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15 Insanely Smart Ways to Find Cheap Dog Food

15 Insanely Smart Ways to Find Cheap Dog Food

No matter how much you love your dog, you won’t mind cutting down on his food budget. It is easy to see why. According to Nutrapooch, a pet owner spends around $95 every month feeding a medium-sized mutt. Following this statistic, you will spend more than $1440 on dog food annually if you have one dog.

Assuming your friend sticks around for ten years, you will have parted with a whopping $14,400 on dog food by the time the pup dies. Now, these numbers are good if you are on the receiving end but if you are the giver, any strategy of cutting costs is a welcome relief.

Lucky for you, we might have a solution today. Here are 15 ingenious ways to find cheap dog food.

1. Switch Brands

First off, if you want the best bargains on anything, it is always a good idea to sample a few dog food brands before making a purchase. For the same ingredients, one supplier might charge less a dollar per pound of product compared to the other. The next time you want a bone meal, try switching to a cheaper brand. Don’t worry; it is highly unlikely that your pup will tell the difference.

2. Consult Your Vet

You may not know this but dog food manufacturers sometimes offer vets coupons and samples. Before you leave your vet’s office, ask them if they have such deals. You might be surprised at the answer you get. While you are at it, be sure to ask the vet for any recommendations on the best diet for your dog.

3. Know The Value Of The Product

Many people subscribe to the school of thought that bigger bags of dog food cost less than smaller bags. While this is true for the most part, buying several smaller bags is cheaper than buying one bag for some brands. Pay close attention to brands when shopping to know the size that is more affordable.

4. Buy In Bulk

This one is a no-brainer. If you stumble upon insanely cheap dog food brand somewhere, buy the entire shelf. This is especially true if you have coupons and other deals up for grabs. Just ensure you check expiration dates before walking out with anything.

5. Ask For Discounts At The Store

Like all other groceries, pet food attracts discounts from time to time. Sometimes, stores don’t advertise these discounts to every customer. Why not go the extra mile and dig around for them? Your pocket will certainly thank you for it.

6. Check Social Media For More Deals

Stalking on social media isn’t glamorous but when it comes to looking for cheap dog food bargains, don’t hold back! Leading dog food brands are notorious for posting super deals on their social media profiles. You might land a promotion of a lifetime on chicken thighs or rice – your pup’s favorite homemade recipe.

7. Subscribe To Savings

Once you know what your dog likes to eat, chances are you will maintain one brand for his or her meals. If you do find yourself constantly shopping from one source, you might want to consider capitalizing on dog food subscriptions. Many dog food manufacturers offer crazy discounts to their constant customers from time to time. The beauty with this arrangement is that you can pick a delivery schedule and have the product delivered at your doorstep- all at an affordable cost.

8. Allow Email Spams

Pet stores are known for clogging client inboxes with emails containing weekly ads, time-sensitive sales, and flyers. You probably have such emails in your inbox. Instead of getting mad about the annoying emails, why not organize your mails in a manner that makes it easy to sniff deals out? You could go ahead and create a folder for dog specials only. This way, you can afford to ignore the rest of the mails and perhaps score good deals on your dog food. Talk about killing two birds with one stone!

9. Take Advantage Of Rebates

In case you don’t know, a rebate is a refund offered to you after purchasing a product. Once you provide solid proof that you indeed made a purchase (usually via a receipt), you can fill a form with your contact details and wait for a check of the refund in your mail. Unlike in the past when you had to mail this to the manufacturer, you can now claim a rebate online.

10. Couponing

Although coupons for dog foods are rare, you might get lucky to come across them from time to time. Watch out for the catalogs and brochures that fill your mailbox or the Sunday newspaper for coupons. If you don’t want all that work, go online. If lady luck is on your case, a quick Google search will land you in a dog food coupon or two.

11. Pay attention to the shipping cost

When buying dog food online, many people ignore the shipping cost only to regret later. Before you do your dance at the bargain on that bone meal, find out how much you will spend to ship it to your location. Remember that some retailers like to hide the shipping cost to lure unsuspecting buyers. Lucky for you, many retailers offer free shipping. Others charge a small fee. Find your sweet spot and rest there.

12. Grab Loyalty Awards

If you enjoy shopping for your doggy products in one location, you might also want to take advantage of the loyalty programs. However, like the aforementioned point, don’t be quick to rush into it. In some, factor the cost of the program on the end price of the product. This means you will end up buying the item at an expensive cost.  The trick? Find the most rewarding program for dog food by shopping around.

13. Know What Matters And What Doesn’t

When looking for dog food offers, you’ll often come across buzzwords such as, “all-natural,”, “holistic’, and “grain-free.” These words, albeit important, sometimes have no actual definition. Others are loosely defined in the market today. Therefore, don’t pay sky-high prices for a “grain-free’ ingredient compared to one that has grains. As a matter of fact, words like “organic” carry more weight in relation to the law.

14. Order Online

Dog food, like other stuff, come cheap when bought online than in-store. The reason is that stores require employees, rent, water, power, and a number of other bills to run. Online stores, on the other hand, have no physical location except for a warehouse. If you have never ordered your ingredients online, try today. Visit Amazon, Dog.com, Petco, and Petfooddirect.com for the best process. Note, however, that the shipping cost for heavy bags might be quite the amount. Do your math and establish whether buying online is really worth it in the end.

15. Visit Warehouse Stores

Finally, another smart way to get cheap dog food is by buying directly from warehouse stores. These usually sell products in bulk for crazy discounts. If you have multiple dogs, this arrangement would suit you best.

Dog food can be quite pricey, especially if you don’t know how to find cheap deals. Engage a smart gear and save as much as you can on dog food. Your pup will absolutely appreciate the recipes.

Last Updated on January 29, 2021 by

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