Pet Markdowns

Progressive Insurance is offering pet injury coverage of up to $1000 to all collision policy holders, which now comes with the current collision policy at no extra cost. Progressive was the first to offer pet injury coverage but other companies are quickly beginning to follow suit. People treat their pets as family members so smart insurance companies know that covering pets is an important thing.

Pet insurance does not always cover everything and even if it does cover your pet’s particular injury it might not cover enough, so it’s nice to know that one can always look to their auto insurance coverage as a back up. After an accident any pet related injuries should be stated on the accident report, so that your auto insurance company will know about it. Those with pets that are injured, would first pay for their pet’s vet bill and then expect to be reimbursed by their insurance company, so be sure to save and submit any related vet bills to your insurance company.

Always remember that if you’re going on a trip with your pet even on short distances, be sure to bring plenty of water with you, secure your pet in a kennel or with a harness to your vehicle’s seat belt, and most importantly don’t leave your pets in hot vehicles. It only takes a few minutes in very hot temperatures to do a lot of damage.

Do you have a new dog or puppy or are thinking of getting one? Well, here is the official PetMarkdowns New Dog / Puppy Supply Checklist that every new dog owner should read before going to the pet supply store. I will present the most basic supply list just to get you started on the right track with your new best friend.

Dog Food
A good quality food with a meat source as the first ingredient and with no BHAs or BHTs. Quality food is important because it correlates to good health. The cheaper the food the higher the vet bills, plain and simple. Dry kibble should be fed to your dog while a high quality wet canned food may be supplemented. Again, be sure to read the ingredients list and find a meat source as the first ingredient. Many cheaper foods use corn or wheat as their first ingredient. These are mostly fillers with little nutritional benefit, besides making your dog “feel full”. BHAs and BHTs are preservatives that are known to cause cancer. Some good brands are Nutro, Avo-Derm, Natural Balance, Solid Gold, Wellness, and Innova to name a few.

Bowls
Bowls are an important part of this list. Your dog should always have a source of water available to her. So the water bowl should be large enough to compensate this, for times when you are not home to refill it. The food bowl should be large enough to hold at least a couple cups of kibble. It’s a good idea to only feed your dog what’s recommended for his/her weight and age. Don’t overserve your dog for the whole day. You should feed your dog about twice a day, the required serving each time. This will help keep your new dog a good, healthy weight. There are higher end feeding/drinking devices like gravity feeders but in my opinion, these are only good as drinking devices because you don’t want to overfeed your dog and gravity feeders unfortunately encourage this. Another recommendation that I have is find a way to place the bowls high enough off the floor so that your dog doesn’t have to bend his neck to low to eat or drink. Supposedly this is healthier for your dog because it encourages better digestion. Your local pet store should sell devices that you can place your dog’s bowls in to alleviate the need for your dog to bend too far while eating and drinking.

Treats
Next on our list is treats. They not only make a good snack and are a great way to help bond with your new dog but are also good for training. Treats are a good reward for positive reinforcement type training. Treat treats like food. They should be healthy with a meat source at the top of the ingredient list. If your new friend is below a year in age, it’s a good idea to avoid rawhide. Rawhide can cause erosion of a young puppy’s stomach lining. Because training will play a major part of your interactions with your new dog, the treats you purchase should be small in size, where she should be able to chew the treat a couple times and swallow all within a few seconds. Swallowing the treat quickly aids positive reinforcement after your dog follows a command.

Chewing is also important for your dog. It helps relieve stress and is good for your dog’s teeth. As opposed to a training type treat a good chew treat should last longer. Greenies brand chew treats are top-notch. Not only do dogs LOVE them but they’re also healthy and are a good source for cleaning your dog’s teeth.

Toys
Toys are essential for your dog’s happiness. Dog’s crave interaction so playing with your dog is very important. You should get at least one plush toy for your dog to snuggle with, a rope toy that your dog can chew on, and a ball for playing fetch. If you have a pool or want to teach your dog to swim, you should also find a floatable toy that your dog can fetch above the water. Obviously the bigger the dog the bigger the toy should be. For strong chewers, find Kong brand rubber toys; these last the longest.

Leash, collar, walking supplies
Leashes and collars depend on the size and temperament of your new dog. If you are adopting a very heavy and strong dog, you will need to buy a reinforced 2-ply collar with a strong buckle. Cheap collars are known to break in the buckle, so you may want to invest a bit more here if you want a collar that will last a few years. Leashes come in a few lengths dependent on the style of training you want to give. Shorter leashes are better for dogs that are not yet trained in walking. As your dog becomes more accustomed to walking on a lead, you can lengthen it. Retractable leashes are good for small to medium dogs that are already well trained in walking and encountering other dogs that may cross paths with you on your walks.

You will probably also want to pick up a few waste bags or a poop scoop for your walks as well. It many places it’s the law to pick up after your dog, but even if not, it’s just the considerate thing to do. Many waste bags are sold as refills for a clip that you fix to your dog’s leash. You can find these in all pet stores.

Grooming Supplies
Shampoos and brushes are probably the most important grooming supplies. You can also purchase nail care products like clippers but be sure to also buy Kwik-Stop coagulant if you buy clippers just in case he bleeds from his nail line. If your new dog is a puppy, you can buy puppy shampoo, which is for more delicate skin types. Using a regular shampoo might irritate his skin. Ask the clerk which brush is best for your new dog’s hair type. There are different brushes for different lengths and thicknesses of hair.

Crate
For untrained dogs that are not yet housebroken, crates are essential. Dog’s don’t like to use the bathroom where they sleep. By making the crate your dog’s new “den”, it creates an environment for your dog in which your dog does not want to use the bathroom in. If effect, she’ll most often wait until you come home to take her outside. In time you will be able to completely remove the crate and let your new puppy roam the house freely while you’re away. For crate training to really work, you should not only make your new dog go in while you’re away but overnight as well while the family sleeps. Making the crate your dog’s “den” is essential for crate training to work.

That’s all folks! If you have any other suggestions, let me know in the comments.

A recent survey conducted by Lab 42 sheds some light on how much money folks spend on their pets throughout the year.

The results show that most people (35%) spend $500 – $1000 on their pets each year. 27% spend between $1000 and $2500, while the top spenders, which comprise only 1% of the population spend over $10,000 per year on their pets. Wow!

So where does the money go?

56% of the money goes to food and treats
No surprise here. Food isn’t cheap and it seems to be constantly going up in price. At least if you’re not buying the corn filled, carcinogenic preservative injected kind; you know, the stuff with the BHAs and BHTs inside. A 35lb bad of Nutro Natural Choice (and this is lower end quality food here) at Petco will cost you about $50. Now if you have a couple good size dogs, that bag won’t last very long so you can see how food is number 1 on the list.

21% goes to the vet and other health related items
The average vet bill costs somewhere between $80 – $120. Dog owners should get their pets tested annually for heartworms as well as a regular exam for anything else. The cost of vaccinations are part of this cost as well. Obviously $80 – $120 is for a perfectly healthy pet. Factor in illness and over the counter supplements and medications and you can see how the average yearly vet/health costs go right up.

5% goes to clothing
Clothing for pets has become a rising trend for pet owners. I actually have a neighbor that dresses her poodle in new threads everyday; no kidding. One day you’ll see Roxy, her poodle, in a hooded sweatshirt and the next day she’ll be rocking a plaid tee shirt. Pets in the United States and in many other parts of the world have become a part of the family, so it makes sense to see pet clothing as a part of this list.

4% goes to accessories
Pet accessories make up a lot of things like what pets wear like collars, leashes, and jewelry and products like carriers and beds. It’s hard to leave the pet store with just food because there’s always something eye catching that you just got to bring home. I can see how accessories is 4th on the list.

14% other

How to save on pet costs
You might think that reducing your food costs by moving down to low grade grocery store food will help but think again. Most foods found in groceries contain high amounts of corn and wheat fillers as their first ingredients as well as harmful preservatives like BHAs and BHTs, which have been found to cause cancer. Like on human food containers, the label should be read from top to bottom. The ingredients are sorted by what the food contains most to what the food contains least of. So if corn or wheat is at the top of the list, then that is what the food contains most. Look for food that shows chicken, beef, or lamb as the first ingredient without the word “meal” next to it. The reason why good quality food is so important is because it contributes to good health and lower vet bills. If we were to see in our survey results that most people spent very little on food, we would also see that vet/health costs as number 1 on our list, so it seems that most people are on the right track by spending most of their pet fund on good, quality foods.

Clothing and accessories are left up to you. If you want to save money here buy less of the stuff your pet doesn’t need. For the things that your pets do need, then like food, cheaper is not always better. Spending a few extra dollars on a product that you know will last longer makes more sense. A good example of this is Kong dog toys. If you have a dog with a very strong bite like my dog does, then Kong toys are the way to go. They do cost a bit more than the others but Kong toys are known to last years with the strongest biters compared to their fragile toy counterparts.

Following the great success of the popular cat cave beds that have been around for a few years now, often found in your local pet store’s pet furniture section, dog cave beds are now being sold. These are great for small to medium-small size dogs that are the type that like to sleep under beds or other furniture or under blankets. The top cover provides your dog a sense of security, which is why they are under the furniture in the first place. Like their cat cave counterparts, they are often made of foam inside and cotton or polyester outside. The dog cave beds are generally larger for obvious reasons ranging from about 24 inches to 36 inches in diameter. Many of the ones I’ve seen have detachable tops so that washing is easier. The tops are generally supported by a wire frame so that it stays in a fixed position hovering above your dog; this is different than the cat type, which is often not supported.

I’ve seen these in most Petcos and Petsmarts and 1 of the 5 mom and pop pet shops that I’ve visited.

When asked most people tend to answer bed bugs. But, in reality fleas should be the more dreaded of the two. Why you ask, well because unlike bed bugs, fleas are known to transmit diseases to humans from animals such as dogs and cats. Notable types are cat scratch fever, typhus, bubonic plague, and tapeworms.

Spring and Summer are typically when fleas are most active both because of the rise in temperature and also because people tend to take their pets out with them more often like on hiking trips. Often hiding in grass outdoors, the fleas jump up to 4 feet high onto your pets as they walk past.

In your home, the fleas have their favorite spots to infest besides on your pet. Rugs and carpets are where fleas can most often be found. Another often overlooked location of the home is on the curtains, where fleas and mites I might add, enjoy the warmth from the sun and the dust particles that build over time on the curtain’s surface. Another popular location for fleas can be found in vehicles. Pets travel in cars too and fleas will embed themselves within the carpet of your car when they get the chance. Needless to say, all of these places need to be cleaned thoroughly and often when you have pets.

A few products that help keep fleas at bay are pennyroyal, Dawn lemon scented soap, Borax soap, cedar wood chips, Avon Skin So Soft bath oil, lemongrass, lavender, citronella, and finally eucalyptus leaves. Other products that are made specifically for ridding fleas are flea traps, flea combs, collars, flea sprays for your pets and separate sprays for their bedding, in addition and arguably most importantly flea medications such as Advantage and Frontline.

According to 1 vet hospital in Maryland during 2008, they reported to have treated 137 dog snake bites and 67 cat snake bites. Snake bites can often be fatal to your pet, so knowing the signs of a snake bite is important.

10 symptoms of snake bite in your pet include:

• Sudden weakness and collapse
• Shaking of the muscles and trouble blinking
• Vomiting
• Loss of bladder control
• Dilated pupils
• Blood in urine
• Salivation, drooling, frothing
• Loss of bowel control
• Respiratory distress
• Paralysis

Dogs usually are bitten by running through tall grass and by hunting and chasing snakes.

Reduce the risk:

• Keep your dog leashed when walking near bushes, wetlands, and dunes
• Keep your property safe from objects and rubbish piles that snakes could hide
• Keep the grass cut
• Build a snake proof fence

If your pet is bitten you should keep calm and quiet so not to increase fear in your dog which could speed the movement of venom throughout your pet’s bloodstream. You should keep your pet still. There’s a 90% survival rate if you immediately take your pet to the vet. IF the snake is dead, you should take it with you.

What not to do
Do not wash the wound.
Do not approach the snake if it’s alive.
Do not kill the snake but do get a good look at it if possible.
Do not panic.

If you don’t know what type of snake bit your pet, the vet will identify it with a blood test.

Case study: How George, a dog, survived a snake bite

The next time you’re in your local pet supply store you should check out the cat caves in the cat bed or cat furniture section. The cat cave is like a mini cat house that your cat will use for sleeping. We all know cat’s love to hide. They not only use hiding as a technique of hunting but also for sleeping, as a source of protection. Naturally cats love cat caves. They are often made of strong foam type material and covered in plush. They not only are cozy for the cat but look pretty cool. Like the one shown in the picture, cat caves often come with dangling toys to attract the cats inside to play. You’ll find that your cat will both play and sleep inside. Usually these caves are about 14-18 inches in diameter and about a foot tall, giving most cats ample room to move around in but are not too big to lose the tight quarters of the “cave”. Most of the ones I’ve seen are washable only by hand. You’d probably damage it by putting it in a machine.

Edit 1: You might be interested to know that they now make dog cave beds for your other best friend.

• Dogs crave interaction. Dogs love playing fetch and find.
• Training. Reward your dog with his favorite toy after completing a command.
• Separation Anxiety. Toys keep your dog occupied while you’re gone.
• Chewing. Dogs need to chew – better to chew on their toys than your possessions.
• Puppy teething. Stuffed toys with treats relieve pain in sensitive gums.