Budget adjustment - getting a dog

Bagpuss741

LJD1 wrote:

Another thing to remember is that even if you're insured that doesn't pay for any special diets your dog has to have. Our dog is a rescue dog. Thank god we got her insured as she's got everything wrong with her and we still have to pay the first £60 for each new complaint. She's on special food which costs £50 every 6 weeks and she's not a huge dog.

If you get insurance make sure it pays for each illness for the life of the dog not just for a year. Our cat is diabetic and it's costing us a fortune as the pay out was only for a year.

Saying all this, i'd be richer without animals but I wouldn't be without them.

I'm not sure whether Walthams Urinary is classed as a special diet but my dog is on it and M&S pay for it. Also food bowls can be found in pound shops although I have to confess my beloved pooch has one from M&S although I did buy it in a sale:o Good Luck!!

Toomuchdebt

in*the*red wrote:

I found out about Gusto on this site - it's dry dog food and it's VAT free. A reasonably large bag is £5.50 in Tesco (we feed it with some meat also). We have two (largish) dogs and a bag lasts about 2-3 weeks for them so would probably last up to month for one dog. Definitely worth a try, seems to be scarce though as it's such good value so if they've got any on the shelves we tend to stock up while we can. It's also good for dogs with sensitive stomachs.

I just bought some of this yesterday to try my dog on as he has a sensitive stomach and up till now has been eating Burns which is £34.65 for 15kg

frugglewump

pbradley936 wrote:

Be very careful about getting a rescue dog. You may well get a very nice pet with no vices but friends of mine could tell you a different story.

It happened to one of our other neighbours. The dog (GSD/border cross) was fine for 2 weeks, then one day she wore her glasses instead of contacts & the dog went for her. It turns out the previous owner who hadn't mistreated him, but couldn't give him the stimulation he needed wore glasses. She'd worn glasses while the center inspected their house but no-one commented on it.

in*the*red_6

Toomuchdebt wrote:

I just bought some of this yesterday to try my dog on as he has a sensitive stomach and up till now has been eating Burns which is £34.65 for 15kg

Hope it suits him then, that will be quite a saving!!!

Toomuchdebt

in*the*red wrote:

Hope it suits him then, that will be quite a saving!!!

It will be-he's a labrador so eats an awful lot as it is-lol.TBH even if it doesn't suit him I'd rather have a cheaper food not suiting him than an expensive one -the Burns hasn't helped at all.

MrsTinks

So long as you know what you are letting yourself in for with an Akita then good luck

As for Rescue dogs (general heading not Akita's) then in my experience there are very few dogs who are truely nutty... there is usually a reason for their behaviour. People forget we are trying to make an animal understand a human world and obide by our rules. Instead we should be trying to understand how the dogs mind works and use it to make our dogs more "socially acceptable" in their behaviour I've worked with aggressive dogs over the years but even I am happy to admit I am out of my depth with this destruction so hence why we are having private doggy trainer sessions and going to classes. The dog is gradually destroying the house but she is improving It's not her fault her training was neglected when she was young - she had no training or socialisation before we got her and were warned she was dog aggressive, pulled on the lead like a nutter, destructive, possessive, etc etc etc etc so I KNEW what I was getting into And it's still tough... Love her to bits but I wish she wouldn't love my house literately to bits (and pieces :rotfl:)

i_am_really_rich!!

pbradley936 wrote:

Be very careful about getting a rescue dog. You may well get a very nice pet with no vices but friends of mine could tell you a different story. People often think that they are rescuing a dog from a bad home where he is being ill treated. Sometimes it is the owners who are being rescued from a nutty dog who attacks every other dog it meets when out for walks and gets you into rows with other owners. I like dogs but only if they are nice natured.

A reputable rescue will do a thorough homecheck and assessment before letting any dog go to a new home.

hawk

Can someone please tell me what a rescue pet is, and dont say dogs home or shelter as thats not rescuing an animal thats re-homing I always thought rescuing something was completely different, like saving someone from a cliff fall.

MrsTinks

hawk wrote:

Can someone please tell me what a rescue pet is, and dont say dogs home or shelter as thats not rescuing an animal thats re-homing I always thought rescuing something was completely different, like saving someone from a cliff fall.

Well sorry but I'm gonna say it anyway It's most likely a pet from an Animal Rescue organisation. And how do you know it's not rescuing? If an animal can't be rehomed it will be destroyed. Lots of rescues work with local pounds where hundreds of dogs are destroyed every week... Sorry no cliff involved but there you go, guess not all rescue is as "romatic" as rescuing someone or something from flling off a cliff...
And if you don't think it's rescuing then you go along to your local animal sanctuary and ask how many animals are put down each week of the year because they are out of room - even better go to the pound and watch them be put down by the dozen each day... Yes some of the animals in rescues are "handed in" and as such re-homings, but the ones pulled out of pounds, rescued by the helping Vets who call the rescue when people hand dogs in to be destroyed "because we just don't want it any more" and those that are rescued from horrible conditions by the RSPCA inspectors - THOSE are rescues!

Hoopylass

Aww good on you! I have a rescue dog and he is my wee baby.

I spend on him (monthly)

Insurance - £11.99
Food - £7.00 (he is on a special diet)
Treats - £4.00 (again dietry treats)
Dog Walker - approx £20

benji is at the vets quite alot for his allergy but hopefully your pooch should be alright