Advise needed please. Thinking about getting a labrador... roughly how much do dogs cost to keep?

[MakeAnotherCuppa]

DP and i dont go into anything pet wise light hearted and need to know a few facts first... (we've never owned a dog. but we have a cat)

No idea how much food is and how much they eat?
Vets bills... vacines and how often?
Pet insurance (have had a look but keen to know what others use)

we are going to get a rescue dog, prev a labrador, we have 2 DD's (3yrs and 9 mths) so really wanted a pup or young dog

Any thing else i should know or think about before we get a dog? :)

I can't help with the costs - my parents have had dogs all my life, but I've never been involved with the cost side of things, other than grabbing the occasional bag of food with the shopping.

But I can speak about labradors (with one - disastrous! - exception, that's the only breed of dog we've ever had). They need lots and lots and lots of exercise. Their current one, who is a rescue, and I think about 2 years old now - gets walked at least twice a day. One long walk with Dad and a shorter one in the evenings. Plus the occasional wander to the shops. My parents also have a huge garden that the dog can tear around - and she needs her ball to be thrown to her for at least half an hour over the course of the day too. We've always had one person at home for at least part of the day, and I'm not sure it would have been possible to keep labradors without that level of attention.

Other than that, they are great dogs - especially with children. I have many many fond memories of our previous dogs, and my DD (3.9) has a bit of a mutual appreciation society going on with my parents dog (who goes nuts to be allowed 'listen' to her on the phone when we call).

thanks for your reply,

we have thought that i would do morning walks and DP the evening 1's, i walk about 3 miles a day 4-5 days a week- that would be enough for a morning walk wouldnt it? i only work 2 days and for those days DP would be here with dog and DD's and MIL and SIL have DD's the other day and they said they would take him with them to MIL's house.

Havent got a big garden though its a decide size with a lawn but not enough for excercising a pup!

Also do your mums dogs stay outside (kennel) or sleep indoors?

I am in Ireland, so talk in euros :)

We have a collie, not a lab, she's slightly smaller..

Food ?10 a fortnight (we use a dried complete dog food - Bakers or Pedigree), although you can spend a lot more for fancy stuff or if the dog has special dietary needs. Our dog thrives on what we give her

Vaccines : a course of 3 as a puppy, then a booster each year. ?70 each.

Spaying was ?300 I think.

Grooming is ?65 twice yearly (being double coated it's necessary for our girl or she can get skin problems - they also clean her anal glands so well worth it!)

When we go on holiday we pay a lovely woman ?15 per day to look after her in her own home. Can be a significant add-on to cost of a holiday.

Vets tend o be more expensive in cities, country vets are cheaper.

Other expenses we have are balls and throwers, which I'm constantly replacing, dogs beds, brushes, bowls.

We don't have insurance, I keep meaning to do that!

It all adds up; I wanted to adopt a second dog recently, but had to accept that we can't afford another just now :(

We got a rescue border collie last year, she was 12 weeks when we got her,
She has a short walk in the morning and a short walk in the evening, (grassy area near our house where she can have a run), either myself or ds take her for a longer walk during the day 1-2 hours,. she sleeps in her bed in our bedroom, she has the run of the house during the day but bedrooms are shut and she isnt allowed on the sofas, when she was a young puppy we kept her in a cage when we were out (short periods) as she was a chewer. (we lost 1 carpet, a chair, various toys and shoes and a skirting board in her first 6 months, but now she is really good).
We paid £100 to rescue centre for her, this included vaccines and microchip, £80 for her to be splayed (reduced rate offered by rescue centre vet),vaccines are yearly at around £30, worming and flea treatments we do ourselves £60 a year, food £20 a month, pet insurance with churchill insurance £7 a month. Hope that helps,good luck.

thankyou all very much yes it does all help, think we had in our heads that food was gonna be about £10 a week (as our cat costs £7 a week to feed )!

frazzled74 what does the insurance cover for that price? example if the dog broke his leg, would it cover that?

MakeAnotherCuppa the answer to the outside/inside question depends on how long they've had the dog :) Dogs usually start as outside dogs, but end up being inside dogs because my parents are complete softies!

The previous dog had a pen/run outside that got used less and less over the years, but was useful if we were going out for the day as she had a habit of wandering, but with the current dog, my parents have actually dismantled it and just keep her as an inside dog. She is 'crate trained' though - and was when they got her, so they've this massive cage-like thing in the house, which looks odd to me, but which she loves.

Oh, and that sounds like it would be fine for the morning walks (although I will confess all my knowledge is theoretical, while I love dogs, I'm actually quite nervous of them, so I rarely get into the nitty gritty of exercise/feeding etc - I just go on what I've observed from years of watching my parents do it!).

yes, it covers emergency treatment, accidents etc and 3rd party liability, so yes it would cover a broken leg but not a chronic heart problem or diabetes etc.I took the policy out recently and found churchill, sainsburys, argos and debenhams to be cheapest.

I have a black Lab cross who is to all intents and purposes a Lab with a slightly thinner face and less of a tendency to perform the walking dustbin routine than the stereotypical Lab.

Oh... and he's also not fond of young children and if I were ever to need to rehome him, heaven forbid, I wouldn't dream of letting you adopt him therefore. My younger German Shepherd, on the other hand, adores kids. You'd all love him, I'm sure.

What I'm saying is that there is no such thing as X breed being better than Y breed - it's down to the individual dog. If a Lab's the breed you want, great, go for it, but I'd recommend that you approach rescue with an open mind and you might be surprised and find a... oh, I don't know... Boxer, Jack Russell or crossbreed who is just perfect for you and your family. I see that happening quite a lot in rescue and have done the same myself - went looking for a young little collie cross girl but the dog which I adopted and which was perfect for us was a 9 year old ruddy great long haired white German Shepherd! Best decision I ever made!

But, if you want Lab facts, I'll try, going on my boy.

Insurance - nearly £15 per month for a policy which doesn't restrict to just a years treatment. (He's around-about 11 years old).

Food - I feed kibble mixed with Naturediet, mince, tripe or an additive free canned food. The kibble isn't cheap at £49 a 15kg sack (Fish4Dogs, additive free) but it's worth it. Hard to say how long it lasts as I also have 2 other large dogs! That would last my Lab about 5 or 6 weeks

Jabs - Vary greatly according to where you live and which vet you go to, would recommend that you ring around. DO NOT touch a rescue which sends dogs out unvaccinated unless there is good medical reason why he should not be vaxed. Likewise avoid those which do not neuter before rehoming, don't homecheck and don't guarantee to take the dog back at ANY point in his life if you can't keep him.

Many of the bigger rescues have blanket policies about not rehoming to families with young DC so approach breed rescue and the smaller independent no-kill rescues as they are more likely to decide on a case by case basis and not have a one size fits all policy.

HTH. :)

Oh and PS, I would NEVER recommend that a dog is kept outside nor would I rehome or recommend as a homechecker a family which intended to do so. He is part of your family and should be treated as such. :)

didn't see whether anyone mentioned a chip, but I would factor that in if the rescue does not do this

Good point catinthehat, another £20 or so, though I would expect a decent rescue to do this and for the chip to remain registered to the rescue throughout the dog's life.

unless you have a particular working breed and that dog is born and lives on a farm then i dont think it is fair to expect a family pet to live outside.
sorry but unless you are experienced or very very committed to training a dog and also to give it the exercise and social stimulation it needs i wouldnt rehome a dog when you have a 9mth old. i have had dogs and babies but you need to be very aware of the work involved and want a dog so much that the extra work is worth it. i wouldnt want to be without a dog but i have called 'mad dog woman' by my friends as i devote so much time to them
i completely agree with all valhalla's advice re breed and rescue dogs. i would recommend a young dog and not a pup

thankyou very much for your replies we have alot to talk about later.

We would never just get a dog without properly thinking it through which is why im on here and doing other research too. We have been thinking about this for a year now but with DD2 coming we held off for a while

I dont expect that the dog would live outside as i definatly wouldnt want this and thats not what i was saying i just woundered where other dogs sleep and would i need a kennel in general? If we did get 1 he would be with Dp in the office most of the time at night i think, and sleep there too (its quite big) and very much part of the family with me and DDs in the house in day

we shall keep an open mind on breed and age

We have three labradors - between them they eat about £60 worth of food a month. Insurance is with M and S and varies on the age of dog from £25 - £40 per month. It is the best cover I can find and covers every illness or accident, provides third party liability in case our girls cause an accident and accidental damage to the house caused by the pet, and a host of other things too. There's a small excess to pay on each condition each year, and it doesn't cover vaccinations which are about £40 each per year. Also it's wise to treat them with something like Frontline for ticks and fleas from about now until November.

All of them have a bed in the kitchen and sleep there whenever they choose. They also sleep on the sofas and our bed, but not quite whenever they choose to.

I have never had, nor ever will have a kennel. Dogs are part of our family and sleep inside. I'm not clear whether the office you refer to is in your house or somewhere else?

They have about 2 hours exercise a day - and about half an hour each with mental exercise (training exercises) which tire them out far more than running ever can. My dogs can - and sometimes do - hoon about all day outside without ever seeming tired. Make them concentrate for half an hour and they're knackered!

Just to poitn out also, that if you are getting a young lab, DO NOT over excercise them!

Their joints are still growing and cannot take the stress and this can cause problems like hip and elbow displasia later on, which could require a hip replacement for example- expensive, heartbreaking, and hard work in recovery.

We were always told to follow the five min rule when they were little- 5 min per day, per month in age. So a 3 month old pup could go on a 15min walk, 6 months a 30min walk etc.

You will also have to factor in Kennel costs if you plan to go away on holiday - can be around £12 a night which does add to the overall costs of your holiday. ALso IME you cannot walk out of the vet without paying at least £30 - for antibiotics for tummy upsets, steroids for skin complaints, annual booster jabs, worming tablets, tick treatments etc. All that without any major illness or complaint. Insurance is VITAL - one of our dogs was gravely ill and it cost over £2000 (and he died anyway :( )

BUT my biggest worry for you is the ages of your children. We waited till both out children were old enough to go out walking with the dog. Remember it is all weathers, every single day of the year. Will you really be able to cope with pushchair, grumpy toddler and bouncy dog tearing away towards a grumpy pensioner with a stick??? Will you really be able to do dog training sessions plus homework when baby is grizzling and toddler being demanding? I would wait till your younger one is walking for your own sanity!