Costs of Keeping a Dog the OS Way

Wellyboots6

Hi,

I have a £90 a month budget for my pooch.

Admittedly he is a big dog and so food makes up a huge proportion of that!

I spend £35 on food as he is a delicate soul and so has to have a certain type of food (typical!). This lasts about 5 weeks.

I also spend about £10 a month on training classes and agility classes (this is more of a hobby for us both rather than a necessity)

I spend £13 on insurance

I also have a dog walker who costs approx £24 a month

The rest then goes towards flea and worming treatments.

Shocked me a little just how much I spend on him, but then when I got him I didn't know he would have health problems he has which has put his food cost and insurance cost up.

The initial outlay was quite expensive. £100 'donation' for getting him from the rescue, £120ish to have him neutered, £14 for all his jabs, £10 to be chipped, plus various amounts for bedding, leads, brushes etc.

I buy him treats and toys out of my grocery budget.

I do spend more than I need to on him really, I'm sure I could costs somewhere. I love him to bits though and wouldn't be without him!

Remember, my costs are based on a large breed

gettingready

I also have a dog walker who costs approx £24 a month

Oh dear... I wish..... mine is £10 per hour and I need one for 5 days per week. £10 per hour is normal price around here though....

Lucky people that do not need one....

OP - very much depends on the dog too, the size of it for example. Food/worming will be more expensive for a large dog then for a small one.

What dog do you have in mind? You say medium size - any particular type?

Wellyboots6

Mine charges £8 for half an hour, and I only need him once or twice a week if I am on long shifts.

I walk my pooch before I go to work and when I come home, so he only needs half an hour with the dog walker as its really more of a toilet break and some company

He is quite expensive really, but he does take pooch out on his own (he isn't the most sociable dog!) and also he is the only person in my area who will walk GSDs! He is also pretty good as I order my food through him and he gets a decent discount on rrp. He also delivers it when he comes to do the walks which is good as I have the big 15kg bags and so don't fancy trying to transport them myself

PixieDust

mutts are generally cheaper than pedigrees, and smaller dogs are generally cheaper than larger ones.

Ours is a mutt....though since she is a "Yorkie/Papillion Cross" some eejits will insist on calling her a Yorkillion. *rolls eyes* She costs about £6 a month for food and worming (though we buy food in bulk from a farm warehouse so it's actually cheaper than that). She is not insured, nor is she vaccinated, and she hasn't been to training classes. You will have your own views on these issues, and will need to incorporate their cost into your budget

gettingready

Katy - around here £8 for half an hour too, for individual walk.

But I like Zara to go with the group she already knows and for full hour...

And you are right with GSD, not all dog walkers are good for them - especially if walking a group. Zara gets on with her "mates" so I am keeping it this way...

OP - sorry to side track a bit...

FrugalLina

Thanks, lots of good answers and mostly very helpful. I was wanting a dog large enough to enjoy walking ( a lot) and fairly intelligent, something like a small collie/cross I was thinking. They are energetic dogs and would need a lot of food, especially as they would get a heck of a lot of exercise with me.

We do have a PDSA, but it is quite a distance away (I am a bit in the sticks) and I didn't want to rely on them as I think they are for those really in need, not for those voluntarily relying on their (excellent) services.

It's OK, I don't mind your honesty regarding the costs, it is something I need to know fully and it has been a looong while since I had a dog, so I knew my estimates would be well out of date.

Thank goodness I have good and kind neighbours that let me borrow their dogs (free waggy tails for me)!

One day though...

Wine_of_the_World

The ‘running cost’ of a dog can be really low. If you are used to old style shopping you may be used getting cheap cuts of meat / raw bones very cheaply . For example I used to buy chicken necks really cheaply in bulk with are great for dogs teeth. Re toys – depending on the dog a knotted piece of rope or old clothing- again knotted up can make excellent cheap / free toys to chew on.
Not sure if this would be an option - but a charity where I used to live used to have volunteers to look after their rescue dogs temporarily at home until a permanent home could be found – or in the case of some dogs such as with serious health problems - this may be a more permanent arrangement. Obviously these people would be carefully vetted - and support was given. But it was nicer IMO for the dogs to be in a home environment – and for prospective adopters who could also see the dogs in a home environment. This was only a small charity – but I am aware of others like it.

moomin5

As above many rescue's are looking for foster homes where they foot the vet bills and sometimes food if necessary for the dog while it waits for a home. It can be rewarding and you'll get different characters and training needs, the downside is that the dog will move on at some point which will be emotional but you'll have helped them get that permanent home and probably have a new dog to take your mind off it.

Some small breeds can be very active as were originally bred to work such as terrier types.

MY greyhounds ( large dog size) cost about £55 a month each, a few things bed, coats, collar/lead etc i don't buy every year but are extra costs. The biggest costs are vets, i spent £200 last month for a dental which isn't covered on insurance.

Food 19
Insurance 25
Treats/poop bags extras 5

Annual cost
Vacs £25
Flea stuff £19
worming £21

krlyr

I do keep my dog in the "OS" way, I don't really spend unnecessarily on them - we were saving for a house, and now we're paying a mortgage, so don't have cash to splash on fancy bling collars or decorative beds.
For two large breeds, the bare minimum is
£40 food (this is about the cheapest I could go, I feed raw, but a medium quality dry food would match this and I wouldn't go any lower)
£40 insurance (made slightly higher by one being a purebreed - crosses do tend to cost less, in my case it's £25 for the purebreed and £15 for the cross)
Between £5-10 a month for flea treatment, depending how often I treat (I used to treat monthly as I lived in an area that made lungworm a high risk, but have moved and think I will treat maybe half as often)
£10 a year worming products (their flea treatment covers most worms already)
£100 a year boosters (£80 for a full course here, £50 a booster - am in an expensive area of the country!)

No dog walker, no kennel costs (lots of dog-friendly family to help), toys are cheap (Poundland do some tough rope toys that even survive my Rottie x's jaws), treats are generally homemade (egg, flour, oil, HM chicken stock, etc) or bought in bulk (natural chews from Zooplus when they're on offer) and accessories are bought when on offer and made to last - I only recently replaced their collars after about 2.5 years (just plain nylon Ancol ones - good quality, personally I wouldn't risk it with poundshop collars but mine are big strong dogs), they've had the same beds for ages (on the hunt for a new one if I spot one on offer somewhere though), etc. The only things I really splurge on are safety-related - e.g. expensive Ruffwear harnesses were a necessity when one of mine figured out how to escape a regular harness (the Ruffwear one is designed to be as escape-proof as possible and hasn't failed me yet), their Dogmatic headcollars were expensive as I went for the leather version but they have lasted years, I spent several hundred on made-to-measure guards/boot liners/mats for the car (but with 85kg of dog in the back I think it's important to keep the passengers in the car just as safe as the dogs, in the event of a crash, and the liner should keep the car cleaner incase I ever need to sell it)

One thing to consider is that many vets no longer do direct claims from insurance companies, due to the number of insurance companies that take ages to pay out or find excuses not to cover the whole bill. Therefore you'll need to stump up the money, be it £300 or £3000, prior to claiming it back from your insurance. I have a credit card for this purpose (and, worst case, savings to fall back on) but don't just presume that because the dog is insured, vet bills won't be an issue.


I agree with looking for a rescue that needs foster homes and is prepared to cover costs. There are many rescues that foster out nationwide so don't feel limited to your own area. I don't know if Many Tears cover fostering costs but they certainly foster all over the UK.
http://manytearsrescue.webs.com/becomeamtfosterer.htm

Pro Dogs Direct cover all costs, including food.
http://www.prodogsdirect.org.uk/#/help-needed/4550195802

Hope Rescue cover costs, they do ask that you cover food if you can but I don't think it's essential
http://www.hoperescue.org.uk/Fosterers.html

As said, some rescues need longterm foster homes, which is basically adopting a dog but with the support (and, often, funding) from the rescue. These usually aren't "perfect" dogs - health or behavioural issues mean they're not suitable to rehome in the usual way, but the rescue want to ensure that the dog is in a home environment for the remainder of its life and want to stay involved to ensure it gets the medical care or behavioural help it needs.

Also consider joining up to some dog forums, I'd personally recommend Dogpages. They have a volunteers section where rescues appeal for help in their area (e.g. homecheckers, fosterers, dog walkers, help for fundraising events, etc) so you may find a way to get involved on there

getcarter

What about the Cinnamon Trust

http://www.cinnamon.org.uk/home.php