Last month, I posted some tips for saving on your favorite furry friend (as long as it’s a dog). In that post, I covered ways to save on dog food, treats, and toys.
Here are a few more tips and tricks for cutting down on your dog budget!
Grooming:
If your dog has short hair or doesn’t need to be clipped, then you can easily do your bathing at home. Dawn dish soap is excellent for dog shampoo, and you can buy the off-brand to make it even cheaper. Just make sure you mix it half and half with water, since it will be easier to get it all out and less likely to irritate their skin. I bought a condiment-style bottle from the Dollar Store for mixing Nike’s shampoo.
If your dog needs more extensive grooming, you can groom them yourself at home with a pair of clippers. It may seem like an expensive solution, but considering that a groomer costs $25-50 a visit, they’ll pay for themselves pretty quickly.
Another good option is to head to PetCo and pay considerably less than what you would at a groomer (about $8) to use their professional-quality equipment to groom your dog yourself.
Training:
Instead of spending a lot of money to take obedience classes with your dog, check out Leerburg.com for thousands of free training articles and videos. Their training philosophy is very effective, and their methods are easy for anyone to emulate. I’ve used their site for everything from crate training to search and rescue training. And if you’re struggling with a particular issue, they have a very extensive Q&A section.
Vet Bills & Medication:
