Spill the beans... on how to care for Fido or Tiddles for less

farmergirl_2

I've spotted a few stores are now doing 'Pet Events' wich special deals and % off pet food and toys etc. There's one this weekend (14th April) at Countrywide Farmers and also one next weekend (21st April), i'm going to my local countrywide store at Malvern as I know they have 10% off pet food. I'm going to be stocking up! :j

StudioBeau

We keep it cheap by raw feeding - my greyhound Quinn has IBD and I was sold a £68 for 10KG bag of food for him too! He is huge and a 10KG bag lasts around 2 weeks, so I did my research and went raw, he is perfect now, even better than when on the vets food. Also, for both my dogs I now pay £42 per month for their raw food which gets delivered straight to my house, I picked up a second freezer on freecycle, so yes I am paying for electricity but still - way less than £130 for my greyhound and £30 per month for my whippet puppy.

I buy wormers in bulk online, my dog can only use cestem without being violently sick, so on medic animal, they have a way to buy 4 (a years worth) for about a tenner rather than 3-4 pounds each. I buy each dog their years wormers when I get my christmas bonus from work, I do the same with flea treatments.

As my dogs are sighthounds they need coats and specialist collars, the coats we have started making ourselves, we bought a dog coat template off the internet, the mother in law makes the knitted ones for us (she does one each per year, she enjoys it and she likes feeling like she has made a difference for us without giving us money). 2 balls of wool for both coats, we buy whatever is on sale and a £3 template bought 2 years ago.

The waterproof coats are also made by us, you can use existing coats as templates, just draw around them. We borrow my mothers sewing machine and buy whatever is cheap on ebay/online, just some polar fleece and windproof waterproof covering. We have made 2 dog coats from 2 old waterproof coats before which were given to us for free for dog walking from family. We also make snoods, tassels, pyjamas, all really easy!

Quinn's current harness has lasted 3 years and is showing no signs of wear, we have a replacment one ready for when it does (as we said we would replace it every 2 years - buy quality and you won't have to keep replacing!

If I do buy things, I buy them from charities. I get their martingale collars from greyhounds galore or greyhound gossip for just £5 each, fully custom made. Their tags were from an ebay seller who gives 10% to east midlands dog rescue. Pixie's crate was actually bought from a cat rescue who it had been donated to but it was the wrong size for the cats. Their bedding is old duvets (from charity shops or when they are on sale we will give our old duvets to the dogs and have the new ones), we make fleece covers for their dog bed, easiest thing in the world.

My biggest saving: getting a rescue dog. I paid £100 for Quinn when he was just 2 years old (there was small puppies there also but I wanted a young adult), he came jabbed, neutered, 4 weeks insurance, 2 weeks food, dedicated help from a dog trainer, outdoor coat, house coat, lead, collar, muzzle, wormed and flea'd. All of that, even if I bought it as cheaply as I could would have come to well over £400.

With vets, if you have multiple pets, ask for a deal to do yearly check ups on both pets at the same time. Our vet does both dogs and our cat at the same time and charges just 1 fee.

I don't vaccinate my dogs every year (do your own research on it - vaccinosis), Pixie had her puppy jabs and will now not be vaccinated until age 2-3. Quinn was last vaccinated in 2010 and although I am planning on vaccinating him on 2013 I am rethinking this as Quinn has IBD and a few other conditions due to being over vaccinated. I have his full vaccination record from birth onwards and between being born and when I got him at aged 2 he had 4 boosters plus his puppy jabs. The boosters have done him so much damage and aside from his vaccine based issues he is a healthy dog. I do not believe we should vaccinate dogs yearly, I believe it should be between 2-4 years depending on the age and health of the dog. My vet infact only vaccinates his own weimeraners every 18 months for the young ones and every 2 years for the older ones. My uncle who is a vet in Dorset only vaccinates his adult dogs every 3 years.

With neutering, shop around and pay in advance if you can. Pixie can't be done for a few more months but I have already paid for it and because I paid in advance I got a 20% discount on top of the 15% discount I already got on what I would have paid at my vet.

lyndorset

I buy my kibble in bulk from SCATS (Mole Valley etc), works out very good value and the dogs like it and do well on it. I spoil them a bit with a bit of left over meat now and again and buy the 6 packs of quality tins when on really good offer. They also love pasta, and rice is good for upset tummies, so stock up on cheap versions when on offer if you have room!

daisy_darling wrote: »

Buy dog food for working dogs, that way you don't pay VAT. Also food aimed at that market is very competitively priced [ farmers and game keepers tend to watch the pennies ]

Great idea, but be careful - working dog feeds are high energy!

LadySamara

If your dog or cat needs medication, most vets will let you have the prescription for a small fee. Then you can shop around online, I used Viovet. Which worked out a lot cheaper, about half the price of getting from the vet. I did feel a bit guilty at first, but not when I saw the amount I was saving.:o

lisa110rry

When my Hearing Dog Fallen Angel first came to live with me six years ago, I was recommended "Royal Canin Sensible" as she had a slightly dicky tummy. It soon became evident that the slight tummy trouble was due to nervousness caused by her desperate desire to train well. I couldn't find the Royal Canin (a very expensive food) easily at that time and decided to move to Chappie, a much cheaper food (about £16 per 17kg bag, delivered free to my door) with a little drizzle of salmon oil and some water to make a gravy - she loves it.

Lately, a new countrystore type petshop has opened a mile from me which sells working dog food at a similar price per kilo, but the "pip" for me is that the food is made at a factory just a mile or so from the petshop and the shop delivers free, so minimal food miles as well as a reasonable price. The nutrition value of the food is similar as well.

Now, if the pet owners in the area could possibly persuade the local petfood factory to open a "Mill Shop" that would be the absolute best!

emma_byrnes

Hi there, I have just joined the forum so I can contribute to this thread!

I feed my dog raw food and have done since we got her from a rescue centre nearly a year ago. I switched food straight away and she had no problems. Although I know people have different views on this.

It costs me less than £1 a week to buy her food. My butcher saves me chikcen carcases, hearts, liver, ribs, pigs trotters etc. I also buy her raw knuckles (big chunky bones for her to knaw on) from another butcher but only occasionally as a treat and they cost 25p a bag.

I don't need to use a lot of freezer space, only the bottom drawer, as I get my meat weekly. It's not messy either, when I get home from the butchers, the portions for each day get bagged up seperately and then shoved in the freezer. It's only like handling raw meat when cooking for us! I defrost one bag a day.

Sometimes I will give her veg too or some pasta or rice but usually this is just left overs from our meal. Oh sometimes I buy her tripe too from the pet shop and feed her this raw too (it smells too much to cook it!)

If you read on the internet about raw food diets or ask your vet, they tend to say you can't be sure your dog is getting the proper nutrients at each meal or they will be deficient in something...but I don't need an expert to measure out the food I eat each day to check I get all the right vitamins and nutrients! My diet is balanced over the week, not at each meal. I'm confident I can manage the feeding of a dog too!

In addition to how much money I save feeding my dog this diet, she has pearly white teeth (the vet aged her 4 when we got her because her teeth were black but now she's been aged at 1-2years old!), she also has a beautiful glossy coat and is slim and toned. So no
unnecessary vets bills!
I believe she is much healthier and happier than she would be on a commercial food diet and it's cheap as chips!

LemonadeyLady

I got my cat neutered for free. Regional campaigns (Greater London, Glasgow, Newcastle, Peterborough, Potteries)

Details here: cats.org.uk/what-we-do/neutering/current-neutering-campaigns (put in the www dot first)

I got it done at Pets at Home, which also had a £10 microchipping offer on at the time - my vet would've charged £60+ for the neutering alone!

Some people are eligible for free or discounted neutering outside the areas mentioned above (see the cats dot org dot uk website for more info).

cpsaw

daisy_darling wrote: »

Buy dog food for working dogs, that way you don't pay VAT. Also food aimed at that market is very competitively priced [ farmers and game keepers tend to watch the pennies ]

I agree it is a cheaper option , but take care, working dog food is higher in proteins than ordinary pet food, but you can 'cut' it with plain terrier meal, half and half for most 'pet' dogs should be Ok , and always remember to change dog food gradually or you could have some soft smelly accidents!

Gellybean

Go to petfleas.co.uk 6 pack of lifeline for cats and dogs for about £21.oo the same as some sites charge for 3 pack!!:j

Helpen

Ask your vet for repeat presrciptions, not single ones if your pet is on long term meds. Also my dog is on Loxicom and buying online it costs £15. My vet charges over £40!!!!
I buy from Vetuk.com but there are others out there too.

I also raw feed, but as has been said before this needs some research to ensure a balanced diet. There is no harm in supplementing a dog or cats food with a raw meal a few times a week to save money. It also cleans their teeth. My dogs are mainly fed chicken carcasses which I buy in 10kg bags from a local farm for £4. It feeds two Golden Retrievers for 1-2 weeks. Your local butcher may be able to supply raw bones for free - NEVER FEED COOKED BONES!