Save Money With Your New Puppy
There is nothing like a new puppy, but be prepared to open up your wallet. The cost to own a puppy is not small and this goes beyond the 4000 to 5000 dollars that it costs to buy some breeds like French Bulldogs.
After the purchase price, you have years of additional expenses ahead of you. Luckily, there are ways to save on them. Take a look at some top examples.
1) Find Discount Vet Services
This is not to say that you should skimp on veterinary care, just that you should be careful. Vet prices can swing wildly. Typically a veterinary clinic opens and has fair prices. As they grow a clientele, they can do one of two things. They can expand the service, bringing on more veterinarians or they can raise prices. It seems most like to raise prices.
This just means that you should be choosey when picking a vet. There are a lot of good vets with reasonable prices. A new trend has even started with discount chains like Thrive. They offer a monthly subscription service that gives you discounts on services and unlimited free visits. Quite a deal.
2) Buy Good Dog Food
Sometimes you have to spend more to save more and cheap dog food can end up costing you more in the long run. Good food will help keep your dogs health up and may prevent many future veterinary bills.
That cheap dog food is also made up of a lot of fillers. This means that your dog will likely have to eat more of it to get the nutrition that they need, reducing your savings. It also means more undigested food in the backyard for you to pick up.
Do yourself a favor and buy good food.
3) Buy Clearance Dog Toys
Dog toys are pricey and even a simple chew bone can easily cost 10 dollars or more. Over the course of a year, it can really add up.
The trick here is to buy toys when they go on clearance and stock up. This means checking the clearance end caps often or at the right time. After a holiday is the best time when all of the Halloween or Christmas toys go on sale. Trust me, your dog will not notice that their new chew has a candy cane on it out of season.
4) Think About Pet Insurance
Pet insurance might be a good idea under the right circumstances. Ask yourself, what would happen if you were faced with a 2000 dollar vet bill. Could you afford to pay it? If not, insurance might be a good idea.
Another consideration is the breed of the dog. If you have a Chihuahua, for example, you are less likely to need pet insurance. They are known for being a generally healthy breed. Dogs like the English Bulldog breed however are not so lucky. They are known for having a number of issues including heart and respiratory problems.
5) Learn To Train Your Dog
Dog trainers are expensive and many pet owners understandably do not want to have to pay for training. Luckily, you live in the age of the internet where you can find information on any topic you like, including dog training.
A few hours researching and watching YouTube videos and you should be able to train your dog. Learn how to do so quick so that you can start training your new puppy right away. Not only will you save over the cost of training, you will also save yourself a lot of damaged property from a destructive pup