Vet Fees

These are not going to go down in a time of economic austerity! Far better to budget so much a month than risk a big bill, so pet insurance is possibly one thing to NOT do away with - a false economy.

If you don't have pet insurance then maybe you ought to consider it. There's a lot of policies out there - we like a newish one called Petguard which enables you to tailor the cover and potentially save a little on the bill. They offer

* 4 different levels of vet fees - covering your pet for the full length of their treatment
* Quick treatment - there's no need to consult us first if your pet is referred for specialist treatment by your vet
* Complementary and alternative treatments are automatically included
* Insure more than one pet and we will give you £5 off every pet every year!
* Inclusive access to 4 helpline services
* Tailor a policy specifically to suit you - choose a different combination for each pet
* Pay monthly at no extra cost

If you want to know more then click the link below

Veterinary Medicines

You don't have to buy a lot of medicines from the vet these days, buy online and save up to 50% from the likes of Pet Supermarket
or >Pets at Home

Holidays

If you are unlikely to be taking expensive holidays abroad then consider taking the dog with you on holiday rather then incurring expensive kennel costs. There are lots of websites offering pet friendly holidays such as

http://www.petholidays.com/Docs/mainsearch.asp

http://www.k9directory.co.uk/

http://www.petsarewelcome.co.uk/Scripts/default.asp

http://www.dogpeople.co.uk/

http://www.pawsforawalk.co.uk/

http://www.thewoofguide.com/

http://www.petholidayfinder.co.uk/

But hey, you can google just as well as we can!

Pet Food

Now here's where you can make some serious savings!

There's more information on this site about saving money on pet food but the principles are simple. Use the following checklist to see if you could save money!

If you answered 'No' to all those questions then you may already be a wise pet feeder, you see you do not have to pay over the odds for food. There's plenty of choice out there and even premium natural foods at fairly economical prices.

Know how much you are feeding!

It is well a known fact that most pet owners have no idea how much food they are feeding on a daily basis. This has two implications

1) There's the likelyhood that your pet has a better than average chance of becoming overweight, have joint or digestive problems or simply be out of condition. That's going to cost you eventually in veterinary bills.

2) You are wasting money, as evidenced by the fact you are converting exces pet food into sh*t which, of course, as a responsible pet owner you are picking up!

There is a reason why your pet food has a recommended feeding rate on, and you really do need to try and stick to that - it will benefit your pet and your wallet.

Let's put that into perspective with an example.

A 15kg bag of premium food costs £42, and the recommended feeding rate for a 25kg dog is 250g/day (which does not seem a lot divided into two meals!)

The cost per day is 70 pence if you feed at the recommended rate

But let's say that you overfeed by just 50g (or less than 2oz) then the daily feeding costs go up to 84p

That may not seem horrendous, but over a month that's £4.20 wasted!

Ask for a measuring cup for the brand of food you are using - most important as volume varies from food to food - or use the same dispensing mug each day and weigh the food into it so that you know you are not overfeeding.

Know what you are feeding and why!

If you're feeding 'Natural' then make sure in your own mind why you are doing that. Check out the article on food ingredients and labelling, also the one on premium pet food.

You'll find good deals in larger pet shops who have their own branded food. Are they cheaper because they are poorer quality than the more well known brand? Not necessarily, because of two factors.

Firstly, they are probably made by the same company that makes the well known brand! A handful of pet food manufacturers make food for brands like Arden Grange and Burns Pet Nutrition but also make food for hundreds of other companies and pet shops, using the same machinery, similar ingredients and following the principles of the trade organisation PFMA.

The easy way to check is look at the ingredient list and see what the food is made of, then compare the cost between the shop food and the branded food - similar ingredients but £s cheaper? Then why not try the shop brand - if it doesn't suit, a good pet shop will replace the food.

Secondly there's the profit chain. Pet Shop brands are cheaper because there are fewer middlemen taking a cut of the retail price (A prime example would be the new premium Pets at Home food in its shiny new bag. A 15kg of dog food retails at under £30, up to £9 cheaper than some others for a recipe which is as natural and hypo-allergenic as any premium food on the market - and a money-back guarantee!) It works like this:-

Buy in Bulk

Gang up with some pet owning friends and buy in bulk - there are some great deals online (save up to 25%) if you can avoid the delivery costs. Check out the following from the big online pet shops.

Buying a 15kg bag of dog food works out cheaper per meal than buying a 2kg bag (Eucanuba Adult is listed on one site at £39.99 for 15kg, £21.49 for 7.5kg and £11.29 for 3kg - do the maths and see what you save.)

If you can't carry a big bag home then have it delivered - several brands and online pet shops offer free or minimal postal charges, and you get the food delivered to your door. Other pet shops have their own delivery service in their catchment area - check them out!

Some shops offer bulk deals - Online stores such as Pet Supermarket and G J Titmuss often offer good bulk deals with no carriage charges. If you can store it and use it in a reasonable time, then why not save a few well earned £££s?

As a 'for instance' Titmuss will sell you 2x15kg bags of Burns for £37.99 each as a deal delivered to your door (compared with around £42 each buying direct from Burns!)

If you are raw feeding and using frozen meats/offal then consider investing in a small chest freezer just for the pet food so that you can bulk buy and save money - it'll probably pay over the long run, and also keeps the pet and human food separate, which is no bad thing!

If you are feeding a cat, the same applies - many pet shops or online stores will deliver tins in bulk. Ask, and they should offer you a quantity discount that you can offset against the delivery charge if there is one.

Treats

Don't waste your money on commercial pet treats, they are just a big money spinner for the manufacturer and the pet shop.

You don't need to buy expensive treats for dogs. Have you discovered the delights of giving them small pieces of carrot or brocoli/cauliflower stalk?

No? Why not, because they are cheap, natural and actually do your pet a bit of good, unlike some of the other stuff on the market. These are all naturally sweet, and many dogs simply love them!

Dog's don't need expensive treats - please repeat that over and over again until it sinks in. manufacturers may try and disuade you but what they're after is the vast profits on treats. Shops make more profit per item on treats than they do on food.

Go to your local pet shop and see what free samples they have of other manufacturers foods - your pet will never know you get them for free and enjoy the different flavours. Our dog can't wait for her night-time treat, and it costs us nothing because what she gets is 3 or 4 pieces of kibble of a food she wouldn't normally get!