Ways to Save on Pet Food and Treats

By Julia Williams

Finding ways to save money is on a lot of people’s minds nowadays. Tough economic times call for figuring out how to stretch the budget. We all need to eat though, and so do our pets. With that in mind, here are a few ways to save on dog food, cat food, pet treats and even horse feed!

Coupons

Until recently, I wasn’t much of a couponer because it didn’t seem worth the trouble. TLC’s Extreme Couponing show sparked my desire to begin using coupons, and once I saw how much I could actually save, couponing has become a way of life. Some people think you can only buy junk with coupons, but it’s not true. You can find coupons for just about anything – including healthy pet food.

Many pet food companies have coupons for dog food, cat food and pet treats on their website and/or their Facebook page. CANIDAE Natural Pet Food Company has several different high value coupons on their website that anyone can request. You can save up to $4 off FELIDAE pureELEMENTS or pureSEA dry cat food, and up to $5 off CANIDAE pureSKY or pureLAND dry dog food.

The CANIDAE website also has coupons for TidNips™ treats for both dogs and cats. These coupons are even better because they are BOGO (in couponing lingo, that means buy one get one). So, you buy one package of Tidnips treats (which my cats ecstatically endorse) and you get one free! If you happen to have a horse, CANIDAE even has a BOGO coupon for its line of horse feed called EQUIDAE. In a couponer’s world, free is the magic word. Don’t ever let someone tell you that you can’t get something good for free, because it’s simply not true!

Sweepstakes and Contests

Now that nearly every household has internet access, giveaways and contests for free pet food and pet-related goodies are plentiful. You can find opportunities to win free pet food on freebie and coupon sites, giveaway sites, pet blogs, and the websites of pet food companies. I enter at least a dozen giveaways every month just by reading other pet bloggers regularly. I’ve won a few things including kitty litter, toys, and some food which I donated to my sister’s 11 cats since I feed FELIDAE exclusively.

I also won a contest for a digestive supplement by writing a little story about the time my cat licked all the caramel off my cookies. Most of the time, though, all I do to enter a giveaway is leave a comment and/or contact info. CANIDAE has a unique, ongoing giveaway for a high value prize – six months worth of free dog food or cat food! Everyone who signs up to receive the Responsible Pet Ownership blog posts by email is automatically entered to win, and the prize is awarded every three months. If you’re not already a subscriber, just look for the sweepstakes info on the right hand side of the blog.

Loyalty Programs

Many retail stores and food establishments have incentive programs designed to encourage repeat patronage. I love punch cards almost as much as coupons, and currently have them for my favorite local pet food store, burrito place, coffee bar, sandwich shop and running shoe store. Some are literally a card that gets punched when I make a purchase while others are tracked electronically. Each place has different requirements – e.g., buy 10 and get one free, or spend $100 dollars and save $5 on your next purchase. If you’re going to buy something anyway, why not sign up for the loyalty program if it's available, and enjoy the savings?

Get Free Samples

Your local independent pet shop or feed store will often have free samples available. They may even have manufacturer reps there to answer questions and tell you about their products. That’s how I found out about FELIDAE eight years ago! Ask the store if any events like this are coming up, and be sure to stop by on that date. In addition to the samples, they may also give out coupons.

Write a Product Review

Companies are always looking for bloggers to try their product and write a review. Of course, their hope is that you’ll love it and speak favorably of it, but even if you don’t like it, you still get to try it for free. In fact, if you have a pet and a blog (not necessarily a pet blog!) and would like to review CANIDAE dog food, FELIDAE cat food or TidNips treats, please leave a comment and your contact info below.  

Photo by Haley7

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