Puppy costs. Am I missing anything?

silvermist05

Hi. We have decided as a family that we would like to bring a little westie pup into our family.
I am just trying to roughly work out how much she will cost to look after so I can add it to my Soa.
I know i need to factor in the cost of food, injections, micro chipping, deworming, grooming, insurance, bedding and toys. Is there anything I'm missing?
Any advice would be much appreciated.

OnAndUp

Sounds good too to me! :-)

Just be really careful where you get a pup from as Westies seem to be really popular with puppy farmers :-(

OnAndUp

Just thought Neutering / Speying when the time comes as a one off cost too!

And regular Flea treatments too.

fannyadams

what about a one year old Westie from a rehomer like Westie Rescue?...
they can tell you everything you need to know about Westies and how much they'll cost.

you should also factor in around £200 for accidents & emergencies. they'll chew stuff (usually expensive stuff that wil need replacing ) they'll eat stuff they shouldn't etc which will necessitate a trip tot he vets.

Do you need to crate the pup when you go out? how much does that cost?
where is it going to sleep?
what food will it eat?

vet bills aren't cheap and Westies are prone to hip and eye problems.

good luck with your new addition. have fun!
xx

silvermist05

OnAndUp wrote: »

Sounds good too to me! :-)

Just be really careful where you get a pup from as Westies seem to be really popular with puppy farmers :-(

Thanks I am aware of puppy farming, I had the misfortune of unknowing visiting one recently. Luckily i didn't take the children with me and it was obvious straight away what was going on.

We have seen a lovely litter of pups at a family home.

silvermist05

fannyadams wrote: »

what about a one year old Westie from a rehomer like Westie Rescue?...
they can tell you everything you need to know about Westies and how much they'll cost.

you should also factor in around £200 for accidents & emergencies. they'll chew stuff (usually expensive stuff that wil need replacing ) they'll eat stuff they shouldn't etc which will necessitate a trip tot he vets.

Do you need to crate the pup when you go out? how much does that cost?
where is it going to sleep?
what food will it eat?

vet bills aren't cheap and Westies are prone to hip and eye problems.

good luck with your new addition. have fun!
xx

Thank you for the link I while have a look. We have visited a local rescue centre but had ruled it out as they only had large dogs there.
We have been given a brand new crate.

rach_k

Are you likely to go on holiday and need to put the dog in kennels or pay somebody to dog-sit? Worth factoring in if it's a possibility.

krlyr

silvermist05 wrote: »

Thanks I am aware of puppy farming, I had the misfortune of unknowing visiting one recently. Luckily i didn't take the children with me and it was obvious straight away what was going on.

We have seen a lovely litter of pups at a family home.

Not sure what you mean by family home, but do consider the other issues in finding a breeder. Puppy farms aren't the only cause for concern - well-intentioned but unplanned/unresearched litters in family homes can be just as prone to health issues, especially if health tests (far different to health checks, which is essentially a vet having a look over - just as likely to spot any serious congenital issues as your GP is to diagnose you with a bone condition or hereditary condition from looking over you for 5 minutes) haven't been carried out. And aside from health issues, temperament is just as important - Dad of the litter's guarding behaviour could seem cute to the stud dog's owner, but it may not be a behaviour you want around your children. Mum's nerves could be unique to her, but equally her pups could inherit a bit of a delicate temperament.

I'm not anti-breeding, but I do think it's something you have to do a lot of research into (just like with rescues to be honest - you get good and bad rescues too)
http://www.apbc.org.uk/articles/good_breeder

the_cat

I don't see training costs in your list. I would view classes as an absolute essential.
Even if you are experienced, the socialisation benefits of a class environment are huge

Fosterdog

Westies do have quite a few health issues, out of the ones I've known the most common problems seem to be heart problems, skin conditions and hip/spinal problems.

Health tests really are essential to minimise the chance of ending up with a dog that suffers greatly and costs a fortune. My boss had a Westie and even with insurance he cost him thousands in vet bills (he though a £4k a year policy would be enough) the dog only made it to 5 years old.

If you get one from a family home there is little to no chance of the right tests being done on both mum and dad, the tests cost in the hundreds and they will want to make a profit from selling the pups. There's also a chance that the family home originally got the dog from a puppy farm. How many litters have they had? A good breeder will stop at 2 litters, maybe a third if one litter was very small.

thorsoak

Fosterdog wrote: »

Westies do have quite a few health issues, out of the ones I've known the most common problems seem to be heart problems, skin conditions and hip/spinal problems.

Health tests really are essential to minimise the chance of ending up with a dog that suffers greatly and costs a fortune. My boss had a Westie and even with insurance he cost him thousands in vet bills (he though a £4k a year policy would be enough) the dog only made it to 5 years old.

If you get one from a family home there is little to no chance of the right tests being done on both mum and dad, the tests cost in the hundreds and they will want to make a profit from selling the pups. There's also a chance that the family home originally got the dog from a puppy farm. How many litters have they had? A good breeder will stop at 2 litters, maybe a third if one litter was very small.

Actually, far better to buy any puppy who has been home-bred - but go to the West Highland Terrier breed society - website here - http://www.thewesthighlandwhiteterrierclubofengland.co.uk/ - and get a list of breeders who only breed from health-tested dogs - you will also get very useful information here. In all probability, you will find that you pay less for a good puppy from a reputable breeder than you would from a puppy farmer.