# Cost of ownership.



## specialpatrolgroup (Jan 16, 2009)

After you get the dog, and the accessories, how much would you say it costs you to keep your dog per year or month? Food/Vet bills/Toys/Property damage? I don't think it will be so much of an issue but want to know what I will be getting into.


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## HUNTNFISHND (Mar 16, 2004)

$$$ for food
$$$ for toys
$$$ for vet care

A dog's love = priceless!

:wink:


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## BROWNDOG (Nov 2, 2004)

I quit adding it all up alont time ago.

It really depends what you do with them, how often you train, where you train, ect. bottom line just for for one dog per monthe average

1. Food 
2. Vet bill's

$100. 00

And thats if nothing goes wrong...

And depending on what you do with them the cost's are endless, but the rewards and satisfaction are worth every penny of it.


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## R y a n (Apr 4, 2005)

I'd agree with Browndog.

$1200-$1600 / year

about $100 a month over the average. Normally for food we spend between $85-115 on food. (We buy more expensive food than most), and another $10-$25 a month on rawhide chews/treats/toys. Throw in 2 vet visits a year minimum (@ $50 visit), and add all that up..

$1200-$1600 year depending on averages, no medical mishaps (ingesting something unedible, barb wire tears, porcupines, skunks, worms etc)

But like was said earlier... all of that is priceless compared to the joy of having your face licked each and every morning, or the bundled package of excitement that greets you after a long day of work every day.

Priceless.

8)


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## Guest (Jan 19, 2009)

How much food do you feed? I feel Pro Plan Performance between 3-4 cups a day. At that rate it costs about $50 a month with a high quality food. So at the high end food would run me $600. Thank God I buy from Petco on their 200lb club and get tons of coupons and spend closer to $350 a year on Performance.

The first year vet costs can get up there but should stay below $500. I vaccinate for Lymes and Lepto along with the DHLPP and Rabies. Heart Gaurd and Frontline another $400 (8 months). So my rough estimate without things going wron would be $1500 a year. This number can be cut down a bit would differant feed and using Ivomec instead of Heart Gaurd and Biospot instead of Frontline.


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## R y a n (Apr 4, 2005)

labguy23 said:


> How much food do you feed? I feel Pro Plan Performance between 3-4 cups a day. At that rate it costs about $50 a month with a high quality food. So at the high end food would run me $600. Thank God I buy from Petco on their 200lb club and get tons of coupons and spend closer to $350 a year on Performance.
> 
> The first year vet costs can get up there but should stay below $500. I vaccinate for Lymes and Lepto along with the DHLPP and Rabies. Heart Gaurd and Frontline another $400 (8 months). So my rough estimate without things going wron would be $1500 a year. This number can be cut down a bit would differant feed and using Ivomec instead of Heart Gaurd and Biospot instead of Frontline.


We feed 4-5 cups a day of Solid Gold Brand Puppy formula. It costs $46 for the large 33lb bag. It is 4.85 cups per pound, which roughly figures out to be a bag a month at that rate. He gets fed 1 or 2 times a day depending on timing/excercise level.

So that roughly figures out to 1.5 bags a month, which is about $70/month. My bad. I'm off by $30!

What is the 200 lb club at Petco? Time to go do an internet search! I need some coupon love.


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## Guest (Jan 20, 2009)

If you buy 200lbs at one time you can save 10%. Petco also matches anyone elses price in the same area. Fleet Farm has Proplan now and prices performance the same as reagular so I can feed that for an awesome price.

Still confused on your math, do you feed 4-5 cups twice a day? If so that seems like a lot for any dog. If you are feeding 4-5 cups total my math would think that would only be 1 bag a month. That is some really pricey food, are you buying at a local shop or at a big box store?


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## R y a n (Apr 4, 2005)

labguy23 said:


> If you buy 200lbs at one time you can save 10%. Petco also matches anyone elses price in the same area. Fleet Farm has Proplan now and prices performance the same as reagular so I can feed that for an awesome price.
> 
> Still confused on your math, do you feed 4-5 cups twice a day? If so that seems like a lot for any dog. If you are feeding 4-5 cups total my math would think that would only be 1 bag a month. That is some really pricey food, are you buying at a local shop or at a big box store?


ok cool. Didn't realize that PetCo price matches. I'm going to have to start doing a little more prep homework when I go in.

We have CostCo out here, and they are basically the only ones who can bring the costs down. WalMart is over 20 miles away.. FleetFarm sadly isn't anywhere. I'll have to do some price hunting..

We only feed 4-5 cups a day for the most part, which is only about a bag a month. Hmmm... looks like my math is wrong. We do have to buy at a local shop and there is a local price hike in this area for everything due to the area.


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## SJB (Jul 2, 2003)

I just looked up in Quicken what I spent in 2008 on my two Chocolate Labs.
Sage (7 months old) =$2017. That includes eight hundred for purchase price.
Mocha (13 years old) = $1107.
Wow. It kind of rocks me to think that we spent that much on dogs but they are so much a part of the family.
Sam


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## JBB (Feb 9, 2005)

If you worry about price revisit your motive for having a dog. Price does not matter much once you the dog lives in your house. Like having kids just have em feed em and enjoy them.


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## redlabel (Mar 7, 2002)

Wow, glad to have smaller dogs.

Springer and Setter:

1 bag Iams 44# bag mini chunks about $35.00/month

Annual vet trips with distemper, boosters, and bordetella with heart guard and frontline about $300.00

So about $750.00 - $850.00 per year for two dogs with treats and toys.

$500 - $900 for initial purchase and then the cost of spaying.

Now that I added the numbers up and think about what life would be like without them it seems I should pay them an allowance.


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