How do you save money when you have pets?

deemom · **How do you save money when you have pets?**

--If you are interested in buying a new pet look at local animal shelters. Here they cost $75 and are fixed and up to date on all their shots.
--Petco has a program where for every 10 bags of food you buy in 12 months you get 1 free.
--Some people make their own doggy biscuits----I'm not that ambitious though.
--A family up the street sells their doggy poop to a farmer who uses it for fertilizer...eww but way to be frugal.

Anyone have any other tips?

Happymom · 11-23-2007, 08:06 AM

We have 2 wonderful, AKC shelties. Yes, they were an investment to begin with, but they have had several litters and have more than paid for themselves and we had the invaluabel experience of watching the puppies be born and caring for them.

Also, dh checked out the nutritional value in the dog foods and the generic Target brand works well for our dogs and they love it!! Plus, we get a 40 lb bag for $11!!!! More expensive brands are not always better!

Kim · 11-23-2007, 11:44 AM

Stick with dry food (vs. the canned kind) and buy in the biggest bags you can find. They're kind of cumbersome to haul out of the stores, but they're really cheap.

SCMomOfTwo · 11-23-2007, 08:31 PM

40 lb. bags of dry dogfood at Costco.

Heartworm meds and flea treatments from online stores (same brands that my vet sells, but for much, much less.)

Dog rope toys from Dollar Tree

Dog bed with machine washable cover from Costco.

Raised dogfood and water bowl stand from Walgreens - our dog is pretty big

Bully sticks from Costco.

SouthernMama · 11-23-2007, 09:15 PM

We are in the process of getting ready to transition our puppies to dog food soon and we'll be going cheaper on the food...

I use home remedies to treat fleas.

I make their fleece rope toys.

I buy their collars from a mama made business.

lms · 11-26-2007, 07:51 PM

IF you have a PECO in your area sign up for their members card.

On the application they ask you about your pets. Peco then periodically sends you coupons relating to your pets. I just received three coupons one for a free can Hill Science Diet cat food, a $3.00 coupon for Hill Science Dry cat food and a coupon for $5.00 off entire purchase.

I purchased 20lb bag of Tidy cat Litter with my $5.00 coupon I paid $1.49. IF my manufactor's coupon was not expired I would of paid .49

Jodie · 11-26-2007, 08:33 PM

Look around for vets....don't settle for the first one you run across. Some have outrageous prices but if you look around you can find Great Vets who don't charge an arm and a leg. For example my vet office charges only $12 for a office visit. Almost half of what others vets charge. He's also very good at what he does.

Maryfs · 11-26-2007, 08:41 PM

Our vet offers half price shots on Tuesdays.

liamsmom · 11-26-2007, 09:49 PM

we have a border collie and two indoor kitties.

We buy pet food from costco, great price, BIG bags and very similar to science diet. We only have to go every other month for food.

We go to a local vet only for sickness. We love our vet, but can't afford to get shots, neuturing from him. We wait for the yearly "free" or "cheap" immunizations day at petsmart or petco, and take our dog. We had him fixed at the humane society, MUCH cheaper. Since the cats don't go outside, we don't have to be as anal about their shots.

The dog bed from costco is the best! The cover is washable/durable and it's large and cheap.

We buy rawhide bones in 10 packs. A bag can cost $20, hurts when we buy it, but we're sooo happy to have a new bone for Kai dog every week and a big bag lasts awhile. We also buy the jerky strips from costco, they can be broken in half for cookies.

We've been lucky with fleas, I think it's too foggy here for them to live.

LJGZsmom · 11-27-2007, 02:07 PM

Having picky dogs helps too!

My two dogs will NOT eat the "good" dog food. We tried everything when we first got them. Iams, Science Diet and so many others. The only thing they will eat is Ol' Roy, the Walmart brand.

It is cheap too!