Getting a dog

purplewombat

Hiya

My son has been badgering me for ages to let him have a dog, we looked after his grans dog for a couple of weeks and he was really good with him so I have finally caved and agreed to it :eek: What I wanted to know really was what the cost involved is on a weekly/monthly basis, cost of food etc, and also if there is anything I need to do to 'dogproof' the house?

adandem

Hi, firstly please don't get a dog for your son, I can almost guarantee that you will be the one who looks after it.

Do lots of research on what breed to get and also which breeder you use. We spent months waiting for the right litter with all the health checks etc.
Our dog was £650, the vaccs. cost about £30 per year, flea/wormers about £50 per year, pet insurance £15 per month , food about £15 per month.
You will also have to budget for unexpected trips to the vet etc.You may also need to consider dog walkig/sitter charges if you are an all day worker.

You can't really dog proof a house. Although we used a crate in the early stages which was a godsend, they cost about £40. You really need to spend alot of time and energy with your dog to house train etc. The crate is to use when you are out or at night.

Do some reading up before you get a dog/ puppy, I can recommend 'The Perfect Puppy' by Gwen Bailey.

arnie&caseysma!

Dog proof = just about everything!!!!

I had a rescue staffy that destroyed my house in the 6 weeks I had her, she suffered a separation anxiety and whenever I was out she ate what she could get to. I couldn't cope with her and had to put her back into the rescue centre. She needed someone there 24/7 and I couldn't do that. Tried all the sprays and stuff that you use for wood and furniture but they didn't work.

A&C are great when it comes to not chewing although Arnie did a lot to start with (and destroyed the kitchen skirtings!). Casey hasn't chewed anything.

Casey wasn't toilet trained when we got her at 5months old and squatted wherever she felt the need. Put her in a crate and she wouldn't dirty it so tried to persevere with her out but to no avail. She is 2 (b.day on xmas eve) and sleeps in a crate all the time, I think she feels more secure in there, she loves it.

Food depending on what you buy, for my 2 they get one of the bug tuns between them each day and dreid biscuits too. I buy the dried from Makro when I happen to be near one, and tins locally. I would say it costs me between £5 and £7 to feed the two of them each week but that doesn't include treats.

You have to consider toys if they are a puppy - ours don't have any as they hate squeakers and anything else just doesnt last with them.

Kennels - the cheapest I found in my area for 10 days was £100 with the dearest being £150. Adds a fair but onto the price of the hols.

Anywhere in the house you dont want the dog? Upstairs? A puppy gate, depending on the size of dog you get you can get a way with a child gate but if a bigger dog you will need the higher one, these can be bought from Argos for about £30.

You need to get a dog because you all want one. My mum always hated having a dog yet dad always insisted on us having them (although she did cry at the end when the last one passed away - she does have a heart after al!!!). Do not get a dog just because your son wants one. Who will walk it when he gets fed up? Who will feed it when he gets fed up? So many questions to answer before you take that big step.

WeirdoMagnet

Dogproofing - depends on the type of dog you get, it's age, whether it is inclined to chew, whether it will be OK left alone, whether it will get bored etc.

Off the top of my head, our costs are Insurance: £12; Food: £9. Then you've got worm/flea/tick prevention, microchipping, vaccinations, neutering, equipment (collars/tag/harness/lead/flexi-lead), beds, bedding, toys, training classes, minor vet costs (that you wouldn't bother claiming for). We folund that our first years' expenditure was far greater than any subsequent years - I guess that's because as a novice dog owner you don't know what equipment suits you.


What I think is really important, is thinking about all the "what ifs" that could happen, and how they would be managed within your family with the dog included. There have been lots of threads recently where it is clear that folk have got a dog, without thinking "what if". For example, what if you move job/house, what if you're ill, the dog is ill, your son is ill etc. What if the dog/pup takes a long time to settle in, what if it doesn't behave how you want /think it should etc. It really is a lifelong commitment, and it is well worth doing lots of research into dog breeds, nutrition, and up to date positive training methods before you commit to anything.

Having a gorgeous rescue dog, I would recomend getting a rescue - they will match your circumstances to the right dog, interview you and do home checks to make sure the dog gets a 'forever' home. Have a look on DogPages for lots of lovely rescue dogs. They often have dogs placed in foster homes so they can be assessed, so you know how they are likely to behave around children, strangers, cats, etc etc. People will say that rescue dogs are an unknown quantity, but then so are puppies!

However if you do go down the breeder route, be aware that not all breeders are reputable - check them out, make sure they carryout health screening, are breeding healthy dogs with good temperaments, are breeding for the right reasons (not for a quick buck) etc etc etc.

Good luck with your research,

Georgie

Charlie1986

I think mine is quite expensive but he is spoilt rotten
Off the top of my head - Insurance = £23, Food I bulk buy a big bag for £30 ish which lasts approx 2 months, so £15 for the month, he then has some meat with his biscuits approx £6, annual booster is £35, worming and flea treatment is about £45 for 3 months and then the treats and toys etc id say is about another £10 a month, :eek: mine costs around £70 each month but he's worth it .

purplewombat

hi

Thanks for all the replies, we'll definately be doing a lot more research before we go anywhere. Theres a local rescue centre that we would go to, as they do say whether the dog is good with children and other pets and they train the dogs before they rehome them.

I wasn't just getting the dog for my son, the whole family would like one and it's something we've been discussing for quite a while now. I realise that he might get fed up with looking after it, and I'm quite prepared to help him out. He is actually very good with his grans dog, he goes round there and helps take the dog for walks etc.

adandem

If you do go down the rescue dog route, please do lots of research into the breed type if any info. is available. different dogs were bred for very different reasons and so have different needs and character traits. as mentioned before, lots of dogs can suffer with separation anxiety etc. and some rescue centres aren't completely honest about why the dog is in there care.

We set out to get a Springer until we found out about the excercise regime needed etc. and realised we couldn't offer a home to one.

The KC website gives info on different breeds although I wouldn't use it to source a breeder.
Take your time and the right dog will find you;)

noonesperfect

What you also have to bear in mind is, just as with humans, as they get older they can need daily medication which can be costly. Plus the cost of vet consultation/blood tests needed to check the pills etc are working.

I'm not trying to put you off, I have elderly dogs though so am aware of these costs which you don't think of when youve got a bouncy puppy piddling everywhere!! I just dread the day now when.......

sammy_kaye18

I would echo what everyone else has said but im glad you seem to be making the decision to get a family pet and not jsut 'gifting' him a dog.

My dog Bruno is a rescue dog (he alone cost us £65 form the rescue).

Then his collar and lead was another £5.

Food - he eats tins in winter which are 35p each from wilkinosns (Ben stuff) and he has two of them a day. So from about october - march he costs us £120 to feed so its only about £20 a month.

In summer months he goes onto biscuits (which is Gusto) so a big bag is £5.50 and that lasts him a month easily. and hes on them from april - september becuase hes out more and the dried food is less tempting ot flies/wasps etc. adn in total those 6 months he costs us £33.00 which is the £5.50 a month.

Thats also not including treats and he doesnt tend to get many toys seeing as hes a jack russell and the tendancy to chew is beyond belief - we gave him a new teddy toy on chrismtas eve at 6pm - by 6.05pm the head was ripped off and the stuffing everywhere.

Also his insurance is going to be £12 a month,
his worming tablets are £4 every 3 months (drontal)
his flea stuff is about £7 but that has 3 doses in it.
his bed cost us £5 but he wrecked it by not being housetrained so hes now on a big duvet ina plastic basket shell
his injections are £21 a time too of which he'd had none so we are still catching him up on boosters at 4 years old!

they can cost a small fortune but Bruno is liek my second baby now and i wouldnt swap him

thriftmonster

Also think of kennel costs for hols - any night away where you can't take the dog is going to cost £8-£11/ day - so a one night stay costs 2 days and trust me, getting your dog into a good local kennel is hard - here for Jul/ Aug you have to book the previous Nov/Dec.

Vaccinations - £25 pa
Kennel cough £20 pa
+ flea stuff and worming

+ food, bedding, toys, poo clearing (trust me terriers are better than labs etc)
For all this you have *******, having a dog, priceless

Kimberley

Please don't buy a pup, get a rescue dog instead, you could find one already housetrained and all vaccs up to date etc, you would only need to pay an adoption fee, which will cost less then if you bought a pup. They come with 6 weeks free insurance etc so please until there are none, rescue one.