Friday, September 25, 2009

Budget Blues

I really need to get my grocery bill under control. I am spoiling these dogs with expensive dog treats. Just because it is made for dogs, they feel like they can charge 2 or 3 times as much. My dogs love those Pupperoni sticks. I break them up in to little pieces and use them as rewards for obedience training. But they cost $14 when they aren't on sale. I found some generic ones today so I will try those.

I have also been trying to think of homeade dog treats. I know lots of people make their own dog treats but usually they are baked and with the weather being in the upper 90's still, I am not in a baking mood. I'm sure I'll try it out next month when it is cooler. In the mean time, I bought the cheapest generic peanut butter and processed cheese to slather inside their Kong toy. Unfortunately they lost one of the toys so I only have one now which my pit mix dog steals for herself. I want to get 3 of those toys but at $8 a piece I have been hesitant to spend the money.

Those dried chicken strips cost a small fortune too. $12 for a 1lb. bag. I wonder if they mean one pound before they are dried or after. I can buy a 3lb. bag of frozen chicken breasts for $7 for human consumption. All I would need to do is cook it and dry it. I also bought some cheap hot dogs. If I cut them up in to small pieces they would be a good substitute for the Pupperoni's. The only problem is that they need to be refrigerated and I don't have the fridge plugged in in the mobile home where the dogs are now.

I'm going to keep thinking of cheaper alternatives. I know there have got to be a bunch out there. Anyone have ideas for inexpensive dog treats?

6 comments:

Over the Cubicle Wall said...

you can make a pretty good rawhide substitute from sweet potatoes, but like you said, it requires using the oven.

Also, dogs tend to love cat food. Small amounts of the dry kind make for a good treat.

Nothing chocolate - it is very bad for them. Toxin bad.

Daizy said...

I put cat food in one of my treat holders until the my pit dog made the exit hole too big. Now I stuff puppy milk bones in there to make the opening smaller.

Like I would waste chocolate on a dog. Ha!

One of the treats that I saw at the store today had dried banana chips in the middle. Interesting. I need both quick treats and long lasting treats. I have heard mixed things about rawhide and I have seen my dogs barf it up but it is cheap. Bully sticks are good but expensive. Pup 1 prefers to chew on the walls anyway. Today she got a big piece of trim off. My mobile home is her chewy toy.

Unknown said...

We have a dehydrator and dry up sliced sweet potatoes for treats.

Freeze the Kong toy for about an hour or so after you fill it with peanut butter (the cheap generic) before you give it to the dogs. It'll keep them busy longer.

I heard that some types of cat food is bad for dogs too. Stop by Food City. My parents used to by chicken liver for their dog treats (fed to him raw). Their dog like raw carrots too. That was a pretty cheap treat.

MW said...

Hi Daizy!

Do you have access to a Costco? I've found that their pet stuff to be fairly reasonable compared to pet stores.

Good luck!

Daizy said...

Hi Mark, I'll have to try those sweet potatoes. I have been looking for dehydrators on craig's list but you would think I could throw together a sun dehydrator here in the desert in no time. It's on my to-do list. I haven't tried carrots yet because I fed them to another dog who chewed them and spit them out. But maybe my dogs like them. That would be a good thing because I always have them available.

Daizy said...

Hi Middle Way, Costco is on the other side of town but my boss goes regularly and asks us if we want anything. Maybe I'll ask him for a giant bag of dog treats. If I know what to ask for he will do it.