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

PerpetuallyBroke

On the subject of pet insurance, don't just go by the per-month/annual cost. It's also important to check what's covered, what the limits are, and how much the excess is. Some policies cover per year, others per condition, and while I pay one excess of £120 per condition, I know my Dad pays an excess every time he claims (I'm not sure who his dog is insured with).

I'm with Tesco - their 'extra' policy - and I'd recommend it, although it probably costs more per month than many others. My policy covers up to £4000 per condition for the life of the condition (ie not per year). So this means, for example, I can claim up to £4000 for his diabetes meds, but they're very pricey, so the insurance will run out before my lovely Simon does, at the rate he's going! (13 1/2 and still going strong!). However, he also has a heart condition, and that's a separate pot of £4000 I can claim from.

Also, pre-existing conditions are rarely covered, so if your animal has a condition and you change insurers, that condition probably won't be covered by the new insurer.

Hope this helps!

mrshughes86

I feed my dog and cat on the Raw Meaty Bones diet.

Lots of information can be found on ukrmb.co.uk
but basically as some posters have mentioned before, feeding the RMB diet (actually a combination of meat, bones, offal, fish and eggs) is the healthiest way to feed cats and dogs.

Just because pet food companies have huge marketing and advertising budgets, they appear in the public eye and everyone assumes its the best way to feed.

The person who converted me likened it to MacDonalds, one of the biggest food advertisers in the world - but not something you would want to live on every day!


As well as being healthier, raw feeding is cheaper and greatly reduces vet costs - especially dental.

I get meat, bones and offal from our local butcher, and also have a free supply of rabbits by getting in contact with local pest control companies. With the combination of cheap and free food, it costs me about 30p per day to feed a cat and dog.

At my dogs yearly checkup when she had been eating raw for 8 months, my vet checked I was 'still using the Hills prescription diet they recommend', but when I said I was now raw feeding all should could say was 'well it's obviously doing her good'!

The only comment she made was to make sure I kept up a good worming regime, as there is an increased possibility of infection from raw meat.


I buy worming and flea treatments online, (two different wormers to make sure all worms and lungworm are covered).

The trick is to look at the active ingredients. I have got my animals the same cover as from Advocate, but for a fraction of the price. (Dont be brainwashed by Advocates owners Bayer - they even own the domain lungworm.co.uk !)

krlyr

mrshughes86 wrote: »

The person who converted me likened it to MacDonalds, one of the biggest food advertisers in the world - but not something you would want to live on every day!

Being pedantic, I would liken it more to supermarket ready-meals or similar. Meets the dog's nutritional needs, but may contain some ingredients not really necessarily or all that beneficial for the sake of taste/texture/shelf-life. Adequate - or more than adequate in cases of the good brands like Fish4Dogs, Orijen, etc with a high meat content - but in existance for our convenience.
Some commercial foods really are the McDonalds of the dog world - Bakers and Pedigree to name a couple, full of sugars, salts and even colourings that not only aren't needed, but that can have a negative effect on the health and/or behaviour of the dog. But as a raw feeder, I think we can do more damage than good by saying all commercial foods are bad. My two suit raw feeding fantastically and I wouldn't switch unless circumstances forced my hand, but I am happy to acknowledge that there are some very good quality commercial foods that are not only adequate, but may suit some dogs better than raw.

MrsAverage

SneaksyWhippet wrote: »

There is a large school of thought that disagrees with annual vaccinations (topping up with drugs for the sake of it when they may have enough in their system already, and other reasons) but personally I do vaccinate as I don't like to risk it.

Garlic is a good flea repellent. I worm every three months, alternating wormers to make sure I don't miss out lungworm, but I don't treat for fleas unless I see evidence of fleas on them. Being whippets they have short coats so it would be very obvious.

I found Argos to be the best price for pet insurance and have heard good things about people who have claimed from them. They give you a discount if you insure more than one dog and there is usually a cashback deal available too.

Any tips on how to get my cats to eat garlic?
One seems particularly allergic to either fleas or flea treatments

snowman2_2

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 also buy all my wormers and flea treatments on the internet as the vets charge a high mark up price. If you shop around you can get them for at least a third less. The same with dog food I just search for my particular brand and buy from the cheapest as sites quite often have offers on.

That doesn't apply to all vaccinations and for Feline Leukaemia in particular is way too long to leave between vaccinations - you wont have full cover. There are several other posters who are giving dangerous advice about vaccinations who are not vets. Animals will die because of some of the advice given. Vaccination protocols are something to discuss with your vet with relation to the area you live in, diseases that are common and your pets personal circumstances.

Vaccination saves lives. Talk to your vet about it, don't read dangerous threads on the internet

Mini86

It's extremely important to remember when trying to feed your pets for less that you ensure your pet is still getting the right vitamins & nutrients and that the reason there are ready formulated cat and dog foods on the market is because they are formulated to include all the essential vitamins and nutrients the animals need this definitely not just hype.
Please don't just feed your pets anything it's always best to check with a vet or nutritionist first. Dogs and cats are essentially carnivores so although some will eat veg & roughage they don't really need it. They need protein, that's where they get their energy.
However there are a few things you can do to ensure your pet food costs are kept to a minimum. As has been mentioned before you can mix weetabix with breakfast meals for dogs, it's a good source of fibre which keeps their bowels healthy and also go to your local butchers for cuts which aren't fit for people. It's also worth remembering that although dogs should be able to eat raw meat their bowels have changed through evolution and years of being fed cooked meat & formulated feeds that some may not be able to digest raw meat & it will make them ill.
You can also substitute shop bought "teeth cleaning" chews for raw carrots if your dog will eat them, the fibres in the carrot are extremely good for cleaning teeth and are a lot cheaper than buying chews.
Shopping around for dog food is a very good idea and often smaller pets shops will formulate their own feed at a much lower price than brand names. My local pet shop does this and it's at least half the price of say Baker's or Pedigree.

muddymare

MrsAverage wrote: »

Any tips on how to get my cats to eat garlic?
One seems particularly allergic to either fleas or flea treatments

I believe garlic is toxic to cats, but you can use diatomacious earth which is harmless if he is allergic to standard treatments.

scrabbly

I live alone (with Dog) and tend to buy microwaveable veg packs - there is too much for one so Dog gets the rest. Similarly, pasta, rice, other veg, and the end of the Chinese NOT end of the Indian !
Obviously, she needs meat & mixer as well but not always - it depends how much & what is left over.
Although on line pet food is fine I find it a pain to have it delivered when I'm not in so I just buy in bulk from my local pet shop. Become a regular and they will always do a deal !

gsddusty1

I agree with the previous post watching out for terms and conditions with pet insurance. Pet plan is more expensive but covers the amount insured for each year for the remainder of the dogs life if you keep up the insurance. I learnt the hard way when my dog had a hip replacement operation at 3 years old. The insurers then stated that she had received the amount insured for and would not cover her for any leg issues. I thought that this meant to do with the hip dysplasia and when she cut her leg on glass in the woods and required emergency treatment as she cut her front leg, tendon and artery on a weekend I tried to claim and they refused stating that they would not pay for any leg injuries although it did not relate to the hip dysplasia. So be careful what you are buying

jimmywx11

SneaksyWhippet wrote: »

The dog is probably getting better/more appropriate nutrients on this diet than any commercially produced food. Raw feeding is a huge area in the dog world at the moment; it is the most natural, healthy diet for a dog to have. They don't need added vitamins etc on a good raw diet because they get it all from the food Actually, raw feeding was going to be my money saving tip too:

It takes a bit of research to understand what you can/cannot feed, and you do need freezer space, but a diet of raw meaty bones, offal, muscle meat and fish with or without vegetables/eggs/cottage cheese etc (some do, some don't) is not only additive free (with a lot of commercial foods you are paying for artificial flavours, colourings and preservatives, and "fillers" such as wheat which dogs do not need), healthy and natural but can work out extremely cheap.

There are many online suppliers and you can get free delivery if you buy in bulk. It costs me under £1 per day to feed two dogs (both large whippets weighing around 16kg each) and they have never been shinier, healthier or happier! There are some well priced, good quality complete foods around too (Wainwrights at Pets at Home is one I have in stock for any times I can't feed raw) but a lot of cheap complete foods are a false economy; you need to feed more because their nutritional value is lower.

Other tips would be to buy worm/flea treatments online rather than from the vet. Also, ask around for quotes for routine vet visits/neutering etc. Obviously for neutering etc don't just go on price: you need a vet that has also been recommended that you can trust. I saved £100 getting one of my dogs neutered at an alternative local vet, recommded to me by a friend, rather than my usual vet.

I was going to say the same as you... but you put it better than i could of... just to add that i've had my dog on bones and raw food for 3 years now and the difference is really obvious. just sooo much more healthy. he hasn't been near a vet ever since i put him on this diet. so how much has that saved me? well hard to say. but the raw food diet will save you money and its still cheaper than dog food. give your dog a bone and he will be happy for hours. (never cooked bones... and some dogs may fight to keep it - so just let them alone when they are munching). also they poop a lot less and have hard stools. which is a lot less mess to pick up.... but if you don't give some veggies they can get constipatated till they are used to it.