In a pickle

Hi

Like lots of people, I'm trying to save the pennies at the moment in any way I can. I'm vegetarian, but my husband and two children do eat meat. I was thinking of taking my dog (Fred, a Smooth Collie) off canned food and feeding him the same food my family eats. Would this be okay for him?

My family all eat organic food and this is something I'm keen to feed Fred. Does he need to have much meat? He's currently on a well-known brand of canned dog food but I'm not sure how much meat is in it anyway and how much is cereals. I've heard of veggie dogs but I'm not sure how good this is for them as I always thought they were carnivores. Can I feed him a mainly veg diet? I do not want to compromise Fred's health. How many vegetables are safe to give them, and are there any I should avoid?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Annette Robertson, by email

Feeding on a budget

Dear Dogs Today

Like many people, I am worried about finances. I have cut down as much as I can in other areas of my life (no car, no tv, vegan, don't smoke, drink, take holidays, have heating on for no more than a few hours a day even in the depths of winter etc) and the only other cuts I can make now are to my dogs' food, treats and insurance. I am loathed to do this but it has reached the point where I really am going to struggle if I don't. I have already cut their treats right down (one schmacko/meaty strip divided into 10 separate little treats, for instance).

My dogs are mongrels, 12 and 13 (nearly 14) and thankfully still hale and hearty, a little arthritis in one elbow occasionally notwithstanding. We still have a couple of hours' walks most days. For years they have been fed on James Wellbeloved, and I switched to the senior/lite food when the youngest was eight years old. One of them has a wheat intolerance. However, this is a very expensive food and I am struggling to afford it now. I was wondering if any readers could recommend a good quality dry food which was cheaper? I was wondering about Autarky, since I have read several good reports about it.

I don't want to feed raw - I tried that when the dogs were younger and it was unpleasant for all of us, both the 'ins' and 'outs', as one of my dogs doesn't seem able to cope with a changeable diet at all. Whatever I change to, I will obviously change very slowly to give his tummy time to adjust.

I really hope someone can come up with a good suggestion. I don't want to feed them rubbish food which is padded out with fillers and artificial ingredients as I want them to have as long and as healthy a life as possible.

Thank you!

Tracy Neil, by email