Pets MoneySaving

raeble

gemmaj wrote:

HOMEMADE....
I have lots of recipes for dog biscuits and even dog cakes but they all include ingredients that I cannot easily (or cheaply) get hold of; mostly cornmeal which I can only get for several quid for a little bag from the local health food shop. Any straight forward recipes?

Hmm you wouldn't have asian shops down there would you? Don't sainsbury's or Tesco's have it under polenta if not cornmeal?

catkins

Where do you buy the James Wellbeloved from? I have looked for this but can't seem to find it.

I also buy my dog soft toys from charity shops. They usually cost from 50p to £1. He likes to rip the faces off!!!!

Buy poo bags in 99p shop. Big pack of them for (yes) 99p!!

gemmaj

Hmm you wouldn't have asian shops down there would you? Don't sainsbury's or Tesco's have it under polenta if not cornmeal?

Nah, I live in Guernsey. No asian shops (not many asian people, if any!). No Sainsburys, no Tesco, no Holland & Barrett. Unfortunately, no cheap polenta, either!! Do any of these Asian Shops and "cooperatives" and all those lovely cheap, bulk buy stores I keep reading about have mailorder/websites? I am getting steadily more jealous.

Lillibet_2

gemmaj wrote:

Max (my greyhound) had insurance for 3 years - cost me about £400 and I never needed it. I was thinking about cancelling it. Then he decided to escape through a hedge, and cut his legs.

Imagine how much worse it would have been if Max had got onto a road & caused a car crash? The damage to the car, property, any injuries or, God forbid, fatalities, as a result would have been your responsiblity:eek: :eek: :eek: The driver/s would have claimed off of his car insurance (assuming he had it) and the insurance company would have reclaimed their losses (total costs) from you! And, of course, the police could also prosecute you for failing to be in control of a dog on a public highway. Pet insurance usually provides 3rd party liablity cover upto £1 million pounds, without insurance you would have to meet these costs yourself.....and, yes, it really does happen!

Sorry, I just feel really strongly about this, it's so easy to save that £10 or £20 every month in a high interest savings account but a dog is a much greater responsiblity than a cat. Please please keep/get the insurance.

I promise I'll get off my soap box now:o

gemmaj

Lillibet - I feel strangely like I'm being told off. I did keep the insurance going, but I personally wouldn't force someone to have it. The 3rd party liability is a good reason to keep it going though - Max is a big dog (and I mean BIG) - he could do a fair bit of damage hitting a car (although I'm sure he would suffer more), or if they tried to swerve around him (since he's not the size of dog you could fail to see easily in daylight!).

Catkins - James Wellbeloved won't be sold by any supermarkets (that I know of!) but any decent petshop should sell it or beable to order it for you. Its not cheap though - 15kg is around £37 (both approximate figures - sorry, they might be off a bit!!) but you can get a 2kg bag to try for around £6 to try it out (or if you got a sensibly sized dog that doesn't eat for Britain!!!! :rotfl:

Lillibet_2

gemmaj wrote:

Lillibet - I feel strangely like I'm being told off. I did keep the insurance going, but I personally wouldn't force someone to have it. The 3rd party liability is a good reason to keep it going though - Max is a big dog (and I mean BIG) - he could do a fair bit of damage hitting a car (although I'm sure he would suffer more), or if they tried to swerve around him (since he's not the size of dog you could fail to see easily in daylight!).

Honestly I am not telling you off Gemma, I wouldn't dare!! You obviously take good care to be a responsible owner. It's just that not everyone is aware that dogs come with this responsiblity, I was just using your example to get my point across, really sorry if I have offended you:o

gemmaj

Yeah, struggling dog owners (I won't say bad dog owners!) can really do my head in. I know someone who fed their dog human food instead of dog food. Wouldn't have been too bad if they had a healthy diet but they lived off chocolate, crisps and sweets. Poor dog. I think I have (finally) changed their ways but who knows what goes on behind closed doors!

mrsmab59

Bendybops19 wrote:

I there, i should be moving into a maisonette shortly, and want to get a little dog once my bf and i are settled in. To be honest, i hadnt even thought about having insurance :rolleyes: But then, i want to get a puppy so with all the jabs i guess it is well worth it.
Roughly, how much is it monthly? I dont have much money left over at the end of each month, can afford all the dog food etc, but not sure i can afford insurance

My medium sized crossbreed dogs are insured through the Argos petplan, I pay £7.49 per month for each of them. Fortunately I haven't had to make any claims yet so can't really comment on how good or bad they are.

A couple of years ago my vets were offering a deal whereby a one off payment of £50 paid for a dog's basic annual immunisation for the rest of it's life. A deal like that may be worth searching for if you have a young dog and intend to stay in the same area for many years.

mrsmab59

gemmaj wrote:

Yeah, struggling dog owners (I won't say bad dog owners!) can really do my head in. I know someone who fed their dog human food instead of dog food. Wouldn't have been too bad if they had a healthy diet but they lived off chocolate, crisps and sweets. Poor dog. I think I have (finally) changed their ways but who knows what goes on behind closed doors!

My 2 dogs often get our leftovers mixed in with their dried food, although I draw the line at giving them anything with even a hint of spice in it.

They both love raw carrots and will sit patiently waiting for the carrot ends when I'm preparing them for our dinners. I also occasionally give them whole carrots or tomatoes as a treat...I hope that no-one in the know tells me that carrots and tomatoes aren't good for dogs

Rebob

My dog has bakers complete. She enjoys it and her teeth and coat are excellent. My vet said that it was a decent well priced food. Tescos complete dog food is also made in the same factory. I get a couple of the large sacks when it is on offer which usually last until the next offer. I also have it on my fixtureferrets list for offers. She has toys from the £1 shop and has tomatoes or the occaisional pigs ear for a rare treat.

BTW she is a lurcher cross that we got as a puppy from the RSPCA. It was £70 including 6 weeks insurance, micro chipping, vaccination and neutering. It has now gone to £90 for a dog.