Feeding my dog a balanced diet on a college student's budget

[hr_19]

I'm currently a college student who owns an Australian Shepherd + unknown mix (potentially some type of terrier and/or pitbull) 7 year old female, 40lbs. I take her on 2-3 10 minute walks a day because of time constraints, so she's minimally active. I switched her to Pedigree canned dog food for enrichment and nutrition purposes. She was fixed in January and ever since has had soft stools. The vet put her on antibiotics and I was feeding her a mixture of rice/oatmeal, pumpkin, and boiled chicken/scrambled eggs, which helped make her bowel movements firmer. Once I transitioned her back to the canned food, the soft stools returned. Her behavior also has not changed, so she's likely not detrimentally sick and she recently had her stool sample tested but everything came back negative.

I want to feed my dog a balanced diet that is exciting for her to eat, but, as a college student, I don't have very much of a budget to feed her a raw diet from any of the major brands that sell their products (i.e. We Feed Raw). I want options that are budget friendly, take minimal/a little time to prepare. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

 

[hogynllan]

@hr_19 Is there a reason you want to feed raw? It's typically not recommended due to the amount of risks it has. Most vets recommend staying away from it. I personally will never feed raw.

Kibble is balanced and perfectly fine. And there's a crap ton of affordable options. Iams is personally my favorite (I'd feed it to my dog if they had a chicken free option). You can always add toppers to kibble if you want, just make sure it's dog safe and 10% or less than their daily intake. I add a couple of spoonfuls of cooked veggies to my dog's kibble. And a fiber supplement. That's it.

For enrichment purposes, you can make your own wet food from kibble. Just soak it in warm water until it softens and mash it up. Or you can use a blender or food processor to speed it up.

 

[brennanskates]

@hr_19 Does she need wet food? It tends to be higher in fat than dry food which can definitely contribute to diarrhea.

Iams, Purina, and eukaneuba all have kibble and wet food options that are complete and balanced. Hills and royal Canin are also great options though tend to be a bit more expensive