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
