The Cost of things: March 2014

Tags

budgeting, dog clothing, dog harnesses, dog treats, hurtta, pet finances

This is my fourth year of tracking pet finances at the House of Two Bows. This is an ongoing effort to get a practical sense of what it costs to keep two 20 ~ 30 pound adult dogs in an area of the US with relatively high costs of living. Previous posts in this series can be found under the category of finances.

The Cost of (Pet) Things for March 2014:

• Food: $83 [previous month, $10]
• Treats: $31 [previous, $12]
• Grooming: $13 [previous, $8]
• Vet & Medical: $80 [previous, $121]
• Accessories and misc: $15* [previous, $44]
• TOTAL: $222 [running average for 2014: ~$181/month]

How did I spend so much on food?? Well, there was a 15 pound bag of Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream, and I stocked up on four canisters of The Honest Kitchen Sparkle while they were offering free shipping, and while they still have this discontinued item in stock.

Bowdu has been stripped of nearly all his underfur, as you can tell above. My strategy in the past couple years has been to kick up the skin and coat supplements as he’s growing his coat back, easing into the spring allergy season. The remaining fur still doesn’t feel great after his February flea disaster, but the dandruff’s basically gone since there’s no more fluff to hide in.

simultaneous self-grooming, side-by-side

The rest of the food expenses were rounded out by about $10 of raw chicken on sale.

Treat expenditures were relatively high this month, despite spending it almost exclusively on chicken gizzards and hearts for the dehydrator. That’s because about half of the 10+ pounds was gifted to my next door neighbor in exchange for some house maintenance assistance.

Last time I mentioned them, they were fostering a pit bull named Ashley. Well, they’ve since adopted her (saw that one coming!), and renamed her Addy. I’m lucky not only to have dog-friendly neighbors — they’re also handy and they’re willing to help for dog treats! Okay, okay, I also threw in a huge bag of fancy dark chocolate as well, but that comes out of the human budget, whereas I’m making the Bows absorb the cost of the treats even though it wasn’t all for them. It makes sense to me, since dog-life and human-life are interrelated, so the budgets may as well reflect that.

In grooming needs, I bought poop bags from the pet store. I have a bad habit of waiting until the last minute to restock, necessitating an in-person purchase instead of just ordering online, where I can get 5x the amount of bags at the same cost. Though I generally prefer to support my local businesses, that’s a situation where I’d much rather buy online for significant savings.

For vet fees, refer to Bowpi’s most recent visit.

In accessories, the Bows got updated ID tags from American Pet Classics. I paid and filled out their forms at my local pet store, and they mailed it off on my behalf. Turnaround was fairly quick — about a week. However, the tags are not particularly aesthetically pleasing. The fonts are all wonky and the spacing is uneven. They also misspelled Bowpi’s tag, so I had to return it for correction, taking another week of time. Anyway, these are just cheap temporary tags while contact information is in transition at the House of Two Bows, so it’s more important that they’re legible and functional rather than pretty.

Meanwhile, Bowpi’s Freedom No Pull harness finally arrived, and I’m very happy with it. A more full update later.

For all the doodads, the accessories and misc. total this month appears low because I decided to return the Hurtta jacket after all. I underestimated the size that Bowpi needed, and got her a 15″ jacket (length along spine) when I probably should’ve gotten the 18L (the next size up in stock where I got it). The material is nice, and overall well constructed.

However, the design just won’t work with Bowpi, because she’s too squirmy to wrangle into these overalls. Basically, you have to stuff all four feet into the rather narrow sleeves before you can zip up the jacket along the spine. It’ll only work if your dog is accustomed to standing still in one place, which Bowpi is not. By the time I managed to get two feet into the jacket, the other two had already fallen out. I quickly gave up, and decided to return the item at a loss of shipping.

I’m glad these dogs don’t have many sartorial needs, because tailor-made wearables have worked out best. Dogs come in a funkier range of shapes and sizes than humans, after all.

she looks so funny when she’s putting on her collar

Geared up

Tags

dog leashes, fanny packs, nomadic bags, treat pouches, utility bags

A while back, another park regular commented that I looked geared up for a showdown, so I decided to assess my setup. I’ve never quite considered how silly I look with all my gear strapped to my body.

Things I pretty much always have on me:

• Both Bows’ leashes, with custom loops that allow them to be easily clipped around my torso
• A camera — the DSLR most of the time, or cell phone camera at minimum
• My Nomadic AP-03 Moving Option waist pack. It was designed to be belted around the hips, but I just couldn’t bring myself to wear it that way. So I sling it around my chest, where it’s convenient to access the main pocket without tempting any waist-high dogs by fishing for treats within inches of their face.

This insane schematic is what sold me on this particular pouch.

Nomadic moving option waist bag, via jetpens.com

Um, I don’t cram nearly as much stuff as indicated in my pouches. I find that pocket 3 is a perfect size for an iPhone, and pocket 12 is great for poop bags. I like that I can separate my wallet (pocket 9) from any dog treats (pocket 6), because it’s annoying having to fish out crumbs from the folds of a meat-stinky wallet. And of course pen loop 7 is always occupied, with a small notebook tucked into pocket 5 or 10, just in case I need to exchange contact information with anyone.

And while I’m obviously not the epitome of fashion, I sure like having an all purpose, on-the-go pouch that’s functional and not emblazoned with all kinds of kooky dog lady logos or silly canine prints.

Anyway, my setup keeps my hands free, so I don’t actually feel like I’m carrying that much. I’ve certainly seen more extreme getups — especially those accompanied by babies and more than just two dogs!

West Coast foxtails

Tags

foxtail, foxtail mask, foxtails, outfox field guard

The lovely foxtails that glint and wave in the late afternoon light of April…

… dry up into evil spikes and fields a-prickle with danger in May.

Around this time, we see lots of local dogs wearing these field masks to prevent against accidental — and very expensive — foxtails snorted up the nostril or lodged in the eye. It’s not the most photogenic accessory, but it works, especially for pet owners who have already had to shell out something in the vicinity of $600 to extract errant foxtails from their sedated dog’s nasal cavity, as I have heard from a few who’ve lived to tell.

Thus far, the Bows have been sensible enough to keep these things out of their orifices (knock on wood). But sometimes even smart dogs have dumb luck. It’s another seasonal hazard, like winter driving or summer typhoons.

Curly tails are infinitely preferable to foxtails.

Shiba gifts from Japan

Tags

japan, japanese dogs, jomon shibas, kai ken, shi-ba magazine, shiba inu, stationery, stickers

My sister recently went to Japan and came back to this side of the Pacific bearing Shiba gifts.

First, there was a whole sheet of bobble-headed puppies from the Mind Wave stationary company. And in the twisted Japanese convention of foodifying cute creatures, there was a sheet of Shibas as cheeseburgers, hot cakes, apple pie, berry shakes, etc. branded as “McDogs Burger” from the folks at Beverly.

More three-dimensional trinkets included a Shiba key cover from Leaps and a little metal charm from Nayutty.

The most interesting surprise was this January 2013 (vol. 68) issue of Shi-Ba magazine. The title has come to my attention before, but I’ve never actually looked through an issue. This appeals to me as a window into how Japanese Shibas are kept, discussed, and displayed for public consumption. It’s evident from the gorgeous photos that they are very much treasured as household pets, but apparently even the Japanese need feature-length reminders of breed history, what constitutes the true Shiba spirit, how “ancient” and “natural” and “wolf-life” this native breed is, and how the Shiba adapts to modern domestic paradigms.

… at least, this is some of what I gleaned from skimming with my limited Japanese literacy. There’s plenty of gratuitous fluff, but even cute stories which seem deceptively simple can be taken seriously. Maybe someday, when I have, uh, days to work on this, I’ll go through and take a closer look. Articles of interest include four pages on the Kai ken, another six pages on Jomon Shibas and the veteran hunter-breeders who keep them, more whimsical features like six pages on Shiba scratching (how and why they scratch themselves, and what owners can do to alleviate itchiness), how to prepare your Shiba to stay overnight at a friend’s house if they also have a dog (particularly adorable because the other party in this instructional article has a Kai), to more personalized narratives about a bear hunting episode with the now-gone Kouyasu-ken, and a triumphant story of a three-legged Shiba mix.

From the standpoint of someone who is interested in these kinds of visual and textual archives about human and companion animal relationships, this magazine is a goldmine. And I’m totally jealous of all the material this makes available to future canine historians, at least those who work in this particular niche.

Yup, sis had a pretty good idea of what I’d like!

GIVEAWAY: Pawalla.com gift boxes

Tags

cat food, cat toys, cat treats, dog food, dog toys, dog treats, giveaways, pawalla, subscription boxes

Reminder — you have until midnight tonight to enter the Honest Kitchen giveaway (click link for details)!

Meanwhile, I have more giving to cram into this month. Up next is a special offer provided by Pawalla.com.

July 2012 box pictured

If you didn’t catch our review, the gist is this: Pawalla.com provides a monthly gift box for subscribers, overflowing with cans of wet food, treats, and accessories (toys, supplements, grooming tools, etc.) for either dogs OR cats. With a certified nutritionist on board and a commitment to provide only high quality and “natural” items, they have impressed us as being one of the best box subscription companies for pets.

Because they were brand new at the time I reviewed them back in July, I’ve been keeping my eye on their Facebook page to see how they’ve been progressing. It’s also a way to get hints as to the contents of future boxes. I’m pleased that it appears they’ve remained consistent, continuing their search for products that will appeal to your pet’s desire for novelty while maintaining their own high standards. They’ve also launched their Pawalla shop, providing a convenient source for reordering anything anything you like from their monthly offerings.

For this giveaway, Pawalla.com has generously provided three gift codes for three lucky winners to try out their very own gift box! This box is good for dog OR cat boxes. All you have to do is leave a comment (with a valid e-mail, not publicly visible, so we can contact you as a winner) answering this question: What is the most important thing that helps you decide whether or not to purchase a certain brand of food for your pet? Your answer can be pretty open-ended and it doesn’t have to be long, but I’m asking you to think about what single criterion is most important to you. Ingredients? Price? Reputation of the brand? Country of origin? Packaging?? You tell me.

One BONUS ENTRY will be provided for anyone who leaves a post on the Pawalla Facebook page with a friendly message that The House of Two Bows sent you. The House of Two Bows will confirm your bonus entry by “liking” your comment on Pawalla’s page. We will check their page to make sure we didn’t miss anyone, but if you want to tag our Facebook page in your comment, that will help ensure that we get you counted.

A couple restrictions apply: Pawalla.com can only ship to US addresses. Should you be a winner in our THK giveaway, you are still eligible to win, however we will request that you pay it forward by using your voucher code as a gift for a friend.

But hey, nobody has to miss out! Anyone can apply the code PAWHOLIDAY to their order to receive $6 off their first month’s subscription all throughout the month of December. After December, feel free to use our referral link.

This giveaway closes Friday, December 14th at 11:59 PM Pacific Standard Time. So speak up, folks. Let’s talk food. Pet food, that is.

one of the brands we were introduced to via our Pawalla box

Over the weekend, Bowpi learned…

Tags

basenji, basenji rescue and transport, BRAT, calendars, dog calendars

Over the weekend, Bowpi learned…

… that she can climb trees.

Certain ones with an easy “on” ramp at the dog park, anyway. The squirrels are inspiring her to go all out this season! Luckily we don’t have anything very climbable in our backyard.

Also on sale as of last weekend is the 2013 Basenji Rescue and Transport fundraiser calendar. Guess who’s on the cover!

We are really excited about this, and sincerely thank the volunteers who helped vote both of Bowpi’s pictures into the top fifteen for this year. Every year, there are a ton of great, personality-laden shots in the calendar. I think Basenji photographers generally tend to be a cut above average because one needs to be particularly clever to get nice photos of these quick dogs.

You can preview the winning photos and order your Basenji calendar over here. All proceeds go to help BRAT help more Basenjis in need.

GIVEAWAY: Salmon Ears Jumbo pack

Tags

dog treats, giveaways, salmon, salmon ears

While I was absent from the House of Two Bows, RJ received a fantastic package in the mail from Patrick, the company owner of the Original Salmon Ears which we reviewed last month, and which you, dear reader, showed such keen interest in. We were not compensated then for our honest review, but apparently, Patrick liked it so much that he sent us some jumbo packs to try out, on the house!

If I thought the 5 ounce packages were generous, the 8 ounce boxes are even more so… so much that RJ was caught unawares. Apparently, he opened a pack without realizing what he was getting himself into. After doling out an initial sample, he realized that he didn’t have a good place to store the extra large pieces, and he couldn’t just leave them sitting out within nose-shot because the Bows were stalking him, bug-eyed by the OMG-GIANT!! pieces of salmon skin he was holding. But he was on his way out the door. So he rather hurriedly broke down the sheets and stuffed them into one of the Bows’ treat tubs.

Fish scales had flown everywhere by the time he was done. Delicacy of action is not one of RJ’s virtues, I must admit… Had I been present, I would have instructed him just to stick the remaining pieces in the freezer, and let me deal with it later, as the skins are less oily and easier to manage after they’ve been chilled.

It’s a good idea to keep them in a chill place anyway, as this significantly extends the shelf life of these preservative-free treats. Patrick also let me know that the company is working on an order fulfillment system that essentially dehydrates the skins within a few days of each order to ensure that the freshest treats are being shipped out. Pretty sweet deal, if you ask me!

Anyway, we received far more than we can consume (reasonably, anyway — both Bows act as if they could happily gorge themselves on a whole box as a meal), so we’re paying it forward. We’re giving away THREE full boxes of Salmon Ears to three randomly selected winners. To enter this giveaway, all you have to do is comment with the name of a dog movie (or tell me about a dog in a movie, as regular readers will know that I have fairly broad definitions for what counts). I don’t care if you crib from my list or repeat a suggestion — just name a dog film that you find particularly memorable, that you’d like to see reviewed, or even one that you’d like to review yourself for a possible guest blog. I’m all ears (har har)!

One entry per person per household, please — although you can list as many dog movies as you’d like. This offer open to cats and ferrets as well, since they apparently really like Salmon Ears too. Okay, fine, if you want to name me a cat or ferret movie, that counts as an entry.

This giveaway will end FRIDAY, August 31st at 11:59PM Pacific Standard Time. Winners will be announced next Monday. Please make sure that you enter a valid e-mail address in the comment form (not shown publicly) so that I can contact you for an appropriate mailing address, should you be a winner.

Due to the nature of the product, this giveaway is limited to mailing addresses in the United States only. Sorry! I hate to leave anyone out of such a nice opportunity, but the USPS is fickle like that…

Please accept Bowpi’s apologetic Basenji-crinkles instead.

Basenji stick figure decals

Tags

basenji, dog stickers, stickers

While I was away, I received my order of Basenji stick figure decals, designed by Linda S. of Sinbaje Basenjis. I think she’s now sold out, so I have to be VERY CAREFUL when I decide where these go!

Nanoblock Shiba and Hokkaido ken

Tags

hokkaido inu, hokkaido ken, japanese akita, nanoblock, shiba inu

As soon as I can get my stubby, cuticle-gnawed fingers to stop twitching with newtoygiddiness, maybe I’ll try to put this Hokkaido ken block set together:

And after the warmup, I’ll move onto this Shiba set!

These pictures are huge on my screen, but these pieces are extra tiny — hence the name, Nanoblock. I’d probably end up accidentally flicking a piece across the room or up my nose. Hmm, maybe I feel safer just admiring the assembled product on the page of someone else who was more confident in their dexterity.

No wonder I never have any fun! *laugh*

Edit: On second thought, these could be Japanese Akita too, given the size relative to the human figure! Hmm!

Toys as developmental potential

Tags

agility dogs, breyer toys, puppies, toys

Here’s the hottest new toy of 1931 promoted by the Home Laundering Training Association, as advertised in the May 12th edition of the Yomiuri Shimbun in Japan.

Crying dog toy

This Spaniel-headed larva is modeled after a German toy that was supposedly quite popular at the time. You grip the grub’s “body” and squeeze, causing the puppy to yelp. Over and over. Whee!

Because, you know, squeezing puppies provides so much enrichment for young minds.

If toys help chart the developmental potential of children, what the hell is this toy supposed to teach?! I’d rather have my sticks and yarn, thanks.

Some toys of yesteryear are a far cry from what kids these days can purchase.

The multiple layers of work-performance-work-play that can be unpacked by this artifact kind of blow my mind. When a kid can waltz into a Walmart and instantly equip their dollhouse with an entire dog agility play set, it’s clear to me that dog culture is very much a part of our sociological imagination.