The Cost of things: May 2014

Tags

acana, budgeting, creston valley meats, dehydrators, dog treats, honest kitchen, kibble, pet finances, pig ears, raw turkey, zignature

Don’t look now… it’s that time of month again.

This is my fourth year of tracking pet finances at the House of Two Bows. This is an ongoing effort to get a practical sense of what it costs to keep two 20 ~ 30 pound adult dogs in an area of the US with relatively high costs of living. Previous posts in this series can be found under the category of finances.

The Cost of (Pet) Things for May 2014:

• Food: $194 [previous month, $15]
• Treats: $41 [previous, $12]
• Grooming: $0 [previous, $0]
• Vet & Medical: $0 [previous, $0]
• Accessories and misc: $0 [previous, $0]
• TOTAL: $235 [running average for 2014: ~$161/month]

Another high total bumping up the monthly average, unfortunately. This month I splurged on a couple sales and bulk orders.

Placed another food order with Creston Valley Meats, a practice which I only seem to manage about once a year. This round included a 12-pound box of ground turkey meat and bone, which I mix with Honest Kitchen Preference at about a 2:1 ratio (heavy on the meat), and about 7 pounds of chicken’s feet at $1.50 a pound, sold as “all natural, home grown, most fed on organic feed.” This is slightly cheaper than the local Asian groceries, and apparently better quality (from what little I can tell by visual inspection). Given the way I stagger meals, this supply should last through the rest of the year.

Also on the pricey side, I threw down for more Honest Kitchen products since the local Pet Food Express chain was running a promotion: buy one, get one half off. I snagged a 10 lb. box of The Honest Kitchen Force for an additional $20 off because the packaging was damaged (though the contents were unaffected), so I matched that with a 7 lb. box of Preference at discount. That amount of Preference has lasted about a year before, perhaps a bit less.

10 lb. box of THK Force (old packaging) vs. 2 lb. trial size box (new packaging)

Not sure if the sale was because the store wanted to clear the shelves to make way for THK in its new packaging (shown on the 2 lb trial size box that Bowpi is licking). Review preview: You will hear more about The Honest Kitchen Force and their new packaging in the next post…

For kibble, the Bows got a 15 pound bag of Acana Pacifica, probably the most expensive kibble in their rotation (and thus only appearing about once a year), because I managed to comp a small bag of Acana Grasslands with a special order.

Finally, there was one last 4 lb. bag of Zignature Wild Trout recipe at half off. We’ve tried a couple Zignature formulas before. Since then, the retail price on the small bag at my local pet store was adjusted to $12.98 a bag, which makes it comparable to Taste of the Wild. I’m not convinced that it’s a better kibble, though at less than $7 a bag, it’s totally worth another chance.

So that was a lot of food that should allow us to aim for a single-digit food total next month…

For treats, restocked on The Honest Kitchen Beams at buy 3, get 1 free (went for the small size this time). Also eight raw pig’s ears, hacked up and thrown into the dehydrator. Lots of crunchy bits to get us through the month…

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The Cost of things: April 2014

Tags

budgeting, dehydrators, dog treats, mary's pet food, pet finances, pig ears, pitman family farms, raw turkey

This is my fourth year of tracking pet finances at the House of Two Bows. This is an ongoing effort to get a practical sense of what it costs to keep two 20 ~ 30 pound adult dogs in an area of the US with relatively high costs of living. Previous posts in this series can be found under the category of finances.

The Cost of (Pet) Things for April 2014:

• Food: $15 [previous month, $83]
• Treats: $12 [previous, $31]
• Grooming: $0 [previous, $13]
• Vet & Medical: $0 [previous, $80]
• Accessories and misc: $0 [previous, $15]
• TOTAL: $27 [running average for 2014: ~$142.50/month]

Well check that out. We rocked this month! This is the whole point of stocking up in previous months though, yeah?

Poultry organs are always cheap. The most expensive food item was this one pound chub of Mary’s Pet Food, purchased on a whim when I saw it at my local grocery store. There’s not a lot of online information about this particular product, which does claim to be a “complete” meal suitable for both dogs and cats (hmm…). I was even confused as to whether it was actually cooked, semi-cooked, or raw, as the label doesn’t even say; the meat was not pink, yet it was bloody and drippy after thawing. The website printed on the package doesn’t actually say anything about pet food, but it does tell about Pitman Family Farms, the parent company. Apparently they specialize in “less stressful” slaughtering techniques for poultry, using a process called Controlled Atmosphere Stunning. Interesting.

That sounds like a lot of technology to support for $7.99 + tax, which made me think it was a fair price. I bought it, but I’m not sold on the product. The overall feeding experience itself wasn’t anything special and actually pretty messy for what it was. There’s a reason that other raw food manufacturers freeze their portions in nuggets or patties; chubs are leaky and inconvenient to handle if you don’t use the entire thing at once. And since it was sold frozen, thawing it out rendered the convenience of a grab-and-go meal rather moot, for my purposes.

The dogs, of course, loved it, and digested it just fine. But honestly, I think I could prep them a better, fresher meal just as easily.

Anyway, the real fun this month was in treats. Aside from the usual chicken hearts, I introduced a new ingredient to the home dehydrator: pig ears!

A pack of three very large ears at $3.39 a pound cost less than $4 at Ranch 99. The best part about doing it yourself is that I can easily trim each piece into less gluttonous, treat-sized strips before popping them into the dehydrator. I did leave them in for nearly 16 hours, which may have been overkill. They looked great on the other side though! Given that one whole ear can cost $3 at the pet store these days, this was definitely worth the time and effort. We’ll be doing this again for sure.

REVIEW: True Chews Lils Pig Ear Pieces

Tags

chewy.com, dog food, dog treats, pig ears, true chews

Today’s post is a special treat, and not just for the dogs. I am excited to post the first review by R.J., the other human inhabiting the House of Two Bows.

Product: True Chews Lils Pig Ears Pieces
Quantity 2.5 oz (approx. 6 pieces of ear portions)
Price: $7.99 via Chewy.com
Ingredients: Pig ears, natural smoke flavor
Guaranteed analysis: ??? [N/A on their website, not listed on the packaging for this product]
Country of origin: USA
Company information: Tyson Pet Products, Inc.; 812 Third Street NW; Independence, IA 50644
Web Presence: Truechews.com, on Facebook, etc.

We’ve got two middle-aged dogs. A brash Shiba and a sneaky Basenji. Male and female, respectively. I’ve watched them snarl, yelp and snarl some more over discarded bones in a flooded gutter.

They’re driven by a desire to eat. All dogs are. They don’t discriminate.

I wish I could write that True Chews Lils Pig Ear Pieces brought a reverential calm over my dogs. That they both politely sat down and, before gently taking the pigs’ ears from my hands, blinked in unison. That they lingered over them, sniffed them, licked their chops… maybe tossed a glance my way, with gratitude in their eyes.

Actually, the pigs’ ears were snatched from my fingers (before I could be comfortably seated) and devoured inside of five minutes. The Shiba’s sitting tough at thirty pounds. The Basenji’s just over twenty. I mention this because the treats are marked as being for dogs up to twenty pounds. Usually the Basenji takes slightly more time with her food.

So these treats might be a little smaller than what the dogs are used to. To me, they seemed a little thicker than the ones plucked from a pet store bin. It doesn’t seem likely that they can be broken down into small pieces by clumsy humans.

The dogs, however, took fifteen seconds to figure out the right angle of attack, to gain the proper leverage for eating. Once each found the sweet spot, the ears were promptly broken down into three or four pieces and cruncha-cruncha-crunched. After the last pieces had been swallowed, the dogs spent an additional two minutes sniffing out and licking the microscopic debris left behind. Then they switched places, each searching for what the other might have overlooked.

This was, more or less, a typical encounter with chewing products. No one was hurt, no intestinal duress ensued. What more could you want from a dog treat?

The good people at True Chews insist that you are to supervise your dog’s enjoyment of their chewing treats. And to make sure there is clean drinking water at hand.

True Chews Lils Pig Ear Pieces are made with pride in Independence, Iowa.* They are rawhide-free, contain no filler, and marked as 100% natural. A natural smoke flavor has been added.

True Chews is also a proud sponsor of The United States War Dogs Association, Inc. Check this fine organization out, if you’d like, at http://www.uswardogs.org/ and give the US War Dogs’ Theme Song by Murray Weinstock a listen.

I do sincerely wish True Chews success. Their products seem as simple as they are satisfying. Six chews for eight bucks might be pushing it, and I don’t think the dogs really care about the natural smoke flavor. The Shiba will chew wood if you let him.

”

I’m giving this product an enthusiastic B+ rating.

text by R.J., photos by M.C.

* M.C. would like to highlight the fact that all True Chews are clearly labeled as US-made products, which provides some assurance for those of us concerned with country of origin for our pets’ edibles.

[Disclaimer: The House of Two Bows received a sample bag of treats from Chewy.com in exchange for our honest review.]

REVIEW: PetsLoveToys.com subscription service

Tags

chew toys, chewbies, cloud star corp., dog toys, dog treats, petproject, pets love toys, petslovetoys.com, pig ears, smokehouse, sponsored reviews, subscription boxes, west paw designs

Product/Service: PetsLoveToys.com monthly subscription service
Quantity: One box of two to four items (combinations of toys, treats, and chews), plus many samples
Price: $14.95 / month for small or medium dogs, $19.95 / month for large or X-large dogs
Ingredients/materials: varies
Company Information: established by Brian and Stephanie Barlow; Fountain Valley, CA; Ph: 1-855-4PETTOY (473-8869)
Web Presence: At PetsLoveToys.com, on Facebook, Twitter, etc.

If you’re looking for another way to mark the passing of time (something I’m all too keenly aware of lately), consider signing up for a pet subscription box. No, not gerbils and kittens delivered via USPS, but rather, a monthly batch of goodies for your pet(s) delivered straight to your doorstep. We’ve only recently heard about this crazy concept to maximize our potential to live amongst the MOST SPOILED PETS in the world. At the very least, this should change the stereotypical relationship between dogs and mailmen for the better, right?

Spreadin’ the love is what PetsLoveToys.com seems to be about. We were very excited that they wanted to send the House of Two Bows a big ol’ box of goodies for review.

Their regular ordering cycle works as follows: On the 25th of every month, a new showroom, or gallery of available choices, is revealed to subscribers. You’re presented with three rows of options for your two main units (seems to be 2 – 4 items total), depending on if your pet enjoys toys, treats and chews, or toys and treats. Members have until the first of the month to make a selection, or skip the month and see what else comes up next time. When choices are made, boxes go out, starting from the first of the month.

Our box of selections for August included the following (featured items in bold):

• Chewbies dog toy by PetProject – squeaky neon orange squirrel
• ZOGOflex Jive Ball by West Paw designs – small, aqua
• Cloud Star Buddy Biscuits, roasted chicken flavor, one 6 oz. pack
• Smokehouse Piggy Slivers, one 3.2 oz pack (10 pieces)
• Cloud Star Tricky Trainers treats, two sample pouches
• Cloudstar Wag More, Bark Less chewy treats, two sample pouches
• Cloud Star Buddy Wash sample shampoo, two sample vials
• Pup Chips dog snacks, two sample pouches

Note that this is how much you would get in two boxes for small-medium dogs. Of course, Bowdu thought it was all for him, so I let him take command of the inspections.

I don’t blame him for not wanting to look the garish neon orange squirrel in the eyes. That thing looks like it’s just asking for its face to be gnawed off.

As expected, he showed much more interest in the ZOGOflex ball. Whenever he gets a new action toy (like a ball or tug rope/stick), he’s always torn between guarding it or letting the humans in on the game. After spending a few private moments dirtying up HIS toy, he finally decided to share and let me play with it too.

It’s a very nice ball. Toys in this line feature unusual shapes and durable material, and they’re manufactured in Montana — a state that is thoroughly familiar with dogs and all kinds of exciting wild critters, as I hear. Good to see they know how to make a sweet dog toy, too!

What really got both dogs’ attentions were the edibles. Bowpi, who had been ignoring the whole unpacking process, scampered right over with round, eager eyes when I busted out the Piggy Slivers…

… and both dogs proceeded to make a glorious, crunchy mess in their respective spots as they chomped up their pig ear parts. No worries — they took care of the crumbs, too.

Value wise, you will come out a little on top with savings by ordering through PetsLoveToys. Under normal circumstances, we would have paid $28.40, shipping included, for these two portions. A single Shibasenji-sized subscription would be $14.95, and each additional box comes at another 10% discount, up to three pets total (so 10% off for the second pet, 20% off for the third). A quick tabulation of Amazon and/or local retail prices on these items puts me at approximately $36 or $37 dollars for the whole lot, if I were to buy them separately.

However, I probably would not have chosen to purchase a couple of these items. Upon closer inspection, the scary neon orange squirrel toy was made in China. If it goes in my dogs’ mouths or can be ingested, I don’t want it coming from Chinese manufacturing plants (and I say this as someone with relatives that once owned and operated a pet toy manufacturing plant in China).

Brian, the company owner, acknowledged my concern and said that this is something that the company will work to address as they continue to discover more domestic companies that offer good products at fair prices. This shouldn’t be an issue with edible items, but apparently it’s trickier with pet toys. An ultimate goal is for the company to manufacture its own US-made toys. It sounds ambitious, but I hope they can meet their goal!

We know Cloud Star soft and chewy Buddy Biscuits have quality ingredients, but since we do not usually feed processed beef or chicken flavors, this product was a borderline case for us… though I’ve been letting up on this household rule lately. Anyway, I have purchased this brand in stores when I found them in alternate flavors, and both Bows found this month’s selection quite gobbleable. They especially liked the pumpkin-flavored samples. That’s something we would anticipate in future showrooms. Meanwhile, Brian assured me that the company is looking into novel protein options for dogs who display sensitivities to common meats found in typical pet foods and treats.

Normal subscribers can return unsatisfactory items for exchange or credit (they cover shipping) — otherwise, returns are charged a $5.95 restocking fee.

Really, I can’t complain much, since I chose the items myself. That’s the most important thing about this subscription service — you’re always given a choice in what you get (or you can skip a month and wait until the next showcase), and it shouldn’t be be a box full of unwanted surprises. Of course, the freebies and extras are nice too, but here, your preferences matter.

Overall, PetsLoveToys.com appears to offer the most inexpensive subscription box of several similar services that have popped up in recent months. Others that we have surveyed typically cost over $20 per month, so PetsLoveToys undercuts them all, specifically for smaller dogs. The quantity of items included are fairly conservative, and might be insufficient for more active, destructive, gluttonous, or picky members, but that is counterbalanced by the slight deal you get.

Bottom line: The Bows were happy with what they got! And the company seem quite open to receiving feedback, constructive criticism, and suggestions for improvement, so it’s worth keeping an eye on Pets Love Toys, especially as they roll out more variety, more options, and hopefully other species-specific deals… like something for cats?

Well… they can party with the packaging paper and box. Dogs get dibs on the good stuff.

FINAL GRADE: B+