Picking up our new puppy next week and I'm feeling anxious....

[Leapoffaith00]

It's because I'm a single parent and worry something financial may crop up. Not sure if I'm over worrying. I work part time and have no concerns re him being looked after etc. I just worry that an unexpected vet bill may crop up. I worry if the car may break down or the heating systems may break too. That's normal isn't it? As a single parent with one income. I just don't have any savings and have lived this way for 10 years being single. Always managed though.
Please can someone reassure me that everything is going to be ok. Surely tgere are lots of single parents on low incomes have a family pet?

[Leapoffaith00]

I can't change my mind now, it will break my dd's hearts. I'm so overwhelmed by the responses. I'm scared I can't afford it! I don't know what to do. It will completely break my dd's hearts. They will hate me! I have also paid 150 deposit!

[Itallt0omuch]

Fuck me I don't know anyone whose dogs cost them £750 a month ... And you call that the reality!! I know people who have pampered show dogs and they don't even spend half that.

Op that's not the reality. Learn to groom the dog yourself (regular bath/brush every day/clip his toenails ... Like people used to do before dog groomers became trendy) get the groomer to trim him ever once in a while if you want, or let his coat grow out. feed him a food that's within your price range, don't put him in Kennels if you fancy a day out yes vet bills are expensive but I'm sure you would have factored that in to your decision to get him. If you're unsure, sit down and do some sums. How much income have you got that you can dedicate to the dog, and how much will he cost you per month. Then add a bit for a contingency. If you really, really can't afford it then yes you might have to let your DDS down. But if it's doable then maybe it's more about your anxiety than anything else. £750 isn't even close to the reality of the cost of dog ownership for normal people!!

[adaline]

While £750 per month is not the norm, dogs certainly aren't cheap.

Walkers can be upwards of £10 per day (so £50/week, £200 a month) then add insurance, decent quality food, pet plans for flea and worm treatment, replacement leads, harnesses and collars for when they wear out or are grown out of, chews, toys, beds, blankets...:

Even if you do the bare minimum they're not cheap pets, and what if you get one that needs multiple surgeries? Or has allergies and needs special food? Or has behavioural issues? None of those are cheap to fix.

[PeopleMover]

You shouldn't have asked on here OP! I think most of these responses are the extreme side of Worse Case Scenario and not at all realistic.

How many people have a spare £750 a month to spend on a pet, not many, but how many people have own a dog...lots!

[CottonSock]

I agree £750 A month on dogs is a right laugh.. my horse was less

[adaline]

But you need to think about the worst case scenario @PeopleMover.

It's even more heartbreaking to have to give up your dog because you can't afford to feed them, or have to have them PTS because you can't afford to treat them.

Too many people have pets they can't afford to look after and ultimately it's the dog that suffers as a result. No, dogs don't need to cost £750 but it's the one-off costs that can cripple people - emergency surgeries, dog getting hit by a car or tearing a cruciate or needing surgery for bloat...

[MustardScreams]

This is the sort of question you should have been asking when you were just thinking about getting a dog, not when you’re picking one up in a few days and your children are excited. I’m not trying to be horrid, but owning a dog is such a commitment, and not being able to afford them, not really thinking it through first is why there are thousands upon thousands of dogs in rehoming centres.

Have the parents been screened for the common (and severe) illnesses that can affect both cockers and poodles?

[Itallt0omuch]

Are you saying that anyone who wants a dog should make sure they have say £3k sitting around in case their dog gets hit by a car? Should only wealthy people have dogs then?

[MustardScreams]

@Itallt0omuch well no, that’s not necessary if you have v good insurance. I think people are mostly picking up on how unprepared op seems, and rightfully giving worst case scenarios (which aren’t all that uncommon) to make sure the decision is truly thought through.

[BiteyShark]

No ones saying you need thousands in the bank although it helps but if you are worrying about an unexpected bill that you cannot afford in terms of something like a vet bill then I would question whether they could afford a dog. If the OP had my puppy then how would they have afforded all the vet trips?

[BrokenWing]

Are you saying that anyone who wants a dog should make sure they have say £3k sitting around in case their dog gets hit by a car? Should only wealthy people have dogs then?

Of course not, but they then either need the ability to borrow the money if needed and go into debt for potentially thousands of pounds or, be prepared to PTS.

[adaline]

Are you saying that anyone who wants a dog should make sure they have say £3k sitting around in case their dog gets hit by a car?

No, but people do need to be prepared for the costs of owning a dog, because it all adds up. I spent well over £100 on bits and pieces when I got my puppy - bowls, lead, collar, ID tag, food, treats, toys, a bed, a crate, blankets, a seatbelt for the car...then add on insurance, vaccinations, flea/worming treatment and puppy classes and it was easily £2-300 on top of the cost of buying him in the first place.

OP also has a dog that's going to need grooming, so on top of insurance you're going to need to add grooming costs - as OP is a first-time owner she probably won't know how to do it herself so that's another cost to think about every 4-6 weeks or so.

I've never had to claim on insurance so far, but he has had a couple of vet visits that cost me around £50 a go - a cut paw requiring antibiotics, another injury requiring metacam - it wasn't worth claiming on insurance as our excess was £120 but he still needed treatment for it. Then neutering which isn't included on insurance plans also cost £130 or so.

I think it's easy to say "well, I can buy insurance and won't need a walker so it won't be that expensive" but in my experience it's all the little things that add up. As an example - ours is a very heavy chewer so we need lots of chews to keep him busy and protect my house. He's not interested in a Kong no matter what you stuff it with, so I spend about £30 month on chews and bones to keep him occupied - and that's on top of his £40 a month food bill and the £26 I pay for insurance, plus the £20 he needs for joint tablets, and the £12 for the vet plan...

[TARSCOUT]

Our first three dogs literally cost us food and pts money nothing else. Older and wiser (ahem) we now have two dogs with annual insurance c£100 ea and monthly vet charges c£15 ea which covers all vaccinations, fleas, ticks, worming etc. They will both be spayed when the time comes. At the very least take out pay monthly pet insurance.

[AmazingAardvark]

Not sure if you saw this posted earlier OP, but this is a handy breakdown of the monthly costs, including insurance.
www.pdsa.org.uk/taking-care-of-your-pet/looking-after-your-pet/puppies-dogs/the-cost-of-owning-a-dog

[Kaddm]

Just get the dog and you'll be totally fine. People really are doom mongers on here and nobody would ever do anything if all they could see is a worst case scenerio.

I have an insurance plan and a vet plan. The vet plan is a monthly payment that covers stuff like worming tabs, flea spot ons, nail clipping, checkups, vaccinations etc. I find the vet plan really good value for money.

[joystir59]

The only possibly cheap dog health-wise would be a mixed breed pup. Why give yourself this grief if you are financially strapped OP

[carly2803]

OP just get insurance. Yeah they can cost a lot but some dont.

Also check with your vets which insurance companies they will claim direct from IMPORTANT. Some vets will not claim direct from some insurers

plenty of pic of your new addition ! excited for you !

[Booboostwo]

This last year alone I have paid for:

11 year old dog’s x-rays, CT scan and crucial ligament injury. He did the other leg last year.

3yo dog’s multiple vet visits And medication for pancreatitis and Related tachycardia, skin allergies and physio sessions for his elbow dysplasia (yes, parents all tested but just bad luck he got a really rare type of elbow dysplasia). His elbow dysplasia has cost thousands in x-rays, CT scans, arthroscopy and platelet injections.

1yo obsession with eating everything has resulted in multiple vet visits to make him vomit, deal with his diarrhea and one major stomach operation with hospital stay. An endoscopy revealed he has Crohn’s disease (IBS in dogs) and will be on medication for life.

Two of the dogs are on special food for their problems which is very costly plus they still need flea treatment (anything effective costs a lot), vaccines, neutering, etc.

Add to that puppy classes, training classes, a dog walker for when you are not around and kennels/house sitter for when you are on holiday.

Sorry OP, I think you need to rethink. If you can’t afford this dog it will be harder to give it up later on.

[Itallt0omuch]

No, but people do need to be prepared for the costs of owning a dog, because it all adds up. I spent well over £100 on bits and pieces when I got my puppy - bowls, lead, collar, ID tag, food, treats, toys, a bed, a crate, blankets, a seatbelt for the car...

You really didn't need to spend over £100. You need two bowls, one for food and one for water, sold in the poundshop. Collars and leads £3 each, tag £5, blankets - pound shop or an old duvet that's lying around at home, not everyone wants or needs a crate and if you do they're available second hand. People are presenting these astronomical costs as fact but this idea that a dog owner has to get everything in the pet shop, and has to be the absolute perfect dog owner with all the gear is bollocks. Go back 20 years and think how much of those new puppy "essentials" would have been thought essential then? Lots of people had perfectly healthy, happy dogs without all the gizmos. When we had puppies their first bed was a cardboard box because they would chew them up. Usually with an old duvet inside it. Of course if you walk into the pet shop and buy a puppy bed at £30, costs will rack up.

And anyone can learn to groom a dog. How do you think people coped before dog groomers?

[adaline]

You really didn't need to spend over £100.

No, probably not, but it's easy to get carried away, especially as OP has two young daughters who are going to want to get involved and buy every accessory going.

I think what people are saying is that OP sounds woefully unprepared for the realities of a dog, and that there are lots of hidden costs that she hasn't considered.

Of course you can do some of it on the cheap, but some things you can't scrimp on. If you want to go on holiday, you need to pay for kennels. If your dog gets injured, they need veterinary care. If it goes over your insurance limit, then you need access to credit cards/savings, or be prepared to face some difficult decisions.

Saying you can do it on the cheap is fine, but often you do need to spend a fair bit of money on your dog, and pretending you don't is a bit silly.

[Itallt0omuch]

No but pretending she will need to spend hundreds of pounds as soon as the dog gets home is also silly.

[missbattenburg]

Yep, lots of people spend £££ on dogs and God knows I've bought almost every doggy thing going but, for me, the minimum is...

• collar, tag, lead
• food and water bowls
• brushes, scissors or clippers if you want to learn to do this yourself; a cockapoo is going to be a real trouble if not groomed regularly
• neutering costs (assuming you will want to neuter)

About £250-300 should cover basic versions of those.

Then, per month:

• food
• vet scheme to cover flea and worm treatment etc (assuming you want to spread the cost)
• good insurance
• poo bags
• toothpaste

For a healthy cockapoo, I would imagine all of that can be covered for about £80 per month.

'Optional' extras...

For a puppy that is likely to struggle being left alone then some free care from friends/family or day care costs will also need to be added for the first few months. (£15-20 a day)

For first time dog owners then training classes will also be very useful (£60 for six).

If money is tight then putting a little bit aaside into saving to cover insurance excess as and when it's needed could also help.

I'm not sure it can be done for less than that...

[missbattenburg]

About £250-300 should cover basic versions of those.

For clarity, neutering is the vast majority of that expense and this doesn't come for several months after you get the puppy. £30-50 will more than cover the 'upfront' costs.

[Motorina]

Since I’m the one who posted about £500-£750 per month, here’s the breakdown.

Day care 3 days a week, £42 per day = £504
Two classes per week, £15 each = £120
Food £100 per month
Incidentals (toys, treats, vaccines, flea treatment...) say £50

£774 total.

That’s for two dogs, but it’s still fairly terrifying.

Day care is clearly the lions share of that, which isn’t applicable to everyone. But it’s still astonishing when you total it up.

[BrokenWing]

They will hate me! I have also paid 150 deposit!

Read the posts on this thread carefully, the PDSA links are good too. If you have made a mistake it is better to back out now and write off the £150 instead of getting into an even worse situation.