Costs

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kb16

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Hello! I realise this is very much a "how long is a piece of string" question, but myself and my partner are trying to gauge how much we need to have aside in terms of monthly/yearly costs for a dog. I was wondering if anyone felt comfortable stating their outgoing on their dog, and maybe detailing other things we, as first-time dog owners, might have overlooked. I know costs are rising so much at the moment, and things such as insurance rises every year anyways, but... I guess I'm just wondering if it's even possible to budget for! We realise in general larger breeds will be larger cost, though variable factors such as illness/medication/special food etc. etc. complicate matters....

I might be asking too much here, but thank you in advance for any responses or wisdom! I'm crossing fingers that it's something we can manage, I've wanted a dog since I was about 9 (And I'm nearly 39 now!)
 
My two dogs (small breed) cost about £20 a month to feed. £30 each on monthly groomers and (until recently) about £34 each a month on insurance.

Luckily both dogs have been in robust health, and apart from a slight health scare with one dog in the spring, veterinary costs have been for routine things - vaccinations, wormers, flea treatment.

Both dogs have had dental treatment- which was about £200 a pop (they are both 8 years old).
 
My 2 large breed dogs cost £25 per month on feed, as they got older their insurance got to £75 each per month ( then got cancelled). Flee, wormer etc about £150 each per year. Approx £200 each for other non insurance vet things (vaccines/ titre tests). Allow extra for ad hoc vet stuff that isn't big enough for insurance (injury needs metacam / check a dodgy tummy etc). What will you do with them when you go on holiday ( boarding is not cheap).
 
I regret doing this (for reference 3 dogs....2 whippety types 8yo and 5yo and a terrier x 3yo)

Food (raw) - £80pm
Supplements - £15 (not purchased every month but that's how the cost averages)
Insurance - £127
Pet plan from vets £37 (I don't flea or worm treat monthly but the no one off cost for vaccinations, 6 monthly health checks and discounts on appts make it worth it for us)
Poo bags £10 (I buy in bulk but that's roughly what it works out as)

I also pay £6 a month for pit pats, £70 per month for flyball training and competition entries. I darent calculate the fuel costs!

That's all without presents, kit etc. I spent £40 this weekend on collars for Christmas ?‍♀️
 
I think it can be the extras that people forget, for example I have just got 3 advocate flea treatments for dogs under 10 kg plus a spray for the house and it came to just over £70 . I’ve got 2 small terriers and a whippet cross puppy and at the moment it cost me £45 per month for Wolfworthy, which is 80per cent meat and 20 percent veg in kibble form, plus I use meat pouches as toppers which come to about £50 as some of them are for puppies so a bit more expensive. You can either brush their teeth or buy some sort of dental chews or things like dried pigs ears or similar to keep their teeth free of tartar..They can be about £1 each . Then you need to factor in annual vaccinations as well apart from any vet visits for illness or accident. My puppy has a habit of eating anything and everything and in 2 weeks he cost me almost £200☹️☹️
 
I have large breed dogs (Danes, Dane mixes and a Doberman x GSD). I feed raw and it’s by far the cheapest way I’ve found and the best in terms of their health. One Dane costs me -

£130pcm on food
£375 per year on insurance
£100pcm paid into an account of ‘just in case’
£40pcm physio, every month without fail
£60 a year vaccinations
And I only flea and worm as needed.
I would also think about things like cost of bedding, collars etc. If you have large breeds, these things are expensive. For instance, I use Big Barker beds, these are £350ish, and so to have a special shaped one put in the car, and a hefty dog guard and cage door cost me £700.

However, I have always had enormous dogs. I know terriers are significantly cheaper to run! ?
 
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I have two dogs.
Food is £44 a month - Millie's Wolfheart - I was on raw for the longest time but I could never make it work as cheaply as some - definitely nowhere near as cheaply as that!
Insurance is 66 pounds a month

Incidentals
Mrs Spaniel is on Yumove - £13.77 a month
Both have Salmon Oil £9.00 - lasts about 6 weeks more or less.
Jabs this year were £140 for both - last year it was £90 for both!
Grooming - once every 8 weeks for Mrs Spaniel - £42.00
Flea treatment - as and when £28.00

Mine are sporting dogs so I pay £40 per dog once a quarter to have a physio check them over.

Weekly Obedience class cost - £16.00 per month
Weekly Flyball training - £15.00 per month
Weekly Agility Training - £100.00 a month
I dare not think about how much I spend in petrol ferrying them to classes/comps!

And they are spoiled rotten with bedtime snacks, treats and toys when we are out competing and hanging around and the stalls are just TOO tempting!

Plus leads, bowls, beds, crates etc to be replaced as and when!

And if you get an idiot like my collie - factor in replacement for damage to house, possessions and car!!!
 
I’m not even going to start. But I’ve spent £3000 on vets on 3 different dogs over the last 8 weeks. And I buy food by the pallet.
I’ve got 6 Labradors and 2 beagles though.
 
I’ve only had my puppy a month so haven’t really worked this out yet (and not sure I want to!) but I spent far more in the first month than I thought I would. Some on essentials, some on toys etc. I do make my own treats though which works out much cheaper than buying (especially with the amount we get through doing training) and I know exactly what is in them. She’s almost outgrown her first harness already so definitely be prepared to buy multiple harnesses and collars. I went with a very cheap one initially and bought it in two sizes, as long as it fits and is comfortable I’m not hugely worried about how well made / durable things like that are at this stage.
 
I rely very heavily on the likes of Facebook marketplace and second hand purchases for things like crates and beds, especially as noted when you have a young pup growing out of things.
Most people will sell crates for very cheap, particularly, the travel/airline style as they are bulky/hard to store and people often want rid of them for space.

As mentioned, biggest costs would be unexpected things, my female caught a bug late last year and was in the vet for one Friday night and that set me back almost 300 quid.

Agree, a slip leash or collar will fit any dog ;)
 
Clodagh said:
I wouldn’t shell out on a harness, they are terribly bad for dogs movement, stride and development. Imo!
Click to expand...
As someone who's recently ditched the harness I'm much happier with her movement now. Annoyed at myself for not removing it sooner.

As for costs I wouldn't spend too much on toys until you know your dog likes to play with them, even more so for chew toys.

Get insurance starting from the day the breeders insurance runs out.

No matter what you budget, inevitably you will end up spending more. Vet check and initial vaccination course, if you want to flea and worm then that can be costly as well. I'd advise only getting essential things at the start as your pup will soon outgrow them, going second hand as mentioned above by CC is a good idea. You can spend more on new stuff later in the dogs life if you wish to do so.

Photos are free so take plenty!
 
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Third part insurance is a must, as you will be liable if your dog injures someone, even if it's an accident such as the dog tripping someone up resulting in a broken arm so they sue for loss of earnings.

Even if the dog is insured for vets fees I would have at least £500 (as a minimum) put aside that you can easily access for any emergency costs; if your vet requires clients to pay up front then claim from their insurance then it would probably be more realistic to have an emergency fund of around £2k (a badly broken leg from a fall or RTA, or eating something poisonous etc can easily rack up a big bill very quickly). Obviously individual owners will have different cut-off points regarding what they would be happy to spend. Some people use an interest free credit card for this rather than cash savings. Hopefully it's never needed but as we've seen on other threads too many people at the moment are having to beg or rehome their dog when they can't afford an unexpected vet bill.
 
Insurance takes 2 weeks to properly kick in, so I would insure from the day you pick up the puppy, regardless of when the breeders insurance runs out.

I had never previously considered how much it costs to keep my three. I suppose all in with insurance, food, vaccinations, wormers, training classes etc, it must be around £250 a month. Ouch.
 
I have budgeted about £60-80 per month for the mostly whippet. This covers food, (wet, dry , joint supplements, Plaque Off and chews) insurance and flea/worm treatment. Most vets do a Health Club thing for discounted stuff. Insurance is high as he's older, most increase around 8 years old, and some really restrict the policy at this point. VetsUk, and Pet Drugs online do good discounts and weirdly Ocadao and Waitrose for wet food.
TBH, you find the money somehow for the other stuff like beds, blankets and toys.
And if you get a sighthound, you resign yourself to no haircuts and charity shop clothes ?!
 
Wow! Thank you for your diligent costings, dear friends. I lost my last dog (greyhound x whippet) some years ago, and often think of getting another medium-sized dog. Now retired, I have Old Horse and King Kevin Kat. Demanding autocrats, who are eating my bank account down to the bare bones.
No dog affordability now. Thanks for the reality check.
 
hi everyone, thank you so much for your responses! (I was originally browsing a few Mumsnet threads, costs were wildly varied from between about £80-100 to one lady spending £800pcm on her sprocker (mostly for daycare I believe) I wanted to get as many opinions and realities as possible, so thank you so much).

At the moment dog ownership doesn't seem to be a sensible route for us, as much as that pains me to say and as much as I want it to happen. I think we may have managed it, but with the unknown financial factors of UK costs in the next two-ish years, it just seems better to wait it out a bit more for us. Our original plan was to try for an adult rescue first (we're in fairly good stead - active, both work from home and no visiting children) and if that didn't pan out then we were going to look into puppies. Things such as older dogs being difficult to insure/impossible to insure was something I didn't really realise, so again, thank you for this knowledge. Third party insurance was something that never even crossed my mind!!

Hopefully one day I can come back here and show you all photos of our "Finally, A DOG!" haha. But I don't think this is going to be any time soon. I will live vicariously through you all! Take care!! :)
 
1, 11 year old, 22kgish, collie cross, let’s go with 4-weekly costs -

Food - about £25
Yumove joint supplement - £20
Medication (heart murmur and arthritis) - £100
Librella injection (arthritis) - £87
Booster jabs - £3 (approx £35, annually)
Free, tick & worm treatments as and when, but about £20.

Poo bags and daily treat are absorbed into our grocery budget.
His basic harness and lead were probably about £20. His specialised harness for rear leg support (post-op) was about £75. He has 2 orthopaedic beds at £150 each. We also have a telescopic ramp to get in and out of the car boot which was £150. Raised bowls were about £20. Various pieces of vet bed for £18 each.

He’s probably had at least 5 different bed over the years, between £20 - £60 each. He’s had a new toy probably quarterly through his life, maybe £5 a piece. When he was post-op there was weekly physio at £50 a session, for 6 weeks. And hydrotherapy sessions twice a week, for 6 weeks, at £40 a session. Plus the cruciate op itself, which was about £150 for diagnostic X-rays, then £2.3k for the TPLO.

He’s the most expensive member of the household, and I absolutely adore him. I also control our budget down to the penny, to make sure we can continue to afford him, plus our other pets - including another senior cat.
 
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