Dog related spending out of control

onylon

I got my dog 4 months ago and I love her but I need to cut back her spending! How much do you spend and how to you (try to) cut down?

This is my breakdown:

Monthly unavoidable costs: 

Insurance - £50
Vet subscription including worming/deflea - £17
Food that doesn't give her the bad poops and/or deadly gas- £65 and totally worth every penny

Set up costs:

Dog Beds - £100 because I have one in every room
Walking boots, raincoats etc for 2 humans- £300
Doggy accessories eg. lead, harness, collar, raincoat, plus spares so that we can wash/dry stuff - £300
Grooming stuff: £40
Blankets - £30


Ongoing costs that need to be trimmed:

Toys - £20 per month
Treats, bones etc - I don't even want to think about it

Supplements - £10 per month

Fancy collars - Too much. I know I should stop buying these but I love them and this is one of the few things I buy for myself. Not going to pretend the dog cares what colour her collar is XD
Grooming - nothing because I do everything myself

Dog clothes - I'm not into doggy dressing up and neither is my dog but winter is coming. Greyhounds have very little body fat and value comfort so if I'm to keep walking her in the colder months she will need coats and possibly boots or paw wax depending on how she does with ice/grit. 

Sky_

Congratulations on your new family member, I hope you have many happy years with her!

I'm pretty bad too, especially with toys because I adore playing with our golden retriever (and all our previous dogs, also goldies).

From experience, it does become less--for example dog beds are generally one-off expenses.  I put old blankets over ours, so the bed itself rarely needs to be washed and should therefore last longer.  We don't have dog coats but we do have 2 dog 'dressing gowns' to keep me sane and the house cleanish after her almost daily rolls in mud, followed by a quick rinse down. 

We don't give many treats--a few for training and I sometimes slow bake sweet potato slices for her or make liver cake treats, but her food itself is fairly expensive.  We don't give any supplements and only buy flea/worming meds a few times a year. No walking harnesses as she's a Houdini and escapes them. Her many strapped car harness (doggy straightjacket, lol) dries quickly so we only have one and having found a collar that works for her and I can fit a flat tag on, I just re-order the same collar when this one gets too worn.

I also make an effective paw balm, using a sled dog recipe, mostly from ingredients I already had in the house.  

I guess it's like babies--certain things are essential and beyond that you can spend as little or as much as you want.

tacpot12

Are you sure the suppliments are needed? I would check with the food supplier as a properly formulated food should contain all the nutrients needed for a dog to be healthy. 

£20 a month on treats such as raw hide chews and bones that help keep their teeth clean is good investment. Our dogs get a couple of chews a day, and a couple of tiny treats. A small packet of treats should last a couple of weeks. If you are using one packet a week, you might want to space the treats out a bit more.  

Stop buying the fancy collars if money is tight. As you say, they are for you, so they should come out of your disposable income. If it helps, think about the planet and the pollution caused by transporting thousands of smart collars when your dog only needs one collar. Pets are not great for the environment generally, but they do enrich our lives, so I'm ok with responsible pet ownership. 

As Sky_ said, most of your list are one-offs, you won't need to buy coats and boots for the humans again for a number of years.  Blankets and dog beds will need to be replaced over time. Toys might need replacing if they get too chewed or damaged, but your dog will probably only have one or two toys that it actually plays with. (Wubba Kong are great, as are the soft squeaky vegetable toys like this one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Petface-Latex-Pea-Pod-Large/dp/B076XVRQDW)

MovingForwards

Bake your own treats.
Join a couple of FB groups for grey owners and you'll get loads of guidance about food, consider a raw diet as it's a lot cheaper. They also tend to have grey specific coats quite cheap too.

She doesn't need loads of collars, just a proper grey one so she can't slip out of it.

You also don't need to buy toys each month, if she's destroying the ones she has get Kong's; fill it with a mix of treats and peanut butter, freeze it and it will keep her occupied for hours.

sheramber

My dog gets one new toy at Christmas. 

She has one collar and one multi point training lead.

She had a plastic bed which I bought many years ago and has served several dogs. it is lined with a piece of Pro Fleece .i have four pieces which again were bought about 15 years  ago and are still going strong. A hoover then a wash cleans them and they dry quickly.

She has our old towels for when she needs dried.

She doesn't need a coat as she is long coated.

Grooming and trimming I do myself with grooming tools again that are years old.

She gets fed a raw diet and her treats are a Bonio biscuit or some small training treats.

She does not get any supplements. I do not treat for fleas unless I see them. So far in nearly 50 years  of dog ownership tha this occurred three times - all acquired in other people's houses.

I do not worm unless necessary. As I pick up after my dog I  would see any worms. Lungworm is not a problem in my area.

She geta an annual health check and booster.

I do not feed rawhide chews as they can cause an obstruction and many have been found to be contaminated with the chemicals used to strip the hide off the carcass.

She is not interested in raw bones. You should never feed cooked or roasted bones.

Her teeth have a little tartar on two of them which the vet says is not worth bothering about. She is 12 and has never had a dental, despite arriving as a 2 year old with tartar caked teeth and revolting breath. Raw feeding cleaned that up.

My wellies and waterproof anorak are my normal wear for going out when  wet, The wellies   came from B&Q for less than £10.00.

Dog guard for the car again bought years ago.

A car with a big enough boot for a dog!

onylon

I think driving lessons will be my next big dog related expense. I'd love to take her to the doggy play area for a run every day. She goes once a week at the moment (£2).

I will definitely look at cooking up my own treats as I'm sure that will be both tasty and economical. We already feed raw as it's the only food that seems to agree with her. It's considerably more expensive than the kibble the rescue recommended (about £15 per month for kibble vs £65 for raw). We also bought a chest freezer (£350) to keep it in so not a budget friendly option but definitely worth it to have a happy, healthy dog.

MovingForwards

Are you grabbing reduced price meat, offal and bones from supermarkets. Popping to butcher's for off cuts, dog bones etc as it shouldn't be costing £65pm to feed her.

sheramber

There are many options for raw feeding. Some more expensive than others.

I use Durham Animal feed products which I buy from a local stockist.  it is basic meat and bones  mix which I have used for over 20 years for 4 different dogs with no problems and compliments from 2 vets as to how good my dogs looked.

I spend around a £1 a day to feed a 26kg dog depending on what mix I buy.

https://www.daf-petfood.co.uk/select-site/

ItsComingRome

Insurance isn't an "unavoidable cost" at all, especially not at £600 a year.

The realistic chances of you spending £6-7k+ on medical treatment for it are exceptionally low, at the very least get rid of the insurance and put the £50 a month in an interest-bearing account.

Vegastare

I would question why you have the £17 monthly vet fee.  I have insurance for my dog and I understand that flea, wormer and vaccinations are not covered.    I buy Drontal wormer and Frontline plus online and vet understands I save by doing this.  For medium size dog it is £72 from Pet Drugs online for one years supply.

If the £17 per month include nurses advice on flea wormer administering then ok while puppy is young ( does this include yearly booster) but the puppy worming treatment should change as 4 month comes along.
 

sheramber

ItsComingRome said:

Insurance isn't an "unavoidable cost" at all, especially not at £600 a year.

The realistic chances of you spending £6-7k+ on medical treatment for it are exceptionally low, at the very least get rid of the insurance and put the £50 a month in an interest-bearing account.

You don't need a bill for £6-7. A bill of £2000 may be difficult for some people. Once you build up a fund for vet fees that is fine but £50  pm would only provide £600 in a year. Not much help for a £2000 bill in the first or second year.

If you have the finance available to pay a large bill then fine. But not everybody has and then insurance can give them peace of mind.

 Pet insurance paid out more to me than I paid in  premiums.