Recently, a friend was discussing how she was going to have to give up her three large dogs because she could not afford to care for them. I nearly fell over when I heard the charges of the office visits, shots, flea control, nail trimmings, grooming, etc! I encouraged her to keep her pets and find ways to cut back on expenses for their care. I shared with her some of the things I do. Some of those she felt she could handle, and it will help cut her costs by quite a bit. Her pets get to stay!
I live on a farm with many animals and have been taught by caring vets, other farmers, internet websites, and online videos how to take care of my animals on a budget.
Rabies shots: In order to obey the rabies law, we take our dogs to a seasonal rabies clinic and pay $20 a dog for the shot. There is no office visit which drastically cuts down costs. Tractor Supply holds ours.
Other Shots: I purchase and give the other shots myself. If I am purchasing a large quantity, I buy them in bulk and have them overnight-ed on ice which is the same way vets get them. I read nursing textbooks and a vet textbook and pretty much taught myself how to give injections after some instruction from a nurse while I was an OB patient. All of the shots I need to give on my farm are are IM (in the muscle) or SQ (under the skin).
Worming: I use pasture rotation, good sanitation, herbs, and a rotation of vermicides. I do not need a lot of chemical wormers because of the first few things. I purchase an off brand I need on sale from livestock supply companies. I carefully calculate weight based dosages. I can do my own fecal tests with a microscope. I also make my own float solution.
Flea Control: For flea control, we get active at the FIRST flea we see. We do not wait until it is a big problem. We bathe them more often, focus on good housekeeping, use an insect growth hormone (IGR) spray, and permethrin spray. Both of those come in a concentrate that we mix and spray. We also use beneficial nematodes sprayed on our lawn to kill fleas. I have used salt on our hardwood floors (with no ill affects to the sealed wood) to kill fleas. I just don't like doing it because it takes a few days, but it's cheap and worked great for us. Again, we start controlling them before they become a problem, so we don't get a problem. I do not put chemicals on my dogs skin because of the link to health issues.
We have also used guineas for flea control. They did a FANTASTIC job. We did not see a single flea while we had them. We kept them until they started walking half a mile down the road to visit our neighbors. There were 40 birds, so it was something to see them marching down the road! LOL!
Illnesses: This has to be done with caution, knowledge, and wisdom. I've learned a lot about treating illnesses in animals, but I always, always, always research and check my notes again before I give them anything. Some things we humans use, they can use. Something we use are poisons to them because of how they metabolize them. I've used allopathic, homeopathic, and herbal remedies in our pets and livestock. There is a difference between therapeutic and acute dosages. You don't treat an illness with a therapeutic dosage because it will most likely be too low to do any good.
I am currently treating our older cat with a homeopathic pain reliever called Traumeel that is giving her more mobility and a better quality of life.
This is not advice. It is me sharing what I have done that worked very well in my life. I was motivated to learn and understood the risks. I pursued the education I wanted and received it through the alternative doors that were opened to me. I have maintained an attitude of learning, meaning I realize I do not know it all, and seek help when necessary. I spent a great deal of time and built on what I learned over the years. When something stops working as well, I go hunt down another solution. God blessed my efforts and allowed me to develop a skill set that has been very useful and has saved us a small fortune.
There is more that I do to keep our animals healthy and more ways I save money than what you read here, but this should get those interested started in educating themselves. Your best resources are vets and farmers who trust in your ability and are willing to share information.
We pay less on vet care for our entire farm than many people do for two or three dogs. We currently have about 75 critters. The number changes with births and sales.
