Pet ownership can be pricey. Whether it's a new pet entering a family's home for the first time, or taking care of a senior dog, expenses can pile up quickly. The PetHub team is as keen on saving money as any other dog owners which is why we pulled together our own list on ways to save money on dog food, medical expenses and other supplies.
The fight against pet hair
Sweeping every day, frequent laundry washing, lint brushes in purses, and in desk drawers, and in the backup purse, and in the back of the car are all signs that a pet parent is nearby.
Black pants are scoffed at in stores, we know they’ll get covered in fur in no time at home and guests are greeted with a preemptive apology for the pet hair that will be traveling home with them.
Dealing with pet hair is a constant struggle for many pet parents. It’s especially true when shedding is happening for double coated pets, like the Husky or Great Pyrenees or if a household is shared with fluffy cats. Regardless of the reason or the time of year, using the following tools can help ease the annoyance of pet hair woes.
Dryer Balls
Aside from being more environmentally friendly than using dryer sheets and just as effective at fluffing and drying laundry (yay!), dryer balls can also help reduce the amount of errant pet fur that’s attached to freshly laundered clothes, bedding, and towels. Perhaps with the help of dryer balls, a family could cull their lint roller collection OR consider purchasing a pair of black pants.
Who are we kidding? We probably won’t throw away our lint rollers, because no one can be too prepared to tackle pet fur, but the help of dryer balls can make things more fur free when we actually venture into the real world for something other than a trip to the dog park.
Roomba Vacuum
Daily vacuuming and floor sweeping can be exhausting and unrealistic for many families with plenty of other tasks on their ever-growing to-do lists. Having a roomba vacuum that can be scheduled to vacuum each day while a person isn’t home is a game changer! It’s able to fit under chairs, tables, and couches. It can go from a carpet, to laminate flooring, to tiles with ease and it even communicates to a user through the app if supplies are needed like new filters!
For some homes, where a large portion of the flooring is laminate or tile, there’s also a roomba that can wash floors! Dogs that drool a lot don’t discriminate with where they leave their slimy gobs of spittle (eeeeew) and having a tool that regularly washes it away is incredibly helpful. It’s also useful for pet parents of puppies or senior pets who may have accidents inside the home that need to be cleaned up.
Slicker Brush
Frequent grooming is great for a pet’s overall coat health, but there are certain pets that require frequent grooming to maintain their coat (we’re looking at you Newfs and Doodles).
Regular brushing:
- Reduces the frequency of needing professional grooming which can save money
- Captures fur that would otherwise be a tumbleweed of fluff floating around under the bookshelf, and couch, and dining room table
- (Hopefully) does away with fur matting which can be painful for pets and often requires grooming to address
- Improves a pet’s skin a coat condition, making for a shinier critter sharing the couch with you
The slicker brush makes grooming at home easier, faster, and more time efficient. It is comfortable for pets, without snagging fur, making the process more enjoyable for them and less stressful. Regular grooming can enhance your relationship with your pet and reduce the number of times you may need to visit a groomer, saving you major moola in the long run.
Ways to make pet supply shopping faster and cheaper
Let’s face it, putting on real pants to leave the house and go to an actual store to buy supplies of any sort is so last season. So many of our pet supplies can be purchased with the ease of online stores or delivery services nearby that the need to actually go to a store is because we are annoyed by the people that are sharing the space with us, if we’re being completely honest. Here are the ways our team saves time and money by snagging stuff they need for their pets online.
Chewy Autoship
There are certain supplies that are needed regularly to keep pets and their humans comfortable. Things like cat food, kitty litter, joint supplements, special food for a dog's diet, probiotics and medicines are things we know will be needed each month.
Setting up an autoship option for these kinds of supplies provides a cost savings for pet parents as there’s normally a discount given when autoship is set up and lowers the risk of something running out before a person can head to the store. It also does away with the need to fill up gas tanks for errand trips to the pet store. Autoship is easy to set up, adjust, pause and cancel. It’s a no-brainer for a pet owner.
Amazon Echo Show
The Amazon Echo Show tool is multi-faceted. Does it help with quickly making purchases and finding competitive prices on Amazon? Yes. It can also be a way pet owners set up an autoship of supplies if something isn’t available through other suppliers or is a better deal through amazon. Prime members can get their paws on potential free shipping when shopping online for pet products and supplies.
The Echo Show is also a time saver tool as it allows folks to set reminders for upcoming appointments (like a vet or grooming visit) or to buy something before it runs out but isn’t quite the right fit for setting up autoship.
The Echo Show also allows users to quickly and easily see videos or recipes online if they are preparing pet food or making treats and need a how-to.
Make DIY Pet Food faster and cheaper
Buying pet food and treats is convenient but many folks want to know what ingredients are going in their pet’s food. Fresh ingredients and locally sourced supplies can also mean mega savings when pet owners know where to snag meat and produce close to home.
Here are some of the tools members of our team use to help them save time and money while preparing fresh food or treats for their furry friend.
Food Processor for homemade dog foods & treats
Yes, a food processor is an investment at the onset for pet parents, the benefits it can provide for folks making homemade dog food or treats for their puppers is huge. Gathering key ingredients that meets their dog's nutritional needs and plopping them in a food processor for chopping can free up precious time when someone is preparing meals for their pet. Its ease of use allows for homemade pet food makers ranging from novice to pro to quickly pull together healthy and balanced homemade food for their pets.
Holistic Pets Organic Canine Complete
The idea of making your own pet food can be exciting, fun and daunting all at once. It’s a great way to customize a pet’s food to suit a dog's nutritional needs and to address particular dietary or medical issues. Homemade pet food can also save money on dog or cat expenses.
That said, ensuring homemade pet foods are complete and provides the full rundown of proper nutrients can be overwhelming. Selecting an add-in that helps to ensure food is balanced and nutritious is as important as the other ingredients of the food itself. It helps ensure a dog's food is the same quality or better than a dog's food that is available from pet food brands for purchase online or in stores.
That’s where Holistic Pets Organic Canine Complete comes in. It’s easy to use and provides needed nutrients for pets when mixed with a homemade diet.
A member of the PetHub team has been able to save over 50% of what they were normally paying for pre-made dog food with the help of switching to a homemade option that includes this key supplement. Cheaper dog food with better quality ingredients? It's a great option for dog owners who want to reduce pet food costs and maintain a dog's diet.
Dog Cookie Cutters for Homemade Treats
There’s always a reason to celebrate with pets in our lives. Don’t believe us? We wrote an article featuring the top holidays that honor pets that you should probably check out. With each day being a possible reason to track down some party hats and host a shindig, driving to a local pet store for specialty treats can get expensive FAST.
Pet parents can save money while also being able to personalize treats (both with how they’re decorated and with the ingredients that are used) by making their own with the help of these cookie cutters.
They’re easy to use and can help to provide peace of mind that a pet is getting wholesome ingredients in the treats they’re nomming. Homemade also means a pet owner can make cheaper treats with the help of local ingredients.
Tools to make pet healthcare cost effective
“I’m super jazzed about going to the emergency vet and the massive bill I’m about to pay,” is not a quote you’ll hear pet parents utter. In fact, emergency and routine healthcare costs for our pets are a main reason why we wake up in the middle of the night drenched in a cold sweat.
Thankfully, there are helpful and convenient tools at your fingertips that can help to reduce unexpected pet expenses tremendously.
PetHub’s Wellness Tools featuring Telehealth
This is a tale of a member of the PetHub team and their recent issues that popped up with their new dog.
The first situation included:
- A road trip over four hours from home, far from an established veterinary team
- A super sensitive dog with some worrisome loose poo right before the trip
- A swiftly developing issue of even worse poo probs that included blood after arriving
Scary stuff! It was magnified by the unknown of whether or not this was an issue that warranted an emergency visit for veterinary care. Thankfully, with the help of PetHub’s Wellness Tools that includes unlimited telehealth, she was able to chat with a vet while waiting in line at a local bagel shop.
Between stepping in line and checking out, she spoke with a vet who asked targeted questions and was able to give feedback that indicated that it wasn’t an emergency (yet) and some ways to calm the pet’s tummy.
Instead of going to an ER and waiting for hours, she went to a local pet store to snag some bland dog food and canned pumpkin.
The next day her pup was already showing signs of improvement and they were able to enjoy the rest of the trip minus an expensive vet bill.
The second situation included:
- A “short” trip to the basement for laundry changeover (which wound up being longer than expected because washing machines are similar to professional football with how time is interpreted)
- A Sunday, meaning regular veterinary offices were closed
- A rambunctious pup who got their paws on a liquid ant trap and started to have a grand ole time chewing on it
ACK! A possible pet poison situation is nothing to sneeze at! While running upstairs to grab some clothes, preparing to start the 30+ minute drive to an emergency vet, she called the Pet Poison Helpline, which charges over $80 per call.
Image by Bryn Souza
Frustrated with that expense, she opened a chat with a vet through Wellness Tools and started to go over the situation with a veterinarian within seconds. After reviewing the product ingredients, the veterinarian determined that it wasn’t toxic and didn’t warrant an emergency vet visit. Access to telehealth saved at least $80 dollars in a call to the poison line plus who knows how much for an emergency pet care vet visit!
Pet Insurance
The hunt for pet insurance can be daunting, but the savings for a pet owner can be thousands of dollars over the lifetime of a pet. One of our team members snagged pet insurance for their dog as soon as she joined their family, which means she was still a nugget o' puppy.
Unbeknownst to them, their pup was destined to have knee issues that required surgery. With the help of insurance, they’ve already saved thousands of dollars for her first surgery and will save thousands more with the second surgery that’s scheduled in a couple months.
While a younger pet being insured is a fantastic way to get coverage for things that develop throughout their lives, there’s no wrong time to pick up insurance. Accidents and unexpected illness can happen at any time so getting coverage is one of the wise ways to save money.
PetHub has a super convenient Pet insurance comparison tool that pet parents can use for comparing and contrasting options before deciding which plan and provider is the best fit for them and their needs.
Some insurance providers will give discounts for homes with multiple dogs or include loyalty programs, so researching options can help an owner to know the best plan for their family pets.
Nobody loves dealing with kitty litter
Scooping kitty litter is super low on the list of things people look forward to doing. It can be stinky and unpleasant. That said, having clean litter boxes is essential for a cat’s comfort and health, so regular cleaning is a must. This is where automatic litter cleaning technology can be so helpful.
Two separate members of the PetHub team shared their preferred automatic litter cleaning options including the Litter Robot and the PetSafe Scoop Free Plus. Regardless of the tool used, the concept is the same for both. Time is saved with the help of an automatic way for kitty litter to be cleaned.
Not only does this help allow a cat to have regular access to a clean box, it reduces the frequency for a cat owner to have to spend time cleaning. As a bonus, it also eliminates any "snacks" for dogs that like to stick their noses in litter boxes for a log of cat poo to chew on.
These staff picks will save you time and money on pet care
The PetHub team understands the struggle of juggling pet care costs and there never really being enough time in the day to get all the things we'd like crossed off to-do lists! We hope our product picks will help you with making your own dog food, maintaining your dog's health with insurance and telehealth and snagging competitive prices on supplies for prime members and other companies like Chewy.
Article published 8/15/23