Is homemade or ready-made food(those you find at the pet shop)cheaper(for dogs)?

Question

just wanna know...so that i can decide on whether to make or buy food for my dogs...in future(i know i asked this question before but only got one answer and (had no choice but to)choose that answer as the best answer...it was quite good though but i knew i could get better answers than that...so...i asked again(maybe this question has not much of a certain answer so not many people answer) )

Answer 1

HI, I MADE DOGFOOD FOR MY DOG FOR A YEAR, IT WAS A LOT OF WORK AND SORT OF SPENDY PLUS I WASN'T SURE IF SHE WAS GETTING PROPER NUTRITION, SO I BOUGHT DOG VITAMINS. AFTER A YEAR OF THIS I WENT BACK TO REGULAR DOG FOOD BUT I HAVE BEEN BUYING TOP OF THE LINE. BE SURE TO CHECK THE INGREDIENTS IF YOU BUT DOG FOOD.IT SHOULD HAVE FLAX IN IT AND NO BEET FIBER AS SOME FOODS USE THIS AS A FILLER.I LIKE THE MERRICK BRAND DRY DOG FOODS AND SO DOES MY DOG. HOPE THIS HELPS.

Answer 2

Often, it depends on what kinds of resources you have in your area.  I know some folks who feed raw/homecooked, who also live in areas where the cost of meat is cheaper and it's possible to find VERY good deals from local butchers, farmers, hunters, even folks with "extra meat" in the freezer that they're wanting to give away.  

I've just recently moved to such an area (S. Dakota) and after living in the suburbs of central Florida all my life, it is easy to see the major difference in cost, if I were to feed raw.  We have small butcher shops where the butchers actually purchase and process whole sides of beef, whole chickens and thus they have access to bones, organs, and any cut of meat you can ask for.  If you buy in bulk, they will work special deals with you.  

Here, I have neighbors who will often team up with 2-3 other families and split the cost of purchasing & processing a single cow.  1/4 cow will feed a family of 4 for almost a year....and often times, you find people around here ready to buy a new cow for the year, with a freezer with remaining bits of year-old meat that they really don't want to eat (tastes freezerburnt, whatever)...and they are MORE than happy to give it away for free!  The meat may not taste great to people, but it's just fine for dogs.  

Plus, many of my neighbors are avid hunters, and once you know folks it's not hard to get them to save you raw bones, organs, and unwanted cuts of meat from a deer or elk.  Often this is free, too, since they were just going to throw it away, anyhow.  Small game hunters can be persuaded to share an extra bird, rabbit or two in exchange for a favor or for a minimal amount of money.  And it's also easy to raise your OWN animals if you're in a rural area- not everyone can keep pigs and cows, but most folks can have a few ducks and chickens, maybe a goat or two, and supplement the diet with fresh eggs, goat's milk and occasionally meat.  

In the suburbs or city, you're less likely to find hunters, farmers, and small-town butcher shops.  You've got easy access to grocery stores and Wal-Marts, but you won't usually find chicken backs, organ meats and raw meaty bones....which are the staples of most any home made diets.  Suburban grocery stores no longer process whole sides of beef- much of it is processed at the meat plant and all of the typical 'cuts' are trucked to the store, ready-made.  You may find some good deals buying in bulk, but you'll likely end up spending just as much- if not more- than purchasing a good quality commercial food (Canidae, Innova, Merrick, etc).  

So, check around you.  See if you can find a small butcher shop.  See if any of your friends or neighbors hunt.  See how close the nearest cattle farmer lives.  See if you can find farm-fresh chickens and eggs.  If you can use resources other than the local grocery store, you will save substantial money over feeding a commercial diet.  But the more you have to rely on grocery stores, the higher the overall cost may be.  

Answer 3

I started to cook for my dog because it was actually less expensive than buying good quality canned food for her. I just did some comparison shopping and tried to buy meat when it was on sale and then keep it in the freezer if I didn't need it right away.

Cooking for her probably would have been a bit more expensive than buying good quality kibble (which she wouldn't eat any more); I never did a price comparison on that.

Keep in mind the possible health benefits down the road of a homemade diet. This will translate to fewer medical costs in the long run. An excellent payoff, as far as I'm concerned.

Answer 4

I think that making your own dog food is fine if you know what you are doing,You need to add there vitamins and minerals to the food , so I think in the long run you are better off buying a good brand of dog food at Petsmart or petco. My dogs love the brand Nutro. No Wheat, corn. Money wise I think it would be cheaper to buy your food. Have you looked at the prices of vitamins?And then you also have to add your time.Hope I was of some help to you.

Answer 5

For dog treats I think that they are more tasty for the dog if you make them by hand. However, I think that for everyday food ready made dog food would be cheaper. There are a couple dog treat cookbooks that you can buy, but I wouldn't give a lot of them to your dog in a day, because they can have too much fat or whatever in them.

Raw diets can be cheaper.