Financial cost of getting a Labrador Puppy

poohzee

How long would a bag of Orijen last me roughly? And do you buy it from Orijen directly? Or is there a cheaper way?

manda1205

poohzee wrote: »

Can I use the clicker training to enforce bite inhibition?

We found the best way, every time Mollys teeth touched our skin at any time, we yelped (a really high and loud yelp) and removed our hand and drew it to our body. Every one of us did it and eventually if she did touch us with teeth she'd then lick it afterwards. Now its quite funny to watch her, if she does get play biting when her mouth is around your hand she just gently mouths around your hand but doesnt sink.
It does take a while for them to learn but they do get there, as long as evryones consistent. Also Labs are big time nippers. Although our 5 year old did get used to it in the end, but you'd have to watch your 2 year old a lot.

Rev

poohzee wrote: »

How long would a bag of Orijen last me roughly? And do you buy it from Orijen directly? Or is there a cheaper way?

It depends on the dogs weight. They supply a feeding guide for both working dogs and less active pets. And the feeding guide is generous so you may find you feed less than the guide. Just keep an eye on the dogs weight, if he looks over weight cut the food down, if under, give more. My 19kg staffy x needs 150g a day so a 13.5kg bag lasts around 90 days. I think £45 for three months worth of dog food is fantastic.

The puppy food worked out more expensive because they need more food when growing. So I decided not to get orijen until they were on adult food (puppy is still on AG. Older dog is on orijen adult).

As for where to buy from, there's a big sticky at the top of this forum which has a list of shops in. Have a lok at see where is cheapest.

UKTigerlily

My 13kg Staffy has 100g a day or Orijen, so about £2.50 a week if I buy the 13.5kg bags

poohzee

Great thanks again for the info - have checked out the orijen website and found the feeding guide and am off to have a look at the sticky. Thanks x

catlou

Don't know if you have heard of vets4pets?

http://www.vets4pets.com/index.asp

They do a vaccinate for life scheme which at the moment costs £99.

I am going to take my one year old dog to my local one when he will need his booster you have to pay the normal price for the first one then you get the option of signing up for the scheme. I think a booster is average £28 so after 3 1/2 years on the scheme it will have paid for itself.

You can also carry it over to another of their practices if you move.

Seems like a really good saving to me and you can then put what you would have spent on boosters towards insurance, treats or whatever!!

There was another thread about them on here somewhere.........

poohzee

Thanks catlou, but we are in Scotland, it does sound a good scheme though x

Raksha

poohzee wrote: »

Can I use the clicker training to enforce bite inhibition?

You could, but it would be quite a long process. IMHO it's far more effective to provide the dog with plenty of opportunities to play the games he wants to play in ways that don't include touching human skin.

There_Goes_Trouble

The only thing I would add is that I have found my dogs get more expensive as they are getting older. Their insurance premiums are much higher now, their excess is higher meaning that I pay more before I can start to claim, and I also now pay a % of the balance after the excess is paid. And as they're older, they are having more illnesses too.

So working out the costs now (which is excellent and I wish more people would do it!!) please bear in mind that these costs will increase with the dogs age, most significantly after about 8 years old in my own personal experience. Also, with most vets now you have to pay any fees first and then claim back from your insurance company. Most vets will do a direct claim for large bills (with my own vets that is for bills over £1000) but anything under that you pay first and then claim. Some insurance companies can take 6-8 weeks to process a claim so if you're thinking 'that's ok, I'll just put it on the credit card till the money comes through' you'll end up paying card charges. So, you need to have some money put aside in case of large vet bills, even if you have got insurance!

poohzee

Thanks everyone - have been looking into insurance costs and the policies do vary wildly! I have just been doing pretend quotes to give me a good idea of what to expect to pay when the time comes and we have a real one!

I think I am looking at around £1000 for the one off costs, this includes, the puppy, spaying, crate, doggy classes and microchipping

I am basing this on the fact that the pup will be around £600 - I have seen many advertised from £150 - £750.

I was wondering if anyone had bought a pup in Scotland and what price they paid?