Top Tips Thursday #3 - Pets

A lot of us have an animal (or two or three!). No, kids don't count ;) Pets can make a great member of your family, but they do require attention and maintenance. Over the years we've had to cut back on how much we spend on our pets, without compromising their care.

We did have two little Pomeranian X's - Rascal and Prince, but two years ago, they went for a large digging spree when we were away overnight. It was the one area we hadn't dog proofed, and Prince got out, never to return. Rascal did try to follow, but he is slightly bigger and didn't get out, and hurt his back in the meantime. He was microchipped and had a tag on, but he was never returned. We scoured all the local roads, phoned the pound and local Vets. Nothing. We have a feeling someone dog-napped him. At least, that's what I have to think. He was the most affectionate little thing. We do still have Rascal, however, and he is still the fittest little thing. He also tags along on our daily walks.

Now for some tips -

Buy your heartworm, allwormer and flea treatments online. We saved close to 40% buying them online, as opposed to buying at the Vet or in a pet shop. Places like Vet Shop Online and Pet Super Savers. Keep Googling, you'll find others to compare! Some have sales and offers, and don't forget to compare postage costs. Average save per year for us was at least $50 per dog.

We do a bulk meat shop every two months or so. We then spend a good hour or so cutting it all up and bagging it. But there are, more often than not, off cuts that aren't a good enough grade for us to eat, and we put it in a pile to make "dog stew". I usually make a beef stew and a chicken stew, and depending on the quantity of "meat". In a big saucepan, I'll add the meat, half a cup of rice, a cup of vegies (usually whatever is looking a bit limp in the fridge or frozen ones), a slurp of oil, a teaspoon of salt and water to just cover it. Let it simmer for 20 minutes or so, cool a little, then blend it. I'll freeze it into a couple of batches, but out of each bi-monthly shop, we usually have enough off-cuts to make a week or twos worth of dog food. Average save, a weeks worth of dog food each month, saves us $40 a year.

Wash your dog yourself. I know, this seems obvious, right? But when we were both working, we couldn't be bothered finding the time to shampoo our dogs!! When, in reality, it only took half an hour per dog to give them a thorough wash and brush. Average save per year, based on a wash every two months @ $30 = $180.

We'd often also get them groomed, and their nails cut. We invested in a proper electric grooming kit, dog nail scissors, for a total outlay of about $150, and they're still going strong 3 years later. I reckon, per dog, we were getting them properly groomed two or three times a year, and we'd be saving $120 a year, after the initial outlay of the tools (it was moreso, given that we had two dogs at the time).

In regards to toys and things, we don't buy a lot for our dog. His favourite toy is a ball with a squeeker in it, and we buy him a new one each Christmas! But you would save a lot buying them from discount shops like the Reject Shop, or some marked down bargains from supermarkets and big chains. And that's how we've saved almost $400 per year (per dog!) without compromising their care.