Financial cost of getting a Labrador Puppy

poohzee

After growing up with a Yellow Labrador, I have finally convinced my husband that to complete our family we need a dog and I want a yellow lab again. We have a good sized house, with large back garden and the beach is just down the road from us, so lots of lovely walks there. My kids are 5 and 2 so I only work 2 half days a week. We do have a cat at the moment who is 9 but cats just aren't dogs when it comes to pets...if that makes sense!

We are looking to take on a pup in April, if we find one that likes us and we like it! I would want a !!!!!.

The information I am looking for is what sort of cost are we looking at? We want to go into this with our eyes wide open and be financially ready for her, so could give me a rough idea of costs per year? I have read that they cost around £7.50 a week to feed. But I also want to factor in any injections / boosters, spaying costs, micro chipping, insurance and anything else I haven't thought of!

Thank you very much for your time, and I hope you had a lovely Christmas

qazitory

Sorry I don't have a lab, but a cross breed that is a similar size.

* injections cost roughly £30 a year
* a bag of dog food from Costco (Bakers) lasts about two months is £15
* Insurance is roughly £10 a month

If I remember rightly the chipping was about £25/30?

Sorry not much to go on,but it's well worth the cost

UKTigerlily

Helloooooooo, it'll vary but I think a Microchip is anything from free to £30, normally about £15/£20? Spaying is about £150 at a guess but could be up to £200, mine would have cost £140 full price, but it'd depend where in the country, do ring round all the local Vets though, prices can vary hugely between practices even within a few miles. About £5 a week for food if a premium brand, mine is Orijen & costs £2.50 a week but my Dog is about half Lab sized, it'll maybe cost more while young. Wormers cost me £20 a year for Milbemax (4 pills a year) & £29.88 a month for Pet Plan Insurance. Flea treatment can be reasonable if it's something like Frontline bought online, about £20? for six I think.

Then factor in kennels/pet sitter if needed for any holidays you have, toys, beds, Vet bills as normally you pay first then the Insurers pay back, mine all in is about £60 a month x

sandiep

labradors are canine dustbins, so you can use them as waste disposal units for all your cooked leftover foods. Cheap foods like rice, cereal etc, can all be part of their diet very safely. Don't worry about expensive dogfoods.

manda1205

LOL, you sound just like me, cept we now have a black lab, who's 7 months old now. TBH the initial cost of her and her injections, chipping and bed etc(and a new fence as she managed to get into next doors garden), was probably around £650. The worming and fleeing has been £7 a month from our vet. Food isnt too bad, Ive been buying bulk from petsathome, whenever her food is on offer and at a guess a 15kg bag(cost £30) has lasted us over a month. The biggest cost, I think, is buying toys and bedding. Our Molly tends to shred a lot of bedding, Ive now resorted to buying settee throws from QD as shes doesnt do it to these and then buy new when they get a bit stinky. Toys and treats prob cost £4-£5 although I tend to keep an eye out for offers on certain treats then buy lots at once.
Although we sometimes moan how much she costs we wouldnt be without her and, like you said, completes our family.

Rev

sandiep wrote: »

Don't worry about expensive dog foods.

But do worry about the quality of the food. Bakers, pedigree etc are the dog equivalent of macdonalds. Decent dog food works out cheaper in the long run. You feed less because the quality is better, so it lasts longer.

Have a look at burns, arden grange, skinners, csj, orijen (orijen seems very expensive, but one bag lasts me 66 days feeding two dogs and it's amazing stuff, dogs have calmed right down, their coats are amazing and there's very little waste, ie poo) and I'm sure others can add those I've missed. If you want wet food, look at naturediet, naturesmenue and weinwrights. Cost me a few quid a week to feed two dogs, and I feed dry mixed with wet.

I have a 16 week old puppy, his vaccinations cost around £26 each, his microchip was free. When I asked the vet how much the microchip was, he gave me the local dog wardens number who came out the following day and chipped him for nothing. If your local warden doesn't do that,the PDSA charge £14 and vets can be anything up to £30 (I called around when getting my boy chipped). Worming tablets cost a few quid every two weeks till they're 12 weeks (I took my boy the vet to get him weighed and make sure the dose was right, plus the pet shop wormers aren't that great), then one every three months.

Insurance cost me £15 a month for lifetime cover with NFU.

Hope thats of some help.

Fire_Fox

sandiep wrote: »

labradors are canine dustbins, so you can use them as waste disposal units for all your cooked leftover foods. Cheap foods like rice, cereal etc, can all be part of their diet very safely. Don't worry about expensive dogfoods.

If you continually pad out a complete dog food with quantities of carbohydrate foods, you risk the dog not getting sufficient quality protein or micronutrients. There is an (often subtle) difference between thriving and surviving, it doesn't always become apparent until many years down the line.

By all means give the dog leftovers but make sure there is a balance of bioavailable protein, carbohydrates, essential fats and vegetables. If your leftovers are largely rice and cereals, then it might be wise to feed a high meat content dry food such as Orijen or Applaws or a basic dog meat such a Chappie.

As Rev says I can vouch for the overnight change in my cat's poop when I feed high meat dry and/ or a raw diet. He has gone from up to three stinkers per day to one tiny hard doing, much much nicer to clean up after!!

emlou2009

For microchipping, check with your local council. Ours do it for £10 per animal, and come to your house to do it too

bethie

also look in to costs associated with any activities you might want to do with the dog, such as training/puppy classes, or, as they get older, possibly agility or flyball.

you may also want to splash out on a crate - it became a lifesaver after my boyfriend finally caved in and let us get one - no more chewing naughty things!!

poohzee

I knew I would find a wealth of knowledge on here at MSE!!! I have been looking at heaps of pet forums and as with everything else I always return here! Thanks for all your replies so far - please keep them coming!

poohzee

I do want to go to doggy training classes - nothing extreme - just sit, down etc and although I thought I would never say it but yes a crate too. Still not sure about these extendable leads, but my mum has one for her dog and swears by it.