The Pro's and Con's of keeping a Dog

viv0147

I am a 62-year-old male and I live alone, and through ill health I had to retire. I have had an operation and as far as I know everything is now ok. For a little while I have been thinking about getting a dog for company, and taking a dog for walks would give me some much needed exercise. I am on a limited budget just my pension now, I have a surplus most of the time, and I did have a dog when I was 14 and had lots of fun with him. Of course that was many years ago, so do you think it may be a good idea? And what would the costs be in keeping a dog? Would the costs outweigh the benefits please any advice would be welcome. Thanks

hethmar

viv, if you feel capable of looking after a dog then it would be a great companion for you. Have you thought about taking an older dog? Some rescues, like Dogs Trust will cover the vet expenses of an adopted dog if he is over about 7 years - which isnt old for most dogs anyway.

As its a long time since you have owned a dog, it really would be wise to go through a rescue who could talk through the right sort of dog for you and all the pros and cons.

This may help you too:

http://www.oldies.org.uk/?page_id=18

And you may want to consider a smaller greyhound? Ive given the link to the welsh rehoming centre as I see you are in Wales. Greyhounds are actually quite lazy dogs Happy with a couple of walks a day but are faithful and loving companions:

http://www.greyhoundrescuewales.co.uk/homing/homing.htm

mrcol1000

RSPCA and Dogs Trust both run schemes where they will promoise to rehome or look after your dog if you should die.
The costs of running a healthy dog are very low and depends on the dog. We have a four year old Staff and the biggest expense is soft toys as she will not play with rubber or plastic ones and so will only play with soft toys which she destroys over the course of a week. Food we spend about £15 every 3 months on dry food and about £15 a month on treats and tinned fish. She also eats some leftovers but only in small amounts and only small food. We flea her every six weeks and get three treatements for about £15 and worming tablets cost about £2 every 3 months. But you can get these cheaper but we get them from RSPCA to help them out. Then there is insurance. We pay £150 a year but you can pay much more for better cover. Thats about it really. The other start-up costs you need to think about are a decent lead, a long lead, collar, tag with legally required name and address on (yours), a bed, food and water bowl. Maybe £30-£100 depending on quality and where you get them from. Then there is the actual dog. If you get it from a home then you may be expected to pay a donation or a rehoming fee. We got ours from RSCPA and paid about £100. But she she was wormed and fleaed and chipped and had all her injections so money well spent.
If you get a puppy remember there will be a lot more extra costs and it will be much harder. But if you get a dog around 1 or 2 then it will have a long life ahead of it and you can pick and choose one that is already toilet trained and basic training so you don't have to worry about the hassle of doing so. You could also consider a slightly older dog. RSCPA and other homes will pay for any health care costs for many dogs. Plus the dog should be pretty easy to look after.

The only thing you should be aware of is that any dog home may pose the question what will you do with the dog if you have to go into hosptial? As long as you have someone who can care for the dog for a few days you should be okay.

lisaloo

i agree a rescue dog would be a wise choice no need to go threw all the puppy training which can be a nightmare i have a 12 week old jack russel and a 6 year old bullmastiff and i completely forgot how much hard work pups are my older dog is brilliant my best friend, as someone said all vets costs etc will be taken care of too if you take a rescue dog, they ony rehome the good ones, dogs that have lost there family members and need a new loving home,
good luck hope you have many happy years with any future companion

hethmar

If you are on benefits the PDSA may also help - if you have one locally - with vets costs. But really you want to feel secure that costs will be covered and if you cant get help with PDSA or the rescue then even a budget pet insurance plan would be the way to go.

foreign_correspondent

Go for it! I would advise a rescue, not a young pup - my 67 year old dad has recently taken on a 7 year old jack russell, and my mum (of the same age) has a loopy lurcher - they both live alone, and find their dogs good companions. I would advise a healthy middle aged dog, rather than a pup, and look for one that is ready house trained, and who does not require miles and miles of exercise every day (many dogs will happily join you on longer walks, but will also cope with a short toddle round the block on other days!)

You may want to look into pet insurance, to cover vets bills, or you may have a pdsa in your area who may help.

Food can be very cheap, a sack of working dog food often costs less than £15 and will feed a small - medium dog for up to three months. You do need to consider the cost of jabs (£20 a year here) and worming and flea treatment - (maybe £7-15 a time) - some people worm and flea every month, I only do it twice a year, spring and autumn, and have never had any problems!

Really, the only equipement you need to start off with is a dog bed, a lead and collar, food and water bowls and maybe a few dog toys, if the dog is interested in them - you will of course find a few other bits and bobs you may need to buy as you go along - for instance, a car harness is useful if you drive, a jacket may be handy for a dog with a thin coat in winter.

You could have lots of fun with a dog again, and a dog could have a lovely home with you - there are so many smashing little dogs stuck in rescues, who would love a pal and a fireside! Dogs are great, they are company, they get you out of the house, and you often meet other lovely people whilst out walking your dog!

Chocmonster7

I'd say go for it but you do need to be aware of the "set up" costs.

I've recently taken on a terrier from the Dogs Trust, she cost £80 but that does include her being spayed, vaccinated and microchipped. They also give you a basic pack of food plus a new collar and lead.

However if you're like me you will want to buy extra stuff (like toys, treats, bed, etc.) so I'd budget for £100.

Fire_Fox

viv0147 wrote: »

I am a 62-year-old male and I live alone, and through ill health I had to retire. I have had an operation and as far as I know everything is now ok. For a little while I have been thinking about getting a dog for company, and taking a dog for walks would give me some much needed exercise. I am on a limited budget just my pension now, I have a surplus most of the time, and I did have a dog when I was 14 and had lots of fun with him. Of course that was many years ago, so do you think it may be a good idea? And what would the costs be in keeping a dog? Would the costs outweigh the benefits please any advice would be welcome. Thanks

Have you considered long term fostering? A charity would pay all the food and vet costs and of course there is no permanent commitment, if you felt the dog was too much for you the charity would place the dog elsewhere.

The benefits to having a dog on both your physical and mental wellbeing are huge, the only way I can see the costs outweighing the benefits is if your budget is too tight. If you do decide to adopt your own dog you should look very carefully at getting a 'for life' insurance policy - for life meaning you have a pot of money that refills each and every year so long term conditions are covered.

AXA is one of best and usually cheaper than PetPlan which is also very well thought of. There are certain companies to avoid like the plague as they don't pay out reliably, you can't shop around for the cheapest as you would with home or car insurance.

Food-wise a lot of vets recommend Chappie which is very cheap and gentle on the stomach. Another budget option is to feed a dry food designed for working dogs (VAT free ) and add in scraps/ leftovers. If you have a friendly butcher raw feeding can be very economical, often you can get offal and offcuts for next to nothing or even free!

manda1205

mrcol1000 wrote: »

RSPCA and Dogs Trust both run schemes where they will promoise to rehome or look after your dog if you should die.

:rotfl:Sorry thought this was quite funny. He's only 62.

To the OP I say go for it, as others have said you can get help with vets costs etc and getting an older rescue dog means you dont have so much set up costs. I think a dog could be brilliant for you, to give you exercise and a companion is definitely better for your health. Do it!

hethmar

Theres nothing like having your little mate cuddle up to you in an evening You will have to get out and about because of your dog and you will find a new social life amongst dog walkers.

Wish you the best of luck - do seek out advice from a rescue. If you need help finding a rescue, you can always put your vague area details on here.

tandraig

I like firefoxs idea of fostering - if you can face having a dog only a short time. its such a worthwhile thing to do. its much better for rescued dogs to be looked after in a real home. wish my OH would agree to let me do that - but he wont as he knows darn well there is no way i would let the animal go to another home!
otherwise - the cheapest way of aquiring a dog is to look in the local paper - for good home wanted ads. but after that the costs are down to you. food doesnt have to be expensive brands (despite what some say - dogs were happy with table scraps for thousands of years), but the biggest costs are veterinary. if you can budget for those - I have seen lots of pet toys supplies etc in pound shops or sometimes charity shops.
the benefits are - pet owners are shown to live longer than non-pet owners.
dog and cat and fish owners are less likely to have high blood pressure and are more fit and active (not sure about the fish owners here). also, a dog is an excellent bodyguard and home security system.
If you can afford insurance, a couple of quid for food - then go for it.
oh i forgot the biggest benefit - a soul who loves you unconditionally!