Saving money on vet bills can be tricky – You don’t want to neglect their health…but does it really need to be so expensive?
As with our own health, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” In other words, preventative health precautions will give your pet vibrant good health, resulting in fewer vet visits; thus, lowering the cost of pet ownership. Plenty of exercise, companionship, hydration, and good-quality food go a long way toward keeping your pet happy and healthy.
According to the Vet Info website,
The yearly dog veterinary costs after the first year may be between $500 and $1000. The average lifespan of dogs is 14 years. You must be prepared to spend this amount each year.”
Vet Info
Yikes! It’s good to be prepared to spend this amount, in case an emergency arises with your pet, but the tips in this article will save enough money, so you are covered in the bad times.
The best way to spend less money at the vet’s office is to spend less time at the vet’s office! Easier said than done? No, it’s simple, preventative health care, just like you would do for any member of your family….but before you stick a Flintstone’s vitamin down your pup’s throat, you’d better read on and get animal-specific advice for better pet health 🙂
Table of Contents
- Keep your Pet Hydrated for Vibrant Good Health
- Good Quality Kibble: well worth the price tag
- Keep your Pet’s Diet Consistent
- Prevent Parasites: cheaper and healthier for pet AND family
- Pets Like to Have a Sparkling Smile, Too
- Train Him to Behave Safely (Fewer Mishaps = Fewer Vet Visits)
- Dog-Proof Home: safety and peace of mind
- Dog-Proofing your Yard – Regular Checking Prevents Mishaps
- Don’t Let Him Eat Stuff off the Ground
- Take Daily Walks, and Reap Many Benefits
- Use a Leash for Carefree Walks
- Snuggle you Pet Daily for Two Reasons
- Use Joint Care for Vibrant Old Age
- Resources for Further Exploration
Keep your Pet Hydrated for Vibrant Good Health
A commonly-overlooked pathway to excellent pet health is simple hydration. How does this save you money on vet bills? A hydrated pet is a healthy pet. Having enough water improves every system in your pet’s body – Blood, teeth, every vital organ, urinary system, to name just a few examples. One of the most common reasons for a vet visit is urinary tract infection. Adequate hydration will eliminate the majority of these.
A dog should drink, on an average, one ounce of water per pound of body weight per day. My greyhounds have always been poor drinkers (common for that breed). When I committed to getting more water into my dog, Lily, her UTI problems stopped. She weighs 65 lbs., and I have her drinking 32 oz. of water a day. So much for the “average,” right? She drank much less before, though. Now, I add water to her food, and give her water morning and night that has a little bacon grease in it. She drinks this very enthusiastically.
How to Test your Dog for Dehydration
If you’re uncertain whether or not your dog is properly hydrated, here is a simple test, from Advanced Care Veterinary Hospital:
How to Check for Dehydration
- Gently pinch the skin between your dog’s shoulder blades.
- Then gently pull the skin up and release.
- Watch how the skin falls back into place.”
On a properly hydrated beast, that skin should recede right back into place. If your pet’s skin stays up, it’s time for an overhaul in his drinking habits.
Good Quality Kibble: well worth the price tag
When I got my first dog, Peaches, I knew exactly what I would feed her. After all, I’d been watching dog food commercials for decades! Peaches’ first food from me was Gravy Train. Gravy…what dog wouldn’t love it, right? She loved it. Ate it all up, and proceeded to thank me with a profuse round of bloody diarrhea. I was shocked, to say the least.
The vet explained to me that this food was simply too harsh for Peaches, who had some digestive issues. He put her on BilJac, a highly digestible kibble made mostly of chicken. Back then, it was only available from the vet; but these days, I can get it at the pet store or online. I’m on my third greyhound now, and all of our dogs have done outstandingly well on BilJac. There are a lot of good quality kibbles out there.
Better Pet Food = Better Pet Health
Just like with people, good food will improve your pet’s health; which, in turn, will reduce your vet visits. This fact will more than offset the higher cost of better food. After all, garbage in/garbage out, right?
There is a dizzying array of “better” dog food out there, and they are not all worth the money, so shop carefully. Check breed-specific social media forums for good advice on what food works well for your dog’s breed. Kirkland brand from Costco is one that is well-liked by my fellow greyhound owners, and is very affordable.
Keep your Pet’s Diet Consistent
Once you find a kibble that works well for your pet, stay with it. Don’t switch his food arbitrarily because you find something cheaper, or have a coupon, etc.. This can be very tough on your pet’s digestive system, resulting in gas and/or loose stools.
As it is, these digestive problems can occur in your pet for many other reasons. If your pet’s diet is consistant, you will know right away when he is having a problem, whether it’s from parasites, something he ate off the ground, or table scraps that didn’t agree with him. Don’t underestimate the power of innocent-looking table scraps to run up your vet bill. As I say in an article over at my other website, Greyhound Homecare,
“A food that is fatal does not magically become ok in smaller amounts – It can still shorten your dog’s life, or make him very unhappy. Even worse, there are some toxins in foods that will build up, unseen, in your [dog’s] system; and you won’t realize it, until the damage has been done.”
Greyhound Homecare
Prevent Parasites: cheaper and healthier for pet AND family
How could something so little cost you so much? Yet, illnesses and suffering from fleas, ticks, and worms are the bane of existance for many pets, and lead to many vet visits.
The best flea and tick preventative I have used is Nexgard. It is very expensive; but that expense is offset by not having to buy products to deal with getting rid of fleas, and not having to pay for vet visits for itchiness or Lyme Disease.
I am able to keep the expense of the medication down by only administering it during my local flea/tick season (April – September). Another way I save on it is that my dog, Lily, happens to be at the bottom of the weight range for her prescription, so I only give her 1/2 of the dose. The range is 60 – 120 lbs., and she weighs 65 lbs.. This also helps to alleviate my concerns about this particular medicine, which can sometimes have side effects. I find that this dose is 100% effective for Lily, and she tolerates it well.
Stopping Worms Before they Start
Worms are another concern. Once your pet gets them, they can be tough to get rid of. Even worse, they can spread to humans. I give my dog Heartgard as a worm preventative. The range on this medication is 50 lbs. – 100 lbs., so I give Lily the full dose. The active ingredients in Heartgard are pyrantyl and ivermectin.
Both of these are available for livestock, without a prescription; so I am looking into how I can do that for my dog. I am looking into accounts by people who have packs of dogs (such as hunters and rescue groups), who know how to do this. After all, the prescription versions would be out of reach for anyone with a number of dogs.
Pets Like to Have a Sparkling Smile, Too
Brushing your dog’s teeth daily can result in significantly less vet expenses. Much disease is caused by bacteria flowing into every system of your dog’s body from those dirty teeth. Y
ou don’t need any fancy equiment for this life-changing habit – Just a child’s toothbrush from the Dollar Store and a small dab of toothpaste. As with small children, too much toothpaste can be harmful, so be sure to just use a bit.
Train Him to Behave Safely (Fewer Mishaps = Fewer Vet Visits)
What better way to keep your dog out of the vet’s office, than to teach him to behave himself. I feel so discouraged when I see a dog getting into something that could hurt him; while his owner stands idly by, saying, “oh, he does that all the time. He’s such a dummy.”
This is pure laziness on the part of the owner. The fact is, dogs absolutely can learn. Moreover, they want to please you; so if you show them when you disapprove of something they are doing, they are much less likely to do it. No, they’ll never be perfect, but they can certainly improve.
Examples of What to Teach your Dog, for Safety at Home
Good examples of things to teach your dog to keep him safer: staying out of the road, keeping away from the trash, acting calmly when he meets another creature, not jumping up on people or things.
I recently read an interesting news story, in which a home was almost burned down because of the dog. The owners were not at home, when the dog jumped up on the stove, knocking “on” the knob to one of the burners (by “jumping up,” I mean his front paws). Ironically, the owners thought things would be safe; because before they left, they crated another of their three dogs, who had accidentally turned on the stove before!
Dog-Proof Home: safety and peace of mind
Of course, you can’t expect your pet to do all the work of keeping himself safe. For example, you can teach him to stay out of the trash, but reinforce his safety by making the trash a harder target. Take out smelly trash right away. Use a trash can with lid that snaps shut.
Keep electrical cords tucked back where your pet can’t chew them or get tangled in them.
This might sound like an odd one, but check your carpet periodically for loops of rug yarn that are sticking up. Lily caught a claw in one such loop last Fall, while she was running around the room, and her claw got pulled right out. I won’t even describe the aftermath – It was truly horrible! Vet bills for such an accident can be surprisingly high.
Closing off Problem Areas
Use baby gates to keep your pet out of areas where he might get in trouble when not supervised. Get him comfortable with resting in a crate, so it’s an easy place for him to hang out when nobody’s home. For tips on this, check out my article, linked below, on how to make his crate great!
Bare stairs can be difficult for older dogs. Consider installing a carpeted runner. If that’s not possible, an inexpensive set of stair treads can make things more comfortable for your dog (be sure to install them with the right carpet tape, so they don’t slide around).
Dog-Proofing your Yard – Regular Checking Prevents Mishaps
My dogs have had more injuries occur outdoors, than indoors. When you pet-proof your house, you really only need to do it once. Outside is another story, however – Your yard needs to be checked for hazards regularly.
Whenever you let your pet out, look into the yard to see if anything seems amiss. If you have a wooden fence, it’s especially important to check your entire fenceline every morning. You never know if a section of the fence may have fallen down in the night. Be sure to walk out to where you can see any parts of the fence that are not visible from doors and windows (such as on the other side of a garage or behind a shed).
Always Check your Yard Right After a Storm
After a storm, walk your property and pick up large sticks and any other debris that may have been brought down by the wind.
Check your lawn and porch for any receptacles that catch water. Empty them, or – even better – throw them away, or at least turn them over, so they can’t gather water. You’ll probably remember to do this after a storm, but you also want to check after you’ve run lawn sprinklers.
Don’t Let Him Eat Stuff off the Ground
This can be one of the hardest things to monitor. When we had outdoor cats, I noticed that they seemed very intuitive in steering clear of eating things that would make them sick. Dogs are another story…
Dogs will not only eat food that kids have dropped, they will also eat any paper goods that touched food; such as paper plates, napkins, skewers, etc..
Is Eating Grass Harmless for Pets?
Many like to graze on grass, followed by coming indoors and throwing up green on your carpet. Some owners will allow this behavior, but they don’t realize that some of the microscopic worms that can infect dogs can live in the soil for 30 years.
Worst of all, some dogs will eat droppings of other animals (or their own) off of the ground. Since animal waste consists of the poisons rejected by the body, you can imagine how this can cause numerous illnesses. While you’re patrolling the yard, checking the fence, be sure to pick up any “messes” that are out there.
Take Daily Walks, and Reap Many Benefits
A daily walk will improve your dog’s health immeasurably. It’s more than just exercise – It improves the bond between the two of you, making you both happier. The health benefits might lower your own medical expenses, as well.
Walking your dog also gives you a daily opportunity to check up on his pees-n-poops. It’s not the most attractive part of the walk; but often, that’s where the first symptoms of illness show up, enabling you to catch problems when they’re easier to solve.
Use a Leash for Carefree Walks
Unless you have a highly obedient, unambitious dog, and live where there is no traffic, keep your dog on a leash (unless you’re in a fenced-in area). Obviously, since I have greyhounds, my dogs are always on a leash, if there’s no fence. I realize, though, that there are many dogs who are traffic-savvy homebodies.
If you are walking your dog, though, he should always be on a leash. Away from his home base, you never know how he may suddenly react to a playing child or another animal. My neighbor’s dog’s encounter with a certain porcupine comes to mind…
Snuggle you Pet Daily for Two Reasons
Spending time every day with your dog, petting him, is another activity that has many hidden health benefits…in addition to being fun. For you, it has been shown to lower blood pressure; again, keeping your own health costs down! Of course, it’s great for the dog, too 🙂
Like with the daily walk, the frequent snuggle gives you a chance to get a good, close look at your dog, so you can head off problems when they are small and manageable.
Use Joint Care for Vibrant Old Age
Finally, give your dog a quality joint care supplement from a young age. Vets used to recommend this starting at age 8; but it has been found that dogs who start on joint care as young pups suffer from less joint pain later in life.
The most effective joint care suppements for dogs contain glucosamine, MSM, and chondroitin. Each of these natural ingredients serves a different purpose for your dog’s joints, from healing wear and tear to drawing soothing moisture into the joint, and more. The infographic, below, sums up the differences between the the three.
Thank you, wow I just learned several things.