[nagdu] Counting The Costs

Mark J. Cadigan kramc11 at gmail.com
Tue Sep 18 17:45:17 UTC 2012


Vanessa



Out of curiosity, how much do you spend for a bag? And how long will a bag 
last? How much do you feed a day?



I am feeding origin regional red, and over the last 4 months, I have had a 
wonderful experience with the product.



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Vanessa Lowery" <vlowery at dhr.state.md.us>
To: "the National Association of Guide Dog Users NAGDU Mailing List" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2012 1:39 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Counting The Costs


Grain-free.  But you have to do some research, asking handlers how a given 
grain-free dog food works for their dog.  For instance, I was feeding 
Griffin Inova Evo, and it worked great for awhile.  But the company that 
makes Evo was bought out, and the formula must have been changed, because 
Griffin's stools started going south on me.  So I checked wht the person who 
had originally recommended Evo to me.  She had experienced the same problem 
and had switched to Great Life Buffalo formula.  Happy day, the stools 
straightened out.  There are probably many grain-free dog foods, so there is 
no way to know which one woudl work best with a give dog.  There may even 
come a time when the current food Griffin is on stops working, but I sure 
hope not.  It is pricey, but I like it.



Vanessa Lowery, LGSW
Adult and Community Services Division
Adult Services Screening Unit
410-853-3550
VLowery at dhr.state.md.us


>>> Sarah <coastergirl92 at gmail.com> 9/18/2012 1:10 PM >>>
What kind of food is the best to feed your dogs to make their
poop more firm?

 ----- Original Message -----
From: "Vanessa Lowery" <vlowery at dhr.state.md.us
To: "the National Association of Guide Dog Users NAGDU Mailing
List" <nagdu at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Tue, 18 Sep 2012 09:30:44 -0400
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Counting The Costs

I don't have a dog that is as large as Mark's, but I also feed a
more expensive food because I want nicely firm stools.  I get
that with the Great Life Buffalo formula.  Yes, it is more
expensive, but it lasts about four or five weeks, and it is the
closest to being a raw diet without the time needed to purchase
and prepare a raw diet.

So some of the cost associated whit food is going to vary from
handler to handler.  I have ordered Great Life from two different
vendors, and the price did not vary much.

I use PetCo for a bath for Griffin about once or twice a year,
and it has usually been about $40.00.  I sometimes have them trim
his nails, and that runs about $10.00.  I also clip his nails
myself.

Toy prices are going to vary, depending on where you buy them.  I
try to get the Cuz balls and Ruffian toys because it takes
Griffin longer to destroy them.  Actually, the two oarge Cuz
balls are still in good shape.  Both are the Bad Cuz Balls (with
the pointy ears), an donly one of them has lost an ear.  The
Ruffians don't ahve quite as long of a life in the jaws of
Griffin, but they hold up for a number of months.

Vet care is going to vary based on, in part, the dog's age.
Griffin is almost ten, and he does have a chronic medical
problem, so his care is slightly more expensive.  However, my vet
does give a discount on some things.



Vanessa Lowery, LGSW
Adult and Community Services Division
Adult Services Screening Unit
410-853-3550
VLowery at dhr.state.md.us


 "Mark J.  Cadigan" <kramc11 at gmail.com> 9/17/2012 6:57 PM
Cindy,



I wish I could use an inexpensive dog food, however, doing so
results in my
dog's waste product being the consistency of mashed potatoes at
best, and
pea soup at worst.  Although this food is expensive, my dog
appears to be
healthy, happy, full of energy, and is consistently dropping firm
easy to
pick up, baseball sized nuggets.  Because this food has no
fillers, if you
have a smaller dog, perhaps the food could last you longer,
because you
would have to feed a lot less.  I feed my dog just shy of 3 cups
a day.



Also, on principle, I don't want to feed my dog a product full of
hard to
digest fillers, and other chemicals.  Although it is impossible
to avoid all
fillers and chemicals unless you feed your dog a raw diet
organically razed
on local farms, this is the next best thing I could find without
sacrificing
the convenience of a dry food.



----- Original Message -----
From: "Cindy Ray" <cindyray at gmail.com
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog
Users"
<nagdu at nfbnet.org
Sent: Monday, September 17, 2012 5:14 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Counting The Costs


 Mark, glad you brought up the size of your dog.  And, of course,
the dog
 food is a huge factor.  If you use some of the other dog foods
that are
 commonly used by those of us who feel our dogs are good with
that, and
 sometimes all of the dogs aren't, you are spending about twice
as much or
 more.  I'm feeding three dogs, but we still go through a bag of
food in
 about a month.  So, as Mark says, there is a variation.
Heartworm and flea
 preventive are the most expensive part I think, and you usually
get them
 in three to six month packages.  Well, don't know about the
spray.
 CL

 On Sep 17, 2012, at 3:48 PM, Mark J.  Cadigan wrote:

 Perhaps I am insane, however, my dog costs around $150+ a month.
However,
 I do feed my dog an organic dog food that runs around $85 a bag.
He eats
 a bag every 5 weeks.



 I am feeding him origin regional red.

 I give him hart guard for heartworm once a month,

 Use a topical flea and tick control spray called buddy spray

 I take him to a do it yourself grooming place once a month cost
only $15!

 For training treats and whatnot I feed him organic dried venison
strips

 He shreds toys, so I end up getting a new one every month or so.



 So, you can see how the price can add up quickly.



 BTW I have an 80lb shepherd.




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