The Economy and Your Pet--Three Big Cost-Savers
Most Americans are really watching there budgets these days. For most of us, our pets and their expenses are part of our budgets. With this in mind, here are three tips on how to keep your pets affordable.
Get Pet Insurance
We've talked about before on this blog, and its still true. In the event of an emergency pet insurance will help reduce the need for you to decide between your pets' life and your family budget. Insurance plans vary greatly so do your homework. I have noticed that pet insurance plans are really important for all ages of pets as each age milestone tends to have unexpected costs come up. Young dogs tend to get into mischief ingesting something they shouldn't or injuring themselves, while middle age dogs often get orthopedic injuries or social injuries (cuts from dog fights). Older dogs will show age related health declines or cancer. So regardless of your pets' age consider health insurance for those unexpected trips to the veterinarian.
Assess Your Pet's Food
The most consistent pet expense most of us have each month is usually food. Everyone has strong opinions on what pets should eat, however, regardless of brand or flavor you've chosen, there are things to consider in keeping your pet food costs reasonable.
First, determine if you are feeding them something that's reasonable as it pertains to price and quality. You need to strike a balance. Foods range from generic to ultra super premium deluxe (manufacturers love adjectives). In general, you get what you pay for--to an extent. I've never been a fan of the extremes as generics tend to scare me and the super mega fancy brands have little to support that they are really as elite as they would like us to believe. Most of the classic major brands make a well balance quality food at a reasonable price. When you go to the extremes you will pay the price now or in the long run.
Second, find out if you are feeding the proper amount of food for you pet. Most people actually over feed, making their pets fat and sometimes obese. The excess food is a waste of money and detrimental to your pets' health. To really find out what volume to feed your pet, ask your veterinarian to calculate how much your pet needs to eat per day to achieve the ideal body condition. The potential reduction in the food fed over a life time will easily pay for your office visit, save you money in the long run and improve your pets health.
Bake Your Own Treats
Yup, you spoil your four-legged children and part of your pet budget is being spent on treats. What you probably don't realize is that many pet treats are very simple and contain ingredient you probably have on you shelf right now! Why not bake your own treats? There are tons of simple yet tasty recipes for treats out there, you're internet savvy, go find them. Make a few small batches and see what your pets think. If they're a hit consider giving a few samples out to friends as gifts. Who knows, people may even start offering you money for your 'homemade' dog treats. To keep your new baking adventure safe, here is a list ingredients to avoid from ASPCA poison control: Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Pet.
--Dr. Hamilton
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Dr. Hamilton is an oncology resident at Michigan State's Animal Cancer Care Clinic and a regular contributor to Wag Reflex.
Dentist Daytona Beach on November 30, 2009 at 06:52 PM
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