No doubt about it, sharing your life with a pet is expensive. Food, supplies and veterinary costs can add up to an average of $560 per year, according to Statistics Canada (2005). A pet survey conducted by the American Animal Hospital Association showed 19% of pet owners spent more than $1000 annually.
Veterinarians are an indispensable part of your dog’s health routine and I would not skip the preventative annual check-up. But if you are knowledgeable in canine first aid, you will know that you do not have to go to the clinic for every minor paw wound or if your 100 pound retriever eats a couple of Smarties. Consider these cost-saving tips:

1. Feed your dog high quality food. While the costs are ......

  DOGSAFE's demo dog, Monty, writes a Question & Answer guest post this week addressing dogs eating

grass. Please welcome Monty:

Q.   Hey Monty, I have a 4 month old chocolate lab puppy who is always eating grass; in our backyard, the park and sometimes he vomits as a result. Why do dogs do this and is eating grass harmful to my puppy?

A. It's no big deal. Some of us dogs eat grass and some don't. This is normal dog stuff. Some dogs who eat grass do vomit after eating it (I've seen my buddies devour the green stuff which ends in a nasty hurl) and some dogs who eat grass don't vomit (I don't, but do puke after eating bamboo leaves--- that's another story). Same .........