[theBCnut]

My brother lived in the Northwest Atlanta area for many years. I love Kennesaw!!!

[Naturella]

Btw, Kingsland, GA is the total diagonal point from Kennesaw, GA, which is where I live, lol… But I’ve been to Cumberland Island, GA, and it seems like a nice area! 🙂

[Naturella]

OOOH, more pets!!! My boyfriend and our roommate are moving into a house in December, so we should have enough space! Do consider! 😉

[Akari_32]

I come with 365 gallons worth of aquariums and ponds, 3 leopard geckos, a Mali Uromastyx (google it!), and two very large dogs LOL

My brother and his family live in Kingsland, btw!

[Naturella]

Akari….

THANK YOU!!! I am in awe of your skills!!! Can we be roommates? Please? Maybe? Move to GA, we have great schools!!!! 🙂

[Akari_32]

Here are my frequented coupon sites. Target because Publix takes their coupons too lol

http://printablecouponsanddeals.com/Category/pet-products

http://coupons.target.com/pets-coupons

http://www.couponnetwork.com/

http://www.projectpetslimdown.com/Home/Offers

http://www.coupons.com/coupons/Pet-Care-Coupons-102/

Here are some PetCo ones– these can be used at any pet store that accepts competitor coupons (provided theres a PetCo near buy)

http://www.petco.com/petco_Page_PC_proplancoupon1113.aspx

http://www.petco.com/petco_Page_PC_benefulcoupon1013.aspx

http://www.petco.com/petco_Page_PC_petco-coupons.aspx

• This reply was modified 12 years, 4 months ago by Akari_32.

[Akari_32]

I always look for bags nearing their expiration date when couponing. Even torn bags. PetSmart gives me 20% off torn bags if I just ask.

[Jamie08]

I went food shopping last night and happened to find a 5lb bag of Merrick Classic Beef, Barley & Carrot for 50% off- so under $10. I think it was because the “Sell By” date was coming up in just a few weeks. But- my dogs will go through it in plenty of time for it to still be good. I was excited! I also got some of the Merrick Grain Free (Buffalo), which is not as budget friendly, but IS 10% off right now at PetCo… and I’ll probably mix with the Whole Earth Farms for awhile and see how they do.

[cmeeks]

Another good option for coupons online is retailmenot.com Before I checkout on any site I check there to ser if there a promo code or coupon.

[Akari_32]

Yeppers! 😀

I don’t blame you on the Purina. I stick with the One and better if I have to. The ProPlan I don’t feel *so* bad about, but the One I don’t like at all. But I have to get what I can, at the moment. I’d rather not resort to like Kibbles and bits or some off brand from Dollar General or Ol’ Roy or something @.@ So, I get the cheap brands really cheap/free/paid to take, and I mix in the better brands, like the Wellness. This is only when I don’t have money for all better brands of course. Though, because I made $7 for every 3 bags of Purina One I bought, I have a lot of it! So I need to stock up on something better before the RR runs out. I’ve got about 3 weeks of the RR mix left as it stands, but I do plan on diluting it down to 50/50 before I open the Core, simply because I ain’t made of money lol

[InkedMarie]

Wow, Akari, you got all that for $10? I have one dog that can eat anything (I do draw the line at anything Purina, no offense) so I’d take those Wellness bags in a heartbeat!

[Akari_32]

You’re welcome! Happy couponing! 😀

[Naturella]

Will certainly do! 🙂 🙂 🙂

THANK YOU!

[Akari_32]

You’re welcome 🙂 You may even be able to solicit coupons or samples from companies. Doesn’t hurt to try! Email any company you may want to try, and see what you can get! 😉

[Naturella]

*stares in awe* Yay, so much knowledge about coupons, thank you! 🙂

[Akari_32]

Coupons.com and printablecouponsanddeals.com (maybe net? Something like that… It’s a grey and blue blog style website) are good places to start. If you don’t mind Purina products, projectslimdownpets.com has good ProPlan coupons too. They reset every so often. Some of the coupons on their are currently unavailable, but check them often any ways.

You can also just look right on the retailers websites. If don’t mind it, Pedigree is doing an adoption drive event, and of you print out a form, fill it out, and send them a copy of a vaccine receipt (among other options), they will send you a coupon for a free bag up to $10 (I opted to get the sensative systems one, the better of their craptasic foods– paid like 2 bucks for it after the coupon) and free any four cans up to $5 (for the best value, get the big cans! ;)).

[Naturella]

Akari,

Great!!! Thank you, coupon guru! 🙂

[Akari_32]

Oh and go to Wellness’ web site and do the check your bag thing for their coupons. These are reset monthly, and you can only click print ONCE. Luckily, it comes up and asks how many you want to print. I usually do 10.

[Akari_32]

Gotta got on google and just search every way possible. I have several sites I frequent for my manufacturer coupons. For the petco coupons, you just go to petco.com/coupons, and also just search around the site. Petsmart has good coupons every now and then, and you get those by being a PetPerks member. If you have a Pet Supermarket, sign up for their VIP program to get $4 off $20 coupons, and get mailed $5 off $25 coupons. The $2 off $10 are found in the Sunday paper, and occationally through the Internet. Like someone else said above, the ProPlan coupon this month is not on the coupon page, but on the featured brands thing at the bottom of the main page. When I’m on my computer again, I’ll post links to the sites I use 🙂

[Naturella]

Is all of this online (the coupons)? I need help on where to even look…. :/

[Akari_32]

Thanks! I did the same thing I told you, only I have $2 off $10 Pet SuperMarket coupons and happened to find the $5 off PetCo Wellness ones lol In total, I got $12 off each bag, as well as them being on sale for $3 less than PetSmarts usual price 🙂 Sale ends this weekend, so if you want it, you better hurry! PetCo also has the 4 and 6 pound bags of ProPlan for $9.99, with the $5 off any size coupon 🙂

[Naturella]

Oh my goodness, Akari, your couponing rocks! Great job!!!

[Akari_32]

Thanks! You should try it! It’s fun 🙂 A little too much math for my liking, but it’s worth it LOL

These are going to be stored until my Rachael Ray mix runs out. I’m down to about 75/25 Rachael Ray to Purnia One 🙁 Then I’ve got about 40 pounds (maybe a little less) more of the Purina One, and about 20 pounds of Pedigree (Sensitive Systems and Puppy Complete or whatever it is), so I need to stock up on more good food so that they don’t get all cheaper food… lol

I did go to PetCo to get the ProPlan, but they were out of the three I narrowed it down to (Select Sensitive Skin and Stomach, Lamb and Rice Puppy, and Grain Free– all 6 pounds and rated at 3 stars), so I went to PetSmart and got the Wellness instead. Got to break in a cute new cashier, too 😉

[theBCnut]

YAY!! What a score! I envy you coupon goddesses.

[Akari_32]

My $1 per pound isn’t applied toward cheaper foods (such as Purina, etc). It’s applied to 3 star rated foods and up. For example, tonights shopping trip…

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/securedownload_zpsceedb94d.jpeg

Less than $10 for these four bags! If this was a lesser brand, I’d have not gotten it unless I was either getting paid for it, or paying less than 1/2 of what I just paid for this. So, I have a standard of quality when it comes to what I pay vs what I’m getting. Thats just me, though. Can’t vouch for other people 😉

I will fully admit to gratefully taking advantage of the free whatever-size-bag coupons Pedigree and Purina have sent me. I plan on mixing these lower quality foods with something much better, like this Wellness. I can’t bring my self to feed JUST one of those yucky corn filled foods (if they can even be called food!)… But right now I’m in a do what you have to position. We’ve all been there!

[Molzy]

I will suggest – you should try to do a “price per day” comparison rather than per pound. I have found that certain brands differ a lot on how much you have to feed to maintain weight. Also, most dogs I have owned I have had to feed less than the recommended amount (not so anymore with two 1.5 year old cattledog mixes, who I have trouble keeping weight ON). A 30lb bag isn’t necessarily comparable to another 30lb bag in how long they will last your dog(s). That being said, of course, it will probably still be more expensive to feed the expensive food. I really like the idea of mixing a mid-level food with a more expensive one (or rotating) to keep things affordable. I might actually have to try that with some of the Honest Kitchen mixes I am starting to try.

Another suggestion – right now, Wag.com has 25% off your first order for new customers, with up to $20 off!! I plan on purchasing something tonight, and probably making my boyfriend and mom both order some for me as well (it says 1 per household). Also, I have been looking at the Petango store, which has an awesome 15% off recurring orders. You can choose how often they ship something to you, so I am considering eventually having things spaced a few months apart, to get a rotation going (shipped to my door too!). I live in a smallish town, where the only dog food available is grocery store/walmart brands (the local farm and fleet does carry Taste of the Wild if I am ever in a pinch), so online shopping is very convenient for me.

Other suggestions – for Minnesota/Colorado, Chuck and Don’s Pet Food Outlet has quarterly sales (usually something like $15 off a $75 purchase) as well as quarterly newsletters with a TON of coupons. I highly recommend their stores! For those in Iowa, Theisens (a farm store, but with high quality food including frozen raw) has a twice-yearly 18% off anything you can fit in a bag sale. We have successfully fit 35# bags of Nutrisource/PureVita/Merrick in their brown bag for the discount before. Also, a LOT of brands have “Buy X number of bags, get the Xth bag free” programs at participating stores. Honest Kitchen just started one actually (buy 12 get one free), I just picked up an envelope last week.

Good luck!

[Akari_32]

I’m always on PetCo’s coupon page. They put out some really good ones, but their coupon policy sucks, so I take them to PetSmart LOL I may take up that deal, actually. Anything is better than having to rehome your pets because of money issues. $1 per pound is hard, but match coupons with sales, and you can most certainly make it. Shop around and plan, plan, plan!

[BlackandBlue]

PetCo’s main page on the bottom has a tab called “Brand Spotlight”. If you click on the Purina ProPlan one you can print out a coupon for $5.00 off any sized bag of dog or cat food (valid until 12/31/13). Right now at PetCo ProPlan is on sale for $9.99 for the 6lb. bags, use the coupon, get a bag for $4.99 plus tax. Ok, ProPlan is not the most nutritious food, but the Chicken and Brown Rice is rated 3.5 stars here and you could mix it with a better food. I always check PetCo’s website every month because they have a coupon for a free can of cat food (it’s Friskies this month).

[cmeeks]

I agree, very difficult. I went ahead and bought the 40 pound bag of Victor, i’m not sure if that type of deal will always be available, but i’m crossing my fingers.

[theBCnut]

A dollar per pound for good foods is about impossible, but you sure have found a real bargain in Victor.

[cmeeks]

Thanks for the Dr Tim’s recommendations! I checked them all out and found Victor to be my favorite option. You can get a 40 pound bag for around $50 bucks! That seems like a really good deal for a 4 star food, especially since it seems the designer brands don’t usually sell bags much bigger than around 30 pounds. I’m seriously thinking of ordering me a bag.

The goal I have in my head is to keep the price at around $1 per pound. I know that’s arbitrary, but it’s just a budgeting goal I have. The Victor is close though. Anyone have anymore good options for budget friendly dog foods?

[InkedMarie]

Some better priced good foods would be dr Tim’s grain inclusives (there are three), Earthborn, Victor, Merrick whole earth farms, hi Tek naturals, off the top of my head. I don’t know if they’re comparable to Iams, I don’t feed food like that so I don’t know.

[theBCnut]

How can you not mean anything by calling people snobby?

[cmeeks]

I never meant anything mean in regards to being snobby, I was dog food snobby to at first. I look at the ingredients in some of the food I eat and if I run them through “guaranteed analysis” they would probably fail.

Honestly, if anyone has a better alternative to Smart Puppy for a COMPARABLE price, I will surely try it.

[InkedMarie]

Some of us are “snobby” due to the ingredients. Some of us also feed our dogs what we feel is best by looking at ingredients and guaranteed analysis. If you feel it’s incredible, good for you. There are other foods out there for budget conscious people with much better ingredients.

[cmeeks]

So i’ve been going through this same dilemna myself for a few months. I have puppy now that started off feeding Blue Wilderness, which is amazing! I have no complaints, other than the fact that she was usually eating better than me lol. I figured if i’m spending more on my puppies food than I do on myself, something’s wrong. After lot’s of searching and researching online, I stumbled upon Iams Smart Puppy. I know! Everyone on this forum is going to be snobby towards Iams, but i’m here to vouch whole heartedly for it. It’s rated three stars, but for the price it is incredible. Petsmart has it for sure, my Walmart doesnt carry it though. For someone who is on a budget, this is some of the best out there in my opinion. A 38 pound bag for $34. This is about what it is in Petsmart to I think.

[Akari_32]

Man I wish 23 pounds lasted me 4 months! Lucky lol

Let me know how your couponing trips go 🙂

[Naturella]

Akari,

You are my couponing guru!!! 🙂

Thanks so much for the info! I will certainly get on this, as I plan to obtain some Wellness Core, Victor GF (they have awesome cheap samples on their website http://www.victorpet.com/ ), and maybe some Back to Basics for Bruno’s after-next batch of mixed food (the upcoming batch will consist of Dr. Tim’s Kinesis GF, Nutrisca, and Vets Choice GF, total of 23 lbs of food, should last him a good 4-ish months).

But yes, thanks so much for the info again, and hope Petland does the trick for you to get bunches of cheap, good dog food! 🙂

[Akari_32]

I’ll have to go up there and do that. Free and cheap dog food sounds good to me!

I get emails from PetSmart, Petco and Pet Supermarket, who send me various coupons and deal alerts. I’m always on the look out, even when I don’t need any dog food lol

The key to couponing is to match up sales with coupons, and buy as cheaply as possible. Like you just learned, buy small bags. It’s cheaper to buy crap-tons of small bags with multiple coupons than it is to buy a large bag with one coupon. Usually, anyways. Sometimes it comes out the same (in which case, mix and match flavors :p) and rarely will it come out to be more expensive. I tend to use dollars off an order, as well as manufacturer coupons and competitor coupons on each item. Petsmart is the easiest place to do this, IME.

For instance:

Petsmart has their 4 pound bags of Wellness Core on sale for $13.99
Wellness ALWAYS has $5 off coupons on their website, reset monthly so you can print them out every time you need pet food. These are good on any size bag of dog or cat food.
PetCo usually had wellness coupons out as well, we’ll say its $3, since they don’t have at the moment. Usually it’s $5 off any bag of Core, though.
Pet Supermarket has monthly $4 off $20 orders.

Buy two bags of the wellness. Total with tax before coupons is $29.94. Apply the $4 off $20, and it’s $25.94. Apply the two $5 off any bag of wellness, and it’s $15.94. Then the two petco $3 off, and the total comes out to $9.94 for what was originally two $18 bags of dog food. There are some weird taxes applied and not applied to certain coupons, so this is an estimate, but it gives you the general idea 🙂

This all mainly depends on the store and the cashiers working at the time. I’ve Learned who I can and can’t get away with certain things with. Some stores have a strict coupon policy. Your best bet is to go in there like you own the place and know exactly what you’re doing, and do a test run. And always have a couple back up plans. I tend to have 2-3 couponing scenarios when I go out. It takes time to plan, but it’s worth it!

[Naturella]

Akari,

Sigh, I wish there was one closer to you (not for anything but the great deals I saw on both Vets Choice and Earthborn)… And yes, yuck to selling puppies… =/

But anywho, I think I signed up in the store, I may have bought a tiny little something, and you know, at the register they usually ask you if you want to sign up for their “whatever-named” reward/point/something program, so you give them name, phone number, probably address, and voila! Let the free food flow! LoL!

But really, I would say, ask your close friends to go there and sign up too, even if (ESPECIALLY when) they don’t have dogs, so they can get the coupons and get you the food.

I only bought the small bag, which in all varieties but the Grain Free would have been absolutely free, but a larger bag will be more than $1.64 after coupon, but STILL way less than if ordered online or bought at other places.

Your local stores may have other comparable deals on good food, so don’t discount that opportunity! But I think Petland overall has a deal or something with Vets Choice so they promote their products a lot, good thing the food is 4/4.5-star rated! 🙂

But yeah, happy hunting, let me know if you have any questions, and if the coupons work out!

P.S. Teach ME how to coupon for dog food, please! I don’t even know where to start! =/

[Akari_32]

That’s awesome! Good job 🙂

The closest PetLand is about 45-60 minutes away. Not the best shop around, either. Grimy and dirty, and they sell puppies. Yuck… But for 1.64 a bag of food, I could make a trip up there and get a few lol

How does one sign up for their emails? I went all over the petland website and found nowhere to sign up.

[Naturella]

Akari,

Today I received another coupon in the mail for Vets Choice Holistic Health Extension from Petland for $11.99 off amy bag of dog food of that brand. Naturally, I rushed to the store and snatched up a 4-lb bag of their grain free food for $1.64 of my own cash! Now, idk if it is just my local Petland or if all of their prices are comparable, but I would suggest that you sign up for their rewards points thing or whatever it is they use for coupons and discounts sending. I noticed Vets Choice are foods you would feed, and they have some super neat deals in store, the small bags run around $11.99-$13.99, and the big bags are pretty afforfable too! Same with their Earthborn Holistic! Great deals!

And I know you mentioned you live in FL, and that you’d rather shop in store vs. have something delivered, so here is a link to the Petland locations in FL. Hope at least one is close enough to you and that they have similar deals! Good luck!

http://stores.petland.com/FindPetlandStores/Florida.htm

[InkedMarie]

I’ll suggest some more budget friendly foods, better than what you’ve mentioned: dr Tim’s (some of his, if you order online) come in larger bags, Fromm, NutriSource.

[Eldee]

I am so pleased with both the price of merricks whole earth farms food and the quality. The senior canned food is gobbled up by my two in no time, and the finicky chow who won’t touch a hot dog wiener, loves it. The cans up until last week were $1.99 in Canada, but now are $2.39 per tin. I guess I should have bought a couple of cases last week when I was shopping.

[theBCnut]

I don’t want to imply that I won’t suggest foods, but my dogs are doing best on foods that are in no way budget friendly, so I don’t have a lot of budget friendly foods that I am good with.

That being said, yes, feeding different kinds of food is better than feeding one kind. The more different variety, the better. Raw is best, but your dogs can get some of the benefits of raw by getting a little raw in their diets, a turkey, duck, or chicken neck each week or a can of sardines. Dehydrated foods are great but very expensive. I use them and freeze dried foods as treats. Homemade is great too, but you have to do it right or your dog will end up sick from not getting certain nutrients. Kibbles are actually the most processed dog food, but there are some great kibbles at a good price. I don’t think they are as inexpensive as Pure Balance, but they are better quality. I like NutriSource and Earthborn.

I hope someone else will post some more ideas for you. What I usually tell people is to print up the list of 4 and 5 star foods and take it with them to all the different place around that have dog food. Take notes about where you find what and for how much. When you are on a budget, but want better for your dog, you can try adding some of a better quality food to whatever your base kibble is, or adding fresh foods like eggs, yogurt, lean meats, etc.

[RescueDaneMom]

Ok, so you are looking for a food that is free of fish, peas, and potatoes that is acceptable for a large breed puppy, right?

You could try the Earthborn Holistic Meadow Feast. There is no fish or potatoes (white or sweet) in it. If there is no improvement, then it could be the peas.

If you don’t mind grains, Nature’s Variety Large Breed Puppy has no peas or potatoes but it does have salmon oil. Pinnacle Chicken & Oatmeal has no fish or peas but does have potatoes. The Victor Select Chicken Meal or Lamb Meal are both free of peas, fish, and potatoes. They are budget-friendly too. On Amazon the 40lb bag of Chicken Meal & Rice formula is $55.

You might have to go through the list of appropriate foods for large breed puppies and look at the ingredients in each one. Then you can determine if the price is right and if you can get your hands on it. I wish you the best of luck!

[mfulton7]

So I’m back again with more questions, haha! Those of you that remember me I have the Doberman whos is 14 wks, shihpoo that is 9mths, and a 2yr old chi.
The shihpoo had a lot of skin issues and we found out she has pemphigus so we have already tried a few different types of dog with her. When we brought the dobie home we had the dogs on signature trout & salmon. The dobie had way to many poos a day so we switched to Earthborn Holistic Coastal Catch. They’ve been on that for 4-5 wks now. The dobie and shihpoo have horrible gas and the dobie also has loose stools off and on. She also itches a lot and has scabbing under her armpit areas. A food intolerance had been suggested to me from the large breed thread and Im thinking that is correct.
Since then I’ve been researching the ingredients and have found the signature and the earthborn holistic both fish have very similar ingredients. Quite a few different types of peas. Potatoes and sweet potatoes are listed as well but are further down the list.
All this being said would you think that the problem is peas, fish or potatoes? Also what other budget friendly dogs food should we try?

[mfulton7]

Vahl- we actually went with Earthborn Holistic Coastal Catch because it was better for our budget. She seemed to be okay with it until 2 weeks ago and she started having bad gas and loose stools again. Now I’m not sure what we will try. I ordered the big bag of earthborn holistic through wag.com and got a really good deal. Maybe try that if you haven’t found a food yet.

[DogManDan]

oh nice some recipes. guys im in need of advice here, as i have started feeding raw since i read on this. I have 2 roughly 15lb or 6.5kg westies and i need some menus for them as i have limited supplies here and on a budget. the ingredients i have here and are very common to us are chicken, pork and fish. which part of the chicken should i feed and on the fish that would give them a good diet and also how do i mix this up for the next 7 days.

[Akari_32]

Thankfully I ruled out all food allergies with Bentley (thought it was chicken, then grain, and now we are certain it’s grass or something else growing in the yard), so I’m open to just about anything food wise. He likes red meats best, but eats anything other than fish no problem (and he’ll eat the fish, he just ain’t happy about it LOL). He esspetially seems to love the chewy bits of lamb in the Purina One… Yuck! The other dogs don’t care what it is, if it’s even slightly etable, they’ll eat it (this also includes the occational dead animal in the yard, and plants the little brats unpot if I don’t keep an eye on them -_-). My nonpicky dogs make choosing a food easy :3