Frivolous doggy spending

What do you think? Has anybody else come to any peace with their doggy spending habits? LOL

 
That's funny I just posted the above post about the boots, returned to the forum and your message was posted.  Yes, I think the boots are a bit over the top.
 

Well, I geuss if I had money to spend I would probably be in your shoes.  Thank God I don't have to control myself cause there is just to much cool stuff out there for critters.  Actually the reason I popped in was to ask if everyone knew that Old Navy has a for dogs section.  So your dog can be dresses in the lastest styles.  Check out their website.  [linkhttp://www.oldnavy.com]www.oldnavy.com[/link]   Tooo cute. 

I LOVE Old Navy dog stuff! Their frisbees are Emma's favorite. We have matching 4th of July shirts from there. Their stuff is reasonable, and the dogs have to have clothes and toys (Emma is white, and kept shaved down, and has chronic skin issues that render her virtually hairless, from time to time). I don't feel bad about buying stuff like that, occasionally. It's the really ridiculous stuff like my collar fetish (when they don't even WEAR collars) that I'm feeling weird about spending money on.

And I don't have the money to spend, LOL. This one is a special occasion. There won't be any more silly spending til Emma's birthday, then til Christmas. I try not to do it, too often.

I've resorted to using Pantene shampoo and conditioner (EW. I KNOW, it's the WORST thing you can put in your hair.) so that I can afford to buy better food for Ella. I bought her a pretty hemp collar from earthdog.com. I'll be buying her more collars as soon as I get some money again. She doesn't go nuts for any toys, really. She just loves her bad cuz ball and that's it.

I can sooo relate! We don't really have the extra money to spend either, but I can't stand regular harnesses and leashes like you get at Petsmart. So I spent almost $50 on a Fox & Hounds harness/leash set (the whale pattern one). Now they have new patterns, stripes and kind of retro dots (top left corner) and I REALLY want coordinating colors for Gingerbread and Cinnabun.
 
[linkhttp://www.foxandhounds.com/ribbon.html]http://www.foxandhounds.com/ribbon.html[/link]
 
I've also cut back on my own expenditures. I used to get manicures and pedicures.... ha! Not anymore. [] No more professional highlights or Redken shampoos and conditioners. Now I use $5 Nice and Easy haircolor and Suave professionals shampoo/cond. [:-]
 
I also donate to my local animal shelter though! They get any of the dog foods that don't work out, toys that weren't Gingerbread's favorites, dog biscuits, etc.

What do you think? Has anybody else come to any peace with their doggy spending habits?

I think it's great! We can't always help being shopaholics (or dogaholics, as the case may be), but I feel like you kinda balance it a bit when you spend equally on meaningful things for dogs in need. Of course this makes you twice as broke, but hey, at least it's going to a good cause!

And don't get me started on out of control doggie spending. I'm spending $1400 to take my dog to doggie camp for a week. And that doesn't even include gas or driving costs.

To think I used to spend my money on trips to Club Med and little black dresses. Now, I swear I spend twice as much money on the pets as I do on myself. I mean, God forbid I go to Target without coming home with a bunch of toys, nevermind that we have THREE FULL SUPER SIZE DOGGIE TOY CHESTS FULL OF TOYS ALREADY!! When it's not food, toys, treats, bones, vet bills or TDI fees, it's doggie seatbelts or glow in the dark collars or some other contraption that I'm convinced my fur girl simply must have.

And now she's graduated to vacations. I haven't been to a tropical beach...since I got my dog. But I'll drive seven hours so we can play agility games and flyball, even though I could go to Bermuda for less, and get strawberry daiquiries as part of the package.

I walking her earlier and we passed a house with a gorgeous six-foot white picket fence around a huge yard with an in the ground swimming pool, and I looked at Jessie and said, "One of these days, I'm going to get you a big yard like that with a gorgeous white fence and a pool so you can swim with me all summer long." And then I thought, "Step away from the leash, Jan, you are losing it."

The funny thing is, Jessie would be happy to live in a hovel if I were in it, too. I always wish I could give her more, yet she could care less about the stuff, she just wants ball time and Mommy time. Well, okay, I think she'd like the in-the-ground pool, but since they start at about 40K out here, and I'm just barely making the mortgage each month, I don't see one in our near future, unless we hit the Lotto or marry a billionaire.

But yeah, you're not the only one who spends too much on the fur buddy.

At least you're helping other dogs in the process. Good for you!

Jan

I've reined in my spending habits in general, so that includes dog spending. I still buy Russell a premium food and relatively expensive treats (although, aren't they all) but that's about it. We even stopped buying "poop bags" and just use grocery bags. I have big goals for getting out of debt and working toward buying a house that forced me to rethink my spending... I have never been a big spender but I do shop for fun and the dog was my latest shopping hobby. But once I stopped to think about what we REALLY need and use - if it were up to the dog he'd play with the same one tennis ball until the end of time. In general I'm also just trying to minimize my "stuff" since I'm about to move halfway across the country.
 
I'm such a wet blanket. [8|]

  This is too funny. I just joined the site last week, and got such a kick out of reading your posts on this. And here I thought I was one of a select few who gets themselves in trouble on "dog spending"! My husband could kill me every time I go shopping, because I absolutley have to get something for the boys while I'm out. In fact, I feel incredibly guilty if I don't because they know to dig in the shopping bags when I get home and find what's theirs!! Sheesh. But now at least I know I'm not alone - probably a bad thing for the hubby, because this gives me just one more reason to justify it! []

I can definitely relate! I don't think twice about spending the extra money on premium dog food, because that will pay for itself by keeping my boys healthy. But I sure do spend an excessive amount on other stuff for them.
 
My dad walked into my house last night (he lives 1300 miles away, so he hasn't been here for months) and the first thing he said was "I've never seen so many dog toys in my life." We have kongs, bones, toys, and part of an agility set in our living room. Upstairs we have more toys, bones, dog beds, crates, etc. Whatever keeps my boys happy! []
 
But I love your idea of matching contributions with your shelter. That should make you feel much better about spending money on bling! []

I just try to refrain myself of the dog section when i go into stores or when i buy her food, i try not to get too deep into the toy section. sometimes you just can't help but buy them something because you know how fun it is to watch them play with their new toy, but then you  remember that they'll probably have it chewed up in 2 seconds or you remember that they already have 30 toys laying around your house already that are never touched!

So I spent almost $50 on a Fox & Hounds harness/leash set (the whale pattern one). Now they have new patterns, stripes and kind of retro dots (top left corner) and I REALLY want coordinating colors for Gingerbread and Cinnabun.

I cannot BELIEVE that you just showed me that, after I confessed my bad habit, LOL. Bad, bad, bad!

Those are ADORABLE!

Man oh man alive...   I'm aware that Slick is spoiled in the "can't possibly want for anything" sense.  But it wasn't until I put it all together here: Cost  that I realized just how much I was spending.   It's quite insane.  I already donate several hundred dollars a year to HSUS, ASPCA and my local HS - but after seeing just how much money is going to Slick - I think I'll start doing monthly donations and upping it a bit.  I've also decided that I am NOT buying any more dog beds.  If he chews this one up, he's done.  And no more searching for the perfect toy (one that he cannot destroy immediatley)  And NO MORE "Black Dog" gear for the family - for crying out loud!  Thank goodness I have no desire to dress him in doggie clothes - honestly, I'd have to get a 2nd job..

God forbid I go to Target and leave without checking out the dog section. I start to get panicky, what if they have something new and I don't see it? What if her favorite treats are on sale? What if, what if, what if.
 
I'm constantly surfing the web for the perfect "indestructable" dog toy. It's an obsession I have, next to I-dog, of course. []
 
And, I just spent $60 on stuff at Petsmart to celebrate Cookie's Gotcha Day....The funny thing is, I never understand how it got to be $60 in the first place. I grab toy after toy after toy and then I'm like, why is it so much money???

ORIGINAL: cookiemonster

The funny thing is, I never understand how it got to be $60 in the first place. I grab toy after toy after toy and then I'm like, why is it so much money???

 
I can second that one! []