MoneySaving for dog owners discussion

MSE_Sarah · 12 September 2019 at 11:32AM

Hi,

We've written a new guide on MoneySaving for dog owners and would love your feedback.

Please let us know if it was helpful and if there are any other tips you'd add.

Thanks for your help!

Gillford · 1 October 2019 at 8:43PM

I had trouble getting insurance for my rescue dog as he is a Rumanion street dog so I don't know exactly old he is, as most companies want a birth date, we think he is now about 11 but that also means a lot of companies won't insure him

BikerChick90 · 1 October 2019 at 10:21PM

Money saving tip for pet owners with large breeds.

I have a large Alsatian and beds are a fortune!
I recently bought a bargain orthopaedic memory foam double bed mattress on eBay, the human type of course, complete with a zip off cover. It had been hardly used, from a spare bedroom of a home and cost me £1 (I collected it in my car).
I then bought the biggest replacement dog bed covers I could find on eBay for £3.99. Using the cover as a template I removed the mattress cover and cut the mattress up into 4 rectangular pieces, then put dog bed covers on each piece. This made four extra large luxurious memory foams dog beds, as thick as a usual human mattress. Two for my Alsatian, two for my parents dogs.
Total cost for all 4 beds including the covers £17 and the dogs love them! Couldn’t buy one bed big enough for my Alsatian for £17 at pets at home!

MAISIE26 · 1 October 2019 at 10:30PM

Hi Hearing dogs for deaf people also look for puppy trainers in many areas to socialise young puppies, in much the same way as Guide dogs. Breeds tend to be smaller, and can be short term eg for holiday cover Worth looking on their website for more details

scurrier · 1 October 2019 at 10:37PM

Great suggestions from BikerChick90! ...
I use old duvets, folding them to fit the dog bed cover, and if your washing machine is big enough you can wash them too, which is a bonus.
Were the dog bed covers that you found on eBay any good? I've found that they are often quite flimsy.

elsien · 1 October 2019 at 10:40PM

Gillford wrote: »

I had trouble getting insurance for my rescue dog as he is a Rumanion street dog so I don't know exactly old he is, as most companies want a birth date, we think he is now about 11 but that also means a lot of companies won't insure him

Make up a birthdate based on vets estimate of age
- that's what I've had to do with my rescue dogs.

scurrier · 1 October 2019 at 10:52PM

Some of the "annual" vaccinations for dogs are only required every three years, and often this is what is recommended by the companies that have produced them.
Most vets will happily do this, even though they still send out reminders every year. If you go down this route, talk to your vet first.
You can get "titer" tests to check for antibodies, but these are often just as expensive as the vaccinations, but as vaccinations will "knock back" your dogs immune system for a while, you may prefer to do this.
There is plenty of information about this on the internet.

Sparky67 · 2 October 2019 at 5:30AM

When we moved house I appreciated vets can vary wildly with medication costs. It's worth checking if your pet's medication is available online. It can be cheaper to pay the vet for a prescription to do this rather than just buying from the vet. If you are claiming on pet insurance check with your policy provider as they don't always cover the prescription cost.

Jocraigmo · 2 October 2019 at 6:40AM

Don't buy prescription products from your vet. You can request a prescription and order medication, flea treatment etc on line which saves big ££££'s.

Chodgson · 2 October 2019 at 7:20AM

When it came to vaccinating our puppy (now eight years old) we went for the Vets4Pets Vac4Life scheme. Our friend, who's a vet, advised us that there might be a small annual 'window' for getting the boosters done, so you have to be organised. So far we've remembered every year. She also warned us that they might try to 'sell' us other products and services, although we've seen no evidence of this. Our dog is now eight and we paid just £99 for his lifetime vaccines which might otherwise have cost over £300 - and that's just the saving so far. You also get an annual vet check up and a six-monthly check up with a veterinary nurse for your £99 (although it appears that you have to pay for your initial vaccinations separately - I don't remember this but I imagine it's still worthwhile).

HalfPint · 2 October 2019 at 8:04AM

Great guide.

Can you perhaps add some information relevant to Scotland? The main one missed is the SSPCA, but dogs trust and blue cross also run rescue centres in Scotland (not just England and Wales).

The RSPCA have no rescue centres in Scotland.

HP x

MoneySaving for dog owners discussion

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