Dog Food Challenge

I'm so sorry for being so behind on this challenge.  Don't worry though, the dogs are being fed even though I'm not posting about their food.  Here is a recap...

The first huge batch of food made enough for a week.  I was still supplementing their regular dog food so it went a little farther.  I was worried about the salmon going bad in the fridge for that long so I froze about 4 days worth in the freezer.  That didn't go over so well.  It froze like a rock.  After two days of thawing in the fridge it was still just as hard.  I resorted to thawing it is the microwave but for some reason all the bags would leak fish water.  On top of all this I was super sick.

Last Monday I went to grab more salmon from the freezer and found some steak.  The steaks were a thorn in my side from this past winter.  They were a gift from my father in law that accidentally got forgotten about in the fridge.  The nicest thing to ever sit in my refrigerator and I was serving "lowest price of the season" chicken.  I found it a day past expiration, washed it off because I guess I thought that would help, and decided that it was getting made for breakfast.  The steak we didn't finish that day (it was really good) I immediately froze.  And here I find it in the back of the freezer.  So into the huge pot it went.  It was my steak therapy. 

I didn't have to buy anything at the grocery store for that batch but I did use some frozen vegetables that I'm going to need to re-buy when they are on sale again.  I got them for $.75 during the March Frozen Food Sale at Safeway.  I also used the rest of my rice ($1.40).

I made another batch this past weekend of salmon, rice, and vegetables.  I grabbed a bag of rice at Freds for $4.49 and used more frozen vegetables ($.75).  I'm so glad we are using up the salmon.  Last year I went on a smoked salmon jerky making spree with the leftover catch. 

Money Invested After 3 Weeks...
20 quart stock pot $20.70 (org. $45.99)
Freezer Bags $.75

1/3 Bag of FM Dog Food to transition $4.67
20LB Purina to transition $8.49 (org. 16.99)
Rice- $7.99
Vegetables- $1.50

Supplies- $21.45
Food- $22.65

Money Left-  $7.35

Dog Food

We have 7 dogs living at our house. Dog food used to run us about $85.00 a month when they were eating Purina. Attempting to save money, I tried to do a mix of Purina and the Fred Meyers Brand dog food but it just isn't working. It cut the bill down to $50.00 a month but the dogs don't seemed satisfied and it doesn't seem to be digesting completely. It would almost be painful to keep shelling out $85.00 again. So I came up with a plan...

I make the dog food. I've done a lot of research on dog food. It seems like the more information I read, the less comfortable I am with giving the dogs any brand. I had a golden retriever who lived 15 years on a diet of Purina so that has to say something about that brand of food. But let's see how becoming the dogs' personal chef works out for my family.

40% meat, 30% vegetables, 30% carbs. If you ever try baking for your dog, make sure you have a full list of products that you should never put in dog food. I never use onions or garlic even though I find them in a lot of recipes because I occasionally find them on vet "Do Not Eat" lists.

Money Invested...
20 quart stock pot $20.70 (org. $45.99)- I'm going to use this baby out!
3LB Rice $2.10 (SW Sale)
Leftover oatmeal $0
Leftover carrots $0
Last Summers Salmon $0
Freezer Bags $.75
1/3 Bag of FM Dog Food to transition $4.67
20LB Purina to transition $8.49 (org. 16.99)

Supplies- $21.45
Food- $15.26

Ok, well the numbers don't look so good considering my food goal is $25.00. I have to have the transition food though. So the new goal.... $30.00! ($25.00 will be my goal next month)