

Like PP, I reckon Skinner's Field and Trial is bloody good value, and I've known dogs thrive on it into their teens (including one of ours). Both of mine do well on it, and there are various types at various price brackets.

You can call their free advice line too.

When we have had to budget we fed Skinners Salmon and Rice and our dogs did really well on it. Imho it’s mid-range, so not perfect, but better than some of the rubbish that’s out there.

I recently came across another pet food comparison site called Pet Food Expert which assesses foods in some extra/different ways, but has a more limited database the AADF. I found it helpful to cross reference both sites, then compare ingredients myself.

Interesting the Aldi dog tray foods like the forthglade ones come out really well on AADF.

The high meat foods look more expensive but you feed way less.

So although my dogs working Eden is £60 a 15kg bag, that bag lasts 3-4 months as he only gets 180gm a day.

It would be higher quantity for cheaper foods so works out as expensive long term.

My old boy was nearly 19 when he died a few years ago and he was on Aldi dried food mixed with Butchers. It was all he could stomach. He was in good health for a geriatric!

New dog is on Chudleys. Either Salmon or Lamb, whichever is on offer at the pet food warehouse. We buy a sack which lasts 7-8 weeks. She has it topped with yogurt/sardines/oats/steamed veggies and the occasional tin of butchers.

She looks great, the vet is happy and she enjoys her meals. A sack costs no more than £23.

I've just seen on BBC breakfast this morning that a medium sized dog costs £80pm to feed. Even though she has a natural treat once a week and dried sprats/biscuits she costs no where near that. Even with insurance included. She is 35kg.

We feed Butchers wet food, she loves it, has a super glossy coat, healthy poos and teeth. We get it at Costco in bulk so it’s even cheaper.

Thank you

He's a cocker spaniel (show not working) but is pretty active so the working food might work well for him.

I did not know that about the VAT. Thank you Mumsnet!

Dogs can fare better on cheapo food, as they're omnivores, although personally I wouldn't go down this route as its a false economy. However, cats should NOT be fed lesser quality food. A high filler/cereal, low good quality meat food can lead to urinary blockages and bladder crystals amongst other things.

Ok. Cats are on JWB dry or Iams, as vet said wet was bad for their teeth. They do get a Felix pouch now and again as a treat.

We have some Fish4Dogs food as a free trial and he seems to really like it. I think that's quite pricey though.

Fish 4 dogs calculate their working dog food as 72p per day.

My 2 little bitches have wet can of meat between them in the morning (Aldi) and kibble in the evening (Morrisons puppy food). We tried to switch them on to adult food but they prefer the smaller pieces. They are both happy on this. Cats have wet pouches from Aldi X 3 each a day and kibble but only eat it at night, despite it is put all day for them. All seem happy.

Good quality working dog food is definitely worth a try - but check your portion size! It's often fed in smaller quantities, as it has less 'filler' in it, so take care not to overfeed, or they'll get fat. I currently use Dr John's gold for 2 of mine (JRT's) and Gelert puppy for the other, as she's just 9 months, and the Gelert is wheat free. All look amazing on what they're on. As working dog food is designed for working dogs, it often has really good joint supporting ingredients, and is lower fat, to keep them healthy but lean.
I've used Chudleys in the past, too, and really liked it.
If your dog is fussy, steer away from the muesli type dog foods, as they'll pick out their favourite bits, and so won't be properly balanced.