What your costs keeping a dog each year

TooManyDogs

DogsFirst wrote: »

If you really want to spend money ask for a titre test after 5 years, that'll tell you they're still immune.

What about Lepto booster for dogs in rural areas who dive into ditches and hunt rats?

fatmammycat

Also there a number of questions over titer tests efectivness - I don't think I would run the risk with my lad, even if I do have questions over annual vaccinations. If anything happened to him I would be ruined with guilt.
Interesting piece on it here.
http://www.caberfeidh.com/CanineTiters.htm

The Sweeper

I spend about €6,000 annually keeping my pets. That includes every last bag of treats thrown in the supermarket basket at the last minute, so on. They eat royal canin kibble and a balanced raw diet. That includes a hefty pet insurance fee so doesn't include non-routine vet treatments.

Sappa

The Sweeper wrote: »

I spend about €6,000 annually keeping my pets. That includes every last bag of treats thrown in the supermarket basket at the last minute, so on. They eat royal canin kibble and a balanced raw diet. That includes a hefty pet insurance fee so doesn't include non-routine vet treatments.

That's an insane amount but each to their own.

loveisdivine

We dont have dogs, but I want to join in so heres my costs for 4 guinea pigs.

Hay - about 200
Food - 90
Treats - about 50
Vets - so far this year about 100 ( which is way more than normal)

Wow. €440!! Better not mention that to the other half.

cocker5

Sappa wrote: »

That's an insane amount but each to their own.

Well not really... how many animals does he have?

I spend in and around €1,500 + on one dog - not including vets bills for ear infections / other abnormal expenses or kennelling costs ... so is the poster has a number of dogs / animals the cost adds up quickly

nala2012

Does anyone have their dog in dog creche full time i just worked out i spend about 2,500 a year on that alone.. Scary amount of money but i'm gone 11 hours a day and work too far away to come home at lunch i couldn't leave nala outside all that time but it is a lot of money!

Sappa

nala2012 wrote: »

Does anyone have their dog in dog creche full time i just worked out i spend about 2,500 a year on that alone.. Scary amount of money but i'm gone 11 hours a day and work too far away to come home at lunch i couldn't leave nala outside all that time but it is a lot of money!

Never heard of that in my life,walk her in the morning and keep her she will be fine.

maggiepip

Sappa wrote: »

Lots of insurance companies won't cover a claim if the dog is not yearly vacinated.
Otherwise I agree with ya

They only wont cover if the dog gets one of the diseases the vaccinations protect against. Will still cover everything else though -

I dont booster any more as I know they played a huge part in one of my dogs skin problems - its not a decision I took lightly and absolutely nothing to do with money. I did absolutely loads of research on the pros and cons and finally came to the extremely difficult decision that the risks of over vaccination outweigh the benefits.

I do however believe the first shots are totally necessary and the first yearly booster.

JD Green

loveisdivine wrote: »

We dont have dogs, but I want to join in so heres my costs for 4 guinea pigs.

Hay - about 200
Food - 90
Treats - about 50
Vets - so far this year about 100 ( which is way more than normal)

Wow. €440!! Better not mention that to the other half.

A fcuking cow would hardly eat €400 worth of hay, where do you buy it?

TooManyDogs

JD Green wrote: »

A fcuking cow would hardly eat €400 worth of hay, where do you buy it?

Thing is you'd go to the agriculture co-op to buy a bale of hay for €5 for a cow but you couldn't buy that amount of hay for a guinea pig and it still be in any way fresh so the pet shop charges €3 or something for a small bag

ABajaninCork

OMG!! I dread to think what we spend on our little prince...

Far too much!

JustAThought

Aaaaah!!!! Wasn't going to do this but!!! My friends friends got a dog - they are the stingiest people on the planet ( he has excellent public service medical job) & worried I asked ... But you know how much it will cost... They hadn't bothered doing the maths properly & after the " rescue" THEN figured it was too much to be paying & handed the poor dog back : ( so upset at them.

So to stop that happening another poor dog - here's my " maths" ... Deep breath:
Large dog; pedigree:

250 -Insurance - essential
45. Annual kennel cough
70. Annual vac renewal
70. One trip to the vets unscheduled pa
657. Food . 1.80 per day x 365 days

1092 - " bankers" total. Ie - minimum


Then there's the picking up a toy/bag of treats/ new collar/balls/throw gadget every time you go near a petshop - the petrol to drive to the new & out of the way petshops! The entrance to PetExpo, the endless photos you print , the digital calendars for everyone for Christmas, the towels once the other ones filled with holes/icky rat-mush/whatever have had to be thrown out. There's also the new beds cos she came home covered in melted rabbit gone off goo & you don't want to touch it let alone put it in your washing machine, the socks she's ate off your feet and the pairs of trousers you' be RUINED walking around in the mud & rain hour after hour, the " waterproof" jackets you keep trying & the spares cos you're SICK of looking like a homeless vagrant in the same one day after day going around with a hood up in the park by yourself in the rain. O- and the mop heads, & the detergent, and the new rug for the couch cos the other Avoca one now looks like a dog blanket, and the cups of coffee to keep you warm when you come in soaked to the underwear...

And that's before the emergencies !!!!


But I love her, and would pay anything I had to save her, or keep her safe.

JustAThought

O - and the dog poo bags - I don't want to " see" the cost of them but that's why I'm so often in the pet shop buying other stuff!!!

The Sweeper

Sappa wrote: »

That's an insane amount but each to their own.

That depends.

I'm in Australia so I'm paying Australian dollars and the dollar is a lot stronger against the Euro now than two years ago, say, so it's going to look steep.

Pet insurance is about $2,200 for the year for seven pets.

Vet bills are still pretty steep, regardless of the insurance, but it's nice to have the opportunity to claim back!

Dry food is $55 a bag, two bags per month. Raw meat is about $120 a month.

That's what happens when you have seven pets... :pac:

Rommie

Not quite sure I want to add this up but here goes.

Dog Food -2400 (one on raw, the others on dry)
Cat Food - 432
Treats (mostly raw pigs feet, tails etc) - approx 20 a month, so 240
Raw Meat for Cats - approx 10 a month, so 120
vet visits - Don't really want to think about it. We've neutered about six rescue kittens so far before rehoming(females 60/males 45- 330), and one rescue dog (housemate does the vaccinations so about maybe 150). Lost a cat early on in the year to complications that led to liver failure, that ended up being 900 + 160 for cremation. Another cat had two teeth out, that cost 120. So maybe 2000 for vet bills/vaccinations altogether? Probably more but I don't really want to think about it.
Kennelling for four dogs for three days twice a year- 280
Collars/leads/toys etc- about 200 a year maybe

Nearly up to 6000 there i think...

Also have ferrets and bearded dragons but these figures are already frightening me so I'm not going to add them in.

JD Green

TooManyDogs wrote: »

Thing is you'd go to the agriculture co-op to buy a bale of hay for €5 for a cow but you couldn't buy that amount of hay for a guinea pig and it still be in any way fresh so the pet shop charges €3 or something for a small bag

Hay doesn't go off.

Rommie

JD Green wrote: »

Hay doesn't go off.

It does actually. Being exposed to air allows mould spores to land on it and can in turn start to grow as moisture from the air is absorbed into the hay. I had a rabbit a few years back and he would never eat the end of the hay and it always looked dried out and sometimes even a bit mouldy

JD Green

Rommie wrote: »

It does actually. Being exposed to air allows mould spores to land on it and can in turn start to grow as moisture from the air is absorbed into the hay. I had a rabbit a few years back and he would never eat the end of the hay and it always looked dried out and sometimes even a bit mouldy

Have a think about that part.

fatmammycat

It does go off, it gets mouldy and rots.

Rommie

JD Green wrote: »

Have a think about that part.

I know, it's hard to explain really how something looks more dried out than dried out but if you've seen it you'll know what I'm talking about. It gets really flaky and musty(er) and bunny wont eat it no more.

Cherry Blossom

JD Green wrote: »

A fcuking cow would hardly eat €400 worth of hay, where do you buy it?

I wouldn't feed 'cow grade' hay to horses never mind small mammals which have much more delicate respiratory tracts and are kept as companions not for making profit from. There is no shortage of horses around with respiratory problems (broken winded etc.) due to being fed mouldy sub-standard hay. Hay is considered fully dry at 20% moisture, mould can grow in 20% moisture, there are also many other factors such as weather conditions which are very rarely optimal in this country. Then there's the possibility of contamination by pests, chemicals and poisonous plants, the smaller the animal the easier it is to inadvertently kill them.

Dunny

Why buy toys when you have laces, socks and the skirting board!!

JustAThought

I had two fish - before I got the dog- they were seriously low maintenance cost wise .

Annual costs - two tins of fish food
2.50 x 2 = e5.00

Annual replace the fish costs:
( if required)
2.50 X 2
( as required!)

Total average annual running costs: e7.50

Valentina

Yearly costs for 2 small dogs:

Food: €300
Treats: €100 (fresh meat/chicken/sardines)
Toys: €100
Vaccines: €100
Wormers/Flea treatments: €60 I think... Usually our vet has buy 3 get 1 free so I'm not sure pf the exact cost PA
Misc: €200 (new bedding, replacing chewed toys)
Kenneling: €300 (if we go away for 2 weeks but we don't really do that anymore!)
Professional grooming: €200 (only groomed maybe twice a year and I keep them tidy inbetween)
Insurance: €350

So about €1710. Don't think I've left anything out.

There's expenses I've bought that I haven't needed to replace - both my dogs wear Puppia harnesses which they've been wearing with no problems for nearly 6 years. I also have two brilliant leather leads that I've had about 20 years and are still going strong - I clean them once a month with my horse's gear. I got three great dog bowls in Boots on sale for €3 each - they are slightly conical shape so the dog's long ears don't get covered in food or water. Also various dog brushes that I've had over the years from other dogs.

And of course they are worth every cent. I don't know what I'd do without my two little munchkins!

Realtine

I wouldn't dare add it all up - like someone else said it would depress me. That said if they needed medical attention they would get it of course. 3 dogs and 2 cats - & one dog has diabetes.

cjf

Curiosity got the better of me:

Insurance 286
Food 1,161
Vac and KC 240
Treats 220
Agility 960
Worm/flea/tick 180
Bedding 100

€3113 for two large dogs

Just cannot bring myself to work out the electricity cost for running the turtle tank!!

.... Now I know why I haven't been on a holiday for past 5 years!!

rab689

Dog food: €180 a year
Dentasticks: €100 a year
Collar, harness, lead & tag: €60
Bed & bowls: €60
Vets: €100
A dog license: €20ish
Treats & toys: €100
This is for a medium sized dog with no health problems
So the grand total is...... €620!
Hope i helped:)

boomerang

Worked it out in the distant past, at about a grand per dog per year. But I haven't done it lately. Sure we don't count up the cost of having kids, either.

No matter what the cost, the dogs are priceless. I don't drink or smoke or buy clothes/make-up... Reckon those habits combined would cost me a lot more!

meoklmrk91

Food, a bag of Skinners a month at €25, €400 a year.
I think insurance is around €200 a year including the cat so we will say €130 for the dog.
Worming €40 a year.
Defleaing which I only do in the summer months €20
Vaccinations €35
Treats, beds, etc. €200 a year.

So that's nearly €825 a year. I think that's okay. I've seriously cut back on what I was buying with regards to toys, when I used to into the pet shop I would easily spend €10 to €20 on some toy that he would either never play with or have ripped to shreds that evening. Now he gets €2 shop toys for doing that and I only spend bug money on kong toys cause they are the only ones that last!

I would reckon I easily spent three grand on him in the first 2 years I had him though.