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Money-saving tips for dog owners. Share yours!

ice bear

ice bear

Tourist
So, inflation sucks and there's a potential recession looming... How do you save money as a dog owner?

Here's one for new dog owners: improvise! Don't buy "dog" stuff when you can avoid it. By that I mean, don't buy a "dog" food bowl for $20, buy a regular cereal bowl for like $2 and put dog food in it. A regular human hair brush is often half the price of a dog brush and they're practically the same. Almost anything marketed as a product for pets is going to cost more than it should, and you can often avoid that extra cost with a little creativity.
 
ice bear said:
Don't buy "dog" stuff when you can avoid it.
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You can say that again. A bottle of dog specific cranberry supplements? $50 for 75 capsules. A bottle of CranRich supplements for humans? $20 for 180 capsules.

A bottle of fish oil supplements for dogs? $27 for 90 chewables. A bottle of fish oil supplements for humans? $9.06 for 200 capsules.

Basically all you have to do is open the capsules and mix it in with their food. My dogs love it, and it's the exact same product except without the "for dogs" label and the bacon flavoring. I've bought dog bowls in the past and funnily enough my littler girl much prefers to eat out of my mini sized glass baking pan.

If you regularly wipe/clean out your dog's food/water bowls with a brush or a sponge, if they get dirty just boil them in water to clean and sanitize them instead of replacing them.

ice bear said:
A regular human hair brush is often half the price of a dog brush and they're practically the same.
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For regular brushing, you'll just need to make sure it has the little balls it the end of the brush teeth, otherwise it'll scrape their skin. But unfortunately if you have a long haired dog like me you're also going to need a de-shedding rake comb.

But other than that, I don't have too much more tips, I pretty much go all out with my girls.
 
Definitely shop around for dog food and buy in bulk from an online supplier or direct, they will offer discounts compared to the stores and sometimes have free delivery on large orders. Also, don't be fooled into thinking you have to buy specialist or prescription food from the vet. My vet was charging £11 per kg for specialist dry food, now I pay £4.50 per kg online for the exact same food with the same shelf life.

A big bag of dry food will stay good once opened for around a month if it's kept in a sealed bag or container, and a bag usually has a shelf life of over a year so buy in bulk. Prices are always going up with inflation, and you'll be covered having a stash if there's any shortages. Always check for holes in the bags too from where they've been thrown around, these will go bad quicker so use them first or use duck tape to seal them back up.

Also, if you have a smaller dog and a large 12/17kg bag will go bad before it's finished, you can buy some big storage vacuum bags for clothes/bedding and divide a bag up into smaller bags, sucking the air out will keep the food fresh for way longer.
 
Having trouble finding housing that allows dogs? Check out "emotional support animals," or ESA.

In the US, an ESA is considered a reasonable accommodation for emotional disability. That means you can keep your ESA dog in an apartment that does not typically allow dogs, and they can't charge you extra pet fees. Now I've never had an ESA personally, but with some casual googling it looks like they can't deny your ESA for being a larger dog, or for being intact... That bit could open up a lot of housing opportunities for zoos. However, they can deny an ESA for things like aggressive or destructive behavior, so keep that in mind.

As I said, I've never had an ESA myself. I can't say exactly who would qualify or how to get one. I've seen that there's some licensed, remote, online therapists that specialize in providing ESA letters but I would be careful of scams if you go that route.
 
ice bear said:
Having trouble finding housing that allows dogs? Check out "emotional support animals," or ESA.

In the US, an ESA is considered a reasonable accommodation for emotional disability. That means you can keep your ESA dog in an apartment that does not typically allow dogs, and they can't charge you extra pet fees. Now I've never had an ESA personally, but with some casual googling it looks like they can't deny your ESA for being a larger dog, or for being intact... That bit could open up a lot of housing opportunities for zoos. However, they can deny an ESA for things like aggressive or destructive behavior, so keep that in mind.

As I said, I've never had an ESA myself. I can't say exactly who would qualify or how to get one. I've seen that there's some licensed, remote, online therapists that specialize in providing ESA letters but I would be careful of scams if you go that route.
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Yeah that’s all good until places deny certain breeds. Pitt bulls, GSD, Rottweiler, chow chow, shar pei, etc. I’ve seen a lot of that while looking for a place to stay or move into. I finally got my own place now though so I don’t have to worry to much about it now. There’s just a lot of breeds that are discriminated against for their past aggression.
 
Str3aks_Dingo said:
Yeah that’s all good until places deny certain breeds. Pitt bulls, GSD, Rottweiler, chow chow, shar pei, etc. I’ve seen a lot of that while looking for a place to stay or move into. I finally got my own place now though so I don’t have to worry to much about it now. There’s just a lot of breeds that are discriminated against for their past aggression.
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It's not perfect, but it could help someone. Back when I was looking for an apartment they all demanded proof of spay as well as charging crazy pet fees. Except maybe the really sketchy ones. My only other option was looking for a house being rented by the owner, which is apparently rare these days and a lot more expensive than an apartment.

I'm not sure of an easy way around the "aggressive breed" problem though. Well, if the dog is a mix, you could try leaving out the aggressive breed. "Lab mix" instead of "lab/pit mix." Also the restrictions might just be local, in case moving further away was an option.
 
ice bear said:
It's not perfect, but it could help someone. Back when I was looking for an apartment they all demanded proof of spay as well as charging crazy pet fees. Except maybe the really sketchy ones. My only other option was looking for a house being rented by the owner, which is apparently rare these days and a lot more expensive than an apartment.

I'm not sure of an easy way around the "aggressive breed" problem though. Well, if the dog is a mix, you could try leaving out the aggressive breed. "Lab mix" instead of "lab/pit mix." Also the restrictions might just be local, in case moving further away was an option.
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These are all the variables that you have to look at when getting a place though lol. Either way I hate labels on breeds. It’s all in how you raise them and socialize them.
 
Bloodwolf said:
No shit. I paid an extra 500 a month just to have a rott at my old place. This is why I like living in the outskirts of civilization.
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Ya I would believe it. I hate how people can get away with it. Like oh you have a potential aggressive dog breed that’s going to be extra.
 
Sure. 1. Do not buy things you don't need. Buy some treats or toys for your dog instead. 2. Do not buy too expensive food/drinks for yourself. Buy some quality food for your dog instead. ;)
 
instead of paying $10-$13 for a pack of 10 K9 specific panty pads (for when she’s in heat and leaking) I went to the dollar store and bought a pack of 100 for like $3 (human and unscented) they work just as good. My dog has been fixed since and I still have some of them left.
 
I ran the numbers, fresh human food from a bulk distributor (like a restaurant supplier) is cheaper than wet dog food. It's just a matter of prep time. Your results may vary but where I live pork shoulder is the best price, seriously competing with dry food for protein mass / $.

Rich deluded pet parents are skewing the market with their ridiculous willingness to buy anything at any price.
 
Cook your own food for them and evaluate the ingredients on it does wonders as well as improves cooking skills.

As discovered with a zoo meet up. Avoid potatoes due to starch. Rawhide Is bad too.
 
For those in the US, get a CGC (AKC). It's a basic social eval that isn't difficult to achieve with a bit of work, but it can carry a good bit of utilitty. Some insurance companies companies provide discounts for dogs that are CGC. I have found landlords who will make exceptions, etc. A lot of times just having an eval that says Fido isn't a monster will open doors and make things easier. For a CGC, the dog doesn't have to be registered with the AKC, it can be a mutt, with another registry, etc. The AKC wants a registration number to mail a cert, but what you need is the signed and dated eval that the judge gives you after a successful eval. Keep that safe and make copies.

Don't ever skimp on preventative care. If you're ever so strapped you can't afford preventatives (vaccines, heartworm meds, etc) contact your local Humane Society or other shelter, many offer heavily discounted or even free preventatives for people going through rough times.

Probably the most important, keep track of your finances, just knowing how much (or little) you have really isn't enough. Use software or methods like double-entry accounting so that you can categorize your expenses and easily see where the biggest savings can be had. Tracking finances and looking for the patters of expense over a year can help make periodic large expense easier to plan for.
 
Frontline and other topicals are the same price for Chihuahua or English mastiff packets, which have several times the medicine as the small dog size. Buy the BIG ASS DOG size and dump them in a glass jar, and dose them with a syringe to the amount needed for your dog.
 
PonyTrot said:
Frontline and other topicals are the same price for Chihuahua or English mastiff packets, which have several times the medicine as the small dog size. Buy the BIG ASS DOG size and dump them in a glass jar, and dose them with a syringe to the amount needed for your dog.
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There's a name I've not seen in awhile
 
"Dog toys" are over priced and inferior quality. "Dog toy" tennis balls are $5 for 2, and will fall apart in short order. You can get a bag of actually tennis balls for about 50 cents a ball, and will last faaaaar longer.
 
PonyTrot said:
LOL, yeah I'm that PonyTrot. That was like 3 eons ago when we met!

Frontline is a bit old-school but still sold. But newer topicals pull the same game. Same price per dose no matter the dog size.
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Is hartz ok? I heard there was difficulties with products relating to that have they stabilized the formula?
 
I usually spoil my pet it's the only thing I might spend money on and not think twice about it. I found even though I might buy some more pricey toys. I find the most simplest toys just like a paper bag or some cardboard left over is a perfect. My pet loves to play with those. only cost 5 cents for the paper bag
 
PonyTrot said:
LOL, yeah I'm that PonyTrot. That was like 3 eons ago when we met!

Frontline is a bit old-school but still sold. But newer topicals pull the same game. Same price per dose no matter the dog size.
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Indeed it was
Hope all's well on your end bud
 
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