Keeping Pets Healthy in a Recession
Times like these we’re all thinking of ways to tighten our budget. We cut out certain expenses such as going out on the weekends, buying a new frock once a week, and we even surrender our beloved pets to animal shelters for lack of a better option. Well I’m here to say you can STOP surrendering your pets because I’ve devised a list of ways we can all save money on our pets.
1. Feed Healthier Foods- This does not mean run out and buy the most expensive food on the market. On the contrary. One company that’s out there (that I carry and stand behind 100%) is called Land of Holistic Pets. The two brands they have are Luath’s and Robbie’s Holistic Pet Foods. These foods have all of the nutrients every pet NEEDS and none of the fillers they don’t. It has Omega fatty acids, minerals from seaweeds including Spirulina, veggies, meat, and herbs like oregano (cancer fighter) and parsley (kidney tonic). This food is far less expensive than Veterinary brands and wont cause the problems the by-products and fillers in those brands do. Therefore your pet will stay healthier and wont need to frequent the vet for symptoms of ill health. Contact me for pricing on Luath’s and Robbie’s brand foods. It’s so inexpensive you wont believe it.
Also see my video on “Making Cat Food Out Of Dog Foodâ€
2. Home Made Flea Control and De-Wormer- Most people think the only way to prevent fleas and worms is to either use a spot-on treatment or get a pill from the vet. These methods are very expensive and quite toxic actually. Not to mention fleas can build up an intolerance to certain spot-on products rendering them useless. I have an easy and cost cutting way to protect your pet and rid them of any parasites they already have.
Ever heard of a little thing called Garlic? Garlic has many medicinal properties such as anti-bacterial, anti-parasitic, and even anti-viral. I just so happen to have a great recipe on how to make Garlic Oil to drizzle on your pets food. Keep reading…
Recipe:
Ingredients-5 Cloves Fresh Garlic*
1 Cup Olive Oil
Take 5 cloves of fresh garlic and crush with a spoon.This takes them from an Allin form to their medicinal Alicin form. Drop them into a cup of oil, stir, and allow to infuse for a day or two. Once the oil has a pungent smell of garlic put 1/2 tsp for small dogs and up to 2tsps for a large dog on their food once daily.
Garlic used as Flea Control- The odor from eating garlic oil comes out in your pets’ skin. We can’t smell it but the fleas and ticks can and they don’t like it. And if they do bite down it will kill them all the while making your pet healthier.
Garlic used as a De-Wormer- As the Alicin form of garlic oil goes through your dogs’ GI tract it irritates any adult parasites and “chases†them out of the body. To be sure you rid your pet of all life stages of worms follow up with another second round of garlic oil 2 weeks later.
*Note: Garlic is a blood thinner. If your dog is on blood thinners or is anemic or pregnant do not use this recipe. (See my video on Natural Flea and Tick Spray)Also if you notice loose stool or diarrhea lower the dose and feed only 3 times per week.
3. Grooming- You knew I couldn’t talk about pet health without including this vital step. Grooming your pet can be a very costly endeavor. Large breed high maintenance dogs, like Standard Poodles, can cost anywhere up to E100 ($120) or even more depending on where you live. Between groomings you can do a few things to make your next grooming more of a credit crunch cost.
- Brush them every day. I know we all lead hectic lives but if you do this every day it will take literally 10 minutes and you can prevent some pretty costly matting
- Don’t bathe them. Sounds gross but unless your willing to use conditioners and dry them properly you can actually cause more harm than good. Getting mats wet and then not putting in conditioners, or hand drying and brushing at the same time, will make them worse. That increases the time your groomer takes to brush those babies out and your price will skyrocket.
- Get a “sporty†cut. I call it sporty but what it really means is short. And no I don’t mean bald! Shih Tzus and Bichons, while they look lovely all long and fluffed out, really need to be a more manageable length. Ask for a 4F or 5F or even a 7F length and you’ll be able to postpone your next appointment a couple weeks. And trust me, they’ll still look adorable. But you will need to put a coat on them on those blistery cold winter nights.
- Don’t miss your appointment. Many groomers out there charge a cancellation fee so be sure not to miss your appointment and if you need to CALL THEM! They may waive the fee for the courtesy of the call.
- And lastly, brush their teeth. No one usually thinks of this vital step in pet health but they need dentals just like humans do if the plaque and tartar build up too much. This means a trip to the vet, anesthesia, and possible extractions. Save your pet the trip and your wallet the dent and brush their teeth a few times a week.
4. Exercise- Pet’s, just like people, need exercise. It prevents them from going stir crazy and destroying your house as well as keeping their weight down and heart healthy. They have the same complex systems we do, just a shorter digestive tract. If you do a little research you will find that more pets are getting human diseases like pancreatitis, diabetes, heart attacks, and even liver failure from poor diet and lack of exercise. This will certainly raise your vet bills and may even cause you to consider putting the animal down. These are all preventable conditions that cost very little money and saves your pet a world of suffering.
The Best Protection is Prevention. Prevention is KEY!!
Tail Waggers has teamed up with Hound-Dog Pet Services to offer a Pet Taxi Service. On Tuesdays Ruth, owner of Hound-Dog, can come out to your home and whisk your pet off to their spa appointment and return them when they are finished. Ring Tail Waggers to book your appointment and let us know if you require this service. 
Have a great day!
