Costs of pet dog - info please.

[whyme2]

We are considering getting a dog ( a friend has offered us a young, trained, medium sized bitch). We have space and lots of walks to school and back, my only concern is the cost of food and vets bills.
Any advice/info before I fall head over heels in love with a beautiful dog.

pet insurance, about £10-30 per month depending on what you want covered, they can recommend best for each breed, our chocolate lab cost about £60 in food for about 6 weeks, thats one massive bag of dried food and treats for weekend stuff like that....
But bewarned the last 2 months have set me back about £300 in vets bills although that isnt too bad since he is six and never cost us anything before that. Waht are you thinking of getting?

oh and hide your shoes, belts, bags, book and anything else you like before you bring a puppy home also be prepared for picking up the poo....still dont like it 6 years down the line!!!

The dog is a mix breed and slighlty smaller than a lab. She has been brought up with children.
Is the pet insurance scheme a good investment?

I have 4dc so abit of poo is the least of my worries.

yep, would of cost me over £1000 but paid just £300 big saving! its worth getting them chipped and the cost of insurance comes down, i know ours did.

Thanks for your help,

no probls good luck with the dog. They bring so much mess but so much fun as well!

just like my children but hopefully better trained.

I pay about £7 a month for insuring my dog (Halifax pet insurance)-who sounds about the same size as the one you are hoping for.

I would say it is absolutely worth it as they pay up (mine has a a £50 excess, but took the sting out of recent £400 vet bill).

You usually have them vaccinated once a year which insurance doesn't cover and is about £30.

Price of pet food - well, it's up to you. There's some real cheapie stuff around (£2 a bag). If your dog is of a normal dispostion and has an iron stomach, you will be OK. I tend to go for a more 'premium' brand as the poos are less squelchy (sorry TMI)?

Or you could feed Fido raw meat (called the BARF diet) but you'ld have to research that I think.

If you go on hols and leave them in a kennel that costs too - I pay £7.50 a day.

HTH

Is she neutered? If not, and this is something you might want to do, you can expect to pay around £150-200 for this. Until then you will need to be careful to ensure she doesn't fall pregnant when she is in season, and be prepared for the mess as well.

Thanks for all the info. I've never had a pet dog before but would love one so I am trying to be very reasoned and not be swayed by cute eyes and my children's pleading. I think she is already neutered. Didn't realise they need annual vaccinations - thought that was just cats - doh!

Find out if she has had any vet problems already, as insurance will not pay for any pre-exsisting conditions.. which could get expensive if its something she has regularly

Ooo...how nice to be offered a ready trained dog. :-)

I'd make sure your insurance policy covers any condition for life too. My dog has several life long conditions which would have cost me a fortune without insurance (thousands!). Some policies only cover a condition until the end of the policy term - and then they wont cover you when you renew. If your dog has something like hip dysplasia or asthma then you could be in for some big meds bills without good lifelong insurance!

They really are worth it though
Have fun with your new addition.

Thanks for all the advice, I know what to look for with insurance now.
Hopefully will happen soon (jumps up and down excitedly).