Comments on: Frugal Upstate-Now with PUPPIES!

By: debbie

debbie — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 23:50:12 +0000

think you will find this puppy will train her or hiself, look like a lab and if you listen to them they will housebreak theirself, very easy to train dogs,buy lot of chew toys, the sturdy ones or they will tear apart faster than you can buy,take time to play fetch with your pat daily high exercise dog,likes to please

By: Robyns Online World

Robyns Online World — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:53:12 +0000

While we aren’t dog people, we are pet people. There are 3 cats, 2 guinea pigs, and 2 fish tanks of fish at our house. My tip for saving money is to ask your vet if they have low-cost clinics on annual shots – like rabies – or other services. You can also check local pet stores for clinics. The Petco by us has very low cost rabies shots available about once a month.

By: alice

alice — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:05:45 +0000

We haven’t owned a dog since our last one past away about 6 years ago (when my son was a baby). We haven’t taken the plunge to dog ownership yet, but would like to do so one of these days. I think a dog is such a special thing for a kid. I will look forward to reading lots of tips.

As for frugal pet ownership, we adopted a “free” cat from a shelter this spring. In keeping costs of cat ownership down, we often shop for supplies (litter & food) at the farm store near our house as opposed to one of the big pet chains or the grocery store. It’s a very no-frills farm store, which is what probably helps keep their prices down some.

By: Ellen

Ellen — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:14:01 +0000

A new dog – lots of fun! My sister in law who is an AKC agility judge says the best toy for dogs is a simple “braid” of strips of fleece – each about five inches wide. She knots each end after braiding them. They are big, sturdy, washable and very hard to rip apart. Since you can use remnants for the braid – cheap, too!

She also recommends making friends with someone who plays tennis so you can get their old, not-very-bouncy tennis balls for use as dog fetch toys.

For your sanity while the dog is young, I recommend:

Wiping down your wooden furniture legs with Bitter Apple spray before bringing the dog home. Especially kitchen chairs as they often have splatters and drips on them from kids. I didn’t do it this time (how we forget!) and I have the gnawed table and chair legs to prove it.

Use a Gentle Leader. After going through many dog collar systems with our German Shepherds, I firmly believe in the dog halters. They lead your dog by the muzzle and there is a lot less pulling involved. That is about $25 not on sale but they are often on sale at pet food stores for about $10-$15.

The rest is just too fun to put a price tag on!

By: Trudy G.

Trudy G. — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:37:46 +0000

Congrats on your new addition to your family!! After just going thru the puppy stage with an adopted German Wirehair/Coonhound mix who is now 10 months old I can undertand your chewing concerns – I have a couple things in our house that had to be replaced… The best advice I can give is wear the puppy out playing. I try to give all of our dogs ‘outside time’ of several hours on the weekend and at least on hour on week nights. A tired doggie does not turn destructive in the house and best of all – play time is free!! And bonus – it gets me up and moving more burning calories.

One other frgual thought I have about having our dogs – no need to buy an electronic security system and pay monthly service fees! Our dogs provide more than enough security and warning of anyone near the house. One of our dogs is a 165 pound mastiff/ridgeback cross… gotta love the ‘big dog’ bark as a deterrent!

By: Kimberly

Kimberly — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 20:25:49 +0000

Yay puppies! That is so exciting.

My dog will destroy any toy – no matter how expensive or how “indestructible” – and I used to spend a fortune. Now we get her the dollar store plush toys with the squeaker inside and let her rip it apart, then I take the squeaker and toss it. Better than the $10 toys she used to eat… Really, avoiding the pet superstores seems to save me a lot – most things seem to cost more there.

By: Amyrlin

Amyrlin — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:47:46 +0000

I just wanted to say congrats on the new puppy:)

By: Lisa

Lisa — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:02:16 +0000

Good for you on picking a puppy from the shelter! Rescued dogs are the best!

By: Angela

Angela — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:39:15 +0000

Shop around for the cheapest prices when it comes to regular vet visits. After we had aour dog a couple of years we realized we could save over $100 per yearly visit at another local vet. clinic!
We use Frontline/Advantix, but we have found we don’t need to apply it every month.

We also have a lab/mix. We have found it will save you money if you keep him supplied in chew toys and exercise him regularly. He will be less prone to destroying things in the house!

Congratulations on your pup! Labs are great dogs to have with kids around!

By: Roxie Meiske

Roxie Meiske — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:35:42 +0000

I am the proud pet parent to 5 dogs. Three of these are rescue dogs. I have the pet care insurance at Petsmart. I believe it saves me a lot of money in the long run. I have the 2nd level of care. It pays for teeth cleaning, all exams, minor surgery, and tests etc. I still have to pay for any prescriptions; but our vet is very frugal minded of me because I have 5 dogs and she goes the extra mile to see that my vet care is cost effective. When I must use a prescription for a dog, (one of my pets is 14 and requires a medication everyday) she wrote the script for me to take to Walmart pharmacy and get it for 4 dollars. I cut the pill into 4 pieces with a pill splitter.
I also buy our dog food at a local AG store (feed store) They have the best prices I have found. I also make them some food from time to time of liver and chicken necks and backs. (cooked in a pressure cooker it is fast) My dogs are very healthy and have all lived long happy lives.
I am sure your children will love their new puppy. Blessings to you for taking a dog from a shelter. My dogs are all small (except the Bassett hound that weighs 60 pounds) If I had a bigger yard I would have a big dog like a Lab. We have a pet door and our girls all come and go as they please. Potty training our last rescue was a breeze because she just followed the other girls…really I never had a single issue of ‘toidy’ on the floor. Blessings Roxie