Learning to Budget for Our “Free” Dog

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She was our “free” Doberman pinscher. A sweet dog with big brown eyes and a gentle disposition, she was kicked out of a truck and abandoned on the side of the road. Witnessing the tragedy, I stopped and brought her home. Little did I know how much that “free” dog would ultimately cost my family.

The Vet

When I brought her home, the first order of business was to find a good vet. We were fortunate enough to find one who would let us make payments, a true gift since that first office exam cost more than $200.00 dollars. She had an exam, a full round of shots and was treated for worms. The cost was a little painful, especially for someone who wasn’t familiar with the high cost of vet visits, but we were already falling in love with her. A few months later, she cost another $500.00 dollars with the local vet, because we had to have several of her teeth pulled.
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Dog In The Garden – Dog Repellent Garden For Keeping Dogs Out of the Garden

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Dogs and gardens don’t mix, and even though dogs are a man’s best friend, keeping dogs out of the garden was the reason why the idea of creating a fruit and vegetable garden seemed impossible. As any dog lover knows, dogs love to dig, and our large Lab is no different.

It’s natural for dogs to dig and chew, but how do you keep a dog from digging in the garden and ruining all your hard work gardening? I’ve wanted a fruit and vegetable garden for some time now, and after reading article after article about dog friendly gardens and dog repellents for gardens, we finally decided on a solution that works best for us.

There are many varying ideas about how to keep dogs out of gardens, regardless if the garden is a flower garden, vegetable garden and so on. One recommendation was to separate the yard with a dividing fence, thereby creating a “dog run” for the dogs to do their thing, without being able to access or trample the garden.
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Dog Friendly Dog Parks – Off Leash Dog Parks in Dallas, Plano, Frisco, Allen, Fort Worth

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As any dog lover knows, dogs love to run free and play with other dogs without having to be on a leash all the time. Off leash dog parks are extremely popular places to take dogs of all sizes, where small, medium and large dogs can get some needed exercise and playtime at an outdoor or indoor dog park without being tethered to a leash.

Even though our dogs have lots of room to run and play in our large backyard, it’s easy to understand the popularity of taking dogs to local dog parks, whether it’s an indoor or outdoor, on leash or off leash park for dogs. We’ve heard a lot of good things about our local Dallas and Fort Worth area dog parks, as well as the dog parks in Plano and Frisco TX and other nearby cities, that we’re considering visiting a couple of the dog parks to see what we think about them.
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Dog Magazines – Most Popular Puppy and Dog Magazines in the USA

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Avid and enthusiastic dog lovers and pet owners keep up to date with the best puppy and dogs magazines for information on dog health and nutrition, dog care and wellness, grooming, dog breeds, training and behavior, and just about everything dog and puppy owners need to know about their dogs.

Dog magazines and subscriptions may be monthly magazines, bi-monthly, or may be 5 or 6 issues yearly. Magazines about dogs and puppies are popular for kids and adult dog owners alike, including fun activities, new dog products and trends, and information on how important treating your dog as part of the family really is.
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Indestructible Dog Toys For Labs – Best Indestructible, Tough Dog Toys For Aggressive Chewers

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Our Lab is what is commonly referred to as an aggressive chewer or power chewer, and dog toys made of soft pliable materials or fabric are quickly destroyed, torn and ripped to shreds in a matter of minutes. Our Lab can’t distinguish between the dog toys bought specifically with her in mind vs. the soft squeaky dog toys purchased for our Chihuahua. The moment the female Labrador sees or hears the sound of a squeaky toy being played with by the much smaller dog, the game of tug-a-war begins between the two dogs.

Our female Chihuahua enjoys playing with her soft dog toys and it’s a rare occasion when she is able to completely destroy one of her toys. The Lab, on the other hand, will chew up and spit out in tiny little pieces virtually any destructible dog toy within her reach. Labs are digging, chewing dogs, that is for sure. Labs will chew, rip, tear up and shred dog toys that are not indestructible. Some dog toys are toxic and dangerous to a dog’s health, and we’ve found out the hard way that replacing destroyed dog toys for these tough chewers can be an expensive habit.
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How Do I Stop My Labrador Chewing Everything?

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Our Labrador chews everything and anything she can get her teeth around, or maybe I should say she chews everything that isn’t made of metal or steel. When our Labrador was a small young puppy and not ready to be an outside dog kept mostly in the backyard, our brown Lab puppy was kept in the house in a crate when we weren’t home. By the time she had grown to be about six months old, she dug a sizable hole in the carpet in one room, and from there on out was put in the backyard with a dog house and toys etc to play with.

Our Lab still chews everything she can get her teeth around. I don’t want to even think about the amount of money we have had to spend to repair our backyard fence because our Lab chewed the wood fence off, escaping from our yard through a hole she dug. I was seriously considering buying our Labrador a It Wasn’t Me Dog Tag for Christmas this year. To say our Labrador chews everything is an understatement. She has chewed rubber garden hoses, and once replaced, she chews the new hose again into tiny little pieces and the pieces are left strewn throughout the yard.
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