Free Pet Advice for Better Living

Free Advice! What does your new pet need to live happy in your home? Save money when you only purchase the items that your pet needs for comfort and convenience.

Adopting a new pet is a wonderful choice, and can bring years of happiness to you and your family. You need to evaluate which items you should have before you bring your pet home, which will help to reduce the stress on you and your new best friend! A little planning can go a long way on saving you money, as well as making the transition period shorter and less stressful.

Pet Food


There are many high quality pet foods on the market today, that provide the nutrients and vitamins that pets need to grow up healthy and stay healthy as they age. It is always best to start by finding out what your pet is currently being fed, and have a supply of that food available when you bring your new pet home. Adjusting to a new home is hard enough for you new friend, so changing diets at that point in time is not a good idea. It is best to continue to feed the same pet food for the first few days or a week, and then transition your pet to the food you prefer.

Whenever you change diets, do it over a 7 to 10 day period, starting on the first day by mixing one part of the new food to ten parts of the old food. Continue increasing the new food amount each day until you are feeding equal amounts of each by the fifth day, and continue until you are only using the new pet food by the end of the period. Always transition a pet’s diet this way to avoid stomach upset.

Most "better" quality pet foods cost a bit more money than "supermarket brands", but there are many advantages. To begin with, most premium pet foods use high quality, and often all natural ingredients. These pet foods may call themselves premium, super premium or holistic pet foods. Many consumers want to reduce or eliminate the amount of chemicals found in their own foods, so it is understandable that they feel the same with their pets. High quality foods cost more to purchase but can actually save you money in the long run.

Premium pet foods are made with better ingredients. In farming, there is an old saying that goes like this "Corn In – Corn Out". This means that less expensive brands that rely on corn as a main ingredient instead of a quality meat product, will generally result in more waste over time. To start, the pet will eat more initially to feel full. Second is that corn is less digestible than many better ingredients, so the more corn that goes in the mouth, the more corn that goes out the other end! This means that you will generally have a lot less to clean up after when you use higher quality foods that are more readily digested. Smaller stools and less waste are a definite advantage when feeding premium diets. Most premium foods are nutritionally complete, so you do not need to add other items to your pet’s diet. This better nutritional package generally means a healthier pet that requires fewer visits to the vet, saving even more money. Overall, paying more initially for higher quality pet food saves you money because your pet will eat smaller portions and still feel full, will have less to clean up because of reduced waste and smaller stools, and will likely remain healthier and live longer because of better nutrition.

Currently, most quality pet foods offer "life stage" products that match a pet’s age and activity level to the proper nutritional diets. Further more, there are differences in the needs and problems of various breed sizes, so many diets for small, medium or large breed pets are now available. Life stage formulas generally are available for puppies or kittens, adult dog and cats, older or senior pets, less active pets and over-weight pets.

Specific diets for specific purposes are also available. Many pets that have skin or coat challenges can benefit by eating a Lamb and Rice diet. Some food allergies can be improved by feeding a "single source protein" diet as well. It is generally best to check with your vet to determine the best food for your pet, but your pet retailer can offer assistance as well. Most pet food manufacturers have lots of quality information on their websites as well.

Final considerations for choosing the right pet food for your new friend include your own budget and availability of your chosen food. Feeding a pet can be expensive, so buy the best quality that you can afford and feel comfortable with. Look for sales and manufacturer offers to help save. Some retailers offer free pet food after you purchase a number of bags, to help reward your buying loyalty. Make sure that you can easily get the food you choose, and purchase it several days before you run out, just in case your normal retailer is out of stock. You never want to change diets from one bowl to the next, so don’t run out!

Lastly, always plan ahead with enough food so you don’t run out on a holiday, and it is a good idea to know of an online retailer that sells your pet’s food, just in case you can’t get it locally. When bad weather is predicted, such as a snowstorm, have enough food so you don’t run out. The same is true if someone is pet sitting for you. Store your pet food in a dry place, safe from insects or rodents. Try to buy a large enough bag that you can save money and shop as frequent as it is convenient, but try to use the entire open bag in less than a month.

For updated lists of items that your new adopted pet may need, please stop back regularly. Please view our favorite links to the right and begin enhancing your relationship with your pet!