1. If I'm lumberjacking, I use as many pack animals I can bring safely (as even boards weigh 1 stone each, and you get 10-22 per swing, depending on race and facet).
My leather gathering, is typically on one of my combat characters, so often, not more than a giant beetle.
Mining, I use a fire beetle, and smelting means I can bring back 4500-5000 ingots of various types without a pack animal.
2. It's always good to get a pet fully trained up, even if you don't do the Taming advanced training stuff.
If you are resource-gathering with a tamer, though, having trained up pets can be well worth it. The two beetles can be taken to 5 slots, and are actually now common pets for doing spawns and bosses like on the Shadowguard roof. Even having 2 beetles (1 blue, 1 fire) with one taken to 3 slots, the other to 2, and both with resists maxed (And the strength raised on the blue beetle, especially) would be exceptional defensive pets for Fel mining if somewhere that still has people that PK resource gatherers.
3. If below 90 real, you should hold onto the mastery books as you can't use a mastery until you hit 90. You don't have to use them in order, but you do have to have the book of masteries in your pack. Using the masteries are far faster means of gaining than taming creatures.
4. To sell a pet in Magincia, you have to bid on one of the unclaimed stall areas there. If you win, then you get to place the stall. Then, you load the seller up with the pets you want to sell.
