We have talked about the stunning price increases in pet foods during our discussions about food price overall. However, a remarkable study by Veterinarians Org gives some context to just how much the Joe Biden inflation has driven up the cost of pet foods. [ARTICLE HERE]
Mostly driven by Biden’s created inflation hitting raw farm materials, energy prices, manufacturing and transportation costs, the prices for the most popular wet and dry dog foods have skyrocketed.
One in four pet owners have even contemplated giving their animal up for adoption because they can no longer afford them. This is terribly sad.
(Veterinarian Org) – […] The largest percentage increase compared to 2020 prices is for a wet dog food product by PEDIGREE, which has increased by 207% compared to its 2020 price.
The largest dollar amount increase compared to 2020 prices is for a dry dog food product by Royal Canin, which is currently $43.99 more expensive per bag than it was in 2020.
In a recent Veterinarians.org survey of 1,000 U.S. pet owners, 50% of respondents indicated having to shop for cheaper alternatives to pet food as a result of rising costs. Pet owners also found themselves shopping for cheaper alternatives to pet treats (41%), pet toys (34%), and pet health supplements (28%).
55% of surveyed pet owners indicated having to cancel pet food subscriptions on Chewy.com, Amazon.com, or through a raw food/pre-cooked meal service as a result of rising costs.
22% of pet owners indicated having applied to special services in their state that help pet owners pay for pet-related costs, while 73% of pet owners felt a food pantry for pets would be helpful to them.
24% of pet owners indicated considering rehoming their pet or surrendering their pet to a shelter as a result of rising pet food/pet supply costs.
According to the American Pet Products Association, Americans spent $50 billion on pet food and snacks in 2021. (read more)
I suspect the Purina’s prices rose more because it was one of the cheaper brands to begin with.
Brands that had higher markups, like Science Diet, (with more affluent customers) have more leeway to keep their prices stable, but likely have lower overall profitability due to increased production costs.
It would be interesting to see if Purina (cheaper brand) had a relative higher overall profitability than the more expensive brands, due to more people moving looking at a lower cost alternative.
Such a high percentage considering giving pets up!
And the older Americans living alone NEED their loving animal companions.
But there is very little regard for older Americans, unless they are newly arrived from some other nation.
I get a store brand kibble from Petsmart auto ship for my little dogs. It’s gone up about $5. My bigger cost issue is veterinary care. Veterinary meds have gone way up. One of my dogs was getting cytopoint injection monthly for his allergy itchiness and hives. It went up $20 to now $84. He was found to have a liver problem that possibly would require Denamarin liver supplement but at $94 for 30 pills there is no way. Thankfully, whatever was going on cleared up so he doesn’t need the med. Their Heartgard and Frontline also have gone up. Like many we are fixed low income on SS.
I had a diabetic girl who passed a year and a half ago. She was on insulin twice a day, and Royal Canin Glycobalance. It was expensive then, can only imagine the cost now.
I think once the vets started going into the VCA group, our costs dramatically increased. For yearly shots, we have started going to a low cost clinic, because I find it ridiculous to pay $55 per pet to just walk in the door.
Agree on VCA. Stay away from any Corporatized veterinary practice.
Not too familiar with VCA, but I do know the Eye Doctors and Dentist have sunk their ship by selling out and you can’t even identify a doctor anymore. Talk about socialism/communism! When a business looses its identify, it becomes difficult to weed out those who are less skilled or who have a bad reputation.
I’m very sorry for your loss.
Have you tried benadryl tablets for the allergy and itchiness? We used that for our Westie for years, the generic ones cut in half for a 16 lb dog. Also you could try ditching all the grains. Sweet potato is a good carb base and is low allergen. We buy a sweet potato and salmon dog food for our dogs. Made by Pure Balance, we get it at Walmart.
Again once we got ours off dog food and went to leftovers, chicken and rice- no itching.
Dog food is processed in China. Don’t be persuaded by the advertising.
Benadryl is great for itchiness. Only big concern is that while 2/3rds of a tab might be okay for 60lb dog or larger, the little ones need significantly smaller bits of it. (Good idea to have a pill cutter.)
The pet foods themselves are inherently bad and I believe one cause of the itchiness. Also even the high priced stuff has chicory in it. I can’t tolerate chicory. I am a great deal bigger than my dog. To me, the claim that it is a probiotic rather than an irritant seems weird to me.
Joy, I don’t know you’ll see this since I’m late seeing it.
I do give both my boys benedryl but find it keeps them groggy. With the cytopoint shot it took care of the itching for 6-8 weeks. My big boy is a 28 lb very low dachshund who gets rashy walking across the yard from the grass. So far this spring the benedryl and ¹/² claritin is keeping things under control.
Get them off all grains.
Do protein and veggie slurry with red pepper broccoli cabbe and carrot…contact Pet Remedy online..also Dynovite…yep on SS as well…I mostly fast and keto and GF…you will see
They won’t eat that. Veggies are totally not their thing.
In case this info could be usefull:
Our small dog was cured of his chronic skin itchiness and hives by changing his diet. It took three months before all the problems disapeared for good. We took comercial kibble OUT of his diet. We feed him a raw meat, organs and bone diet. It was like a miracle.
This food is more expensive than comercial kibble but the dollars we save in vet and meds more than compensate fot it.
Also, we have realized he only needs Frontline during the summer to protect him (and us) from ticks. We are saving money this way also. Frontline is an insecticide after all, that goes into his blood directly, it is like us getting injected with insecticide 12 months/year.
The vets go nuts when you tell them an animal usually only needs flea and tick meds in the summer. But for many people that is true.
I also find it preposterous that an animal needs yearly rounds of vaccines. Fifty years ago, a dog got one shot for rabies, and one for distemper and that was it for the animal’s entire life.
Yes, I only use the Frontline in the warm months also. My daughter’s yard is loaded with ticks and chiggers.
While I had my diabetic cat, Mitten, the insulin started at $43 for a vial; before I had her put to sleep (lung tumor) in Feb. 2022, it had gone up to $52.
My deepest condolences for your loss. We had a black 12 year old rescue kitty, Felicia, that came down with diabetes. It went south pretty quick. Nothing could stabilize her sugar and after 2 pricey visits to the E/R, we had to make “the decision”. Still breaks my heart. She was SUCH a lovebug.
I just wanted to put in another vote to maybe give the Benadryl a try. Our German Shepherd had awful allergies. He would actually have bald patches on his coat. We were doing everything we could for him, different meds, multiple vet trips. Nothing was working. We finally took him to a very, very expensive doggie dermatologist. He suggested we try two Benadryls twice a day. Well, it was certainly worth a try. It was a miracle! And so cheap! The generic Benadryl at BJ’s or Costco is under $10 for 500 pills.
I have had two dogs on different days, different reasons in the Vet office in April and May. Both times I commented about how much veterinarian services have gone up. Now I understand more but I also realized that people are looking more and more for homes for dogs. I want to know what happens to all the dogs that get shipped from shelters in the south to somewhere up north? They say there is a shortage of dogs up north, but REALLY????
For dogs one might try dinovite or ruffgreens to sprinkle on regular dog food to stop the itching, smelly coats and help with internal health problems. Dog food is dead food. The above could help save $$ on Vet meds, etc.
I’ll check them out. Thanks.
What leftists still don’t get is the impact of their tyrannical beliefs on our beloved pets and animals in general. The millions pouring in over the borders will have zero mercy on any animal they encounter – no matter how “cute”…we will start seeing beheaded animals everywhere. And the climate freaks are in the process of creating hell on earth for wild animals that will suffer from starvation and disease because they will prevent natural culling. We have have fostered an environment of over-production of dogs that will only suffer in the end because of our selfish needs for a certain kind of dog (and I say dog because they are the most over-bred right now). There will come a time in the not-so-distant future when the leftists (who were historically friendly to our 4-legged friends) will start to turn on them for their “carbon footprint” and other economic drains on society and will require us to relinquish them in much the same ways the Nazis did. I am a dog lover and I find it cheaper now to boil chicken and rice (and add some frozen veges) for my puppy than to feed it the expensive crap they sell in stores (much of which is probably sourced from China). I do that only as a supplement to the kibble and I know I’m lucky to have a small breed. But it’s clear the animal food (and vet) market is fleecing its customers. The vets have gotten just as bad as human doctors in terms of making money off of shots and meds. Don’t fall for the bullshit about all the “clean” fresh food. Most of the ingredients (while packaged here) are sourced “globally” but they charge massive amounts. It’s so damn easy to make your own for half the price.
All the canned dog food is chicken with fake flavor of other meats added. Some stores have refrigerated section for raw dog meat but too pricey for me!
There are online websites that teach how to make our own raw meat, bone and organs food for our pets. It’s very afordable.
I did that but learned that the breeds I have now just don’t like it. My current big girl never wanted her raw bones. She took them just for the interaction with my other dog that did love them.
I am blessed with an excellent, competent and honorable vet, who has as much compassion for pet owners as for the pets.
There are some good ones still out there.
Also, when my late husband lived in Alaska and had dogs, he fed them salmon stew every day.
They were very healthy dogs.
Perhaps folks might want to take up fishing in order to feed Fido?
In Wisconsin we have the Univ of Wisconsin 24 hour emergency Vet Clinic in Madison – a godsend when the llamas were attacked by something at night, or a horse is injured. But when my Great Dane flipped her stomach I called in panic. The doc on call calmly told me she didn’t have the 90 minutes it would take me, but I told him I was going to try. He found a local super great specialist who opened his ER for me and worked most of the night (I set a land speed record getting there) and saved her. Fantastic – I have been with them ever since. Val is right – there are a few good guys – but finding them is a challenge.
“flipped her stomach”?
Rawhide treats are especially known for that with some breeds. Likely to kill.
Where is PETA on this issue? Total fakers
My guess is that PETA is all about drag shows and social justice now.
They are having tea with the planned parenthood folks at their nearest commie hangout.
FAKE people with FAKE principles….
PETA is notorious for killing adoptable puppies and kittens.
They only want wild animals roaming free who are allowed to kill us at will.
I go to a small local meat store , they make a food grade blend of food for dogs made of ground organ meats , it’s also sold to the local taco joints , much cheaper and my dog thrives on it mixed with a bit of good qaulity kibble .
Your pet has a more nutritious diet than most humans.
Ground organ meat tacos ?
Damn.
No menudo for me unless in survival mode.
Chitterlings by another name….offal is awful in my book
That must be why I can never make my ground beef taste the same as a Mexican restaurant.
No more taco salads for me when eating out lol….
It’s difficult to get. The stores that do sell it usually have dog food producers buying up the whole supply. Buyers for human food stores have to fight for it apparently. I LOVE menudo but don’t get it often cause I’m the only one in my house that will eat it. Great source of collagen!
Good local butchers in the country – don’t have to go too far from the city to stock up for the year
Inflation is/was at least 20%. A senior coffee at McDonald’s was 74 cents a year ago. Today I paid $1.24.
I buy a 10lb bag of chicken for $6. It takes time to separate it from the bones. Then I cook it again with rice and add-ons like carrots. The dogs get EVERYTHING except the bones. Sometimes I fry the skin – chicken chicharones. Sometimes I stretch out the rice – doggy congee. I’m going to try your split peas and lentils. I get beef and various offal meats on sale and do the same. I have to machaca the beef so they don’t just pick it out. Vet says dogs only like organ meat. Ya, maybe in a textbook somewhere – mine LOVE meat! I did the BARF and raw bones when I was exploring cause the best dog ever had the worst allergies of skin but some breeds just don’t like raw or raw bones and the ones I have now don’t like raw anything. Anyway, this is much cheaper but time consuming. My son buys the high dollar vet recommended kibble but they only eat it sparingly. It’s good for backup if I get behind. Yes we were the only people here with dogs when we moved in. Now EVERYONE has barking dogs. Neighborhood going down.
Dogs are omnivores, theyll eat everything. Cats are obligate carnivores, so they must have at least 90% meat. I get the WM brand of canned cat food, and then add homemade chicken broth and diced chicken to it, with Life Extension cat vitamins.
Even so, my costs are twice what they were.
Bacon, my cats love bacon. They like chicken when tossed on the floor, put it in their bowl and they turn their noses up. They do love chicken broth. Cats are so darn picky, but God knows I love mine.
When I had chickens and the GMO corn first came out nobody would eat it. That was my tell. (Used to feed table scraps to dogs and chickens together.).
Cats, not enough meat = kidney disease I’m told.
I have a big old pit boxer that was weaned on chicken and rice. She’s the only one of her litter still alive (for years now) That’s good enough endorsement for me!
Speaking of pets, my Missy passed away 2/1/22. She was a tiny black cat who never weighed more than 7 pounds. She had a rough last 2 weeks and I laid plastic on the other side of my bed with towels that I changed regularly because she stopped being able to stand up. I had to feed her chicken bone broth with a dropper near the end. She was 17 yrs. 8 mos. when she left and down to 2 pounds. Often, I’d just hold her in my arms and fall asleep, but when I awoke she was just looking up at me. The morning she died I had said to her: “It’s time to go, sweetie..I love you”. I rolled over and out of pure exhaustion fell asleep for about 45 mins. I had been tending for her 24/7 for 2 wks. and was totally worn out. When I awoke, I saw that she had stretched herself out as if she was reaching for Billy who was laying on his pillow about 1 ft. away from her. He was just looking at her and must’ve watched her go. I miss her, she was a sweetie.
Then, my Billy who was Missy’s life-mate, passed away 10/18/22. He missed his girl and was obviously grieving. He hated getting brushed but after Missy left he would go over to her brush and rub his face all over it. I realized he was smelling her hair in the brush and this brought him comfort so I never cleaned it out. He just kept going down hill without her here. They always played and slept together. He was just 3 wks. short of turning 19 yrs. old (92 in human yrs.) when he passed. He was always a long muscular cat that weighed 15 pounds, but was down to nearly ten at the end and extremely thin. Six wks. before he died there was a diluted tortie walking around outside and had been doing so for about 3 wks. Someone must’ve brought her camping and lost her in the process. I had been praying for another female and tried a number of adoption agencies but none would approve an old 70 yr. woman like myself. Then, one day, this little tortie came to me when I was calling to her so I took her in and she was wonderful to my old Billy. She’d lay next to him and clean his face and head. My guess is that she was only about 5 mos. old. At 1st, Billy would hiss at her but she was persistent in bunting her head up against him and he finally accepted her, though there was no way she could take the place of Missy. However, it did help alleviate his grief and eventually minimized the times he would go to Missy’s brush. The night he passed I was sitting on the floor with him for 2 1/2 hrs. The last few days I had to make a bed of towels for him on the bathroom floor because he was now too weak to stand up. I was holding him in my arms and he looked up at me in such a way that I could feel he was at total peace and I felt so much love from him as he looked at me. Then, he motioned with his one leg that he wanted down so I laid him on his towels. I was petting him and talking to him and within minutes he took one last breath… then he was gone. Missy was my girl, and Billy was my best bud. Often I had one sleeping on each side of me.
Then my new little diluted tortie became my new companion and sleeps on her own blanket at my feet. She is a bundle of love and I’ll never forget how good she was to my Billy his last 6 wks. I named her BabyBel but mostly just call her Baby. She’ll only eat Fancy Feast and ‘lickable’ treats so she’s probably costing me about $2 a day. But I don’t care. If I have to pay $5 a day I will do so.
Long story, and TY to anyone who took the time to read it. No, I don’t like the cost of the pet food, but I’ll pay whatever it costs to make sure my little ‘Baby’ is well taken care of. She can’t replace my Missy & Billy who were with me nearly 2 decades, but she is such a bundle of love that she surely has helped me in my healing from losing them both last year. She comes running when I call her and knows her name, the word ‘eat, and the words ‘in’ and ‘out’ when I take her out to my upper deck. She follows me wherever I go and is truly an answer to my prayer. I consider her a gift from God so I treat her like the little Diva that she is.
Oh…one more thing about Diva Baby.. she has orange eyes. I’ve owned cats all of my life but she is my 1st with orange eyes and they are strikingly beautiful.
Very sweet, Jude. Small acts of kindness are the best way to go through life right now.
I truly see our little friends as gifts. Times when I’ve been struggling and started crying, my cats have run to my side just to check on me. They care and in their own way are kind toward us. Their love seems unconditional.
Bless you.
I have lost two elderly cats in the past several years, after nursing them through some serious illnesses.
It is very hard to lose anyone you love, but I believe your sweet kitties await you in Heaven.
The Bible says there will be horses and lions and lambs and even snakes in Heaven, so I think our Lord has room for our animal friends.
I tend to think so, too, Val. I know they don’t have a spirit like humans do, but they definitely have souls and such distinct personalities. I’ve dreamt of my Billy 3 times now and he looks very healthy and happy, in the prime of life. Then, just the other day, I dreamt of my Missy and she also looked young and healthy and happy. I’m sorry for your loss of your companions. They bring us such love and comfort that I have to believe they are rewarded some how, some way.
Val, they do. And God does have space for them 😍🙏💖. For example, my little dachshund, Nikki, after she passed away she came back 3 times to visit my son and me 😍. We actually saw her soul 😍🙏💖 three times.
The best visit… while alive, Nikki used to get under my bedsheet, snuggle up to the back of my legs, I would rub and scratch her for a few minutes, uncover her nose and then, when she was ready to go to sleep, she would make a nice, soft sound.
One of the 3 times her soul came back to visit us, she came to my bed. I lifted up a corner of my bedsheet and she got under it and snuggled up to the back of my legs. Her soul felt cold, but after snuggling up to the back of my legs for a few minutes it warmed up. I rubbed and scratched her soul like I used to when she was alive. We were both happy, then we both went to sleep.
The sad moment was next morning… I woke up and Nikki was already gone. I cried because I had not been able to say goodbye to her… but then I realized we will meet again, forever 😍🥰. God (who I have met in person) is great. His creation, the Universe, is all about LOVE.
We will meet our pets again. Forever 😍🥰🙏💖. We will all be happy 😍. My dad, sister and me had so many pets our house was known as ‘The Zoo of the Neighborhood 😃😍🥰.” We had dogs, cats, ducks, chickens, canaries, turtles (many species), salt and freshwater fish (my dad and me made a room in the backyard for the aquariums 😃, the tanks and their air supply were made by him, the tanks ran from 1 gallon to 68 gallons), hamsters, and little frogs known in Puerto Rico as ‘Coqui’.
I spent many hours every day feeding them, taking care of them (including health care, I learned a lot in order to be able to do it 😃) and playing with them 😃😍💖.
Heaven is a huge, wonderful place (I have been there once, on June 16, 2016 😃😍🙏💖). Our pets and us will get together again, FOREVER 💖💖💖.
Wow, we can never share these truths because people will call us bad words. I think animals have much more intelligence than what we are told. They just don’t have ways to tell us or we, the smartest creatures, are too dumb to decipher what they are trying to tell us. I had a fish who was an excellent judge of character. He would also let people know that he was insulted if they didn’t spend a moment greeting him by displacing a huge amount of water out of his 200 gallon tank!
Val,
Martin Luther used to tell his beloved dog: “Don’t worry, my dear. In the Resurrection, you too will be given a little golden tail.”
😭
https://iheartdogs.com/this-is-why-dogs-never-die/
Though I’m more of a ‘cat person’, I once had a gorgeous long-haired blonde pup that was more than 6 feet when he stood on his hind legs. He was half Golden and half German Shepherd. Archie was his name and he was great with my boys when they were young… very protective of them and I’d see him, at times, push them out of danger.
I also had Cabela, a beautiful black Lab, who loved kids. The neighbor girls would put bonnets on her head and she didn’t mind at all. One day, I was taking a nap and something woke me up. When I opened my eyes, I saw two little girls just staring at me and as soon as they saw I was awake they asked: “Can Cabela come out to play?” LOL.
Heartfelt condolences to you. Please be comforted that you gave them loving care to the end and they loved you.
Thank you very much for your kind words. I do miss them. They were quite a pair.
I have a tortie, too. Her name is Persephone and she is such a bundle of personality! She’s around 13. Chloe is almost 17; she’s a small grey tabby my brother tamed…sort of. Some people who have known me a long time have never seen her! I don’t ever want to be without a cat. Every cat I’ve had found me, either directly or via friends. Whenever I’m sick or sad, they’re right there with me. Every single one of them has been that way.
I’m so sorry your babies are not on this side of Heaven still. I am very sure we’ll have a warm welcome in Heaven!
They are wonderful creatures. I’ve known some Folks who have never had a cat and they are totally shocked when they observe them relating to me. I don’t understand their surprise because my cats have always communicated in some manner. My daughter even taught my Missy how to fetch. LOL. I would throw those little plastic balls with a bell in them and she’d go charging after it and then bring it back over and over again. Once when a neighbor stopped by my Billy ran out the door. I sternly yelled: “Billy!” and he immediately stopped and crouched down. The neighbor was shocked and said:”He’s just like a dog”. I seriously don’t get it. Personally, I think cats are much smarter than dogs. I do love dogs and my daughter has 4 Huskies. But I just prefer my cats for some reason. Also, my tortie is quite the chatter box. She lets me know when she wants to be fed or just to play when she’s bored.
The other funny thing I had going with Bill & Missy is when I would take them to my camp in the woods. If they spotted a mouse, they’d play with it for hours. I watched Missy passing by with the mouse in her mouth…then a few minutes later Billy would come walking by from the other direction with the same mouse in his mouth. They never ate them, just played with them ’til the mouse either got away or just died …I think from a heart attack ..LOL. Also, I apparently have an unique ‘scream’ when I see a mouse cause whenever I let out that scream they both would come running cause they knew that I spotted a mouse and it was my ‘mouse scream’.
Anyway, they were great and my new Baby is a bit impish and tends to get into things a lot. But I figure she just turned 1 about 6 wks. ago so she’s still a bit on the wild side. Nothing seems to frighten her except the vacuum. If my son is running it she immediately comes running to me to protect her which is really sweet.
Thank you for your condolences. I am hoping I will see them again. It sounds like your Chloe is the type that goes into hiding when others come around. My brother has a cat like that. I also think cats are better than watchdogs because mine would always let me know if someone was approaching my house but they do it silently so that whoever is coming doesn’t know that I know that they are, which gives me a bit of an advantage. Missy would come running while growling all the way as she went and hid under my bed. 50 yrs. ago I had a cat named Buffy. She was sitting on my window sill in my bedroom and when I would start to get undressed she started growling. I’d go look out the window and not see anything but then when I started again, she started growling again. So, I walked outside and around back and sure enough there was some guy bent over under my bedroom window, some peeping-tom freak. Well, I yelled a few words at him I won’t repeat here and then yelled for my husband and friend. They didn’t catch the guy but he never returned. Thanks to my cat, though, I was protected.
Anyway, I have a lot of ‘cat’ stories. I’m glad to meet another cat lover.
I used to be a cat person and yes my cat was hostile to a man with bad intentions towards me. Scared him. My husband was also a cat person and his cat attacked someone that was trying to make trouble!
Now we are dog people. We have never sought a pet. They always come to us at the perfect time. I did pay a small amount for our most recent acquisition just because everyone advises to ensure that the people you are rehoming your pet to has means to care for it. Now he is 6.
My daughter drove from OH to TN on at least 4 occasions to get her 4 huskies from a breeder she trusted. Her 4th was the Momma of the other 3 and now they’re all a very happy ‘family’. 🙂
Thank you for sharing, such a loving relationship with your pets…
I don’t have pets anymore, but what has shocked me are the the vet bills my kids are paying for theirs. Just like todays’s doctors, the first thing they do is prescribe expensive medicines. No wonder they have healthcare for household pets now.
I have read news stories of owners trying to surrender their animals to shelters that are full already. Many owners are dumping them in the shelter parking lots.
I think the “wild beasts of the earth” in Revelation are feral dog packs made up of abandoned pets.
When he broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living being say, “Go!” I looked, and there in front of me was a pallid, sickly-looking horse. Its rider’s name was Death, and Sh’ol followed behind him. They were given authority to kill one-quarter of the world by war, by famine, by plagues and with the wild animals of the earth.
Revelation of Yeshua to Yochanan (Rev) 6:7-8 CJB
WEF is working overtime on the famine agenda too.
Chicken feed and All-Stock up 25% in a year as well. Chickens , sheep and cows.
My sister feeds her dog (shiba inu) steaks at Ruth’s and such when she goes out. Doesn’t let him sit at the table….. as yet. Y2K’s love their pets I guess
Ha ha. My husband used to joke that his mom’s dog ate better than us!
Rescuer of Great Danes, St. Bernard’s and other strays here, including cows, horses, goats, ducks and rabbits – all unwanted pets or animal charity cases here living on the farm. We all live well and frugally where possible. One day I looked at the price of the sweet potato and whitefish dog food (I cannot bring myself to eat any higher life form) and then looked at the actual sweet potatoes. You can get fish pretty cheap in cans and institutional size. ( Mackerel, tuna). Also big bags of rice, and industrial sized cans of veggies. The dogs (and some others) do quite well on homemade dog food with some table scraps thrown in, for a fraction of the price of the specialty foods.
Look carefully at all the stuff you throw out — it supports the birds and then there are fresh eggs. The cheap generic Dollar Tree baby shampoo does not hurt eyes and goes a long ways on a big canine. Our dog beds are all homemade and they have no idea they are not designer products. One of my enthusiastic rescues a few years back let me know that he thought half a piece of bread was much better than a dog biscuit, and that cost dropped. It’s amazing how well you can live simply. Nothing like the Danes to prevent Bad Situations from happening — they just don’t. Especially in the car …
As the owner of two cats and one dog, no one had to tell me this. Suffice it to say, I learned it firsthand–the hard way.
It is crazy, and it is cruel. People need their pets.
I keep hoping and thinking one day I will wake up and this nightmare will be over, in one way or another.
We have 8 cats, all rescued. They will remain well fed, regardless of costs.
Don’t mess with our critters!
Some of the huge veterinary franchises have made it almost cost prohibitive to own a pet.
I would like to support my local animal charity more than I do now, because I know my current small donation does not go as far, but I just can’t.
I would also like to adopt a second cat, but I have really concerns about doubling my cat food budget at I time when I’m worried about supply as well.
Inflation started twith the infernal CARES Act. They used a virus they created as a means to advance globalist goals.
We just sat and watched them do it.
Why weren’t we all screaming NO!
Were we too scared?
Imagine being my Grandparents that kept 4 hunting dogs, barn cats, a pet spaniel and homing pigeons from about 1900 to 1950. There was no commercial ‘pet’ food. Think about it…Until 20th century, dog/cat/poultry food was food scraps, cooked almost to sterility, tossed into a pot, and left on the stove or scraped off plates. Caveat: most of what americans eat these days does not sustain life.
The two German Shepherds we have now, 3 and 4 years old are the healthiest dogs I’ve ever owned. We took the breeders advice and fed raw chicken and good kibble. The chicken quarters are the cheapest here in 10lb bags. I should look to see the cost, it was $5/bag so cheaper than the kibble. But we have processed a number of animals lately so then they get the offal and bones. We bag them up in portions and freeze. I give them eggs from our chickens when we have enough. The kibble is 4Health from TSC. Hubby will not let me spend more. I tried the cheap stuff but their coats showed it.
We were concerned giving them the raw chicken at first but a healthy GSD will crush those bones easily. Their teeth are still white and they have no dog breath at all. We sometimes let them go a day without food and they seem to be better for it. I’ve had to be more careful since spaying the female so she doesn’t get fat.
We have also been able to avoid some shots in our situation. They had puppy shots and one rabies since (those are good for 3 years). I think dogs are as over vaccinated as the humans.
We are fortunate to have farm animals though feed prices have gone up continuously with quality going down. We are moving in the fall to a place where we will have pasture and more land to grow more of their food. I can’t wait.
Hmm… I like my steak tartare medium rare…. sounds like your dogs eat quite well. Can I come by? I’ll bring some good beer. 😉
Yeah, depends where you live in SoCal…. we’re in The OC… things are a bit more sane in here.
Forget about having to feed their pets. Pretty soon, they’ll have to eat their pets.
Not just the prices going up but dependable supplies was entirely lacking, especially during COVID shutdowns. I buy cat gravy products. Anything out of Purina like Friskies, Fancy feast, Pro Plan–the shelves looked like baby formula or paper towel /toilet paper shelves.
It’s interesting to talk to older people like me at Walmart over the price of cat food & the outrageous prices for eggs.
FJB!!
I can buy tuna in the can cheaper than I can buy cat food per can, unless I find it on sale. Lots of value added costs go into pet food. Transportation, processing, labor, packaging, then they still have to make a profit. You can buy out of date human food, cook it up and feed it to the pets as cheap or cheaper than you can buy the processed, corn filled junk a lot of times.
I work for one of the pet food companies mentioned in this article. Due to confidentiality, I can’t share specifics, however here is general outlook we are forecasting.
Sundance has been almost perfect in predicting the % increases we have seen. (In fact, I use his analysis to help explain what is coming to our CFOs. Unfortunately, 90% of our leadership are woke globalists, so they don’t listen)
All of the inputs (meat, grains, packaging, labor, transportation, energy, etc.) increase 20-25% in 2021. Then another 20% in 2022.
The “good news” is costs for 2023 & 2024 are predicted to “only increase about 10%”
The leadership doesn’t understand that “only 10%” is not LOWER costs – it is just a lower RATE of costs INCREASING.
In summary, as consumers, be prepared for the prices on the shelf to increase yet again…
Sundance has given all Treepers great advice that you can apply – fresh food will be cheaper than processed (like wet & dry pet food). I don’t own any pets, but if I did, I would be figuring out how to make my own at home.
The effect of inflation under President Joe Biden’s administration is a complex topic influenced by various factors. It’s important to note that as an AI language model, my knowledge is based on information available up until September 2021, and the economic situation can evolve over time.
In general, inflation refers to the increase in prices of goods and services over time, resulting in a decrease in the purchasing power of currency. Multiple factors contribute to inflation, including supply and demand dynamics, government policies, and external economic factors.
As for the specific effect of inflation under President Biden, it’s important to consider that economic conditions are influenced by a wide range of factors beyond any single individual’s control. Policies implemented by the administration, such as fiscal stimulus measures and changes in monetary policy, can have both intended and unintended effects on inflation.