Im thinking of getting a dog - is this financial madness - LOL!

gratefulforhelp_2

foreign_correspondent wrote: »

With a labrador, if taking on a pup, I would be looking for one that is from parents with an excellent hip score. Hip dysplasia is common in labs and can affect them badly from a young age. It can be painful, disabling, and very costly to treat - even if you are insured, lots of big vets bills will cause most insurers to push up their excess, or even their premiums.

See here for more about hip dysplasia:
http://www.lab-health.co.uk/Charlies_story/charlie.htm.

Just finished reading the info on this link and still blubbing my eyes out. Thanks, we are thinking of a lab puppy too.

Wow

SuperMum2010 wrote: »

Anyway - we now have an opportunity to take a choc lab pup Is this financial madness?

In a word, yes.:)

Rev

Dogs are blooming expensive things aren't they.

Vaccinations vary from vet to vet, I paid £28 per needle. Neutering a male dog in my vet is £90, more for a female. Microchipping can cost anything from free to £35. Then there's food (please stay away from crap like bakers, pedegree and iams), insurance (even with insurance you'll need to pay the excess), accessories (bowls, collars, toys, treats, leads, harnesses), puppy classes (should you want to take him to these), boosters. And thats just the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

I'd basically sit down and work out all the costs involved, if you think you're in a position to look after the dog, go for it, dogs are a great addition to a family.

moomin5

I don't know if there are any greyhound groups in NI but here's some that are in Ireland. Most of those export dogs to England & Europe so i doubt your location would be a problem.
kerry greyhounds often have cat friendly greyhounds.
irish animals lists greyhounds for rehoming from a few rescues, its probably better to contact the rescues directly to check if they have any dogs suitable to live with cats/children than rely on what's advertised as it might not be up to date.

You can keep a dog on a reasonable budget with big sacks of dry food (I feed my greyhound skinners at £20 a month tho there are cheaper options) and folded duvets make good beds, bowls & collars etc can be bought cheaply if you don't want anything fancy, wormers/flea treatments can be bought online for less than shops/vets. I wouldn't skimp on the insurance though as you need good cover and of course you'll often get vet bills that fall below excess or maybe aren't covered so always good to factor in a contingency fund.

~Chameleon~

Fire_Fox wrote: »

I was shocked when I started reading the ingredients on cat food and looking at the price per kilo compared with the price of actual meat. And I was completely jealous when some cat [STRIKE]owners[/STRIKE] slaves told me their butcher gave them freebies! My cat absolutely LOVES raw so hopefully your mogs and new dog will be the same.

Amazing how you manage to turn a thread about dogs into yet another about feeding cats!!! This crusade is becoming rather boring!

stuckinscotland

Good luck whatever you decide to do.

Wow

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

Amazing how you manage to turn a thread about dogs into yet another about feeding cats!!! This crusade is becoming rather boring!

Well to be honest I would rather have a cat than a dog for the simple reason you don't have to pick your cats poo up.

SuperMum2010

Now now - no Dog vs Cat stuff thankyou as I have cats and would love a dog (and goats and sheep and pigs and chickens and ducks and a large mansion in the country with a lake and turning circle....sigh) ;-)

All animals are lovely and you get the type that suits your lifestyle and personality - that may be a cat or dog or a giraffe for all I care..lets just all take good care of them all!!

SuperMum2010

(Oh, and I do have to pick my cats poo up from the lawn when the kids go out to play!!)

suisidevw

We 'rescued' a 4 old border collie. He was fully trained, had been neutured, vaccinated and is fed on dry working dog food. So far he's cost us nothing than a few toys and food. He also came with a life public liability policy!

Pic below, he's awesome!