Can I afford a puppy ? Upfront costs help please

smileypigface

That's interesting about the Cherry Tomatoes - but there are tomatoes in the James Well Beloved food that we buy - I'll do some more research on that one - thanks for raising it.

I recently horrified a friend when I pointed out that the grapes she feeds her dogs as treats are poisonous :eek:

Edited to say that I've just trawled the internet to see what I could find about dogs eating tomatoes - all the references I have found so far have said the green parts are poisonous (leaves and stalks) but the rest is fine - I'll double check with my vet next time we go.

Thanks again.

TrikerAndBiker

Good grief Smiley!... thats made me think quite how much we have spent on our little monster since we were adopted by her in February! :eek:

Though I have to say she is worth every penny and more for the all the laughter and happiness she has bought with her (cheesy as that sounds )

The other bit of advice I would give is do make sure you take out insurance and also try to save a little each month into a seperate savings account..... just incase!

daisykinn1

General day to day costs aren't to high but pups are trouble! Last Sunday our pup vomited all day so we called out the vet, 3 injections later and £130 lighter he's back to his usual self.

piratess

Aparently its the actual tomato plants that are poisonous to the dogs Mine has the odd one now and again! I think its all down to now and again is ok ...

Raisins, onions, grapes, nuts, are some that i know of that you should NOT feed your dog! ....

We have a lab .. and i have to say i originally wanted a springer but knowing now what its like to have a dog theres no way id have got one collies need their brains occupied or they can become ball obssesive etc and springers well they need to be kept busy to! and believe me you cant wear them out! .. so cross the two together lol .....
I have a 3yr old son and wish somtimes id have waited until he was at full time school before getting our pup as then id have had more one to one time with it ..... am waiting until son goes to school full time before getting our second dog hehe

LittleTinker

I have a Springer and she is fabulous with the cats and any kids who are around.

My Grand daughter uses her as a bean bag armchair and the daft dog just lays there

Brilliant dog to have with kids about. Yes, they are lively and need a lot of exercise but if you have the time and a garden theres no reason why you couldnt have one in a town.

They are very obiedient dogs too.

As for what you will need......seriously, do some of you really buy all this stuff?? Blankets and beds etc etc?
I mean, come on....seriously....dishes to allow for a dogs ears at mad prices??

Car boot sales and bedding for 50p. Dish....20p......see where Im coming from?

You dont need brand new, shiny stuff for a dog to mess up, get muddy, chew to bits, etc. And if you do want something a bit special, go to your local PDSA.

Debt_Free_Chick

Smileypigface has given you an excellent comprehensive list. My Springer is 3 years old and my initial outlay went like this

Crate - about £50 and a waste of money. I was c r a p at enforcing the crate rule and just let him do what he wanted

Plastic kidney shaped bed - about £20 off ebay

Cushion thing to go in bed - this one which seems to be bomb-proof ... actually, Spaniel-proof He still has it - £45 Don't bother with a small size for the pup - just put him in the size of bed he's likely to have as an adult. He don't care .... in fact, as he's got some Spaniel in him ....... he ain't bovvered

The bed and mattress are washable but low-maintenance - just take them outside and hose them down.

Food/Water bowls .... car boot sales are good here. They don't need to be "dog-specific" though. In fact, Spaniels drink from puddles and will eat their food off the floor - in my case, Sparky likes to wipe the floor with his food so he can pick up all manner of dirt, dust & hair presumably for "nutritional value"

I'm saying .... don't spend a fortune on bowls. It's not necessary. The stainless steel ones are, again, Spaniel-proof and will go in the dishwasher, if necessary.

Microchip - £50 from memory

Initial vaccs - about £30

Slip lead - about £7. I didn't bother with "puppy leads" and put him straight on a working dog slip lead. But he did have a puppy collar for about £4

All in, I initially spent about £150. Aside from food, I've only spent £26 on his annual vacc booster and £125 a couple of weeks ago for "the chop" (castration :eek: )

Is the pup from working strain? If so, remember he's a low-maintenance dog, not a lap-dog. Of course, get him chewy toys for when he's teething, but he doesn't need all manner of expensive toys. Spaniels love tennis balls, in particular, so buy a bulk bag of cheap balls (Poundland???)

Dogs don't actually need a lot of "stuff" .... it's just us humans who think that they do

Food, water, exercise/stimulation, love and reward when they're doing what you want them to. And routine ... they love routine so start off as you mean to go on.

Hope it works out for you - you've got your work cut out with a Springer/Collie cross, I can tell you

mishkanorman

you guys are starting to put me off now


The ONLY reason we were looking at a springer/collie x was the mother who is adorable, right height, temperment etc and the breeder who advised that they will need consistent walks rather than miles and miles. Ie if we walked him 2 miles every day he would become used to that and want no more no less, however if we walked him 6 miles one week and only 1 the next he would become restless and therefore possibly destructive.

Seemed to make sense to me and other dog owners have confirmed that, i suppose if all else fails it can chase my cats - they could do with loosing some weight :rotfl:

mishka

sammy_kaye18

mishka - like said before we have a jack russell terrier, Ive never personally had a dog before and bf was brought up with dogs (collie X's) and has never had a jack. hes a resuce dog - great with kids and plays with cats well.

NO amount of walking satisfies him EVER. You can take him on a peaceful hour long bimble throught the hedgerow and let him go running through the bushes and doing his terrier thing - get him home and he still bounces off the walls. He can be walked like that 3 - 4 times a day and is let out in the communal garden when im hanging out washing etc to nose about and do his business.

Take him on a 3/4 hour hike, up the local country park - lots of space/running space/bushes to ferret through/things to chase - he comes home - and is still bouncing off the walls. Might have a glug of water but then is back to being a little swine again demanding another walk.

My mother in law has a collie X whippet - who is 3/4 years old and she has to be walked 45 minutes at a time and left to run about to wear her down and she is walked 2 times a day and has a garden to play and run in and she is still incredibly active.

Edited to add : my dog is also destructive. Chews what he can get basically even though he is walked and exercised lots and has enough chew proof toys to start his own mini dog shop.

Soubrette

Hi mishka, I have found that enough exercise is very important for a dog. I grew up with dogs and had a german shepherd cross who was an absolute nutter, constant chewer, escape artist and barking when left alone etc etc

We had him for 10 years and it took me 5 years to get over him (from an exhaustion point of view) and take another foray into dog owning.

Of course it's not the dog, I'm sure he would have been fine in another situation but I had two young children and a small garden so poor old dog only had one 40 min walk a day - and this did not leave him anywhere near satisfied and being a clever old boy his mind turned to being naughty and making his own amusement.

I have just had a rescue greyhound and he is fab The girls are older now of course but I've committed to at least two 30 mins walk a day (they need less than you think) plus time off the lead in the fields around (to increase as his recall gets better). He spends most of the day asleep and has come pretrained as an ex-racer to walk nicely beside me, unlike the GSX who never stopped pulling, got less walks as I couldn't take him out and so was all the more exciteable when he did get one and pulled all the more.

I spent a long time deciding which breed of dog would suit us as a family in our current situation because we had had a lovely dog who was simply not suitable for us and in the end he suffered because of it.

So I'm not saying the breeder is wrong to say that dogs get used to a certain amount of exercise but in my, admitted limited, experience not enough energy used up going for walks was directed into some not very positive outlets :eek:

Good luck in your quest for a dog though, I love them

Sou

cluuuuur

I'd agree with other posters that you're looking at paying out a lot of money for a crossbreed. Whilst you've got positive factors there (breeder to go to for advice, you've seen the pup's mum, etc) I'd be asking myself about the high cost of the breed.

Both breeds are high energy dogs - the people I know with both borders and springers do a heck of a lot with them - agility, training classes, long walks, gundog trials, etc.

Our essentials for the dogs are:

Food (Burns or Chappie complete depending, but we usually mix the two together - they're low protein, so helps with any hyperactivity), insurance, vaccinations (if you have a Vets4Pets near you, they'll vac for life for £75, which is excellent), collar, lead (2 each - one normal, one extending), slip collar (for the stronger dog), crates (both of ours are crate trained, and sleep throughout the day as we work), vetbed/blankets/pillows, toys (Kongs in particular are fantastic as you can 'stuff' them for entertainment value), flea treatment, worming, weekly training classes, poo bags, money in savings for insurance excess, micro chip, bowls, and the occasional treat(!)

Walks are VERY important, obviously, in terms of burning off energy, but mental stimulation is also necessary - as I said, Kongs are brilliant for this, and I also run through some training nightly if possible with my younger and more hyper dog, as this helps a lot. We've ended up teaching her some useless and amusing tricks (running in a circle, 'speaking', etc) as she does get restless easily.