With the economy currently trying to pull itself out of a deep recession, most American households are looking for ways that they can trim their budgets. Of those homes with one or more pets, those expenses are often one of the first considered. Grooming, vaccinations and food expenses can combine to a rather large total which is exponential based on the number of pets. While no animal lover would advise skimping on medical or preventative care, there are some ways that you can save money, even as a pet owner.
Many expensive dog food brands claim to be better for the dog. The truth is that even expensive brands may include a large percentage of fillers, additives and even chemicals, none of which is healthy for your pet. Instead of looking for the brand with the highest price, try using the same technique as when you shop for your own food: read the labels. Keep in mind that dogs are, by nature, carnivorous. That means that they will need for their food to be mainly protein based. In addition, you will want to avoid any dog food that uses corn or a byproduct of corn as a filler. There are currently several well known brands on the market, claiming to be nutritious, that use corn as the primary ingredient. Unfortunately, corn is an especially difficult grain for dogs to digest and may even cause allergic reactions and other adverse effects.
The ingredients that are listed on the label are in the order of concentration; that means that the first few ingredients are the bulk of what the food is made from. For this reason, you want to find a brand that lists a type of meat as the first few ingredients. Beef, lamb, chicken and turkey are the most likely meat types you will find. Of course, you will probably find some type of vegetable filler, but it should be as low as possible in percentage.
