How much will we be spending on a new puppy in the long term?

[Dailywalk]

We’re hoping to get a puppy in the next few weeks/months but to try to be prepared I’m looking into how much it’s likely to cost in the long term. Once we’ve bought stuff like dog bed, car harness, toys, initial chip and jabs, then how much will be likely to pay going forward.

I’ve been told to expect about £10 in vets fees and about the same for insurance.

What kind of costs should I expect for food? Is £40 a month about right?

We will be walking it ourselves so no need for a dog Walker but is there anything else I’ve not thought of which will be a regular cost?

It’s likely to be a sprocker that we go for.

I don’t want to find ourselves with an unexpected regular fee so trying to do my research thoroughly now before we make a long term commitment.

Vets and insurance should have said £10/month

Grooming?

We got a puppy in February, we pay £10 a month in insurance ( it's not the best policy but better than nothing ) probably about £25 on food and then another £10-15 on treats and chews and then a few new toys every month. She will be spayed soon so that will cost a bit . Worth every penny thou , can't imagine not having my lovely doggie

Food costs will depend on quality and type. You’ll have an excess on insurance so you may spend more. Flea, wormer, grooming. Our dogs destroy toys so we have to buy a lot. Possibly replacing things they chew, from slippers to sofas and doors. 😬

Also, adopt don’t shop! Awaits to be jumped on for that comment. 😜

Insurance is more than 10/ month. We pay closer to 40 and vets is extra (we don’t have a vet plan) but pay around 10/ month for worming / jabs.

Food depends what you feed it. We pay a bit less than 40. Other costs are treats/ bones and toys as they get destroyed. Replacement collar occasionally

Insurance likely to be around £35 a month with petplan. Vet fees will be about £15 a month if you’re on a health plan and deflea/tick/worm regularly.

£10! who told you that? Insurance more like £30 for any sort of decent cover. Assume you're thinking about the care plan vets offer. This is basically just a way of spreading the cost of vaccines/flea and worm treatments and is more like £15-20 per month. They don't cover the cost of neutering, consultations or illness. The cost of food will depend on whether you feed a quality brand or supermarket brand.
One thing I will say is have you checked if any local vets are taking on new patients? There's not a vet in a 20 mile radius of me that hasn't closed its books to new clients. There is a massive staffing issue in the industry at the moment.

May sure you don’t get an insurance policy that only pays out for 12 months per condition - you need decent one that will pay out for the lifetime of the pet.

Also a good insurance policy is a must. Our dog was diagnosed with a condition, we had a policy which covered £7500 and we had to pay another £4k ish on top to save her life. We now always choose the policies which go up to £12k ish.

Insurance for us started around £30 a month and we are now just over £50. Don't forget all the costs for things under the insurance excess which will be for each issue and can mount up. My excess is £85.

My vet plan is around £15 per month which includes all worm/flea treatments and vaccinations apart from kennel cough which is extra.

You might get away with no professional grooming for a sprocker by I go regularly with my cocker because he is a mud magnet and keeping him short means he dries quicker as he needs rinsing after most walks.

You may get away with training online but if you are struggling then you will need to pay for professional tuition. And with a sprocker that could require a gun dog trainer

£10 a month for insurance for a sprocket seems cheap. Not including vet bills. The thing to remember about insurance is that the first year you’re likely to get an introductory offer and it’ll be cheaper. The subsequent years, you don’t have that introductory offer and the cost of insurance increases as the dog ages. You need to take into consideration if your insurance policy is actually going to meet the demands of having a dog. You want to make sure you’ve got lifetime illness included and you ideally want maximum cover for vet fees if you can afford it.

For routine vet stuff - worming, flea treatment, jabs, I would say that averages to £10 a month. Then one off additional costs such as spaying and small case illnesses that aren’t worth claiming on the insurance (e.g a course of antibiotics for an ear infection isn’t usually worth claiming on the insurance).

Food you can get cheap or expensive. The amount you need will depend on the size of the dog. Our 15kg cockapoo cost us about £35 a month for a decent but not ridiculously expensive food. It may cost more if your dog has intolerances or allergies. In addition to food, you have treats. You want good quality, tasty treats for training. You’ll want chews, some shorter duration chews and some longer duration chews. With a sprocker, you’re likely to need quite a few chews but it’s difficult to know how many you’ll get through until the dog is a bit older and you might find you have periods of teething where you need to spend more.

Beds can be an ongoing costs if your dog is a chewed and destroys them. Even if they aren’t a chewer, you might find you need fo replace the bed if they’ve been particularly ill.

Toys can be a regular cost depending on how quickly your dog destroys them. You won’t know that until you get the dog though.

Training really needs to be a regular cost factored in. I would say you want to be attending revalue training until pup is about 18 months old because they will adolescent behaviours which might be challenging.

Grooming is a regular ongoing cost. You might need the dogs claws trimmed more frequently than their coat so would need to factor that in too (some people don’t like doing their dogs claws).

Other unseen costs - dog could chew through their lead and you need to buy a new one. Dog could chew a handbag, shoes, your couch…

£10 insurance seems rather low. Ours is around £35 a month (although the Pet Plan quote was £85 a month ). Then £16 a month pet club subscription to get his flea & worming tablets (also has other benefits).

Kennels/dog boarding fees?

Around here grooming is £25 a time.

Add food, treats (general and training), toys, one off expenses like beds/crate etc...

I do feel like I'm hemorrhaging money on him at the moment.

Don't forget the cost of replacing wallpaper and flooring...
Ime.

Add food, treats (general and training), toys, one off expenses like beds/crate etc...

Our dog got through a lot of beds, definitely not a one off expense for us. 😅

Can't comment about dogs but our 13 year old cat costs about £130pcm. Pet Plan is expensive but covers ongoing chronic illnesses as well as emergencies.

I imagine a dog will be more expensive.

Insurance £60
Routine vet £10
Ins excess £11
Food £50
Cat sitter £20 (two holidays)

That's £150 for a cat and even PetPlan now only pays £80%.

A dog will be more so think hard op.

I'd be surprised if you get insurance under about £30-40 pcm (more for a large breed or one notorious for health issues). Look for a lifetime policy with no 'per condition' limits and ideally a minimum of £7k cover.

Vet club for wormers etc - costs will vary by size of dog and I'd say £20 and upwards

Then food - amount depends on how much they eat, and varies enormously depending on what you feed them - Chappie costs less than a fiver for 6 tins, a posh brand would be approaching £15

You will also need to buy training treats, chews and replacement toys. Of you're going to let your dog chase balls, you'll probably be replacing them lots.

Grooming can cost anything from 0 (after outlay for tools including nail clippers) to £70 a time - depending on size of dog and nature of coat.

Cost of puppy classes varies considerably - if you're a first time owner, don't skip these.

Puppies cannot legally be sold under 8 weeks and must be chipped by that age, so you won't need to chip the puppy (will be included in purchase price) but there will be a fee to re-register it to you.

Then initial set up costs - bed, bowls, lead, harness, crate/stairgates if using, and a suitable restraint for the car. Consider adding idc reflective/light up collar, coat, dog proof throws for the sofa, upgraded hoover, cooling mat in summer.

And even if you don't need to use a walker, you may need to budget for boarding/kennels for holidays and emergencies

Our insurance is about £25 pcm, plus another £16 for the vets club - that means we get vaccinations, worming and flea treatments, an annual checkup thrown in, and 10% off any other bills. You can get insurance quotes off somewhere like Compare the Market for a better idea - we had lots of quotes for Hypothetical the Labrador before we went for it and brought the pup home

Training costs us £12 a session, booked in blocks of 10. You can pay less than that, but do budget for some training classes, for at least the first year and probably beyond. It’s not just the mechanics of the training that you get, it’s the working around other dogs that is so useful, ime.

Think also about things like your car - will you need a bigger one, or will you be ok? Are you going for a boot liner and dog-guard, which can be cheap or expensive depending on your car and what will fit? Or a harness, which might lead to your seats being a bit chewed with a puppy? Or a car crate, again can be cheap or expensive? Also things like holidays, you’ll need kennel or dog sitting fees, or a pet passport, or to pay an extra fee in most uk cottages (not normally a huge amount but it’s best to be aware I think).

Oh, and poo bags - how could I forget poo bags! (Bulk buy when you see them on offer)

Another one to echo getting good insurance cover. Our cocker has been diagnosed with IMPA at 11 months, & just getting to a diagnosis has cost nearly £7k.

Insurance premiums usually go up each year (I got a fixed for life policy from Bought By Many but I think this has been discontinued for new customers - I added pup to my existing policy).

We pay £60 pm for insurance plus a complete care plan (for worming/ fleas). We also pay £40 per week for dog care. Then food, toys, grooming. In total must cost us around £250 pm.

I’ve got a show cocker who costs me a small fortune each month:

Insurance £100
Food £60
Treats £30
Grooming £30
Vet plan £18
Eye drops £30

He’s 10 now so insurance has got expensive and has dry eye which is no longer covered under his policy.

Don’t forget costs such as insurance will only go up.

Our insurance is about £35 a month and vet plan is another £30 a month. Food is about £40 a month. Dental sticks about another £10. Groom every 6-8 weeks so probably averages about £20 a month.

So about £135 a month plus all the toys, leads, harnesses, brushes, clippers, tooth brush, toothpastes, beds, shampoo, sprays etc.

Plus the new carpet we needed in the living room and the new legs on the kitchen cabinets

All the leads, harnesses, beds, toys, your clothes etc they will chew and destroy over the first few months. If they get hold of your car keys could be a few 100 at a time!
Training classes, additional treats, enrichment equipment for feeding…….. the list is endless!

@Dailywalk

Vets and insurance should have said £10/month

Insurance goes up every year. It’s £15 a month for our two year old. It will probably be at least triple that by the end of her life. We pay £13 a month to the vet to cover monthly flea and worm treatments, annual vaccinations and one consultation a year.

Biggest expense for us has been vet. Insurance is about £40 a month, with a £95 excess. She's needed a few vets visits, some we got back from insurance, but has cost us about £300 this year. We're about £60 a month for food.