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budgeting, by nature dog food, dehydrators, dog food, dog leashes, dog treats, fromm's dog food, kibble, mr. chewy, pinnacle dog food, training treats
This is part of my ongoing effort to track our pet finances here at the House of Two Bows. Previous posts in the series can be found under the category of finances.
The Cost of (Pet) Things for May 2012:
- Food: $64
- Treats: $13
- Grooming: $17
- Accessories and misc: $22
- Vet & Medical: $0
- TOTAL: $116 (running average for 2012 ~ $170 / month)
Food-wise, aside from the usual, we started a trial with a new grain-free, fish-based kibble right at the beginning of the month when news of the Diamond pet food recalls spread. Though California wasn’t on the list of affected states, I’m glad that we just happened to be feeding Pinnacle Grain-free Salmon and Potato for our morning kibble at the time the news hit. We actually started with the turkey and potato recipe, but both Bows instantly broke out in obsessive paw-licking that may or may not be directly related. I have my suspicions about why that happened (chicken fat in the turkey recipe?). At least the pet store let me exchange the opened bag for the salmon recipe instead.
And so far, so good with the salmon recipe! Looks like we can consider Pinnacle for the regular rotation. Meanwhile, we’re going to try out a couple other fish-based kibbles in June:
- Fromm Grain-free Salmon Tunalini (upcoming sponsored review courtesy of Mr. Chewy)
- By Nature Salmon, Ocean Fish, and Yogurt (thanks to a FREE BAG rebate on Facebook for either dog or cat food — currently running until June 10th)
As for treats, I finally did it… I bought a Nesco 700-Watt Dehydrator.
But I didn’t count the cost of the appliance in my budget, because I’ve got this silly idea that I’m going to use it for human purposes too, so it wouldn’t really be fair to file it all under the dog budget. So far, I’ve only made a batch of kabocha squash chips (yum for dogs and humans!) and turkey dog training treats. Pictured above is my very first greasy batch, straight out of the dehydrator.
And then less greasy the next day. The dogs loved this batch, and I was impressed by how much one could make with a $2 package of turkey dogs. Ten more rounds or so, and this dehydrator will basically pay for itself… if it doesn’t end up sitting in the storage cabinets out of sight, out of mind.
Nothing too exciting for grooming supplies: loaded up on a bulk box of baby wipes in preparation for summer, and bought a metal dog dental tooth scaler. Bowpi is taking to it more willingly than Bowdu, which is good because she needs it badly. More on that later, maybe.
Finally, for accessories, Bowdu got another tube of fresh tennis balls, and Bowpi finally had her previous frayed Red Dingo leash replaced…
… with a new custom paracord leash made by Tony!
I was quite happy with how Bowdu’s previous leash (from an October 2011 order) has held up. This is a one-leash-per-dog, daily-use type of household, so functionality and durability was a concern… as well as price, for the time being. While I did check out some leather leashes at a local cult favorite workshop, I still decided Tony was the way to go. If you’re interested in a custom leash, you should drop him an e-mail at toecari@me.com to get started.
So that’s it for this month’s newsy budget update. Meanwhile, I’m going to try something out for next month: a Dog Budget app for the iPhone, which I saw reviewed on The Bark blog. Seems pretty straightforward and useful for a 99 cent app. I still like my old-school paper and pen (and blog) tracking methods, but I’ll probably get enough mileage out of this app to make the purchase worthwhile.
Maya said:
The dehydrator looks really neat. Makes me want to get one too! (For someone who rarely cooks, I already have way too many gadgets in the kitchen…)
Trevor said:
So much information, I love your blog, keep it up!
-Does Tony have a website, so I can look at his products without bothering him?
-Are you rotating food just to rotate and find other foods, or are you doing it for a specific reason?
M.C. said:
Hi Trevor,
As far as I know, Tony does not have a website, because I think leash-making is more of a personal hobby for him than a business. But everyone who’s ordered a leash from him has had great things to say. 😉
Here’s a post from the Daily Toki that shows lovely pictures of another of his custom leashes:
http://thedailytoki.com/2011/05/09/paracord-leash-review-and-daily-toki-giveaway/
I rotate foods primarily for the sake of variety, and so that *I* know that the dogs can tolerate other kibble options should something happen to the availability of any one brand that I feed. Some sources suggest that rotating proteins can help decrease the risk of food allergies (which is a huge concern for my dogs), but there are also studies that question the legitimacy of those claims. We feed primarily fish-based kibble for breakfast, so I’m not actually rotating proteins through commercial diets, but their evening meals (which are raw, dehydrated raw, or home-cooked) consist of a lot of different meats so they do get a pretty good mix of proteins anyway.
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