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

hotcookie101

dawnie1972 wrote: »

Re medications, dont also assume that the online pharmacies are the cheapest - you may find it cheaper at the local chemist. If you've ever taken your dog to the vet and been given those pink antibiotics tablets Synulox, you can get the exact same from boots for about a quarter of the cost (except their not pink and called something else but the ingredients are the same). Milo is on tablets (possibly for life now) and my vet charges £8 for a prescription and the tablets are a quarter of the price from the chemist - when he's taking 4 tablets a day it makes a massive difference.

Just a quick note regarding the bit in red. If your vet has put Synulox on the prescription, the pharmacist is breaking the law by dispensing anything other than that, even if the ingredients are the same. Vets have to abide by the cascade so when we prescribe an vet licensed drug, by name, it MUST be dispensed as that branded drug, not a generic. Pharmacists are not allowed to sub drugs in a vet prescription.

monathevampire

mrpets.co.uk great for lots especially Flea & Worming Treatments, they're based in Guernsey, so no nasty add on's :j

Also join Animal Samaritans (charity) for £5 & get your pet microchipped for Free! ~ so basically, half the price of anyone else :beer:

Turkey1954

SneaksyWhippet is right. It is false economy to feed your dog cheap dog food. Poor quality food for humans is linked to many diseases such as cancer. Same for dogs.Look on the internet to find out exactly what goes into your dog food. Theres a reason they dont put this on the packaging. Cheap meal will contain 4% meat 4% rice and 92% rubbish.If you have time the best thing you can do for your dog is to cook your own stuff. If not go for something like Burns dog food. What you pay extra will save you on vets bills and heartache in the long run. A word on yearly innoculations.I asked an ex vet (ex is the important word) He believes that yearly jabs are uneccessary and that he had never known dog get any of the diseases after they had had the initial course.

summerindia55

I have 4 cats and I I have found that amazon is cheap for cat food, it is £20 for 10kg which is pretty good in comparison to the supermarkets. There will be deals out there that will match this or even better it now and then but for month on month price it can't compare.

CodeNumpty

gsplover wrote: »

It took years for my vet to admit to me that the yearly booster vaccinations actually last up to 18 months, so I save money by having my dogs vaccinated every 17 months instead of 12.

If you want to board your dog in an emergency you'll have to get it to a vet quickly for a booster. All boarding kennels & catteries are governed by similar licensing conditions which call for a pet to be up to date with vaccinations.
Having said that, if your vaccinations have expired by less than 6 months most vets will give a booster rather than starting the course again. If you have to start the course again, vaccinations are usually 3 weeks apart and the pet cannot be boarded until after the 2nd injection.

PerpetuallyBroke

BaobabAmy wrote: »

I lived previously in Birmingham and the annual vaccinations for my cat were around £30. I moved to London and just went to the closet vet - and was shocked at a £65 bill for the same vaccinations. The following year I phoned up a few local vets and found one costing £45. This was for exactly the same set of vaccinations and 'annual vet check up' - but 3 miles drive from me rather than 1 mile. Bargain.

BBA, thanks for this tip, but (and this may be an odd question), can I go to any vet for this, if my dog's already registered at one vet? I thought you had to stick with the same vet, because if I ever run out of one of my dog's prescriptions and I'm away from home, it can be a nightmare getting an emergency refill at a different vet (with insulin specifically - not had problems with other meds). My dog has a lot wrong with him, so he's at the vet's all the time - I'm not sure their reaction would be terribly positive if I told them I'd had his jabs done elsewhere... has anyone done this?

Also, does anyone know of any online pet med companies that sell caninsulin (dog insulin)? My poor pooch is costing me a small fortune, bless him!

Thanks!

PB

Missconduct

BaobabAmy wrote: »

Shop around for the routine vaccinations.

Or don't vaccinate at all, especially annually. My understanding from my reading on this subject is that there is no scientific basis for re-vaccinating every year and in fact it can be dangerous to your pet's health as you are continually putting their immune system under pressure, leaving them more likely to suffer from chronic health problems. Homeopathic vaccinations are an alternative and cost on average about £8.

I know that pet insurers usually require annual vaccinations but it doesn't mean it's a reasonable term, especially if your animal doesn't actually require treatment for the disease they say it should have been vaccinated against.

Missconduct

The best reason to feed raw is that it is better for your cat's or dog's health, it is what they have evolved to eat. The fact that it can save you money is a fantastic added bonus. Taurine is added to pet foods because cooking destroys it. Raw meat is a great source of taurine so long as it's not always ground up, see here: http://rawfed.com/myths/cats.html.

Dogs shouldn't eat only meat but they should eat primarily meat/bones - again, think about what they would eat in the wild.

Frontline etc. - save the money and instead supplement your pet's diet with herbs such as garlic. Cheaper and better than exposing them to dangerous chemicals constantly, and in my experience, just as, if not more effective.

krlyr

PerpetuallyBroke wrote: »

My dog has a lot wrong with him, so he's at the vet's all the time - I'm not sure their reaction would be terribly positive if I told them I'd had his jabs done elsewhere... has anyone done this?

You're not legally obliged to use just one vet but also your vet would be within their rights to strike you off as a customer - they can't refuse treatment to a suffering animal I believe, but if your dog wasn't in immediate medical need they could turn you away as a customer if they were that petty. Why not ask your vets how they feel about it? My vets know I order meds online (have to request prescriptions for some of them) and don't take it personally - I'm sure they wouldn't object to me using a cheaper vaccination clinic as long as I informed them of it for their own records. The problems can occur when you use multiple vets and don't make everyone aware, the pet may end up being prescribed various medications or treatment regimes by different vets that may affect the diagnosis or not interact well. For example, if one vet prescribed a blood-thinning medication and another vet performed surgery unaware, complications could arise from the lack of blood clotting, for example.

Missconduct wrote: »

know that pet insurers usually require annual vaccinations but it doesn't mean it's a reasonable term, especially if your animal doesn't actually require treatment for the disease they say it should have been vaccinated against.

But if you're agreed to it by taking out the insurance policy, you've shot yourself in the foot. Also there's not just the insurance side of things but kenneling, or perhaps something like hydrotherapy if your pet was ill, or even some training classes insist on all dogs having valid vaccination certificates.

Missconduct

gsplover wrote: »

It took years for my vet to admit to me that the yearly booster vaccinations actually last up to 18 months, so I save money by having my dogs vaccinated every 17 months instead of 12. .

I think they have told you a shocking lie. What did they say happens to the antibodies at the 18-month point?! There is much to support the fact that the vaccinations last for years if not for life. Please do read up on this subject because I believe you are not only wasting your money but putting your dog's health at risk each time you flood its body with those same vaccines repeatedly. We also fell for this for years, misguidedly thinking we were doing the best by our animals, but I have done a lot of reading over the last year since having animals with chronic health problems and losing animals to conditions which I now believe could have been avoided.

Here are a couple of links if anyone wants more info:
http://www.canine-health-concern.org.uk/PetVaccination.html
http://www.natural-dog-health-remedies.com/canine-vaccines.html
http://www.thedogplace.org/VACCINES/Vaccinosis-Death_staff-1112.asp
http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/cancer-in-our-pet-population/
http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/why-vets-are-getting-away-with-murder/