I Can't Think Of A Catchy Title For This Boring Blog Post

I pretty much live in  a zoo here. I'm not impuning the behaviour of the humans I live with ..although they can also be pretty gross. For example my daughter has a nose ring. Apparently that entitles you to pick your nose whenever you like. In addition let me just say that seeing the hilarity in farting and burping is not limited to 4 year olds. At least thats the way my house rolls.

I'm talking about the level of animal co-habitation at our place.  We have two dogs and two cats and a blue tongue lizard that lives in our yard. We also have assorted wild birds that feed at our place daily. Apparently word has got around the feathered community that there's a free smorgasbord going down at the Pyjama's house.

Given the level of animal feeding that goes on here , I buy all our animal food in bulk at the local "Buy BIG bags of cat and dog food Here" store once every couple of months. Bear in mind that I'm buying 90 pounds of dog food and 40 pounds of cat food at a time. Nobody bats an eyelash.

This week I discovered I could buy it cheaper at the local supermarket when it's on sale. And on sale it was!

Let me paint a mental picture for you. Set the scene as it were. At the local grocery store civilised people (who own pomeranians and other assorted small-ish type dogs ) buy 15 pound bags of dog food and a box of cat food and apparently it lasts them about a year. You can't get bags bigger than 15 pounds  because if you need more than that  for the lifetime of your pet  there is an unwritten law that says Thou Wilt shop at the "Buy BIG bags of cat and dog food Here" store.

Now picture me at the local grocery store tonight then with a trolley loaded with 90 pounds of dog food and 26 pounds of  cat food. ( I couldn't fit the extra 14 pounds of cat food in the trolley - I'm gonna have to go back ) EVERYONE was looking at me like I was the Crazy Cat Lady from the Simpson's. Or Cruella De Vil . Take your pick.

Smart arse checkout chick says to me with a smirk "This'll keep you going for a while then" to which I replied "Love, this is about 6 weeks worth " . I'm fairly sure she thought I was joking.

I stomped off before she had a chance to reply. Hey I saved $11.62 for the next 6 weeks. It was worth the minor embarrassment.

Frugal Savings - Pets

We're big on animals in this house. To us they're part of the family. We have four pets (not including the free loading blue tongue lizard that lives in various places in the backyard )

Our German shorthaired Pointers, Indiana Bones and Lola Daisy eat a lot because they are large dogs. Mordecai our ginger cat is also a big cat. (See the theme here - we like BIG) Moo is our anomaly. We got her as a kitten and she never really grew much. What she lacks in stature she makes up for in attitude. You don't want to mess with this cat.

Feeding four companions can get pretty expensive, and thats not even thinking about vet bills, flea treatments, heart worm prevention, unexpected illness  etc etc. I think at one stage we were spending around $3200.00 per year just feeding these critters. Isn't that insane? 

Now we make our own dog food about once every 10 days and pop it in the freezer in meal sized portions. That saves us about $525.00 a year over canned or pre-made dog food. I also save all the vegie and meat scraps from meals in a bag in the freezer and they go into the dog food when we make it up to pad it out a bit. (see my recipe below)

I buy good quality dry food in 15 kilo bags, three bags at a  time. Our breeder told us what she feeds dogs she isn't showing and we buy the same.  That's in preference to high quality premium bags of dogs food, which we did feed them for the first two years to assist with good bone development. That saves us about $494.00 a year. I also buy our cat food in 6.5 kilo bags instead of boxes which saves us about $100.00 a year.

I used to buy dried pigs ears because the dogs love them and they're good for their teeth. My dogs can also chew one to oblivion in 20 minutes. At $2.50 each twice a week thats expensive. Now I buy a huge bone cut in half which they play with for up to a week and that saves me $390.00 a year. Pigs ears are now "sometimes" foods just like Cookie Monsters cookie's.

So with just a little effort we managed to cut our food bill by almost half. That's $1500.00!!!

Fairy Bread's Dog Food Recipe

4 kilograms (around 9 pounds) chicken mince

2 kilos of chopped vegies (peas, carrot , beans) I just buy them already bagged and frozen.

2 x 500 gram packs of dry pasta

2 eggs

Crushed garlic (about a tablespoon )

Brown the meat, and drain off any excess fat. Microwave the vegies and while you're doing this throw in the garlic and eggs to the pot of meat and mix well. Boil the pasta, and add this, the vegies and any table scraps you've saved to the mix. Let it cool and bag in individual portions. Sometimes I throw in a can of sardines because they're good for the dogs coats. You can also use rice instead of pasta.  Our vet has commented positively on the condition and health of our dogs so we must be doing something right and the dogs LOVE their food.

Please be aware that some vegies are not good for dogs. Large amounts of potato, potato skins, and high amounts of broccoli can cause adverse reactions. Under no circumstances should onion be fed to dogs. Please check with your vet before you make your own dog food.