Costs of owning a dog

[RepSpec]

hey all im looking at buying a puppy off my aunty soon, its a Ridgeback X collie and was curious at how much roughly it costs to own a dog
ie food, shots, and any other items that come up

also registration costs and micro chipping etc

if anyone could mention a good vet in the cranbourne sorta area that would be great too

cheers
brendan

[gtfpv]

over the 1st 12 months it cost over 1000 $$$ in vet bills . + the cost of the origional purchase . medium dog is about $20 a week to feed . +bedding + shelter. + and can cost heaps in training if the dog becomes aggresive .
flea and heart worm treatment is about $3 p week.

[cupic]

Not cheap My sister gad a shitezu 6 weeks old got sick $400 plus a range of shots every yr
pray it does get sick!

Mind you It lived for 14yrs and every day of its life we never got on

My guess is budget for roughly $35 per week for the rest of its life

Pray it dont get sick otherwise the Vets in the money

cheers

[HOON69]

Originally Posted by cupic

Not cheap My sister gad a shitezu 6 weeks old got sick $400 plus a range of shots every yr
pray it does get sick!

Mind you It lived for 14yrs and every day of its life we never got on

My guess is budget for roughly $35 per week for the rest of its life

Pray it dont get sick otherwise the Vets in the money

cheers

I own 2 of these.
10 dollar worm tablet every 3 months
$5 a fortnight for dog food(5kg bag) 2 scoops morning and night
vet check every 6 months $40-70
and then clippings etc done by a professional $70 for 2 of em
then add desexing which was already done to ours when we adopted them,and then registration per year.

pups are always going to be expensive to keep
they require needles for the first 12-18 months


if you own a large dog like a ridgy X etc its easily double the price to look after.

[Focussed]

i've got 2 large dogs, a cross breed & an american bulldog. including insurance, vets & feeding them, they cost me about $45 per week. not much imo for a loyal companion who is ALWAYS happy to see you

[Falcon_Crazy]

My Old Mate, Henry Ford, is a Cattle x Border Collie. Hes 13 now and starting to get on a bit. Cost $200 to get the chop, but feeding is cheapas. he gets Roo meat and dry food bought from a pet supplier. Roo meat is $15 for 5 KGs which lasts 3 and a bit weeks. We boil it up and add some rice. He never liked can stuff and certainly is beter for it (doesnt have runny poos or f a rt that much). Add some garlic - good for their coats and keeps fleas away. His monthly tablet costs $10 but never had worms or a flea nor suffered from tick bites.

Mind you, ive spent $8K on fixing a ligament twice - dont have kids so he's like a son and he has always been very much part f the fam. I was gunna take his leg off, but the old man was certain we could fix it.

Apart from the cost they are a living thing and a huge responsibility - make sure she wants one mate cause dogs arent like cats, theyneed a lot of attention if tey are not workin dogs

[RepSpec]

thanx guys so far good to hear what i was thinking
falcon crazy im buying one not giving one to my aunty lol


cheers
brendan

keep em coming guys and girls

[Falcon_Crazy]

Whoops..got me beer goggles on!

[EA2BA]

I strongly suggest taking the dog to training at least even to a basic level, you will both benefit if you have not owned a dog in the past, puppys need feeding 3 times a day for a while, so I hope you can manage to do that to give them a good start in life.
I only feed our dogs dry food and not what you buy at the supermarket, but from a pet store.
Feeding them science diet and they are doing well. Taking the dogs through training with ADT (Australian Dog Training).

Cost per week, no idea, dont think about, we buy what they need, they are like kids you find the money if needed and you just get used to the costs.

Also make sure you have time nearly every afternoon to play with them or take them for a walk, also be prepared for your backyard to possibly become a war zone with potholes everywhere :P

[DOC]

A pet is not measured by $, they are your best mate and if you look after them, they love you back even more and are family.

[SBR_1]

Well we have a cocka spanal,and within the 1st year the bill was through the roof.Over 5k.He has an operation on his ear,and was diagnosed with panceratitis,so now he has to be one type of food which costs an arm and a leg.Plus got him de-sexed at the same time.That was just for one week at the vets.5k bloodly hell.

[Falcon Coupe]

My dog cost $50.00 in the trading post, broken back at 6 months of age cost 4 grand !

He's 10 years old now and worth every cent.

[Mechan1k]

Originally Posted by Falcon Coupe

My dog cost $50.00 in the trading post, broken back at 6 months of age cost 4 grand !

He's 10 years old now and worth every cent.

That's the thing ... when you get any pet you love ... doesn't matter how much you spend on them. You do anything to keep them as long as you can.

What you really do need to spend though ... is time ... and plenty of it with your pet.

You need to be dedicated to look after them properly.

[RepSpec]

thanks everyone for ur input

i realize that having a dog/pet with its affection far outways what it cost to own a dog but i want to be sure that i can afford to own this little bundle of puppy before i hand over money to buy him.

like someone said before, its better to find out before u buy them that u can afford to pay for them rather than find out the hard way when they have to be taken to the rspca because u cant afford to keep them around

thanx again peoples

cheers
brendan

[Macca23]

My Partner and I decided to get a dog 1st.

We hunted around and endend up gettin a ridge back from a lady heading O/seas for $0 he had already had his 1st Needles. So we only had the next 2 or 3. and then desexing. Desexing is on the dogs weight, ours was 6mnths and weighed around 26kgs so was expensive. But once u get all the fees outa the way, its resnobly easy.


We now have 2 cats, n 2 dogs.

We guessing around $40 a week to look after all 4 now, we buy all our food bulk.
Dog traning is $25 a year a $3 every time we go, only needed 7 weeks and thats all. we go every now and then just to keep interaction with other dogs.

Best thing we could of done is get them and we wouldnt not get rid of them even if they cost $100 a week!!! i Would loose the XR6 1st!

[twr7cx]

I've got a Rodesian Ridgeback, pure bread with a bung tail and the owner had him desexed so he was cheaper.
When he was a puppy cost $400.00 to have his stomach pumped after he ate the gardens watering system - not to mention the cost of the new watering system...
Recently cost $400 odd to have his teeth cleaned because he is alergic to the plaque stuff, so although he had very clean teath to begin with for a dog of his age, they needed to be cleaner.
Then there's the food - at 65kgs I'm sure you can imagine he eats a fair bit.
Worth every penny but...

[Pinkbits]

Brendan, you probably know that we have the two Rottweilers. The cost of feeding them weekly is; 5kg minced beef at around $13, a bag of dry @ 20kg at around $30 depending what is on special- lasts nearly 2 weeks. Combined with the scraps we give them and what the old couple over the back fence spoil them with.
Worming tablets every 3 mths around $15.
Heartworm- i can't remember, and their yearly vaccination booster $40 ea, as well as council registration i think is around $45 ea.
As far as feeding, fresh is best. "landmines" roll on to the shovel so easy.

[Taxman]

Ridgeback X Collie you are going to need a BIG fenced in yard and be in a position to give it a lot of exercise. Before you finally decide to take the pup - Do a bit of research on the two breeds to find their strengths and weaknesses. The cute puppy stage only last for a short period but a properly trained dog is for a lifetime. If treated properly it will willingly sacrafice itself to protect you and yours.

I have a German Shepard X, she is about 14mts old, the biggest most affectionate sook you could ever come across when it comes to the family, but noone who does not live here can get anywhere near the house day or night without us knowing about it. A short while ago the daughter was outside playing with it and a 5 - 6ft Eastern Brown Snake (highly posionious and very agressive) came into the yard. The dog put itself between the snake and the daughter to protect her and in the process killed the snake.

Your pup is a hunter and a worker, it will needs lots of exercise and training, a large powerful dog that is not properly trained is a lethal weapon waiting to explode. A well trained dog is a pleasure to have around - they give more back than they take. I have had several heart attacks, walking and training the dog has increased my level of fitness, reduced my weight and undoubtedly extended my life.

I have the most incredibly loyal companion all because I feed her well and spend time with her. Perhaps the most important thing is to ensure the dog understands from day one you are the pack leader, it will make it easier to train. If it even minutely thinks it is or that it can ignore you, you will have nothing but trouble and it will get worse as it gets older.

[Geez Louise]

We have a british bulldog and he is one of our family... I spend $250 a week on him and wouldn't have it any other way!!! Love my boy! Dogs are expensive but they love you unconditionally...who else does that????

[Feathers]

We've just been told our dog needs to have a double knee reconstruction. $800.

She's a jack russell, but is tiny, so we thing she's crossed with something.

Poor thing, we have to carry her around a lot of the time. You can see in her eyes, she's in pain and miserable.

It's going to break our hearts to take her into the vet and leave her there for the operation, but hopefully it will help her in the long run.

[savagE]

We just spent $2400 on our dog today with no guarantee of life.
Ticks are just &uckin bastards, let alone the pneumonia which looks to be almost killing her. Extremely sad.


They are worth every cent however.

[Falcon_Crazy]

Originally Posted by savagE

They are worth every cent however.

Damn Skippy! That unconditional love they give is priceless. My old dog lives with my folks, but i see him ebery weekend. He has helped them through some tough times. After Mum had a knee reconstruction, Henry would sit next to her whilst she did her exercises, and when she got mad and cried with the pain, he'd nudge her with his snout for support.

Now hes gettin on and slow, we're makin sure we give it all back to him...

bloody dogs - they sure get to ya in a big way! ;)

[GCFordChic]

Shelby (6 months old) has cost us about:
VET:
Vaccinations:$140(set of 3, first done before we picked her up from the breeder)
Puppy Pre-school: $60
Other Vet bills (problems): $300
De-sexing and Micro chipped- $300
Worming/Flea: $90 per month

FOOD:
Approx $25 a week (premium food and extras like edible chews, treats/training food)

TOYS/EXTRAS:
toys from $2 to $20each: spent about $150 (she destroys them quite quickly)
kennel and stretcher bed: $80
Indoor bed: $40
Harness and lead: $30
Collar: $15
Car seat cover and seat belt: $60
Raincoat/jumper (she used to shiver heaps when left outside in winter): $30
If you go away a pet motel: approx $20/night

Having her around: Priceless

I don't want to add it up, but that is the sort of things I can think of. There is actually probably more...

Although it doesn't sound nice to talk about having a dog in dollar terms, it is much less nice to find out you can't afford to keep them. That's when they end up on the RSPCA's door...

[[dave]]

i think im gonna cry

[plext]

The horror dog, our German Shepherd was bought for 800 UK Pounds while I was working over there. May not have bought him had I known it was going to cost roughly $10 000 to get him back home when we left.

We use Advocate on him which is a spotton type product which keeps away fleas, ticks, heartworm, mange and most worms. Costs $85 for a six month supply.

Still needs worm tablets for tapeworm I think it is, $15 a month.

Costs roughly $30 a week to feed.

Probably a couple to three hundred in vets fees a year when averaged out over quiet years and years he manages to do something silly and hurt himself.

I have often told him he's not worth the $10k and I should have bought a Sierra Sapphire Cosworth to bring back instead. Truth is I'd have happily paid double, he's a champ.

[asusdragon]

we make out own food cost bout $25 which is wet food, dry food and treats a week
i think first year of owning a dog from puppy is going to be the most expeince looking at $1000, got like all the first injections bout 4 in the first year bout $80 each desexing if you want that i think that was $300 for us plus all the nessary stuff like kennels, bowls, leads, collers, registation, worming tablets ours is $50 every 3 months but covers everything, some cover out of the sun and rain etc etc there was a few other thing but cant remember
but there is ways over saving ther like her kennel,
we have a savage yard round the cnr of my work, and they get office furiture in all time, but yeah there was a underdesk cupboard there missing a door so got it really cheap like $25 brought some colourbong sheet up there like $5 then got some red spray paint and painted it all up came up really well, and the dog uses it all the time some dogs can be really funny with kennels
also if the dog does get sick and goes to the vet it will cost a bit so just be perpared would hate to see a dog mistreated due to you not having the cash to get her/him sorted
i know our dog sliced the back of it rear paw open though to the bone so though like a 2 tendons, and ligements and that cost bout $450
but really i not that fussed out much she has cost us, she is great dog and my partner and i both love her even know she it a bit phycotic lol.

[thefargo]

we say about $1,000 per year per dog. but as just about every one has already posted the cost is not a consideration. the unconditional love and affection really is priceless. we have 3 dogs, so $3,000 a year if they stay healthy. I tend to think about an additional $100 each dog per year for vet fees. some years it's nothing. some years its lots, so take my $100 as a very average figure. take Falcon_crazy's advice; home cooked is much better and much cheaper, but make sure you have plenty of dry food (and water) as the dry food helps keep their teeth clean.

[Ringo]

Ditto everyone's comments on costs...they cost a bit of money but you forget about it amazingly quickly.

Mrs Ringo and I have been dealing with Langwarrin Veteranary Clinic for about 12 years with our old dog and now two 11 month old pups.

Stephen Manning is the Vet's name and has a brilliant bedside manner with dogs (and their owners) and charges don't make you feel cheap and used. He may also give a freebie pack of bits n pieces when you take your pup in.

Also have anyone mentioned that young Dogs are 'morning people'? ie 7 am on a Saturday/Sunday they are full of energy and can be a little impatient and noisy (or is that just my two terrors ?)

[Yellow_Festiva]

Some home insurance companies offer extra cover for unexpected vet bills up to $3000 I think.

Worth getting if it's not much extra per month / year.

Our dog just got the snip. Was $180. Then registration, $40. Cant really remember the rest of the expenses.

[Geez Louise]

You can actually get Health Insurance from some Vets for your dog. You pay them anywhere from $2-$10 a week and in the event that your pet needs a major operation or heaven forbid a doggy funeral...it is covered. If anyone wants the name of a great dog walker (I don't have time with work to walk Vito) I have a great one I can recommend in the Eastern Suburbs.