What does it cost to keep a dog?

[MTBMummy]

So we're about to get a dog, DP is on board, DC is on board, I've been on board for the last 10+ years

We're moving house in September and it seemed like the right time to look at getting a puppy. Due to 2 cats, small child (although she's used to dogs) and our eventual activity needs from a dog a puppy has been recommended by breeders, vets and rescues.

But so we make sure we're not biting off more than we can chew - really, what are people paying monthly on their dog, insurance goes without saying, how much does food cost, I'm assuming there are brands that are better than others, is a raw food diet a good supplement, or should it be the main diet?

Please can you help with any advice to make sure we're going into this decision with our eyes, hearts and wallets open.

Thanks

I spend £10 a month on insurance and then anything between £12-£20 pm on food and every other month a big bag of dried off. That's your main cost for food. Initially your gonna need bed/toys/bowls I spent £75 in one go at first. Then it's extras on top. Dental sticks £1.50 a week. Are you planning on washing it your self or groomers? My dog goes every 4/6 weeks at £25 a go but have bought him special shampoo today for an allergy £11. Then you have injections your looking around £70 to start with microchipping then annually £25 to keep him up to date. He also gets treats and toys when we go shopping if we see something we think he might like. Except to change collate every 3/4 months when they growing. Anymore questions just holla. X

By the way what dog you looking at getting? Will need puppy pictures :) x

Well, I pay:
£13 insurance for dog 1, £11 for dog 2
£18 food for dog 1 (Burns Alert, dog has allergies), £8 for dog 2 (much smaller dog, also on Burns food)
£10ish on flea/worming stuff
Maybe £10 on stuff such as shampoo, equipment, grooming, toys etc (and that's being conservative, I tend to spoil them)

Plus kennels when we travel (£9 a day per dog) and the unexpected vets trips and standard stuff like vacs.

So, about £50ish a month for the bigger dog (cocker/springer cross), and £25ish on the little one (cocker/poodle cross)

I have a collie x poodle who costs me, per month:

£13 insurance

£14 food (12.5kg bag of Applaws for £42 last about 3 months)

£10ish for Advocate and Milbelmax flea and worming treatments

£10ish on treats/replacement bloody tennis balls etc!

Vaccinations were done under a vaccination for life scheme, so paid £100 initially but all subsequent boosters are free.

Microchipping done for free under a scheme our local council was running.

Speying (being done in October) is going to be about £130

I supplement her diet with raw bones from the butcher, who kindly lets me have them for free, plus I always cook extra pasta and rice as she loves this with a raw egg mixed in (strange dog!!)

I get her clipped professionally 3 times a year at a cost of £25 a time, and tidy her up myself in between.

You've also got to factor in training classes when they are young as it's important that they are well socialised and trained to avoid problems when they are adult.

What kind of dog are you thinking of getting?

We pay about £13 a month insurance for our golden retriever/ lab cross. Worming, flea treatment, toys, treats and food come heavily discounted as my parents own a pet shop.(lucky me!) Castration was about £190 and injections about £50 a time.

We have a Labrador puppy

Petplan insurance £28/month

Pet Health Care plan £14/month (includes advocate, worming, health checks etc)

Dog walker £10 hr

Food £50 / 15kg bag (£1.20ish a day)

Puppy training £10/week

Then add on toys, leads, collars, cages, harnesses, car transport harnesses, poop bags, treats, vacs, carpet cleaning etc etc etc

Wellies & rain proof jackets for everyone who walks them

Our wee puppy has cost a fortune so far!

Thanks everyone, that's really useful, I wanted to make sure that we knew exactly what we were getting into and weren't going to put ourselves into an unfavourable financial position.

As to what dog, the honest answer is not sure, I'd love a patterdale terrier, but lab crosses are generally lovely dogs too. Basically as long a its a med to large and has a relatively high activity level it'll be the perfect dog for us :-)

My jack russell x beagle is a med dog and he is soo good with kids well anyone really, i worry if we ever got broken in to he would lick them to death rather then bite them. He is so good to the fact we can take food out of his mouth while his eating it and he will just look at us and wander off. don't know how to post picture otherwise i would x

Patterdales are small to medium dogs ( not medium to large ) and I would definitely recommend against it with a cat. We got ours from Battersea at 15 weeks and although I'd heartily recommend them for active families most are untrustworthy with small furries .

Make sure you find out about its character and temperment too. Our pup costs all of the above plus hundreds more in behaviourists , extra training and socialisation classes as we weren't told she was fear reactive and aggressive when we got her!

7 year old Lhasa Apso, £29 a month for insurance and about £25 a month on food. He also has a skin condition which requires special shampoo, occasional steroids and antibiotics which isn't covered by insurance (annoyingly). So I have quite an expensive pet.

I have a collie and we got her for £50 that was all not per month it is usually £10 for dog food we buy a big pack of dog food witch last's us 1 month usually tennis balls cost £1:50 to £2:00 flee stuff cost up to £15

oh and bad cost £80

Two large dogs, elderly now. £75+ for each dog's insurance each month. But just spent £800 for a weekend's stay at vet for one (she's fine now).

2 working cockers, one only 5 months so a bit pricier to run :)
Insurance: about £20 a month each
Pet health plan: £15 a month each
Food: £50/£60 a month but good quality food, both active dogs, older dog being built up for the start of the season and pup is on three meals a day
We are about to have 2 passports done: £160
Factor in kennels/ dog sitter for holidays
Good quality car cage or dog guard could set you back a fair bit depending in your car
Excess at vets is £80
No grooming to speak of

Hi I have a 2 year old springer x lurcher she costs about:
£26 a month insurance, which is fully inclusive.
£14 a month dry food
£20 month wet food, organic stuff recommended by experts but costs the earth! She loves if though
£10 month flea/worm treatment
£10 ish month toy/treats/entry into events she goes to.
£10 months agility training.

Basically a small fortune but she is totally worth every penny.
Incidentally she was from a litter headed to rescue, are you planning to go through a rescue?
Her boosters cost about £50 a year plus she gets kennel cough drops and her teeth checked, claws clipped if they need it etc. all for that £50.

This is a UK forum? I had no idea .

Sorry, can only give you USD...but roughly the same as above posters.

$30 / mth for Golden
$40 / mth for food (check out this site on making economic home made meals vs. commercial dog food: dogfoodnomore.com/)
$15 - 30 / mth ish for medical expenses
$30-ish for toys and treats?

~$85 - $130 / mth for everything (low range, less medical expenses - if at all, and also no toys and treats)

Hope this helps
Baggio

Sorry, correctoin

$30/mth insurance for Golden ;)

Food £40-£50
Insurance is £20 odd
to spay cost £200
injections are £30 annually
advocate and wormer on top
fleece blankets £1.60 from ikea:o
crate
£50??

tbh the main expense is vet bills, ones you do not envisage. My old dog cost me 2 grand last year. She had actue gastirtis that led to hospitalisation £600 and I had no insurance at the time then she had a tooth abcess and had to have loads of dental work, another £600 - not covered by insurance- then unfortunately she got knocked down by a car a couple of weeks ago and I pay for all her pre treament, euthanasia and cremation and that was over £700 :( so that's the kind of thing you need to consider imo/ The day to day costs are minimal in comparison. The older they get the more they cost you, ime

and when i watch that paul o'grady program it seems quite common that a lot of strays and hand ins have a fair amount of vet work that needs doing and I imagine it's people not being able to afford it
which really is a shame, but you really must consider the ongoing costs of keeping your dog well and healthy into their old age

My 2 cocker spaniels cost roughly £40 a month each "to run". This includes flea/workers/insurance etc. You do have the outlay of bedding, toys and bowls. Also bear in mind that any vets bill usually have to be paid for upfront and then claimed back, one of our dogs recently cost us £750, its a lot to just suddenly find!

that's what I mean cathpip, we have to pay half of fees before anything is actually done and then you have to pay the full amount before the dog can be released. I can apparently claim the last lot back through the insurance but I haven't got round to doing it yet (vet said they will take over)

I have also had to use the bank of Mum for a loan for my dog once

I average about $150-180 per month for a 2 year old retriever..

Stan B.
NYC
www.pethealthsupplies.net