Running costs - of a dog?

[madbadger]

Digga said:

bexVN said:

Digga said:

bexVN said:

siwil1 said:

madbadger said:

Ben Hughes said:

itsnotarace said:

GTO Scott said:

What food do the dog owners of PH recommend?

Barking Heads

http://www.barkingheads.co.uk/

Otherwise Burns, Royal Canin or James Wellbeloved.

On no account feed it Bakers Complete because it's full of crap and sugar. The meat content is 3% chicken fat lol

+1 for the Burns.

Roo is on burns too. Keeps her fit.

~£40 for 15kg @ 250g a day so about 60p a portion. Cheaper food is available but it can be full of ste. Check the ash content of some foods as well as sugar.

We have just switched from Burns to James wellbeloved as we found our Pointer wasnt bulking up as he should which after a few conversations with Vet, Breeder and food supplier rang true because Burns is so pure that its hard for well exercised dogs to gain weight with it, He is now Blossoming on wellbeloved but would recommend either as quality foods.

Burns tends to be too low in protein for working/ high exercised dogs. James is ok not my favourite choice though.

Swapped our dogs to James welbeloved from IAMS last year. They seem to like it and it's more convenient for me to buy, especially when they do 20kgs for the price of 18ks which saves money and gives us a few days longer between fill ups. What's up with JW stuff?

Personal really, used to be happy to recommend but my dog really didn't do well on it, he had terrible wind (it was horrendous!) and just didn't suit him, known of other owners report the same problem with their dogs so just went off it as a result.

Many dogs do well on it and that's fine, I would not say don't feed it to your dog but just isn't my first line choice.

Hard to know with our pair.

They guff pretty much all the time, whatever we feed them. Then there's what they eat that they 'find' themselves, acorns, apples, deer poo....

I actually find the wind useful, mostly. It's a very good cloaking device for my own emissions.

Thanks for the info though.

Roo had wind when we tried her on Iams and JWB. Not a problem normally.

[bexVN]

madbadger said:

Digga said:

bexVN said:

Digga said:

bexVN said:

siwil1 said:

madbadger said:

Ben Hughes said:

itsnotarace said:

GTO Scott said:

What food do the dog owners of PH recommend?

Barking Heads

http://www.barkingheads.co.uk/

Otherwise Burns, Royal Canin or James Wellbeloved.

On no account feed it Bakers Complete because it's full of crap and sugar. The meat content is 3% chicken fat lol

+1 for the Burns.

Roo is on burns too. Keeps her fit.

~£40 for 15kg @ 250g a day so about 60p a portion. Cheaper food is available but it can be full of ste. Check the ash content of some foods as well as sugar.

We have just switched from Burns to James wellbeloved as we found our Pointer wasnt bulking up as he should which after a few conversations with Vet, Breeder and food supplier rang true because Burns is so pure that its hard for well exercised dogs to gain weight with it, He is now Blossoming on wellbeloved but would recommend either as quality foods.

Burns tends to be too low in protein for working/ high exercised dogs. James is ok not my favourite choice though.

Swapped our dogs to James welbeloved from IAMS last year. They seem to like it and it's more convenient for me to buy, especially when they do 20kgs for the price of 18ks which saves money and gives us a few days longer between fill ups. What's up with JW stuff?

Personal really, used to be happy to recommend but my dog really didn't do well on it, he had terrible wind (it was horrendous!) and just didn't suit him, known of other owners report the same problem with their dogs so just went off it as a result.

Many dogs do well on it and that's fine, I would not say don't feed it to your dog but just isn't my first line choice.

Hard to know with our pair.

They guff pretty much all the time, whatever we feed them. Then there's what they eat that they 'find' themselves, acorns, apples, deer poo....

I actually find the wind useful, mostly. It's a very good cloaking device for my own emissions.

Thanks for the info though.

Roo had wind when we tried her on Iams and JWB. Not a problem normally.

I knew we had to do something about it when even my hubby and his mates started to moan about the smell , it had to be bad!. He's on Purina Pro Plan and never been a problem since (except if he ever gets a schmacko treat, which are also now banned!)

[Gooby]

I think too many people are concentrating on the financial running costs of a dog. To be honest this is the smallest part of dog ownership. The investment in time and love is far greater and skimping on either is disasterous for a dog.
All figures are dependent on the breed and the dogs attitude but my "investment" apart from food, vets, toys, chews, medicines, boosters, insurance, beds, etc etc is a minimum of an hour a day walking / excercising the dog.

At weekends they get a further 4-5 hours time of long walks. Dogs are a pack animal and you will be the head of thier pack so there is training time and then just time sharing each others company, I get cuddles if I sit down to watch TV and all this strengthens the social bond and is very important to a dog. You simply cant buy a dog and throw it in the back garden on its own. Most breeds will go crazy if you are out the house at work for 8-10 hours and get minimal interaction when you are home.

[Mr Roper]

^^^

I agree wholeheartedly but the op did ask to know how much it costs to keep a dog in actual money.£££

[bexVN]

Plus, finding out costs is being responsible, if you know you can commit time that's great but it's no good if you couldn't afford to i.e. feed it.

[Gooby]

Though I agree that being responsible about the costs is important, it is a far bigger commitment in time and emotions.

[Adz The Rat]

We cant have a dog as we are in a rented house but would love one, will do as soon as we are allowed.

Bit of an eye opener this thread, some of the dogs mentioned in here cost as much to run as a horse!

[GTO Scott]

Well, I suppose in around an hour or so i'll be able to put the advice in this thread to the test, when I collect my new Labrador puppy

We'll start feeding him on 'Gusto' puppy food (this is what he is currently on at the breeder's house, seems to be available from the same outlets as the large sacks of Royal Canin or James Wellbeloved) and maybe switch to RC or JW in a few months.

[DBSV8]

Bonza our 90kg Caucasian Ovcharka ..........

15kg sack of pedigree biscuits = 1000 ru or 20 quid lasts a week
1kg meat per day = free from the work canteen

extras ............any scroats that ignore the warning sign and stray into his territory








feeding left overs

Edited by DBSV8 on Tuesday 2nd November 06:59

[WorAl]

GTO Scott said:

Well, I suppose in around an hour or so i'll be able to put the advice in this thread to the test, when I collect my new Labrador puppy

We'll start feeding him on 'Gusto' puppy food (this is what he is currently on at the breeder's house, seems to be available from the same outlets as the large sacks of Royal Canin or James Wellbeloved) and maybe switch to RC or JW in a few months.

Brilliant you'll have some of the best times in your life with the little fella. I can't wait to get another, going to wait until the year is out first though.

[DBSV8]

Paddy_N_Murphy said:

DBSV8 said:

Bonza our 90kg Caucasian Ovcharka ..........

Now that IS a Dog :thumbsup:

Who, what, where ???

Bonza , Caucasian Ovcharka , Western Siberia .............he's a bit of a beast at 90kg ,
hates strangers , loves the family and the cats


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucasian_Shepherd_Do...

Edited by DBSV8 on Tuesday 2nd November 11:44

Edited by DBSV8 on Wednesday 24th November 10:01