Feed grain

Many dog owners who provide their pets with homemade diets (especially raw foods) fail to include sufficient grain content. This is often prudent, since excessive grain intake contributes to obesity, tissue inflammation, and obesity. It has even been found to cause seizures in many dogs. Grains do not present problems for all canine pets, however. Indeed, grain is a great source of cheap calories. For healthy dogs that do not exhibit allergic reactions to grain, there is no legitimate reason to omit them from their diet.  Among the more healthy grain types are: rice (especially the brown variety); barley, millet, oatmeal, and quinoa.  Be sure that starchy vegetables and grain does not comprise more than half of your dog’s entire diet. Also, any starchy food must be cooked completely at a sufficiently high temperature for optimal animal digestibility.

Get a freezer

Stocking up during sales by buying bulk quantities of quality foods for your dog is probably the best way an owner can save substantial sums on meat purchases. This approach also requires having access to appropriate storage facilities, however. Get a separate freezer within which to store your pet’s victuals holds out much value by allowing you to avoid stuffing your dog’s food alongside your own inside cramped cold quarters. Adequate freezers need not be expensive. We located a 5.5 cubic foot freezer with up to 175-pound food storage capacity for less than $200 USD. This was its regular list price – absent any special discount or sale. It is best to buy the biggest freezer you believe you will ever need, as they fill quite quickly. Although chest freezers are roomier, upright models make finding desired item(s) much easier. Be sure that food is clearly labeled before freezing. The date of initial freezing should be conspicuously indicated along with the type of food inside a frozen package. This makes it easy to keep track of what you have and when to feed it to your dog, thereby minimizing waste. Many quality used freezers are available on craigslist.org and other local area listing sites if a new model is out of your budget.

Get in good with local grocers

Frugal pet owners should make friends with local grocery store managers willing to provide heads up about upcoming sales and disposal of meat products that have passed their “sell by” dates. Produce managers may also keep you informed about fresh fruits and vegetables that offer great value when purchased just prior to being thrown away. Cartons containing broken eggs are also excellent buys.

Ethnic markets are also excellent sources of novel and “exotic” pet food parts. Farmer’s markets are full of fresh, local produce. Be sure to inquire about impending discards just before the business day ends.

Use Coupons extensively

Visit reputable virtual dog food ratings venues to glean the names of good brands. Then conduct “clinical studies” with your dog. After identifying favored brands and flavors, look for corresponding coupons online. They appear throughout Cyberspace more frequently than you might think.

Organic is optional

Although organic foods are wonderful, regular supermarket foods can be just as healthy as organic as viable alternative to processed foods.

Mix & match

Those with limited time and/or cash can still enhance their dog’s overall health and nutritional dietary value by supplementing commercial pet foods or 1-2 weekly meals of entirely “home grown” genre.  Human leftovers are another optimal source of good dog diet supplements that won’t drain your pocket.