How Much Does It Cost To Feed A Dog?

You’ve decided to adopt a dog, but you still have questions like the cost of food. We are going to try to take stock of the cost that a dog can represent over a year.

Your Dog’s diet?

First of all, let us remember that the dog is an animal with a carnivorous diet. Carnivore does not mean that it should be fed only with meat, but animal protein constitutes the largest part of its diet. However, with its pet lifestyle that evolves in contact with humans, the dog tends to become an opportunistic omnivore taking advantage of the remains (meat or plants) of its owners.

There are several ways to feed your dog:

• The processed foods
• The household rations
• The mix of two models: industrial and homemade.

Both industrial rations and household rations have advantages and disadvantages?

Advantages and disadvantages of processed foods

There are a lot of processed foods on the pet market, and it’s hard to choose. The price is generally a guarantee of the quality of the croquettes or boxes. Favor ” premium ” quality foods that meet a certain number of requirements as to the origin of the raw materials.

Industrial foods have been developed to meet the exact needs of your dog when It needs it; we thus find the dog food growing, adult, adult neutered, senior.

Advantages and disadvantages of household rations

Home-made is also a trend among pets. A diet consisting of 1/3 meat, 1/3 starch, and 1/3 vegetable is not so valid, it is a little more complicated. We must also think about adding minerals, vitamins… Balancing a dog’s diet is not easy. Talk to your veterinarian who will help you calculate a household ratio appropriate for the age and size of your dog.

You should also be aware that preparing food for your dog every day represents a lot of time and also money.

Think about the volume that you also have to take the time to prepare, if it is true that for a small dog it remains relatively easy, think twice before embarking on a household ration for a dog of 30 pounds (about 200 g of meat, 200g of rice, and 500g of zucchini for example + mineral supplement and oil).

How Much Does It Cost?

The croquettes even very high end are the best quality/price ratio. The average cost varies between 250 $ for a dog weighing 10 kgs and 800 dollars for a dog weighing 60 pounds, but this average cost can quickly increase if your dog follows a special diet (due to an illness for example), and reach 1300 dollars for a dog weighing around 60 pounds.

The most expensive foods are cool boxes and sachets, but they are often preferred by dogs because of their palatability. The average cost for a small dog fed exclusively this way is around 600 dollars, and that for a large dog easily reaches 1800 dollars. For these foods, the cost increases if the diet is disease-specific.

The household ration is the compromise of kibbles and boxes, at least from the point of view of cost. A small dog represents a budget of around 250 dollars and a large dog around 1700 dollars. Here too, everything will depend on the quality of the raw materials you choose (organic, sustainable agriculture, etc.).

summary

Household ration against industrial food, the choice is hard to make. If you do decide to go a little of both, be careful not to overfeed your dog or risk It gaining weight.