A pet is a loved member of the family but costs of caring for a pet especially some breeds can be expensive. Food, grooming costs and vet bills can costs much more than you estimated when buying the pet.

Here are a few tips from pet lovers on how to keep costs down and yet care for the pet:

1. Find out about low-cost clinics that give shots. Information can be had online or from your local vet hospital or humane society.

2. When any illness needs treatment or surgery always take a second estimate and surf the internet to find out if there are any alternative treatments in use. An useful source is the Merck Veterinary Manual: http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp .

3. Be friendly with your vet and share your problems if any with him. Often vets help patients by giving them free medicines they get from manufacturers.

4. Consider feeding the pet home cooked food instead of the more expensive commercial food. The internet has many resources about pet nutrition and balanced diets.

5. Ensure good health by giving the pet the right amount of food, exercise, and training. Obese pets have greater health problems than fit pets.

6. Think about buying pet medicines online from discount stores.

7. Train your pet well and protect it from accidents by keeping it on leash when outdoors.

8. Before buying a pet because its cute or in fashion find out all you can about the breed, costs of upkeep, susceptible diseases and more. Talk to other pet owners and find out all about their experiences.

9. Think about signing up for a preventive health care package if your vet or local clinic offer one. If you take good care of the pet the costs are likely to be low.

10. Read up on preventable health hazards and on what foods are bad for pet health. Teach the pet not to beg or eat foods lying around.

A pet is a responsibility and needs great care. As a responsible pet parent you will need to know all you can about the breed. Decide on neutering and on how you can give your pet a long disease free life.

Find out about pet insurance and how you can get a comprehensive pet health policy for low premiums. The World Wide Web has in depth articles and tips on how to choose a pet, how to care for one, and all about pet health. Be an informed pet owner and buy or adopt a pet only if you can be a committed pet parent.

Author's Bio: 

Matthew Pawlina is a writer for Pet Insurance , the premier website to find Pet Insurance, pet health insurance, veterinary pet insurance, pet care insurance, best pet insurance, pet health care insurance, vpi pet insurance and many more.