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  #1  
Old April 7th, 2005, 10:44 PM
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jiorji jiorji is offline
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dog eating habits...how much is required?

sigh......still on my quest to research about a dog and figure out how much it'll cost me.


I can't find any information on this online. At times i think the internet is just useless.

so anyways, fo those of you who do have dogs, how much do you spend on your medium or large size dog in food per month?
for example how much would a lab or german shepherd eat as opposed to a sheltie or a cocker spaniel?

if my future doggie child eats as much as my piggy then i'm doomed!! doggie better get used to celery LOL
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  #2  
Old April 7th, 2005, 11:29 PM
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Lissa Lissa is offline
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Hi there,

I own an American Foxhound, my boy is still a puppy (10 months) and right now he is on Royal Canin Maxi and Royal Canin Natural Blend...if I buy the 7lbs bags and mix them together it usually last me a month (a month and half now that he is strating to eat less!!) It costs me around $40 month, unless I buy the larger bags which will last 2 1/2-3 months for about $90. Of course it all depends on if you want your dog on wet food or a different brand but that's about how much it is for me!

I plan to switch to the raw food once his an adult and I can ensure he's getting a balanced diet (I may supplement with Natural Balance if necessary). I had my old dog on raw food and it actually saved me money because she didn't eat as much and was much healthier.

Lissa
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  #3  
Old April 8th, 2005, 09:27 AM
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coppperbelle coppperbelle is offline
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cost of dog food

The reason you can't find the answer on the internet is because there is really no specific answer.
The cost of dog food will depend on what kind of food you decide to feed.
I saw a bag of Ol Roy dog food at WalMart the other day for less than $14.00. It was a huge bag and would probably last a mediium/large dog two months. It is of course one of the cheapest foods on the market and has basic nutritional value. You will also need to feed more to satisfy the dogs needs. Your dogs poops will also be reflected by the fact that they are eating mostly grains.
On the other hand I feed Solid Gold, Wolf King dog food to my dogs. A 30 lb. bag costs $72.00 plus tax and lasts approximately a month. It is a better quality food, not full of fillers and it not necessary to feed as much to satisfy the dogs needs. Their poops are smaller as they retain more.
I have given you an example of both extremes. There are many foods available in the mid price range as well that your dog will do well on.
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Old April 8th, 2005, 09:41 AM
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Gripenfelter Gripenfelter is offline
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My pup is 61 lbs and its costs me about $40 a month plus treats $10.
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  #5  
Old April 8th, 2005, 09:48 AM
SarahLynn123 SarahLynn123 is offline
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I have a Cockerspaniel x and a German Shephard x. My Cockerpaniel eats so little we dont even calculate her food into our bill. When it was just her she was on nutro max. The smallest bag was about $15 and would last 2-3 months. For canned food she ate about $5 evey 2 weeks. Very cheap to feed! The German Shephard X is a different story. They are both on a special diet now so good regular food is less expensive then this. For both dogs the biggest bag of dry food is about $75 which is suppose to last about 2 months. Between the 2 they usually also get 1 large can of canned a day at just less then $2 a can.
Hope this helps!
Sarah
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  #6  
Old April 8th, 2005, 09:52 AM
Trinitie Trinitie is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gripenfelter
My pup is 61 lbs
Wow, already? When are you going to post the latest pics in the picture forums????
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  #7  
Old April 8th, 2005, 09:56 AM
Eleni Eleni is offline
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I think its tough to judge waht a dog eats really, or what a dog will eat, it depends on as others said the type of food, their weight their apetite, metabolism, all of that

I know my sammy eats about 3 cups a day of nutrience puppy for medium breed dogs.

and 3 or so cookies

I woudlnt say hes expensive to feed but hes jsut a 12lb pup as well

Eleni
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  #8  
Old April 8th, 2005, 10:05 AM
Lucky Rescue Lucky Rescue is offline
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You can read the instructions on the bags of food to see around how much your dog will eat. Depends on his age, size, activity level and the quality of the food.

You will have to feed much more a of cheap food because it's not digestible and is low in nutrients.

My dog is 75lbs and costs about 30$ a month to feed. She gets Wellness and eats 2 cups a day.
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  #9  
Old April 8th, 2005, 10:11 AM
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this doesn't sound so bad. My mom's friend used to have a doberman. She made it sound like he was putting a dent in their bank account lol

same with my mom's other friend who owns a golden retreiver.
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  #10  
Old April 8th, 2005, 12:43 PM
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Gripenfelter Gripenfelter is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Trinitie
Wow, already? When are you going to post the latest pics in the picture forums????
lol

I update his homepage in my signature all the time with new pics
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  #11  
Old April 8th, 2005, 12:57 PM
kandy kandy is offline
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Feed decent brand of food

According to the contract we signed with the breeder, we feed our newf pup Pedigree puppy food. He eats about 4 to 6 cups a day and a 20lb sack costs about $16 (US). He also gets milk bones, pig ears, etc. Our last newf (who died of renal failure at 18 mo :sad: ) ate about 4 cups per day so a 20 lb sack of food for her would last about two weeks or so. So I think that total I was spending about $50 or so a month for her food and treats. I think the pup will eat more because he'll be alot more active.

I definitely would not feed my dog "ol roy" dog food, or any other cheap brand. We fed that to our coyote dog and a stray we adopted (I think she was part Corgi) and the coyote did fine, but the corgi got fat. The cheap ones just seem to have more filler and fat than anything else.

I agree that the price varies greatly on what kind of food and how much. We had to put the corgi on a diet and the vet recommended Science diet - she lost weight but at $26 for a 10 lb bag - liposuction might have been cheaper
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Old April 8th, 2005, 01:04 PM
Eleni Eleni is offline
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why pedigree?

out of curiosity, ive heard many high quality foods mentioned here, never personally thought pedigree was one

in this website i found it says corn as one of the first ingredients, wich i thought was a good idea to avoid, did the breeders have a contract with pedigree or soemthing?

http://www.feedmypet.com/dog-food-comparison.html
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  #13  
Old April 8th, 2005, 01:06 PM
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I spent about $50 per month ($37 on large bag of high quality food, and the rest on treats for training). Our dog is a medium dog (English bulldog-51 lbs) and eats about 2.5 cups per day of food.
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  #14  
Old April 8th, 2005, 01:09 PM
Lucky Rescue Lucky Rescue is offline
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Quote:
According to the contract we signed with the breeder, we feed our newf pup Pedigree puppy food. He eats about 4 to 6 cups a day and a 20lb sack costs about $16 (US). He also gets milk bones, pig ears, etc.
Pedigree is one of the worst and cheapest foods you can give your dog, and I am shocked at a breeder who would recommend this. I guess it's quantity over quality. Milk Bones are garbage as well. I would never feed my dog either.
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  #15  
Old April 8th, 2005, 06:17 PM
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Writing4Fun Writing4Fun is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LuckyRescue
My dog is 75lbs and costs about 30$ a month to feed. She gets Wellness and eats 2 cups a day.
You're lucky, LR. Phoebe is only about 45lbs (going to her 1 yr checkup soon, so we'll know exactly how much she weighs then). She's on Wellness as well and she eats the same amount as your dog. She's not overweight, either - nice waist-line (grumble, grumble - never thought I'd be jealous of my dog's waist-line! ). My sister's dog is about 75lbs, on Wellness as well, and he eats twice as much as Phoebe and your pup. If you ever met him, you'd think he was malnourished. You can feel his spine and hip bones no problem. But the vet said he's fine - she said he has a Collie bone structure. And he's a complete sloth, too. I guess he's just like those girls in high school who could eat anything, never exercise and never gain an ounce.
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  #16  
Old April 8th, 2005, 06:43 PM
Prin Prin is offline
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I have a 62 lb lab/husky and a 96lb newf pointer mix. Both are pretty active. The little one gets 2.5 cups in all a day and the big guy gets 3.5 cups a day of solid gold wolf king. The food is $67/33lbs and it lasts us about 3 weeks. If you double it, a month and a half for one big dog.

The problem is, the cheaper the food, the more you feed and the more you pay in vet bills and the more unhealthy your pet is. More expensive food- they eat less, are more active, more healthy, less allergies, and less vet bills.

Smaller, active dogs usually have a faster metabolism so you don't really end up saving too much money on food compared to a medium sized dog.
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  #17  
Old April 8th, 2005, 07:00 PM
Safyre Safyre is offline
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Right now, we have Justice on a reduced diet, only 1 1/2 cups per day. She is 5 inches at the shoulders, so she is what I would call a medium dog. She is a high energy dog as well.
She is currently on Iams Lamb and Rice Formula, one of the only we could find that she doesn't have an allergic reaction to. Shortly, we will be trying to put her back on to Canusa Adult Formula, the serving size will be the same. She is currently 3-5 lbs overweight, so she will be going back to 2 cups a day when she reaches the correct weight.
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  #18  
Old April 8th, 2005, 10:21 PM
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jiorji jiorji is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Prin
Smaller, active dogs usually have a faster metabolism so you don't really end up saving too much money on food compared to a medium sized dog.

that's interesting. I didn't know that. thanks
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  #19  
Old April 9th, 2005, 01:52 AM
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mafiaprincess mafiaprincess is offline
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Pedigree is really low quality food...

I feed 2 cups a day to our 17 pound cocker spaniel of nutro max puppy.
The tiny bag is like 8 bucks, but I don't remember what we paid for a normal sized bag.
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  #20  
Old April 9th, 2005, 01:07 PM
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Cactus Flower Cactus Flower is offline
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I'd quote what I pay for dog food, but it would be American dollars, so not a very accurate gage for you.

I have a great dane and a finnish spitz. I am always getting comments about the dane: "Wow, you must have to take out a second mortgage to feed that dog!". Actually, she doesn't eat any more than my pitX did. And my spitz eats very little but thrives nonetheless. I think they need less because I have them on high quality dog food, which satisfies them better.

With respect to the posters who mentioned them- please do not feed your future dog Ol Roy or Pedigree. Ol Roy really has no nutritional value, and my vet says about Pedigree: "If you're feeding your dog Pedigree, you're either starving it or bloating it". Fillers do not equal nutrition, which will not equal good health for your dog. You'll make up for the low cost food in vet bills, and then some.

Something I urge you to think about, since you are concerned about the cost of feeding a dog- no matter what breed you get, there is always the chance of health problems/allergies that would result in having to put the dog on a special diet that might be more expensive. I pay MUCH more for a vegetarian dog food for my dane, since she is allergic to meat protein. Some dogs have kidney problems and require special food for that. There are many examples that I could cite, but I think you get the idea. These kinds of problems can arise long after you've adopted your dog.

I applaud you for doing your research, and I hope that this issue about food cost is just for preparedness, rather than a question of affordability- as many would say that if you're not sure you can afford the food, you can't afford all of the other costs of responsible pet ownership. You've not given this impression in your post, just trying to cover all angles (please don't be offended).
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