# How much does it cost to feed your dog(s)?



## Sawyersmomma

Wow I'm jealous! Mind you I have a Spoo so he's going to eat more anyways.
I got him 8 months ago and am dealing with allergies, so I'm trying different foods out constantly. I'm on grain free Now. Which in my town is about $60 a bag. He's not a big eater, Maybe 2 cups a day (he's 27'' and only weighs 45 pounds! Don't know when he'll gain weight!)
But I buy the 25 pound bags. it *May* last a month, but generally not... SO I'm looking at $720 a year. And don't think this will be the food he stays with, which means it's only going to get more expensive  I don't know what kind of foods to try-I'm not into the raw food thing. I mean I've never tried it but I'm vegetarian and the sight of all the raw meat would probably make me sick, I'd rather stick to good quality kibble


----------



## Tink

I have 2 lowchen, I will have a poodle soon. I feed raw and make their food. It is roughly $1 per pound and they costume a total of 13 ounces a day. Total $296 per year. Not bad for all human grade food that I would eat.


----------



## Liafast

For one of my spoos it will cost about $250 a year to feed it raw meat...or about $400 per year to feed Iams (I wouldn't feed that to my dogs)


----------



## Sawyersmomma

wow, maybe I'll just have to suck it up if it'll save me that much! is a raw diet safe for a dog with allergies?


----------



## Tink

Sure, if you know what your dog is allergic to. My cost per year is based on one dog that is 15 pounds and one who is 12.5 pounds. 

I started feeding raw about 4 years ago during one of the dog food recalls. It has worked out great for our family.


----------



## Liafast

I have a spoo that is allergic to grain...raw works great for her...


----------



## faerie

i feed raw to my five dogs. it's worth it.

oh and for my 17# dogs (which are the closest I have to 8# dog) i spend about 50 cents per day. 

they get 6 oz of meat/bone/offal. i purchase ground w/bone & a blend of beef heart/liver/green tripe/other organ.

so if i had one small dog, i'd be in heaven. Right now my dog food bill is about $2k a year.


----------



## lwm1984

Ugh, I wish you hadn't made me think about this  I feed my spoo Nature's Variety pre-made raw, with some RMB's here and there. The 3lb medallion bags are around $18 on average, and contain 48oz each. My spoo eats 10oz per day, so thats $3.75 a day, $26.25 a week, $105 a month, $1,260 a year. I guess that's a lot less than a child of equal weight would cost to feed


----------



## lrkellly

I feed Sprout Acana Small Breed and he eats about 3/4 of a small bag/month. I free feed from 3/4 to 1 cup/day... @ 30$/bag.. math skills??

$270/year approximately + one large can of high quality canned food (which I vary)/week @ $4/can .... $208

Woah.. I seem to be spending a lot on food for my little 12lb guy.

$478/year unless my math is off.


----------



## annadee

lwm1984 said:


> Ugh, I wish you hadn't made me think about this  I feed my spoo Nature's Variety pre-made raw, with some RMB's here and there. The 3lb medallion bags are around $18 on average, and contain 48oz each. My spoo eats 10oz per day, so thats $3.75 a day, $26.25 a week, $105 a month, $1,260 a year. I guess that's a lot less than a child of equal weight would cost to feed


Wow, that's so much! On Fromm (at $60 for 15 kg bag) it costs about $720 a year for my big lab...


----------



## Tymaca

Liafast said:


> For one of my spoos it will cost about $250 a year to feed it raw meat...or about $400 per year to feed Iams (I wouldn't feed that to my dogs)


I was feeding my dogs raw for the last 6 months. It was so expensive. Just curious as to how it only costs you $250 a year??


----------



## Panda

I feed Panda a mix of raw and Ziwipeak. The raw alone would cost me £135 a year if I fed only the pet minces (although i buy him supermarket basics meats too) and the Ziwipeak alone would cost me £440 a year! Big difference hey! I only feed the Ziwipeak when we haven't defrosted any raw or when we are travelling with him (which we do several weekends a month for flyball).

Overall I would say I probably spend about £300-400 a year....hmm I could probably get that down but I like giving him fresh lamb from the supermarket


----------



## happybooker1

*Here in Texas we have Victor's Dog Food*

State-based, all US made. Victor Super Premium Dog Food I feed their GF red bag which is around $45/40#. It lasts us close to a month. 5 dogs: 40#Aussie/Heeler mix, 3 Shih Tzus about 12# each, and Remi @ 5#. I free feed also.

So lets say about 14 bags/year = $630. Ummmm, YIKES!


----------



## Sully's mom

We are feeding our 3 the same food, it is a grain-free, all stages food. Performatrin Ultra, a blend of turkey, duck and salmon-no artificial ingredients which helps with food sensitivities. It is $70.00 for the big bad (12kg) and lasts for about 3 weeks. So is about $1200 a year, or $100 a month for 3 dogs. About $400 per dogs per year, although the all eat different amounts, Bruiser the chihuahua gets 1cup, Peanut the dalmatian gets 2 cups and Sully our 3 month old standard gets 2 1/2 - 3 cups per day.


----------



## lunamarz_31

I have a senior (almost 11 years old), 10 pound Miniature. She eats a decent amount, not too much or too little but I make sure to feed high quality food. I feed 1/2 cup dry food (rotating between several brands) and 1/3 cup Ziwi Peak each day. Occassionally will give fresh raw meat and veggies too.

For dry food: 3.5 pounds/month = 42 pounds/year. Dry food roughly costs $2.50/pound = $105.
For Ziwi Peak: 4 bags (each bag lasts 3 months) * $30/bag = $120.
Total $225 / year = $0.62 / day.


----------



## LoveMyDogs

We feed our boys a mixture of hard kibble and soft can food. Usually we split a can in the morning between the boys and free feed them the kibble for the rest of the day. It costs about $1.50 a day for the both of them. Of course, they are small so they don't eat that much. 

Teddy, the puppy currently weighs 11.8 pounds! Pepper is full grown and he weighs about 6.5 pounds. He is a little fellow!


----------



## Lily's-Mom

This is an intersting topic. Lily is 11.8 lbs right now and I told the vet I was feeding 3/4 cup of kibble daily (turns out I was really feeding just over 1/2 cup. I have a scoop and mis-read when I measured it...) and the vet said 3/4 cup is enough for a 15 lb dog and he wanted me to keep an eye on her weight and even to bring her in to re-weigh in a few weeks to be sure that wasn't too much food for her. After I re-measured by scoop I realized she was only getting about 1/2 cup daily of kibble, so my vet will be happy  He doesn't want her to get over 12 lbs. 
I am surprised to see that some of you feed more than that for miniatures and toys.

Cost for Lily's kibble last month was approx. 75 cents per day, but this month I got it on sale so it should be about 62 cents per day


----------



## fjm

My toys are fed raw/home cooked. It averages out at around £0.18 each a day - approximately $0.27. So for two dogs that is about £130 / $200 a year - much less than a good commercial food!


----------



## Carley's Mom

I feed Carley raw. I don't know how you guys are doing it so cheap. I try to keep it at no more that $2.00 per meal... Today, I got her chicken breast for .99 a pound and was thrilled. If she eats beef or fish it cost more. My husband is a deer hunter, come this fall, Carley's diet will be mostly venison...

P.S. I do think a raw diet saves you on vet bills. Your dog is healthy and rarely has to have dental ect.


----------



## DivinityPoodles

I would love to know how you are doing it so cheap too!!!

I feed raw as well as Acana 6 fish. I spend about $250+ per month. For the most part I use chicken carcasses and a ground beef and veg mix. We also hunt so there is moose and venison and all our meaty bones and chew bones are gotten from that source. I am also not including the freeze dried food that we use when we are travelling (which has increased). YIKES!!!

Any ideas??


----------



## fjm

I'm in the UK - I can buy human grade dog minces fairly locally for around $0.80 - $1 a pound, and chicken wings and green tripe for about the same. My dogs are tiny - they only get 3 - 4 ounces each a day, so a pound of meat goes a long way! If I cook a chicken for myself, I take off the wings and bone out the rest - and that is several meals for them, or I can get 4 carcasses for a £1/$1.50. Same with other bone in meat. I suspect the trick is finding other raw feeders - I used to have to buy in bulk direct from the supplier, which meant my freezer got completely filled with dog meat. Now I pay very slightly more and get it from my local kennels, who order in what I need, and have much more storage space than I do! And they also do deals with local butchers, etc, so are constantly finding more sources of inexpensive meat and bones.


----------



## vicky2200

Dakota- 380
Ditto and Daisy ( they share food)- 480
Weegee- ?

I'm not sure how much it will cost to feed Weegee for a year yet.
About 860 for the other dogs each year.


----------



## Tink

I keep my food cost down by watching for sales at the grocery. I can find chicken leg quarters for about .49 per pound. I have an extra freezer so I can stock up when I find a good price.


----------

