[nagdu] Counting The Costs

Tue Sep 18 13:30:44 UTC 2012

I don't have a dog that is as large as Mark's, but I also feed a more expensive food because I want nicely firm stools.  I get that with the Great Life Buffalo formula.  Yes, it is more expensive, but it lasts about four or five weeks, and it is the closest to being a raw diet without the time needed to purchase and prepare a raw diet.

So some of the cost associated whit food is going to vary from handler to handler.  I have ordered Great Life from two different vendors, and the price did not vary much.

I use PetCo for a bath for Griffin about once or twice a year, and it has usually been about $40.00.  I sometimes have them trim his nails, and that runs about $10.00.  I also clip his nails myself.

Toy prices are going to vary, depending on where you buy them.  I try to get the Cuz balls and Ruffian toys because it takes Griffin longer to destroy them.  Actually, the two oarge Cuz balls are still in good shape.  Both are the Bad Cuz Balls (with the pointy ears), an donly one of them has lost an ear.  The Ruffians don't ahve quite as long of a life in the jaws of Griffin, but they hold up for a number of months.

Vet care is going to vary based on, in part, the dog's age.  Griffin is almost ten, and he does have a chronic medical problem, so his care is slightly more expensive.  However, my vet does give a discount on some things.

Vanessa Lowery, LGSW
Adult and Community Services Division
Adult Services Screening Unit
410-853-3550
VLowery at dhr.state.md.us

>>> "Mark J. Cadigan" <kramc11 at gmail.com> 9/17/2012 6:57 PM >>>
Cindy,

I wish I could use an inexpensive dog food, however, doing so results in my 
dog's waste product being the consistency of mashed potatoes at best, and 
pea soup at worst. Although this food is expensive, my dog appears to be 
healthy, happy, full of energy, and is consistently dropping firm easy to 
pick up, baseball sized nuggets. Because this food has no fillers, if you 
have a smaller dog, perhaps the food could last you longer, because you 
would have to feed a lot less. I feed my dog just shy of 3 cups a day.

Also, on principle, I don't want to feed my dog a product full of hard to 
digest fillers, and other chemicals. Although it is impossible to avoid all 
fillers and chemicals unless you feed your dog a raw diet organically razed 
on local farms, this is the next best thing I could find without sacrificing 
the convenience of a dry food.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Cindy Ray" <cindyray at gmail.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, September 17, 2012 5:14 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Counting The Costs

> Mark, glad you brought up the size of your dog. And, of course, the dog 
> food is a huge factor. If you use some of the other dog foods that are 
> commonly used by those of us who feel our dogs are good with that, and 
> sometimes all of the dogs aren't, you are spending about twice as much or 
> more. I'm feeding three dogs, but we still go through a bag of food in 
> about a month. So, as Mark says, there is a variation. Heartworm and flea 
> preventive are the most expensive part I think, and you usually get them 
> in three to six month packages. Well, don't know about the spray.
> CL
>
> On Sep 17, 2012, at 3:48 PM, Mark J. Cadigan wrote:
>
>> Perhaps I am insane, however, my dog costs around $150+ a month. However, 
>> I do feed my dog an organic dog food that runs around $85 a bag. He eats 
>> a bag every 5 weeks.
>>
>>
>>
>> I am feeding him origin regional red.
>>
>> I give him hart guard for heartworm once a month,
>>
>> Use a topical flea and tick control spray called buddy spray
>>
>> I take him to a do it yourself grooming place once a month cost only $15!
>>
>> For training treats and whatnot I feed him organic dried venison strips
>>
>> He shreds toys, so I end up getting a new one every month or so.
>>
>>
>>
>> So, you can see how the price can add up quickly.
>>
>>
>>
>> BTW I have an 80lb shepherd.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> nagdu mailing list
>> nagdu at nfbnet.org 
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org 
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
>> nagdu:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/cindyray%40gmail.com 
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org 
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org 
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> nagdu:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/kramc11%40gmail.com 

_______________________________________________
nagdu mailing list
nagdu at nfbnet.org 
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org 
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/vlowery%40dhr.state.md.us

***************************************************************************************************
This Email message and any attachment may contain information that is proprietary, legally privileged and/or confidential. This Email is intended solely for the use of the person(s) to which it is addressed. If you are not an 
intended recipient, or the employee or agent responsible for delivery of this Email to the intended recipient(s), you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this Email is strictly prohibited. If you have received 
this message in error, please immediately notify the sender and permanently delete this Email and any copies. 
***************************************************************************************************
-------------- next part --------------
An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed...
Name: Vanessa Lowery1.vcf
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nagdu_nfbnet.org/attachments/20120918/871e6d7e/attachment.ksh>