Monthly Expenses: January - March 2014

Starting this year I decided to make some changes to my expenses report. Since I've already been tracking my spending in a spreadsheet, copying out the data directly would be a much easier task than re-typing everything. Presenting the numbers in a table format also helps with viewing and comparison. Hopefully, this will be informative to my readers as well.

	JAN	FEB	MAR	2014 TOTAL
Food		$124	$163	$287
Vet & Medical			$133	$133
Supplements	$26		$34	$60
Treats & Chews	$30	$14	$17	$61
Grooming		$13	$11	$24
Accessories				$0
Toys				$0
Daycare & Boarding	$35	$450		$485
Travel				$0
Training			$203	$203
Miscellaneous			$4	$4
Total	$91	$601	$565	$1,257
YTD Total	$91	$692	$1,257

Food

In the food category, most of the expenses went to the Honest Kitchen, including 2 boxes of 10 lbs Zeal and 1 box of 3 lbs Preference. We also got some frozen fish fillets, fresh vegetables, juice, beans, and a can of fermented veggies. 

I wasn't really planning to purchase from the Honest Kitchen in March, but because I left a few items in my shopping cart, they started to send me coupons. At first it was 5% off, then they offered 10% off. I was a sucker and fell for it. 

Vet & Medical

Despite her face healed up nicely, Maya still continued to chew on her feet, lick her vulva, and was troubled by ear infection through winter. As spring approaches, we noticed that she started to scratch her face more often as well, so we had another appointment with Dr. M.

Besides the vet visit, we also purchased a bottle of Zymox Otic ear solution and a tube of Zymox topical cream. So far, I've been pleased with the result. She stopped shaking her head in a day, and it smells/looks much better in a few days. The frequency of her licking her feet and vulva has greatly reduced as well. (Read more about them in the Ear Infection and Itchiness posts.)

Supplements

For supplements, we got Maya a few different types of probiotics and digestive enzymes, as well as a bottle of THK Perfect Form. Keeping her digestive system healthy has been an important part of combating her infections, and the supplements definitely helped.

Treats & Chews

I got Maya a box of Salmon Skin Bones. I wish I have known about this sooner! It lasts much longer than a bully stick, and is made from Maya's very few "safe" ingredients. I do have to be careful and leave her alone (while supervising in range). One time I was brushing her when she was chewing on it, and my hand got too close to her mouth. She was afraid I would take it from her and chocked herself by swallowing the whole end piece. Luckily I remembered the first aid video I watched and helped her puke it out, but it was really really scary! 

I noticed Maya's teeth starting to have tartar built up since we switched her off raw. I got a bag of C.E.T. Enzymatic Oral Hygiene Chews in hope that it can help with the situation. However, I still haven't been giving it to her as frequent enough to tell the difference. 

Besides the chews, we also got a bag of Wellness Pure Rewards and a bag of Real Meat treats.

Grooming

For grooming, because Maya's "little white skirt" was touching the floor and getting in the way of her poop, I had to trim it down again. Last time I used regular scissors and was bothered how there seems to be a straight line through her butt. For my own satisfaction, I got a pair of thinning scissors. Looks better?

I also took Maya to the groomer for a nail trim. I used to take her to Petsmart for nail trims when she was a puppy, but after a few visits, she got so scared of the place and even peed out of fear when I tried to get her into the room. Ever since then, I've been doing her nails myself. However, I am afraid to hit her quick, so I always only cut off a little bit, and trimming her dew claws is super hard. After hearing good reviews of this place, I decided to take her in for some professional help. Well, the groomer said her nails were short, so she didn't take much off, so I guess I was doing it right and probably won't need to come back for another few years. Since I heard her whining and crying and being a drama queen while I waited outside, I gave an extra dollar tip to the groomer for not complaining. (After being in the US for so long, I'm still not sure when tipping is necessary... Is it for this type of service? Is one dollar enough?)

Daycare & Boarding

The biggest expense thus far is for the 8 nights Maya stayed with the doggie daycare while we were in Asia for Chinese New Year. We paid for a 10 nights package, so we still have 2 more remaining for future use.

Training 

While we faced some challenges with agility training, we are not giving up. We went back to Agility 2 and worked our way back to Agility 4 again. She is doing much better after I decided to take it easy. She still walks "elegantly" through the courses and occasionally embarrasses me in front of the whole class (such as refusing to move till another owner offered a different treat), but I still enjoy going to class once a week to have some bonding time with her. A gift card I got helped reduce some of the cost for the classes.

Miscellaneous 

As for the Misc category, I got two Squeeze Dispensing Bottles to bring aloe gel with me on the go for Maya's hotspots. I had been using small travel jars, but often found myself contaminating the remainder by my dirty fingers. Squeeze bottles work much better.

Dehydrator

After debating for a long time, we finally decided to get a dehydrator. (Well, the real story is more like this: one day Maya's daddy came home all excited telling me this wonderful machine his coworker had. I got quite upset, because I told him about this thing months ago, but he totally dismissing the idea and said that "we don't need to spoil our dog more". Now he acts like it's the first time he heard about it and it's so awesome because someone else says so...) Anyways, this thing ended up on our kitchen counter a few days later.

There were a few different models to choose from. I picked "Nesco American Harvest FD-61WHC", which is 500W and comes with a jerky gun. So far, I'm really pleased with the product and have made 3 batches of treats for Maya and 3 batches of snacks for the humans. The only compliant is that the whole machine is made of plastic, so I'm afraid to put it the trays the dishwasher and some of the smell is hard to get rid of (like beef liver).

There are also a few lessons learned along the way: 1) Sweet potato and fruits should be cut in very thick slices or they'll turn into chips, 2) Tomatoes will not dry with the skin on, 3) The machines should be moved outdoors when drying smelly stuff, 4) Either start drying in the early morning or late at night, cause it takes about 10 hours to dry, 5) For meat, the leaner the better.

For 1.5 pound (24 oz) of ground beef, I can make about 8 oz of beef jerky, which costs about $6 from the grocery store. Compare to what I paid for commercial treats, it's not really that much of a money saver. However, it's feels much better having full control of what's going into the dogs stomach.

[Edit 6/4 12:53] I just read the product description again, and seems like the entire machine is dishwasher-safe except for the power head. I'll try washing a single tray first tonight. (The one with the strong beef liver smell.)

Sweet potato, beef jerky and beef liver treats

Dried fruits

Sweet potato + sardine

Monthly Expenses: October 2012

October 2012

• Food: $5
• Treats & Chews: $8
• Vet & Medical: $16
• Grooming: $45

TOTAL: $74
YTD TOTAL: $6,119


Food

Since we have a lot stocked up, we didn't spend much on food this month. Maya got some duck wings, a can of sardine, and some plain yogurt.

Treats & Chews

I got Maya two bags of "Veggie Rawhide" made with sweet potato because almost all her chews were made of beef, which we were limiting her access to. I was hoping it's as long lasting as a real rawhide or at least last a few minutes like a bully stick, but sadly it wouldn't even last a minute. Nevertheless, it's still very tasty and Maya loves it.

Vet & Medical

Even though we stopped giving Maya Claritin, we still want to keep a bottle in hand in cases like the failed hiking trip. I found a bottle in the drug store with a $4 coupon attached to it, and was lucky to be able to use it right away.

Grooming

We told ourselves its the last time to go to the self service pet wash when we used up our last package, since it's kind of expensive. Well, Maya started to shed like crazy and we couldn't agree on who's turn to give her at bath, so we ended up getting another "buy 3 get 1 free" deal. Sometimes spending an extra few dollars can save us from a clogged drain and lots of arguments...

Gangnam style?

Accessories

I came close to get Maya a Giants bandanna, but the only one left in the store was too small. Good thing that the Giants are in orange and black, so Maya wore her Halloween t-shirt to celebrate both the holiday and Giants' victory! $10 saved.

Cheering when Posey made the grand slam

Happy Halloween and Go Giants!

Pumpkin Time

It's that time of the year again when pumpkins are everywhere! For the first time ever, I got our family an orange one and a green one (buttercup squash?). 

For Maya's treats, I cut the squash in half and steamed till it's soft, then cut it into pieces and baked at low temperature till it's dry. As for the humans, after steaming and cutting, I boiled it in some water mixed with salt and suger for a few minutes, then remove the water and let it cool off. Everyone in the family loved it!

Yummy homemade treats

Planning to carve it, but don't have the tools

Speaking of pumpkins, one of Maya's favoriate toy is a pumpkin man given to Maya by a friend two years ago. It didn't take long for Maya to chew off his face, but other than that, he's still thriving.

Mr. Pumpkin two years ago

Faceless Mr. Pumpkin today

Homemade Peanut Butter Cookies

Yesterday I decided to make some treats for Maya and use up some of the THK Verve (I got a 10 lb box but switched back to home prepared raw). I found a recipe on THK's website, and made a few adjustments.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup THK Verve
• 1/4 cup peanut butter (crunchy, unsalted, unsweetened)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp virgin coconut oil 
• 2 tsp shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

• Mix everything together
• Roll into small bits
• Bake at 380°F for 20 minutes
• Cool and store

Everything mixed together

In the oven

Cooling

Ideally, I would use some other type of flour instead of wheat flour, but Maya never had any problems with wheat and it's only for treats, so I used whatever I had in hand. It ended up crunchier than I expected, so next time I might add some meat or canned fish. Maya waited patiently in the kitchen when I prepared the cookie. Cooking for Maya is always satisfying, because she gobbles up whatever I make!

Hungry dog dozing off in the kitchen

Yummy!