The costs of owning multiple dogs

Three of my four are on the same food, and Ginger (who has her own food) only needs a 5 lb bag every 2 months.

No fleas and such, so I don't do Frontline.

The kiddos are on a 3 year vaccine schedule. I get most vaccines at cost from work, but there is also a low cost vaccine clinic in town where everything is cheaper. I've not had to use it, but will do so if one of the dogs' boosters happen when I'm past my free office calls at work. (only get so many per year)

 Chewies keep Grimm sane, but I buy very large chews..which seem cheaper than buying several small ones. We also buy ribs and such when on sale..we bought a huge package of ribs on sale for $6 and it lasted all four dogs two weeks.

Grooming is done here (us being lazy and taking Ginger in to the groomer once in awhile aside).It really helps when all of your dogs are hairy

I haven't been able to cut any corners on medical bills or food.  But, one thing is if your dog is on a human medication you might be able to get it cheaper at a human pharmacy instead of your vet's office. 

I try to limit the expensive treats.   Willow doesn't really play with toys so we haven't bought anything new all year.  I had to break my collar/leash/designer dog bowl addiction.  I started doing most of her baths here and only taking her for the professional groom every few months or so. 

I just basically had to limit much more the luxury stuff to be able to be A1 in the necessities. 

We have a lot of cats so they are an added expense.

jennie_c_d

 Yeah, flea heaven, and I'm a groomer who often volunteer grooms freshly rescued from the side of the road dogs for local shelters. *I* bring home fleas, forget the dogs!! Monthly flea preventative has become non optional, for Emma and her doggy friends. I hate that, but I also hate giving her medication daily to control her seizures, and I hate feeding her a prescription diet, but whatever works is what I have to do. She's just at that point, in her life, where she needs quite a bit of medical help to exist. She's the truly expensive one. That's not going to change, but there are places I can cut back (on luxuries, and things specific to multpile dogs, like splitting flea meds).

 I have worked in dog related places for the past 12 or so years and two different grooming shops the past 2-3, so it is possible to have such a job without having a constant flea problem :) The daycare I worked at was actually much worse for picking up fleas then the grooming shops. It got to a point at the daycare that there was a major flea issue and the owner would not do anything about it, so I stopped bringing my dogs. Both grooming shops are pretty good about doing what they can to prevent the spread of fleas - owners get pretty mad if a dog picks up fleas at the grooming shop. From time to time, I will have to bathe one of my dogs before going home if they had close contant with a dog who had fleas.

 FWIW EPA is currently looking into all spot-on flea treatments due to the number of reported reactions, it will be interesting to see what becomes of the investigation. Another issue with repeat use of spot-ons is that fleas can become resisant to the chemicals. Pesticide resistance develops due to repeat, routine use of the same chemicals - exactly what vets and the companies are pushing for pet owners to do. That can be prevented to some degree by rotating brands if you use them regularly.

My guys all eat raw (except Aspen, the foster!!), so it cuts down on food bills.
I don't do vaccines beyond puppyhood, so that saves a lot of dough.
I don't do flea preventative now - no need to since starting raw (amazingly!!), and before that only once per year, if needed.
I do take all my dogs in to the vet at the same time for their annual checkup, it saves on office call expenses.
I buy used baby blankets to use as crate beds...the dogs love 'em and they fit Schnauzer kennels perfectly.
Rather than buy lots of destructible toys I buy reusable toys (Kongs, stuffed Marrow bones, Tug a Jug puzzle, etc).
I make my own homemade treats - much cheaper!!!
My dogs are all the same size - that works out well for sharing toys and other supplies. Doesn't seem like a big deal, but it does save money when the dogs can share things!!

AgileGSD

I have worked in dog related places for the past 12 or so years and two different grooming shops the past 2-3, so it is possible to have such a job without having a constant flea problem :)

But, does it freeze, there? Is the dirt you walk on actual dirt, or sand? 

I would like to know what you use, because despite buying every natural remedy I can think of, and regardless of what I feed, my dogs still get fleas. Emma's face swells, and she breaks out in hives. She chews her skin til it's bleeding. If that can be avoided in ANY way, I'd love to know what it is.

Jennie, good idea on this thread.

Now that we have 3 dogs, the costs have, well, tripled. All 3 dogs are on Frontline Plus and Heartguard *all year*, I do not split doses. 2 dogs are eating Orijin 6 Fish, 1 is on Holistic Select. I have been getting annual vaccines at the vet, but I'm think of just doing rabies from now on and maybe Bordetella (the nasal). All 3 see a vet, I take Patty & Molson together, and Apollo seperate, but if DH can get time off when their annual comes up I may just take all 3 in together. I do have the fleece bolsters for their crates, and I don't use used blankets, I just buy cheap ones at Wal-Mart ($5 fleeces). Toys, I only buy if their on clearance, but I am an impluse shopper, lol. They each have Kongs, and we also have the Kong Ball, the Everlasting Fun Ball, a dumbell looking thing that stores treats, Tug-A-Jug (nobody has ever played with that one, ugh), along with a ton of stuffies and rope toys and squeeky toys. They each have a ton of collars and leashes and harnesses and bandanas and Patty even has sweaters and coats (she does get cold- we keep the cockers shaved down).

jennie_c_d

AgileGSD

I have worked in dog related places for the past 12 or so years and two different grooming shops the past 2-3, so it is possible to have such a job without having a constant flea problem :)

 

 

But, does it freeze, there? Is the dirt you walk on actual dirt, or sand? 

 

I would like to know what you use, because despite buying every natural remedy I can think of, and regardless of what I feed, my dogs still get fleas. Emma's face swells, and she breaks out in hives. She chews her skin til it's bleeding. If that can be avoided in ANY way, I'd love to know what it is.

 It does freeze but spring through fall we have plenty of fleas. The past few weeks there have been a lot of flea dogs at the grooming shops. Once day I think nearly every dog that was in had fleas (some are on spot-ons too). They seem to be the worst in the fall here for whatever reason. And winter does not mean the fleas go away, as they can survive in people's homes. Do the spot-ons keep your dogs 100% flea free?

 I really don't do anything special, except baths when they are in contact with flea dogs. And the garlic in their food. They have gotten fleas but it has become rare, maybe once every couple years or so. I have never had much luck using natural flea products to get rid of fleas once the dog had them but think they can be effective in preventing fleas.

 A dog as allergic as Emma makes it tricky though. Did your dogs pick up fleas a lot before starting the monthly spot-ons?

I think treats are my biggest expense because I'm constantly training dogs for one thing or another. Luckily I have received a bunch of free treats lately and free raw deer bones so that has helped.

Speaking of deer bones, a girl in our rescue group has access to a ton of raw deer bones. She freezes them and gives them out. I got 4 big bags last time! Its awesome and the dogs love love love them. It takes them a while to chew them too. Much longer than the cow rmb that I get from kroger.

For crates, I keep an eye on freecycle and craigslist and snatch them up when I can. With multiple dogs, traveling and fostering you can't have enough crates imo.

Stuffies I by from the dollar store for sunshine as she is a dog that has to have a stuffie constantly. I will get these from super clearance racks too after major holidays as well as garage sales and freecycle.

I buy competition frisbees for neiko and abbie in bulk with a friend. Competition discs are much cheaper online in bulk than buying from a pet store. I can get them for $2 each, order 50 of them each spring and split with a friend. I'm never without a frisbee! Old discs get dropped off at the dog park.

 Spot ons keep it closer than anything else has. I get dogs in almost every day that are utterly INFESTED with fleas. It's disgusting. Like, they're a different color after the bath. I do DE and boric acid, in the shop, and put infested dogs in the tub before they go to the kennel. I always, always have one of my dogs at work (because, how can you miss the awesome socialization? The "puppy" is amazing, from being at the shop all her life), and they do pick them up. Emma had gotten them really bad, earlier this year (like 10-12 fleas on her, and I didn't see them til we got home, full blown, nasty reaction, skin infection, etc etc) before I started getting religious about the spot ons. Now, they pick up one or two, and that's the worst of it. I do keep them clean, of course, and do checks nightly with a fle comb, AND spray repellant (EO blends) on them.

I'd been buying actual dog treats, but string cheese and chicken breast are so much cheaper, and the dogs like them more. Emma can't have either, so I keep some frozen 100% beef burgers, for her. Between that and kibble, they're all really happy:) I still buy tracheas and knuckle bones, but I try to wait for sales on that stuff.It's definitely workable, and I may actually spend *less* money on three than I was on two, because I'm thinking about it, now.

Jewlieee

You know, I never thought of buying cheap meat cuts and boiling them. Thank you for the great idea! Do you just boil with the bone in? For how ling then how long do you bake them for.

 Yes I boil it with the bone in until it is done or even a little overdone. After it is cooked, I slice it up while I'm pulling it off the bone and put the peices on a cookie sheet covered with foil. I bake it at 375 until it is fairly dry - quite overcooked for sure. Just keep an eye on your first batch, so you know about how long to leave the other batches in. I have used all sorts of parts from a variety of animals - the cheap chicken cuts, chicken gizards/hearts, beef liver/tongue/heart/kidneys, lamb liver/tongue/kidneys, pork tongue/kidneys. They all make really good, healthy, high value treats and are all different. The tongues actually smell like steak while they are cooking (but are sooooo gross to cut up!). You can spend a few hours making enough for a month or so's worth of treats. And I honestly can't find much at the petstores that the dogs like better than these treats.

 Another thing I sometime do for treats is buy organ meat, boil it and mix it with a couple eggs and enough flour to make a dough. I line a cookie sheet with the mixture and cook it until it is is  good consistancy. It make it crunchy, let it cool in the oven as the oven cools (after it is sliced). This also works with canned fish, canned dog food or peanut butter in place of the organ meat.

 That sounds pretty disgusting, agile, LOL! I bet they LOVE it!

jennie_c_d

 That sounds pretty disgusting, agile, LOL! I bet they LOVE it!

 Of course! Dogs do seem to love the grossest, smelliest stuff don't they? Someone here makes dehydrated green tripe treats - talk about gross!

 I don't have multiple (permanent) dogs, but I do have 6 cats, plus Casey. My biggest expense is flea meds. I buy the biggest dog advantage - and one tube will do all the critters in the house. I DO NOT do flea meds year round, only as needed. And honestly, it's not needed often. I think we've only done them once this entire summer (which is amazing down here, really).

My cats have access to the porch outside, and Casey goes everywhere with me. I've brought home dogs with fleas, and my guys haven't gotten any! I really think it has a lot to do with not using it often, and good diets.

I buy food in 'bulk' when I have coupons for petsmart (Blue Buffalo). Coupons help, tons.

I don't vaccinate my pets, except for 3 year rabies, and I purchase my heartworm meds (interceptor) at cost from work.

ETA: and the BEST perk of my new job - free dentals! I just have to come in on my own time - I was very excited to hear that!

 FREE DENTALS?!?!? Whoa!!!! That's an awesome benefit, especially if you were a person with two breeds known for needing them, regularly, LMAO.

I buy their food in bulk (they eat the same kibble). That saves about 30% of the cost there..

I stopped deworming them every three months. Just doesn't seem to be necessary. Since I moved to the new place, they have never really gotten anything.

I don't use flea meds. They never once brought any fleas in. I'm not even sure there ARE any fleas here.

I don't buy them toys, unless they are on sale and super cheap. otherwise, rotating their excisting toys and making toys out of old socks, or whatever else I have to spare, works just as well.

I didn't buy storage boxes, but instead just painted some old moving boxes that fit perfectly on top of their crates.

I have friends dog sit, when I have to leave town, instead of boarding them. Since most of my friends still live with my parents, I can always find someone who is happy to have my place to themselves for a few days.

Taking training classes is a luxury for me, so I only do that when I have extra cash. I went years before there even were any training classes here, so I figure, I can manage.