Consumer Reports 'taming pet costs' wtf..

[MafiaPrincess]

I'm waiting to go to my EMS orientation for ride outs, and I'm ready too early. I pick up August 2011's Consumer Reports off the couch. '6 ways of taming your pet costs'. Sure..

Things like don't always take the Rx from the vet, comparison shop vets.. okay..

Their number one saver? Pet food. According to them you shouldn't 'pay a premium for premium pet food' as they got a DVM to state all pet food that meets AAFCO standards is nutritious. So they are encouraging their clientel to buy Ol Roy. WTF. Later in the article they mention 'private label brands' and include costo's food, but they list it with a bunch of no name grocery store brands...

Fantastic. I'm contemplating a complaint email. Eww. Ol Roy cause it's 34 cents a pound.

 

[AussieAshley]

That is disgusting. Even the most basic research would have shown the article writer that not all pet foods are the same. Hell its pretty much common sense.

 

[Kalyxa]

That is disgusting. Even the most basic research would have shown the article writer that not all pet foods are the same. Hell its pretty much common sense.

Especially with all the advertising lately for pet food recently that mentions ingredients and the differences between them.

I watched an episode of Till Debt Do Us Part about a couple who spent $1000 a month on their dogs yikes, mostly on unnecessary stuff, but when they were told to trim their budget to around $30 I wondered what kind of food they were feeding before and if they were being forced to turn to something cheaper.

 

[Sekah]

If you're in dire economic need I can't fault someone wanting to be able to provide the bare necessities for pets and not much else. Ol' Roy WILL keep a dog alive (at least for a few years), and if it's a choice between that and not making rent that month, well...

I know that people who are really pinching pennies should seriously consider whether they can properly care for a pet, but unfortunately life doesn't always work that way.

I would prefer if the article said "these dog foods meet your dog's minimum requirement, but not much else" and at least suggest that premium pet foods are premium for a reason.

 

[AdrianneIsabel]

My parents fed grocery store brands and table scraps and kept their pit mix alive for 19 years only to be pts from CHF. However, I feed my dogs as best I can because I can't stomach the side effects such as weepy eyes, stench, dull coats, gross poop, and so forth.

I always say though you should be what is best for your dog and your wallet.

I agree the list is misleading though.

 

[Beanie]

The problem with telling people to feed a cheaper food is that usually you end up feeding more of it. When I first got Auggie I was feeding him Nutro and going through a $15-20 bag every month... now he's on TOTW and it costs me $5 a month to feed him because he eats so very little of it. Right after I switched Auggie onto a higher quality food he actually got fat because I didn't realize he needed to eat so much less. =P
Switching to a lower quality food wouldn't help my budget at all, it would go to opposite direction.

 

[milos_mommy]

I definitely agree about the dogs eating a lot less of a high quality food, plus I'd love to see a comparison of vet bills of someone feeding Science Diet and someone feeding a premium brand food....

 

[Sit Stay]

Oh ewww - I'd email for sure!

I read an article in Chatelaine waiting for my dentist appointment about trimming vet costs. At the end they mentioned food a little bit - started by saying something about just because a food says it's organic doesn't mean it's a great food/any better so I thought they were going to shoot down all these GF and high quality foods, but then it went on to say to look at the ingredients list and make sure real meat is the first ingredient (specifically saying, too, to avoid anything with corn or a meat by-product at a first or main ingredient). I was impressed by that last bit!

 

[joce]

I think its worth an email. And the people getting the magazine are not the ones skipping meals to feed their dog anyway.


But honestly lately a lot of people that have been asking me about dog food can not afford what I feed. They probably should not have a do period I will be happy they feed them no matter what it is.

I used to subscribe just for the car stuff and I think it was pricey. Don't think the people getting it mind paying for TOTW!

 

[Moth]

I read that article too...and had the same reaction.

If I fed Menchi poor quality food she would turn into a an allergic, yeasty mess, because that is what happens to a Shar Pei on bad food and how would that save me money cause my vet bills would be through the roof

 

[Kat09Tails]

Either I'm having deja vu or I swear we had this very same topic about 2-4 months ago.

 

[MafiaPrincess]

We possibly did. Though varying mags offer similar advice. I just happened to pick it off the couch this morning.

The problem with telling people to feed a cheaper food is that usually you end up feeding more of it. When I first got Auggie I was feeding him Nutro and going through a $15-20 bag every month... now he's on TOTW and it costs me $5 a month to feed him because he eats so very little of it. Right after I switched Auggie onto a higher quality food he actually got fat because I didn't realize he needed to eat so much less. =P
Switching to a lower quality food wouldn't help my budget at all, it would go to opposite direction.

I'm trying Costco's grain free at the moment.. We were eating CORE. Even in that switch I'm having to feed more a day as the calories per cup are less. I'm still saving as the cost per bag is a lot cheaper.. but yeah.

The article compared some purina product at 2.22 a lb to ol roy pushing people at no name and ol roy as the savings were so great. I just found it disgusting that they pretty much said all dog food is equal. I'm sure some people took their advice and downgraded.

 

[AllieMackie]

I definitely agree about the dogs eating a lot less of a high quality food, plus I'd love to see a comparison of vet bills of someone feeding Science Diet and someone feeding a premium brand food....

Science Diet may not be the best comparison, since Science Diet (at least here) costs as much as a bag of Acana Grain Free. Even worse for the wallet in the long run.

 

[misfitz]

That's one of the nice things about feeding raw. I can stock up when things go on sale, like the chicken quarters I just scored for 69 cents a pound. I'm not sure about the cheap dog food, but when I was feeding Natural Balance I compared prices of the premium foods and they were around $2-3/lb.

 

[stardogs]

I had to buy Gravy Train *shudder* for our foster to help transition her - it's $10/40lbs vs $35/35lbs for Nature's Domain grain free or $24/40lbs for Kirkland but yea the recommended feeding amounts for a 20lb dog:

Gravy Train: 2.25c
Nature's Domain: 1.75c

A difference of a half cup may not seem like a ton, but when you're feeding about 2 cups a day, wow.