At RFFDMSUK we understand that many pet guardians, ourselves included, can struggle at times with the cost of living in the UK. We understand completely that managing costs while ensuring your furry companion's health remains a top priority for pet guardians, so have collated our top tips to help you to spread the costs of feeding your dog a great diet .
Deals and Discounts
To cut costs effectively:
Plan in advance to take advantage of deals during events such as Black Friday, or opt for box deals and bundles offered by suppliers and brands.
Look to take advantage of box deals where you can
Check for bargain or sale items when placing orders with suppliers.
Join the Raw Feeding for Dogs Made Simple (UK) Facebook group for the featured cost of living post which contains many ambassador codes & deals or check out our Exclusive Discount Codes
Transitioning with Budget-Friendly Brands
Consider these budget-friendly raw feeding practices:
Transitioning to a lower-cost base brand and supplementing it with mid to high-range brands can help balance quality and affordability.
Rather than opting for complete foods (raw with fruits & veg), consider using Paleo Ridge Berry Good or Naturaw Forage Pure alongside an 801010 approach to reduce costs.
Feed Paleo Ridge Berry Good (5% of the diet, 3-7 days a week)
Feed Naturaw Forage Pure (5% of the diet, 3-7 days a week)
Or incorporate your own dog-safe fruits and vegetables, like dark leafy greens, up to 10% of the diet per week usually but if struggling with finances you could even increase this further to 20-30%
Budget-Saving Shopping Strategies
Look for cost-saving options in supermarkets:
Search for yellow sticker items, such as lamb bones or offal, if you prefer a do-it-yourself (DIY) approach.
Always check the price per kg though against your usual raw supplier as they often aren't as cheap in supermarkets as you would think!
Consider investing in an air fryer with a dehydrate function or explore discounted dehydrators; these can efficiently create treats at a lower cost than buying them.
The best dehydrators have metal trays and a back fan such as Biochef 6 tray but other lower cost options can help you to test out if this is of benefit for you first before you spend a lot.
Alternative Sourcing
Explore alternative avenues for cost-effective raw feeding:
Join a game produce group, like Giving Up The Game on Facebook, to access surplus game products at minimal prices.
Build a relationship with your local butcher to gain access to surplus supplies, often available at a low cost, particularly bones for bone broth.
Homemade Bone Broth
Using low cost raw meaty / marrow bones, raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar with the mother and water…in a slow cooker or pressure cooker you can make a good quality bone broth (see our bone broth blog for full process).
You can also opt to use Alexander's Natural Bone Broth or Soups or Pawz, or a powdered broth, as long as it's designed for dogs unlike supermarket or Highstreet pet shop broths (as these may have onions or other unsavoury ingredients like added gelatine, vegetable glycerine, tapioca starch and more. Bone broth can be fed daily to help support the gut as well as joints and ligaments
Weigh - In
Weighing your dog, and assessing their body condition can often be quite eye opening indeed. The UK actually has a Pet Obesity epidemic with the 2023 PDSA Paw Report highlighting that 44% of pet owners had no idea what their dogs weight should be, and vets report 46% of dogs to be overweight or obese vs pet guardians whom in 80% of cases believe their dogs are the ideal weight. There is definitely therefore much to be done to change pet guardians perception of healthy to being factual.
On a score of 1-9 dogs body condition should be a 5, though some stockier breeds may slide into a 6 and some leaner breeds a 4. The vast majority though should be no higher than a 5.
Checking body condition using our blog here you may actually find that your dog is able to go on a bit of a diet - which of course means a bit of a reduction in food. Our blog Help! My dog needs to lose weight can help.
Another top trick is actually weighing out your dogs food! Yes, its a small investment in some decent weighing scales (digital are best) but just overfeeding by 10g a day equates to 3650g extra food a year! That's 304g a month excess that when times are financially tough, can make a real difference so always weigh out every meal. Even if you think the food package contains exactly the amount you need to feed, you will be surprised how many times it is slightly more!
The final weigh - in tip you can do is look to swap raw oily fish for minces that contain oily fish. Yes its great if you can still feed some actual fish as these are how your dog would eat in the wild, but if necessary swapping to minces containing oily fish is fine - plus it can then be included in your dogs food rather than on top of it which will help the bank account and your dogs waistline in one.
DIY / Home Made Raw
If your dog is happily eating raw minces, and raw meaty bones with no signs of being fussy about different components, have you considered starting to feed some DIY meals?
Not sure how to do DIY?
Check out of DIY blog
DIY Feeding can often be cheaper than feeding pre-made minces as there are less processing requirements to get the products to the consumer. You can use chunks or meat only minced meat and you can easily monitor your dogs stools to see whether they need bone free days or not as you go.
If your dog is a flatter faced (brachycephalic) breed you will of course need to assess their individual needs as some may struggle with bones however this must be an assessment that you personally carry out to determine whether or not you feel it is safe to feed them as each dog in this category truly will vary.
Alternative to raw meaty bones
If your dog truly cannot be fed raw meaty bones but you want to do DIY feeding such as using minces with offal, you can substitute the bone content with products such as Aniforte Ground Beef Bones or Aniforte Ground Horse Bones
It is vital that you only do this where it is absolutely essential though as ground bones are not as beneficial as raw meaty bones are, mentally or physically BUT where necessary they can be used as a safe substitute
Conclusion
Navigating the financial strains of winter while ensuring your dog's raw diet is both nutritious and affordable is achievable with these practical tips. By optimising deals, exploring alternative sourcing, and utilising homemade options, you can prioritise your pet’s health without compromising your budget.
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