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I have a lot of stray dogs in my street. I would like to give them something to eat everyday. I don't have a lot of money (as I am a student), so giving them dog food is not possible.

My questions are

  • Are there some ingredients I should avoid?
  • Is there a better and cheaper alternative?
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    Depends where you live as to the quality of the ingredients? Also a bag of dog treats from a petstore can be as cheap as a packet of biscuits in some countries, or minimal difference.
    – Aravona
    Oct 3, 2015 at 16:39
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    Pound for pound dry dog food is probably cheaper and healthier for dogs. You will need to look at the ingredients for the options available to you. There are a couple of good posts tagged dogs+diet that may help you decide what is the best. Oct 3, 2015 at 16:57
  • Do you mean biscuits intended for humans, or for dogs?
    – keshlam
    Oct 4, 2015 at 15:09
  • @keshlam humans keshlam. Oct 4, 2015 at 15:40
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    In that case, I'd worry bit about sugar and the dogs' teeth.
    – keshlam
    Oct 4, 2015 at 19:41

2 Answers 2

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Answer: Sort-of.

In the short term, most dogs will be able to eat human food without any issue.

However, long term, breads will contribute to dental issues, like teeth rotting. Since these are stray dogs, they don't have good dental in the first place.

Alternative ideas

I would really recommend normal dog food. Another idea is to check with the butcher shop if there is any fresh meat or scraps that you can use to feed dogs ; feeding raw meat is controversial, but you can also consider cooking the meat. Do not feed raw fish; too much room for parasites. You may be able to check charities in your area if they already have a service like this to feed stray animals. Or, alternatively, you could help solve the population by bringing the animals into an adoption shelter, if that is an option. I know that in some countries it is better for dogs to be on the streets than in the shelter, so use your best judgement.

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A very small bag of kibble is probably cheaper, and would go further--You can put some in a baggie and carry it with you, just as you could with treats, and give the dogs a couple pieces as a treat when you meet them-- (but once you feed them they will continue to come back to you looking for food, so be careful unless you want them hanging around your place:-)! . If you just want a treat for the dogs I would be careful to avoid very inexpensive bargain brand treats, or anything that is a product of China. I purchased some dog treats and neglected to check where they were from-- turns out they were from China and they had toxins which caused a chemical burn in my dogs throat. Fortunately she was OK after a visit to the vet, but it was a lesson-- sometimes cheaper is not better.

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