Dogs. I have them. I have four Boxers and a Chihuahua. Expensive? Feeding 4 1/2 dogs isexpensive. I had horses for 23 years. Expensive? Feeding 2 horses is expensive. So what can be done about that?
I have eaten organically for 30 plus years. Expensive? You bet. I grow some, I buy most. I juice daily. That is expensive too. Lucky for me I eat very simply. My food bill is low because I do eat simply.
So, where am I going with this? I am a big believer in organic food. Horses and dogs (5!) are expensive to feed. What I don’t have are doctor bills and vet bills. The dogs are not 100% organic, but my horses were. People used to tell me I didn’t know what I was doing with my horses, not being a ‘real’ horse person. In 23 years of horses I never had an emergency vet call for colic or anything. A vet visit expensive? It can be $2,000 vet bill with one small problem. Organic food? Much cheaper than one of those vet visits per year.
I make most of my dog food. I buy chicken necks, use the millings from my juicing, add apple cider vinegar, flax, kelp, oats, barley or rice, an egg and whatever else I can think of, toss it in the blender and voila’!! Dog food. Sorry it this part makes you gag, but when I had organic horses I would put horse poop in it too!! I know, it is gross. A dog’s favorite thing to eat is horse poop. So I thought, OK. That’s what you want? I kept up on natural dewormer, occasionally checked for parasites (in dogs and horses). I ran it past my Vet and she said “why not”? Pre-digested greens from organic sources… (I also had the best compost hence the best veggies and the biggest pumpkins).
I do feed an organic kibble to my dogs now. A small amount just to cover any bases I may be missing since I don’t have organic horses anymore. I have no vet bills. I do rabies shots because that is the law and who needs grief? I do not do all the other shots. My dogs do not mingle with others except their immediate friends. I don’t think dogs need an annual check up anymore than I need one. If something is suspicious or seems wrong, I would certainly go to the vet. But, nothing goes wrong. No problems.
Maybe I am just lucky. Horses really weren’t very expensive. Dogs? They are with food, but that is it. Me? No doctor bills. No sickness in any of us. No over weight or underweight problems. No behavioral problems, even though all my dogs came to me with serious health and behavioral issues. I am lucky. I have made good decisions for me and for my critters. Sure it takes more time to make the food than buy it, but that time is saved by not driving to the vet’s office and time worrying.
