To feel that soon , dog ownership will just be for the well off? And thats not fair.

[Tunamelt]

We had a family dog and as a child I really benefited from it . As did my own dc when we had our beloved dog.
When the dc had a hard day she cheered them up so much and it was such a good experience for them.
We have just adopted a dog.
She needed the vets in the first week due to upset tummy.
Ist vet appt £75 and then x2 meds.
She now needs a stool sample and a further vet appt to
check her health.
stool sample test alone will be over £100.
We had appt with behaviourist at £90 ph .
Her food is £60 pm.
the vet thinks she may need fluxotine for anxiety and those meds are around £80 pm
So thats come to a good amount and she has only been here a few weeks.
Its made me realise that these sort of costs are just not do able for
many - and a concern to us -and it seems so unfair that the joy of a dog may be beyond reach for many these days .

Yup not all rehoming charities are good or honest.

Wonder if it’s a foreign import to add insult to injury.

BettysRoasties
as i said above - she was not described as a problem dog . She came with clear bill of health and we were also told she cd be left3/4 hours .

BettysRoasties No uk

I agree online pharmacy is cheaper BettysRoasties.

A dog even in a new home doesn’t tend to go from being left for 3-4 hours to can’t even put your hand on the door handle.

I’m surprised at people saying you’re being U, either they have no pets or have money. A visit to the vets in now like how Americans must feel about going to the doctor. Since these big corps have taken over the bills have skyrocketed. Once my dog has gone I can never have a pet again as it’s scary making a visit to the vets, even with good pet insurance.

My childhood dogs were well loved and healthy. They had vet care when required. If the vet recommended my dad get anti depressants for one of his dogs he'd have laughed his arse off!

I agree about vets costs, there's a real problem as there are very few independent vet surgeries now and most are part of large corporations. In fact there was a Panorama programme about it just this week.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002pwsm

They found evidence vets were being pressured to upsell treatment and were judged on their monthly KPI on how many profitable procedures they had provided.

@BunnyLake a lot of independent vets still exist.

Given how hard it is to have pets as a renter (the proposed changes to the law haven't come in) it already is effectively the preserve of the well-off.

Then she was not ready to be rehomed, except to an extremely experienced home where a behaviourist would not be needed. The charity should have done much more work with her.
Your vet's fees are exorbitant, my dog has been to the vet in the last month, consultation was less than £50. Independent vet.

@Pearlstillsinging i think this is the thing with vets you need to go to an independent one.

Have you used the charity before or had a good reccomendation by someone you know?

None where I live. They all belong to the same umbrella group. It’s £60 just for a consultation.

This. And a teaspoon of kaolin and morphine from the chemists if bad. 👍😁

Ouch our vets is £47 and it goes down if you go back for the same issue.

I’m quite comfortable with dog ownership being confined to those who can afford to do it responsibly, though I don’t think anyone deserves to be ripped off. In general, though, there are far too many dogs living in unsuitable conditions with owners who can’t afford to train/feed/look after them properly, and too many dogs living with people who don’t have the time or the inclination to exercise them adequately. It’s an automatic right to own a dog, and I don’t think it should be.

I think unfortunately the rescue has no told you the dogs problems because they want to home Her.
There is a tinned food for upset tummies which is good, some dogs like scrambled eggs. Blood in poo can be a result of inflammation after a bug or eating something they shouldn’t and can take a few days - a week to calm down.

Any dog needs time to settle in a new home but it's surely not a surprise that dogs (any pet) has ongoing costs and vet bills can be ridiculous.

Our dog managed to cut himself really deeply out on a walk, which necessitated an emergency evening vet trip and surgery. Would have been almost £2k if we hadn't had insurance. But we knew those costs were likely for injury or illness.

I think welfare has increased too…it’s the cost of dog walkers while I’m at work that make me think twice about getting one. A couple of decades ago, dogs were just left for hours alone.

i think there’s been a social change too, in that there was normally a mother at home whereas more families have working parents now.

This. Same with children. Some people will never factor in finances when they make emotional decisions. They could be low paid, in debt and living in a tiny flat as a family of 4, but they’ll still have that third baby. Very sad, but not much we can do about it.

Many people have dogs and do not spend this sort of money on them. Vets are a real problem - pushing treatment and follow ups and nonsense in order to hit their billing targets and unfortunately there is a lack of common sense and people are gullible to all this.

You really don't need to spend £60/ month on food either. Go to a local agricultural feed shop and you can but something much cheaper.

£90 for a dog behaviourist..... really!!!

There was an article I read the other day (sorry I can’t link it) in a nutshell it was from vets- quoting high vet fees, but also vets saying so many advances in medicine, pets seen as family members, we never want them to die - all comes at a cost.
Years ago dogs ate whatever they ate! Pedigree chum, nobody had heard of a behaviourist or trainer, dogs didn’t go to the vets half as much as they do now as they didn’t have so much wrong with them, or were pts sooner due to arthritis, ailments that couldn’t be treated etc not to mention dog breeders have a bloody lot to answer for, some young dogs need surgeries just to breathe these days.
We spend more on dogs healthcare than our own? We keep them going for us, maybe that’s selfish.

Edit as I sit here typing this my little staffie not even ten months old has her £50 a month insurance policy and forthglade dinner dog food. Already costing maybe £100 a month… My Lab before her had £7.5k and 1.5k surgeries and £400 a month pain relief costs for the last few years of his life. Plus £70 pcm on food.

Contrast this with a local dog rescuer, goes to the dogs home, takes older or unwanted dogs, feeds them, walks them, will treat minor ailments but that’s it. Once something major /costly happens they’re pts.

I feel for you OP, I would love to get another dog, I lost mine a few years ago, but the cost of looking after one to a good standard is just going up & up. Everyone says about pet insurance, but the vets where I live don’t accept it - you have to pay for everything up front before they will treat and then claim it back from the insurance company. My dog needed scans & surgery and I ended up paying over £8k in cash and then claiming it back from the insurance company. I asked them what people did if they didn’t have the money to hand, and the vets said they would have to pts - I would have been devastated, my dog was young and healthy at the time, and made a full recovery after surgery.

HighStreetOtter Can dogs have kaolin and morphine? Thanks

Until last week my old dog hasn’t cost me a single vet bill apart from routine vaccinations. Food costs £45 and lasts a good six weeks. Don’t flea or worm medicate her. I would if she had fleas or worms but she never has. Her insurance is an expense I guess.