Budget adjustment - getting a dog

*zippy*

Hi Fruggle

Having a dog when you are working from home is great, I chat to my two all day long, you just have to remember to not do it at weekends as my family think i'm mad.

Have a look at the back of a sack of dog food when you are in the supermarket to work out how much that breed will cost you, never really worked it out for ours TBH. I think jabs cost us £50 each and I was paying less than £10 a month each for insurance. Worth every penny.:)

in*the*red_6

I found out about Gusto on this site - it's dry dog food and it's VAT free. A reasonably large bag is £5.50 in Tesco (we feed it with some meat also). We have two (largish) dogs and a bag lasts about 2-3 weeks for them so would probably last up to month for one dog. Definitely worth a try, seems to be scarce though as it's such good value so if they've got any on the shelves we tend to stock up while we can. It's also good for dogs with sensitive stomachs.

MrsTinks

NO NO NO NO Akita's are a VERY different breed and I would only recommend rehoming one to a very experienced home!
They are strong as an ox, they are intelligent and they are often independant and very strongwilled! Why do you want an Akita? Food alone for an Akita per month would swallow up a fair bit of £30, they are BIG dogs.
I agree that a rescue dog is a fantastic idea (thousands are put to sleep each year after people grow "bored" with them and want a new puppy) but I would caution you VERY strongly about Akita's... They are a working dog, this is what they are bred for and the work they are bred for involves a LOT of pulling and LONG walks. They have been known to be used for sledding but they are a very dominant dog breed so are rarely used with other breeds like Husky and Malamutes. Huskies are NATURALLY AGGRESIVE. You can pretty much wave goodbye to having more than one dog... and they were used with great success to hunt bears... Just a thought...
Sorry to sound so negative but I work very closely with lots of rescues and when I got my dog (x-breed) from the RSPCA there was an Akita there that they were struggling to rehome and I did a fair bit of research as she was beautiful!
If you really want an Akita I'd say spend some time talking to the Akita rescue:
http://www.akitarescue.org.uk/
They have a forum, a help line and an e-mail address on there...

If you have any doggy questions then please feel free to PM me Especially rescue questions

Anyway Doggy costs:
Dog insurance £10-15 per month depending on age, breed existing conditions etc.
Food (lrg dog) £20-40 depending on quality and dogs requirements (you're talking a large working dog here, not a yorkie)
Treats and toys £5-10 (Mine is a GSD mix and I would say an Akita will prob destroy them quicker than mine does)
Dog training £10-40 (with a Rescue dog I wouldn't even suggest missing this for the first 3 months unless you're already very experienced)

Initial outlay - Adoption cost approx £100ish, leash collar, bed, bowls, toys £50 minimum (depending largely on bed)

And then you have the general destruction a dog can cause - especially a rescue... So far in 6 months the list here is:
2 Baseball caps
downstairs carpet
Leather Sofa's
countless letters
2 cushions
1 pair of sunglasses (designer)
lots of sleepless nights
several vets visits (thieving so and so ate a chiken carcass...)
Bolt for kitchen door as dog learnt to open it (see above)
Pens (hence the carpet), skirting boards, rugs, mats, remote control for Sky... The list goes on...

Ok I know this looks like I am trying to put you off a dog, but I'm not Honest! I want as many dogs in happy and safe homes as I can! BUT I also would hate for anyone not to know what this can result in as I would hate for a rescue dog to come back to the centres after a few months - or as with my dog before I got her - 12 months when she was no longer a cute puppy but an out of control 35kg dog with lots of teeth...

If you do decide to get one at least I'll know you've had as much info as I can throw at you

Raggie

I also work from home.. and last Jan ot a GSD puppy.. I have to admit.. it does stop me going insane.. and least when I have a rant about something. .the dog sits there and listens..

Make a pleasant change from talking to myself... lol..

She is now 10mths old.. and apart form insurace/vets costs.. costs about £45 per month..

toys.. food.. treats.. etc..

I will say the cost is a lot more than we expected... as well as the time taken to look after her.. we also have issue for holidays for her being looked after.. fortunatly she stays with my mum so no additional costs..

Please do not forget that should the dog be taken ill or hurt themselves then that is not always covered by insurance..

While ours was playing with another dog in the woods.. she ran into a park bench.. so we found ourselves at the vet forking out £27 we did not expect.. luckly she was ok so needed no furthe trreatment.. but that could have been expensive.. and you can not budget for unexpected things such as that..

Jolinar

Just to add on to the other points, don't forget to factor in minor scrapes and illnesses which for my two generally don't total more that the insurance policy excess each time, so you can't claim for it at all. Presumably a rescue dog will be neutered but if not you might want to have the dog "done". Good luck

x_raphael_xx

tine wrote:

And then you have the general destruction a dog can cause - especially a rescue... So far in 6 months the list here is:
2 Baseball caps
downstairs carpet
Leather Sofa's
countless letters
2 cushions
1 pair of sunglasses (designer)
lots of sleepless nights
several vets visits (thieving so and so ate a chiken carcass...)
Bolt for kitchen door as dog learnt to open it (see above)
Pens (hence the carpet), skirting boards, rugs, mats, remote control for Sky... The list goes on...

I have to buy a new quilt this week, I KNEW my dobermann was up to something! Walked into the bedroom to find her pulling the stuffing out the quilt, and wagging her tail while she was at it!!!:rotfl:

I would also check with the vet about prices, they can vary place to place. My vet charges £110 to spay a girl, 120 miles up the motorway my mum has to pay £220 for the same operation!:eek: As she's got 2 girls I'm going to drive up and bring them down to my vet. Means she'll get 'buy 1 get 1 free'!! tee hee

shayshay

Good words above about the Akita, they are very big and very strong. Had a friend who had one in a house with 3 grown up kids and two were very strong but this dog was in control not them.

Apart from that they were lovely. Great company too, although can't make cups of tea or put a new cartridge in the fax machine!

LJD1_2

Another thing to remember is that even if you're insured that doesn't pay for any special diets your dog has to have. Our dog is a rescue dog. Thank god we got her insured as she's got everything wrong with her and we still have to pay the first £60 for each new complaint. She's on special food which costs £50 every 6 weeks and she's not a huge dog.

If you get insurance make sure it pays for each illness for the life of the dog not just for a year. Our cat is diabetic and it's costing us a fortune as the pay out was only for a year.

Saying all this, i'd be richer without animals but I wouldn't be without them.

frugglewump

Thanks for all your replies. I do take them in the spirit of what's best for the dog. I know that my years of experience with large stubborn dogs can't be shown on a forum.

To address the points made:

Sept - Jan I work 3 days at the uni rather than 1 day as that is my heavier teaching semester.

I'm already posting on that Akita rescue forum, so I'm pre-warned about the tendencies. Fortunately we won't be having kids so the dog will get all the attention it needs. I wouldn't have 2 dogs in this house - they'd not have enough space each. I've always wanted an Akita - I grew up next door to one. Mind you if the people who assess you for a rescue dog say we can't have an Akita i'm not stupid enough to go and get one anyway.

The point to the post was to try and find out what i might not have thought of & economical ways of budgeting for the dog. There's no way I'll be shortchanging them on treats/food/vet. It doesn't matter to me if this puts back my DFD by a couple of years. The good news from my pov is that everything suggested so far is on my list.

(Oh and the carpet is tea/biscuit/mud coloured already)

Mrs_pbradley936

Be very careful about getting a rescue dog. You may well get a very nice pet with no vices but friends of mine could tell you a different story. People often think that they are rescuing a dog from a bad home where he is being ill treated. Sometimes it is the owners who are being rescued from a nutty dog who attacks every other dog it meets when out for walks and gets you into rows with other owners. I like dogs but only if they are nice natured.