Budget minded pet owners, need your tips!

[TravelMommy]

Well the family has been really asking to get a dog, I have never had one and other than we are committed to adopt from a local shelter and we have a few special circumstances with the type we can get (due to allergies). I think we will be getting a 2 year old dog, not a puppy. Would appreciate any tips you might have. (budget pet toys?? is there such a thing that is safe?)TIA!!

 

[yoopermom]

First and foremost, don't skimp on quality food, there was an excellent thread recently about this. Personally, I feed TSC's no corn/wheat/soy house brand, Costco makes a similar one.

I'd also budget for routine and emergency vet care. Your once a year visit can run a few hundred dollars (depending on where you live), and one emergency visit can run you in the hundreds, very easily.

Make room in the budget for training (more for the owners than the dog, as my trainer says ). It will help your dog become a better member of your family.

Not every dog likes toys, and ones who do usually have specific preferences. I wouldn't buy any ahead of time unless very inexpensive. Most pet stores will let you bring your pet in, which is an easy way to see what s/he shows interest in. Mine are stuffed animal "killers" so I go to rummage sales all summer and buy children's stuffies for under a dollar, remove any loose bits (ribbons, clothes, etc), and then let the dogs have at them.

People have varying opinions on the safety of rawhides and other bones. Personally I only buy rawhides that do NOT come from China, and our dogs are only allowed to chew on them under direct supervision.

Are you getting a coated breed? If so, grooming costs can add up.

Do you have local licensing laws that require yearly payment?

Dogs are wonderful, but they're expensive!

Terri

 

[JandJ]

We also had to get a certain breed due to allergies (DH and his mom are allergic to anything with fur). We got a Bichon Frise as a puppy. Unfortunately, he has allergies so he's on special food that is pretty expensive. But, I won't scrimp on his food. He gets a limited ingredient, organic, no grain diet.

Other costs include the vet - shots, fecal tests, and the occasional necessary visit for an ear infection add up quick! We've easily spent $400/year just on vet bills (probably more, but I'm afraid to look at the actual vet budget). DH complains about that, but I won't change his vet - they love him and the place is spotless and they're always available in an emergency. And, because he doesn't shed, we have to get him groomed and that's not cheap, but it is worth it. Plus, he goes to doggy daycare twice a week and gets boarded at least once a year while we go on vacation. That's something to consider - unless you have a trusted friend/family member willing to take care of him, you will have to pay to have him cared for when you are out of town.

One thing we did was cut out most store bought treats. They're not good for the dog, have no nutritional value, just add weight, and cost a lot. Our dog gets baby carrots for a treat and he loves them. We have them in the house anyway so it's not an extra expense. You can give whole carrots if the dog is bigger. For a special treat he gets low fat peanut butter (just a dab on my finger) and we have that in the house anyway, too. Our vet also recommended peeled sweet potatoes, but our little guy didn't like those. We did buy some organic chicken and brown rice treats at Trader Joe's recently because they're organic, inexpensive, and made in the USA. Never give your pet food made in China! if you're getting a small breed, don't give them raw hide. We have a friend who has a Lhasa Apso and he nearly died from choking on a raw hide. The vet said their little esophaguses cannot handle the raw hide because they can't chew it up small enough to swallow. I used to have a mixed breed who was 110 pounds and she was fine with raw hides, but not the little guys!

Ours loves a soft plush toy that my SIL found in the clearance bin at PetSmart and a dog sized basketball we got in a pack of 2 at Costco - 2 years later he's still on the first ball so we have the second one stored in the closet! We went all out on toys in the beginning, and as the PP said, dogs can be picky about toys. I have a bin full of toys he won't touch - including two expensive Kong toys - so wait and see what your dog will like before spending a lot on toys. I am glad we spent the money on a quality crate, though. He loves his crate. He's 3 now and will go in there and hang out and has figured out how to close the door himself! We don't even know how he does it

 

[IceSkatingPrincess]

Well the family has been really asking to get a dog, I have never had one and other than we are committed to adopt from a local shelter and we have a few special circumstances with the type we can get (due to allergies). I think we will be getting a 2 year old dog, not a puppy. Would appreciate any tips you might have. (budget pet toys?? is there such a thing that is safe?)TIA!!

Pet insurance.

Sure. Your dog may not get hurt or sick right away, but chances are it will happen. Our insurance has literally saved me thousands. My yorkie had a freak accident getting a toe caught in a mesh lining that resulted in a $2,400 amputation that needed to be done by a specialist. I paid $50 out of pocket. We save SO much money by keeping the pets insured. My beagle's last nasty ear infection that wouldn't go away ran me $300 in vet costs. Again, I ended up paying just $50. The company we use you can pick your coverage level (80-100%) and deductible ($50-$200). We could have had coverage as cheap as $8 a month. Vet bills are BIG. Be prepared for them! We use Petplan. I love them and have never had an issue. VPI is also a good one. I would stay away from the petsmart "wellness" plans. They aren't the same as private insurance and the coverage isn't as good. With private insurance you can go anywhere, even after hours and specialists. We will never have another pet without pet insurance. We save so much money! Shots are still OOP on these plans, but the real extreme costs come from accidents and illnesses anyway. Also be sure not to skimp on heartworm prevention. Treatment is in the thousands, is extremely painful for the dog and can be fatal. Monthly preventatives can be as little as $8 for some heartguard.

 

[JandJ]

Also be sure not to skimp on heartworm prevention. Treatment is in the thousands, is extremely painful for the dog and can be fatal. Monthly preventatives can be as little as $8 for some heartguard.

Forgot about this - definitely get the heartworm prevention! The alternative is horrible for your pet and your budget. If you live in an area with fleas and ticks, get that prevention, too. We give our little guy Trifexis which covers heartworms and fleas.

 

[TravelMommy]

I am definitely going to look into pet insurance and check out the Costco brand "good" dog food. We are hoping to find our dog soon!

 

[IceSkatingPrincess]

Forgot about this - definitely get the heartworm prevention! The alternative is horrible for your pet and your budget. If you live in an area with fleas and ticks, get that prevention, too. We give our little guy Trifexis which covers heartworms and fleas.

+1 on the trifexis. We have one on that and one on Sentinel. We like both.

 

[JandJ]

I am definitely going to look into pet insurance and check out the Costco brand "good" dog food. We are hoping to find our dog soon!

I hope your new dog likes the Kirkland (Costco) food. I wish we could feed ours that! We had heard it was a good food and it was cheaper per pound, so we got it. Our little guy wouldn't eat it. He went on a hunger strike! So, we were stuck with a giant Costco-sized bag of food he wouldn't eat. I ended up giving it to a neighbor who volunteered at a dog rescue so the food went to doggies; just not ours

 

[Yougotit]

+ 1 on pet insurance. Our adopted dog was just under two when we first got him and healthy as a horse, we weren't expecting the grass allergies and 6 months later for him to be diagnosed with epilepsy. Pet insurance enabled us to provide him with the care and medication that he needed without having to think twice about what would have been expensive medication, vet visits and testing.
I agree with the previous poster who said dogs aren't cheap, they aren't, but they become a wonderful addition to the family

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

My dog has lots of allergies so I don't have lots of food or treat options. I used to buy high end jerky treats but they got so expensive and half the time my dog wouldn't eat them.

I do feed her people treats like meat, cheese PB etc. this doesn't work with all dogs as they may have weight and other problems. Mine doesn't, in fact, I wish I had her metabolism! Maybe the key is to sleep 16-18hrs a day and get up every few hours, run 4-6 laps around the apartment at too speed then pass out again. I've heard HIIT is the best exercise lol.

Dogs can be picky about toys. For my gals first several years I would buy her new toys all the time. I finally quit buying and donated the rest. She will only play with a little fox plush I got her as a puppy. I've mended small tears and will be in big trouble if it ever falls apart (I found out I had unknowingly purchased a "limited edition" beanie baby dog toy).

Some don't do well with plush as they'll rip it and can choke. Same with squeakers. Even as a puppy mine didn't chew through toys.

Yes yes yes a million times to heartworm and flea prevention. It's just not worth the risk to the pup. Have money set aside or get a wellness or insurance plan. I had around $1,000 worth of vet bills before we did the $400 allergy test.

 

[havaneselover]

I have two dogs. One (a Bichon) has had four cystotomies (bladder surgery due to stones), cataract surgery, and is blind. I've been to the ER with her three times. Our second dog we got from a very good breeder (increasing the likelihood she would be fairly healthy) and we've had no problems at all with her. She's 7.5.

The main way I've saved money is using Costco's pharmacy. I pay just over $4/month/dog for Heartgard vs. about $6 if I bought it from the vet. I also get the older dog's antibiotics there (saves me about $60/year) and her eye drops (2 types).

For Frontline plus, I buy the largest dose they sell and measure it out. This keeps my costs at about $3/month for both dogs vs. about $10/dose/dog.

The younger healthy dog gets Kirkland food. The older dog has to be on prescription food to control the pH of her urine. She's a money pit and I'm a struggling single mom, but I owe it to her to take good care of her.

 

[dpswift]

Once again remember all dogs are different as far as toys go. Our first dog loved rope toys our second dog did not like any of her toys but would occasionally "adopt"one of the kids toys. Our next dog had a few stuffed animals and water bottle toys that he would play with occasionally until we bought him a puppy. Now stuffed animals rarely last a day and we go through more rawhide chips in a week than we did the previous year.

I need to check their chips and the huge amount of snacks I own to make sure they were not made in China.

I pay full price for heartworm preventative and flea preventative. I have heard that there is a guarantee if purchased from the vet.

 

[ellie05]

I wouldn't call us budget minded when it comes to our pets. There is very little we wouldn't do for them as long as they have good quality of life. I would suggest you have some money save before you get the dog as people said vet bills are expensive. We spend about $250 a month on our dogs (3). That covers their annuals, food and monthly heartworm/ flea tick prevention.

First year is usually pretty expensive, so depending on the shelter or rescue you might still have to spend money for sterilization or vaccines. Since you don't have much experience I will try to get help from someone who does to help you choose a dog that will fit your lifestyle, many people choose based on looks and it is usually when problems start.

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

See if any of your local vets offer their own "insurance plan". Ours is $30 a month and includes ALL vaccinations, a dental cleaning, blood work, urinalysis, heartworm test, parasite screening, any vet visit and 20% off all services and products.

It's $30 a month I pay directly to my vet and being new pet owners ourselves(well, one year now) it gave us peace of mind knowing we could take our dog at any time to the vet and not have to worry about paying JUST to get a check up or opinion.

Don't forget you will need a leash, collar, bowls, bed and crate (if you need to crate it when you leave). And I'll have to agree with everyone else and say not to skimp on food. I have always heard about Costco being good. We use Natural Balance and buy it online either through Amazon or through one of Ebates' retailers and get cash back.

Good luck and thank you for saving an animal. You might also want to try a rescue as they will be able to better educate you on the specific dog you're looking to get. They generally ask for a $150-$300 donation but it's to ensure you can afford an animal and to help pay for spaying/neutering, vaccinations and microchip.

 

[IceSkatingPrincess]

Once again remember all dogs are different as far as toys go. Our first dog loved rope toys our second dog did not like any of her toys but would occasionally "adopt"one of the kids toys. Our next dog had a few stuffed animals and water bottle toys that he would play with occasionally until we bought him a puppy. Now stuffed animals rarely last a day and we go through more rawhide chips in a week than we did the previous year.

I need to check their chips and the huge amount of snacks I own to make sure they were not made in China.

I pay full price for heartworm preventative and flea preventative. I have heard that there is a guarantee if purchased from the vet.

It's if you can provide proof of continuous purchase of the product that the company is to cover the cost of heartworm treatment. This does not count if you switch brands (ie. 6months sentinel and 6 months trifexis). OP, be SURE to make sure the dog has food in his belly before the pill and watch him eat and swallow and supervise for awhile afterward. I have become paranoid after my beagle got heartworm on the pill (had just switched brands). The vet and I both believe he probably either spit a pill out when I wasn't looking or when in the yard threw it up. The pill needs to be kept down for a full hour for it to be effective. He's fine thank goodness, but it was terrible and now I am paranoid. So we have a rule now that on heartworm day he sits on the couch with me for the next hour after taking the pill to be positive it stays in. They are sneaky, and if you live somewhere like the deep south where heartworm is absolutely rampant it only takes one missed pill. I'd also suggest a monthly phone alarm to remind you to give it.

I also second taking the dog to the pet store to look at toys. They can be picky. You can start shopping online for cheaper ones after you get a basic ideas of what he/she likes.

 

[Iowajes]

We got an attachment for my husband's Dremel that can be used to grind our dogs nails (she does NOT react well to clippers...) That saves us because we no longer have to take her to Petsmart to get her nails trimmed. The attachment wasn't very expensive and paid for itself quickly.

Target has $1 ropes that are pretty much her only toy.

We have never bought any sort of pet bed for her. She is super happy on an old quilt.


We don't skimp on food or medicine. Though we found out our dog can't handle a high protein food, so we do get to save a little because her food is a "grain first" food. But it is certainly not the cheapest in the store. We could probably save a bit by getting her meds elsewhere, but it is easier to get them from the vet. Since we deep freeze over winter, over vet doesn't recommend heartworm or flea/tick in winter time, so that saves a few dollars.

Our shelter charges a fee if they have to spay/neuter so we saved a bit by getting a dog that had already been spayed when they found her. We didn't do that on purpose though. But you may be able to look for animals that have lesser adoption fees. They also had her chipped, which saved us $50 the first time she ran away- they charge a 'pick up' fee for animals, and if you have a chip your first time is free. Thankfully, she hasn't done that again (I think she likes us now... that was within the first month, she got through the fence.)

I personally have never used pet insurance, because statistically it won't work out in your favor (that's why they sell it!)- but we have had a few major emergency vet bills, so we keep a small savings account available for her; so when that $1,000 bill comes we don't have to charge things.

 

[havaneselover]

For routine care we have an SPCA clinic available. There are income limits (I think it's up to $90K for a family of 3) but everything they do is super affordable.

We also have a low cost surgery vet

Despite these alternatives I've stuck with my local vet for convenience and because I trust her and she knows my financial situation and works with me to keep costs down. But if I weren't in this situation I'd explore these alternatives.

 

[mikehn]

the most important thing you can do from a budget stand point is to make sure you understand the dogs health history and the breeds health characteristics. Otherwise you could be inheriting a financial liability should that dog require high medical maintenance. Even with pet insurance, you still have out of pocket expenses.

I also forgot to add, there are certain breeds that will cause your homeowners insurance rates to go up.

 

[hsmamato2]

interesting thread..... so OP you asked about budget minded pet owners..... here's an answer from a budget minded pet owner ( I have had pets my entire life,since I before I could walk,grew up with lots of animals/small farm, worked at the Vets office for years,etc etc)
You can spend a LOT,or a LITTLE, based on what you choose...
We have always gotten pets from shelters/rescues/strayed off the streets. We don't have pet insurance- I have shopped around, and found the lowest cost vet options in my area- One is attached to the local humane society,and sometimes we stop in at a vacc. clinic for updates to needed shots.
In general, our animals are fairly low cost,and low maintenance. If there is an emergency,we call the local (super expensive) vet,and the pet gets treated. for follow up, we visit the lower priced pet vets. Haven't had many big problems over the years.
Our pets eat a variety of foods, some better,some worse- and they are always happy and healthy,and live long lives.
I don't buy toys, b/c they're stpid expensive, and the dogs EAT them. Yes, whatever we buy, they SHRED. (they both weigh about 10 lbs)
I like giving them a thick piece of knotted rope, or a thick strip of fleece,like from those blankets, knotted...they like to chew it, play tug of war,etc. then it gets tossed when it's destroyed.
Or a tennis ball,thrown a million times and chewed on.
I get Advantix in the large dose,and divide appropriately based on their weights. Never had an issue- it works for fleas pretty well.
I bought decent buzz clipper, and give my poodle a haircut.... we also clip their nails when needed ourselves.
So far so good, and if something 'big' should arise, we deal with it as it comes along.

 

[stsomewhere]

Boarding for your dog when you go out of town or on vacation. It can get $$$.

Are you gping to have dog crated while you are gone?