New Puppy On A Budget

[IggiePiggie]

I think this thread will be useful to everyone as times are getting tough.

Look I really admire all you breeders. You are so dedicated.

But I also don't like to be patronised.

But saying that, i will take everyones advice under consideration.

I have spent months doing research on how to look after my pup.

I am just asking tips from people who know.

[Mim]

For toys and blankets go to an op shop Lots of nice finds there for just a few dollars.

There are usually cheap collars in coles, if the puppy is small then you could use a cat collar until it's too small. They also have harnesses.

Old socks, stockings, t shirts, any clothes can be cut up and made into tug toys and things. We just made heaps for Daina because she loooooves tug but she ruins her toys so quickly.

[huski]

And empty plastic bottles! Micha will be seven years old this year and he still gets the biggest joy from playing with the big 1.5 or 2L plastic bottles! I just make sure I take the lids off first

Edited May 18, 2009 by huski

[R00]

Things you really 'NEED' for a puppy

Somewhere warm for the pup to sleep - Carboard box and a cheap blanket $3

Puppy Collar - $10 (max)

Lead - length of rope - $3 from bunnings

Puppy toy - plastic drink bottle with pebbles in side -Free

Spending time with your pup - free

Secure yard - Cost depends

Food - $25 a month

Vet bills - could be anything but realistically $200 per year. ($4 per week)

This really sums it up.

There are plenty of people in this world who have loads of cash and still can't look after a dog.

Dogs are actually a cheap addition to the family. nearly all the crap pet stores sell is superfluous to having a well adjusted dog.

Just my view

Roo

[WreckitWhippet]

I'd be calling the breeder and asking can you leave the puppy there for an extra week, until you can sort out it's basic needs and ensure it's safety.

Hi PPS,

I'm not being obnoxious. but what do you mean?

I am not poor, I have vet bills etc covered.

I have its bed(quite safe) and its pen, as well as quality puppy food.

I am asking for ideas on how to cut costs with some things, but obviously if i feel cutting the costs on something with endanger the pup i won't do it.

Some of the suggestions in the thread are for items that I'd consider dangerous for a puppy or a false ecomony so to speak. Not that you have taken them all onboard but others might.

I would prefer to hang onto a puppy for an extra week or so , if one of my buyers found themselves in a similar situation to you, so they could purchase the items that they need. Many of the things such as crates, pens, leads , bowls etc could be a one of purchase that would last the puppy a life time.

[IggiePiggie]

I'd be calling the breeder and asking can you leave the puppy there for an extra week, until you can sort out it's basic needs and ensure it's safety.

Hi PPS,

I'm not being obnoxious. but what do you mean?

I am not poor, I have vet bills etc covered.

I have its bed(quite safe) and its pen, as well as quality puppy food.

I am asking for ideas on how to cut costs with some things, but obviously if i feel cutting the costs on something with endanger the pup i won't do it.

Some of the suggestions in the thread are for items that I'd consider dangerous for a puppy or a false ecomony so to speak. Not that you have taken them all onboard but others might.

I would prefer to hang onto a puppy for an extra week or so , if one of my buyers found themselves in a similar situation to you, so they could purchase the items that they need. Many of the things such as crates, pens, leads , bowls etc could be a one of purchase that would last the puppy a life time.

This is fair enough.

And ofcourse it is a breeders perogative to choose when they think the buyer is ready.

I will make sure the breeders knows about my situation.

She might have tips too.

[WreckitWhippet]

There are buyers who go to the extremes as well and basically buy a whole heap of crap that they will never use or the pup never plays with , so it does work both ways

[IggiePiggie]

There are buyers who go to the extremes as well and basically buy a whole heap of crap that they will never use or the pup never plays with , so it does work both ways

Ahahaha, they need to give their toys to me.

[Aziah]

Don't be shy to ask your breeder if they will hang on to your baby for an extra week, there's no crime in explaining what has happened (gosh, we all go through times of broken cars/fridges/washing machine)

[bozthepup]

There are buyers who go to the extremes as well and basically buy a whole heap of crap that they will never use or the pup never plays with , so it does work both ways

Ahahaha, they need to give their toys to me.

where are you based iggie piggie ? We have some old puppy soft toys/collar/stuff etc. from our boy that is no longer with us (he was killed in an accident at 4 months in March). Understand if that's a little macabre or something for you, so feel free to say no, but we are throwing them out for our new beginning, and getting some new ones for our new pup who arrives 30 May. (Probably a bit luxurious in this economic climate but there you go). That said, our most popular toy was a large plastic milk container (mentioned elsewhere here), with some pebbles/dirt inside and tied to a bit of rope so we could swing it round. Lid on tightly, and might not be great when their teeth get stronger and can get lid off but good for the early days. I also highly recommend your local charity store as others have mentioned. I bought a couple of things, ripped the eyes out of the poor soft fluffy toys and sewed their eye sockets very tightly together.

We borrowed a crate from my SIL from when their pups were little, you might find people may be willing to lend you crates that puppy has grown out of.

good luck with your new pup -what breed is it ?

[IggiePiggie]

There are buyers who go to the extremes as well and basically buy a whole heap of crap that they will never use or the pup never plays with , so it does work both ways

Ahahaha, they need to give their toys to me.

where are you based iggie piggie ? We have some old puppy soft toys/collar/stuff etc. from our boy that is no longer with us (he was killed in an accident at 4 months in March). Understand if that's a little macabre or something for you, so feel free to say no, but we are throwing them out for our new beginning, and getting some new ones for our new pup who arrives 30 May. (Probably a bit luxurious in this economic climate but there you go). That said, our most popular toy was a large plastic milk container (mentioned elsewhere here), with some pebbles/dirt inside and tied to a bit of rope so we could swing it round. Lid on tightly, and might not be great when their teeth get stronger and can get lid off but good for the early days. I also highly recommend your local charity store as others have mentioned. I bought a couple of things, ripped the eyes out of the poor soft fluffy toys and sewed their eye sockets very tightly together.

We borrowed a crate from my SIL from when their pups were little, you might find people may be willing to lend you crates that puppy has grown out of.

good luck with your new pup -what breed is it ?

I'm in Melbourne bozthepup. Not macabre at all.

And I am worried i made myself out to be penniless. I have bought all the essentials. But I am going to discuss with my breeder, and we will figure it out, even if i have to wait a little longer.

[IggiePiggie]

Can I just ask aswell what pet insurance people have found the best. Just for future reference?

I see there is a midebank one and a rspca one...

But has anyone tried any of these?

[bobchic]

http://www.purina.com.au/Puppy-Kitten-Club...itten-Club.aspx

Sign up to the above...

About a week or two and you will get some puppy food and a lead

And for FREE!!

Good luck with your pup... Ear muffs might not go astray for the first few nights

[Danois]

Food - $25 a month

Vet bills - could be anything but realistically $200 per year. ($4 per week)

Food depends on breed - my food bill is around $150 a month.

Vet bills - $200 is a very conservative estimate.

Desexing will be around $150+

A vet visit is around $60 for consult plus drugs etc. Don't forget initial and then annual vaccinations. You'll need these if you ever intend to place the dog in kennels or go to an obedience club.

Monthly worming and flea treatment. Heartworming. Thats $120 a year (based on 2 packets of Sentinel Spectrum). Maybe more for tick preventative if in risk area.

[Patters]

The best cost-saving advice I can give is to buy your wormers, heartwormers, flea products, shampoos, etc. on-line. Get together with friends or workmates, with dogs, and buy in bulk. The savings can be quite considerable. 50% savings can be made on quality worming products, alone, as opposed to buying individual doses from a vet.

[APBT]

A word of warning, bean bags and dogs can be a very dangerous combination. Given that the bags are easily busted open. The beans seem to gain a static charge and stick to the dogs and apart from being eaten there is a risk of inhalation.

Cheap toys also pose a danger, pups and dogs are better off going without, rather than ripping apart and chewing up cheap toys.

I'd be calling the breeder and asking can you leave the puppy there for an extra week, until you can sort out it's basic needs and ensure it's safety.

ive never had a problem, and either has anyone else i know, so each to there own.

[bozthepup]

There are buyers who go to the extremes as well and basically buy a whole heap of crap that they will never use or the pup never plays with , so it does work both ways

Ahahaha, they need to give their toys to me.

where are you based iggie piggie ? We have some old puppy soft toys/collar/stuff etc. from our boy that is no longer with us (he was killed in an accident at 4 months in March). Understand if that's a little macabre or something for you, so feel free to say no, but we are throwing them out for our new beginning, and getting some new ones for our new pup who arrives 30 May. (Probably a bit luxurious in this economic climate but there you go). That said, our most popular toy was a large plastic milk container (mentioned elsewhere here), with some pebbles/dirt inside and tied to a bit of rope so we could swing it round. Lid on tightly, and might not be great when their teeth get stronger and can get lid off but good for the early days. I also highly recommend your local charity store as others have mentioned. I bought a couple of things, ripped the eyes out of the poor soft fluffy toys and sewed their eye sockets very tightly together.

We borrowed a crate from my SIL from when their pups were little, you might find people may be willing to lend you crates that puppy has grown out of.

good luck with your new pup -what breed is it ?

I'm in Melbourne bozthepup. Not macabre at all.

And I am worried i made myself out to be penniless. I have bought all the essentials. But I am going to discuss with my breeder, and we will figure it out, even if i have to wait a little longer.

No, I don't think you appear 'penniless' ... I think the general gist of your thread is a great idea in this economic climate, even though some of us may have liked to spend our Krudd $900 on dog stuff !

We're in Sydney and just figured we're chucking out the stuff anyway, but may not be worth the price of the postage ! Feel free to PM if you want to follow up.

[Gayle.]

When I got Benson as a 10 week old puppy, my biggest purchase (besides him) was a crate......it cost me $275.00 and my husband would have hit the roof if he'd known I'd paid that.

I couldn't stand the pitiful crying of a puppy in a crate, so we didn't use it after the first few days and I thought it was a waste of money. When we got Dusty, we started to show her and dragged out the crate to take with us so we'd have somewhere to rest the dogs.....and they both now love going into it for a snooze when we're at a show.

So while we didn't need it for baby puppies, it eventually came in handy for soemthing and wasn't a complete waste of money.

Not sure why I'm telling you this but maybe it's to let you know that you really don't need anything expensive straight up.

I've had dogs of various breeds, cross breeds etc for years, as well as a variety of cats (we currently have 3 purebred cats). Maybe I've been lucky (touch wood!) but aside from regular checkups, vaccinations and desexing of all pets except my showgirl, the most I've ever spent at a vet was $200, and that was just a few weeks ago when Benson developed an allergy. He had to have a steroid injection and ongoing meds, plus the consultation fee. All has cleared up now and I've not spent any more money at the vets.

Good luck with your puppy and make sure you post piccies!

[nickojoy]

A word of warning, bean bags and dogs can be a very dangerous combination. Given that the bags are easily busted open. The beans seem to gain a static charge and stick to the dogs and apart from being eaten there is a risk of inhalation.

Cheap toys also pose a danger, pups and dogs are better off going without, rather than ripping apart and chewing up cheap toys.

I'd be calling the breeder and asking can you leave the puppy there for an extra week, until you can sort out it's basic needs and ensure it's safety.

ive never had a problem, and either has anyone else i know, so each to there own.

I have personally seen what a mess a dog can do with a bean bag, well 2 actually... No harm to the dogs as they were adults and not pups. I'm sure your vac wont be impressed either when you are trying to clean the mess up 12 months later!!!! And once a pup pisses on it, its useless unless you want to empty into bath, wash and then dry and place back into the bag! I have a dog bed I bought that is fully washable from Pet barn 2 years ago, and it hasn't been torn, ripped or chewed by any of my current dog or the 100 foster dogs that I had at the time.

The latest blanket I bought was a fluffy one from the kids section in Kmart, about $10 fully washable and my boy loves it. Hasn't chewed it up yet, but ripped the crap out of the towel in the outside kennel where they sleep during the day!

Try also DealsDirect, they have some crates that you can keep your pup in at night for the rest of its life.

[Red Fox]

Best way to save money is pet insurance (we are with PIA) It's a big weight off your shoulders knowing that your vet bills are covered in case of an emergency. You may still have to pay the vet upfront though (thats where credit card come in handy )

There are buyers who go to the extremes as well and basically buy a whole heap of crap that they will never use or the pup never plays with , so it does work both ways

And don't do this!! No puppy needs $200 worth of Kongs in every model ever made

Cheap as chips have some good toys at reasonable prices, they also have nice big throw rugs/blankets for $4 each, cheap bowls and heaps of puppy collars/leads for under $5.

If you have the crate, bedding, collar/leash, pen, bowls, food organised already, and money put aside for vet care and worming you should be fine