As someone who has worked in a pet hospital, I’ve seen too many pet owners who try to save money in daily life but end up spending a large amount on medical treatment. Their pets suffer from various conditions such as ascites, renal failure, infectious diseases (like parvovirus, canine distemper, etc.), and parasitic diseases (roundworms, fleas, ticks, etc.).
Fortunately, I also have a Bichon Frise. She’s one and a half years old and healthy.
When I first brought her home, she was extremely small, only as big as a palm, with a soft and milky voice. She was super cute (๑•. •๑)!
For the first – time vaccination, I gave her three shots of Vanguard 8 and one shot of Revolution, which cost a total of 440 yuan. Deworming is done once every three months, and each time (both internal and external deworming) costs 60 yuan.
After she became an adult, she gets two shots of Vanguard 5 and one shot of rabies vaccine every year, totaling 200 yuan. Deworming is done once every six months with the same medicine.
A bag of puppy food weighing 6.8 kilograms costs 448 yuan. When she was a puppy, she ate less, and one bag could last for three months. When she was eight months old, I switched to adult dog food. A bag of adult dog food costs 428 yuan and can last for about two and a half months. Dog snacks cost 40 yuan per month. Since I also eat fruits, yogurt, and vegetables, I don’t count their cost specifically for the dog.
A toy ball costs 20 yuan. She played with it for half a year, and then one day it suddenly disappeared. Since she didn’t seem to like it, I didn’t buy another one. Ordinary toys can be bought or made at home. You can cut old, bite – resistant clothes into strips and braid them. When they get dirty, you can throw them away and make new ones without feeling bad.
The dog bed is washable. As long as it doesn’t break, it can really be used for a long time. Just wash it regularly. Plastic dog bowls are nice – looking but not durable, and ceramic ones are easy to break. I highly recommend small stainless – steel basins, like a smaller version of the ones used for washing vegetables at home. On Taobao, one only costs 50 cents. OMG, it’s so cheap! The leash, collar, and a customized dog tag from Taobao cost no more than 50 yuan. I’m worried about cars and other ill – tempered small dogs, so I always take her on a leash when going out (mainly because I’ve seen a lot of traffic accidents and dog – bite cases).
I bathe her at home and do the grooming myself. The initial cost of tools is a bit high, but in the long run, it saves a lot of money. Hahaha. If you bathe and groom at a pet store, it costs 30 yuan for a bath once a week and 120 yuan for grooming once a month.
The relatively high cost of dog food, vaccines, and deworming is to ensure her healthy growth. I treat her like a child, so I provide her with good food. As for the things she uses, as long as she has fun and likes them, whether they are homemade or bought, in her eyes, they are just things to bite. Whether they look good or not is actually a subjective human opinion.
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