Costs of Owning a Puppy?

[MaxandMe]

UH GENE...speak for yourself as far as OLD Foogie Farts go!

that's it SUE i am finding a flight to BC and coming to personally hug Denver without having to bend DOWN to do it!! hahaha I LOVE how tall Denver is. NOW did you ever give him miracle gro?

Paintsmeblue: you'll see we are a fun loving bunch totally addicted to these doodles and i think each other at times too hahahahhahhaa

[blueteal]

NOW did you ever give him miracle gro?

Nope just Natures Miracle
Bahahaahahhahaaaa

[KingstonTodd]

remember to get a big container of natures miracle for accidents and some papertowel.

[MaxandMe]

lastly always carry around your sense of humor

[lmtoth2]

Paintsmeblue - I think you hit most of the major costs. In terms of groomin - we got Dexter a major haircut/bath a month ago and it was $70. Now we hopefully will only have to do this 3-4 times a year. In terms of other grooming we bathe him ourselves (and try to cut his nails ourselves).

We definitely do not spend anywhere near $50/month for treats (probably more like $15).

In terms of the vet - we joined the Banfield vet at Petsmart and pay $25/month. This covers visits, shots, spay/neuter. However it does not cover meds. I feel our vet is very good but I guess it may differ in different areas. When we first got Dex I took him to a normal vet and it was $65 for them to just look at him

It really sounds like you have a great outlook on this and are planning very well. Good luck

[angelakj]

Welcome to the forum! It sounds like you really have things thought out. I would make one point though. The "regular" expenses aren't what become a financial burden. It's the unexpected problems and they are usually high dollar in a large dog. For example, Cody recently got a yeast infection in his ear. It was pretty bad so they had to knock him out to clean it and get samples. The cost for those kinds of things is more in a large dog because it takes more meds, etc due to their weight. His vet bill was over $200. We have had other things happen that required unexpected vet visits and meds as well. I would highly suggest getting dog insurance. It is actually not that expensive and covers quite a lot. I went down the list with my vet about what their cost for something was and what was covered by the insurance. The ear visit alone would have been half of the yearly cost of the insurance and the portion I would have paid would not have been much. It's something to think about. It may seem like an unnecessary expense but add in two unexpected visits to the vet and it will add up quickly. Take a poll on the forum and ask how many owners have had to take their doodle in for something other than routine visits/shots and how many times a year. Those are the expenses that can break a budget.

[lieverdmom]

Kristen, I really respect your determination to get all the ducks in a row and make sure you can care for a dog before considering adopting.

One thing you might consider, since you are planning for the long haul, is that I note you're a senior now, and enjoying the fact that student loans, or something similar, cover your living expenses. I assume when you graduate you'll no longer have this assistance, and will have to make sure that your income is sufficient both for your own needs and that of caring for the dog. Do you have any idea what your field will pay in the first few years out of school? If you should marry and start a family, will there still be enough money to care for the dog? A dog is a 10-15 year committment, with vet bills tending to increase in the dog's old age.

Also consider annual teeth cleaning. My vet on the coast charged nearly $300 for this service, by the time he added bloodwork, precautionary IV hookups and post op antibiotics. You can help the dog by supplying it with raw marrow bones from your supermarket, which will help him remove tarter from his teeth, but you may still have to have the dog's teeth cleaned. My vet on the coast was pretty costly, so you will want to check in your area for costs.

Welcome to the Forum, and do keep us posted on your search for a new dog.

[Maureen]

Paintmeblue you are going to be a FABULOUS DOODLE OWNER!!

I love your approach, and once again you have me wanting to jump in on your thread!

I think you are high on crate cost, and bedding cost. Oh, and while you will need a crate immediately, DO NOT buy a big fluffy pillow-bed for a new puppy! They'll destroy it while trying to figure out their boredom in a crate and the fleece can be a risk if ingested. I give every client a fleece blanket, and recommend those, or old t-shirts and towels that smell like you will be very comforting to a new puppy, and less dangerous. So you can "defer" that bedding cost for at least a year, if at all. And the big pillows at Walmart for $20 work just fine, too, by the way, once he/she is past the destruction phase.

Grooming is probably going to be an issue if you are buying an f1b or Aus. Labradoodle, however you can save A LOT of money if you are willing to put some time and patience into learning how to groom your Doodle yourself. CLIPPERS can be $30! I joked with a person on our current waiting list that you could THROW AWAY the clippers with every grooming, buy a new set and still come out ahead of the $60+ you could find per grooming, for a medium-to-standard sized Doodle. As with so many things in life, it's a matter of time vs. money.

I want to look closer at your budget but I hope this helps, for starters!

[MaxandMe]

i'd say the highest expenses are the UNEXPECTED ones like we had with Max and Peanut. Not too long ago we had max fixed $245...then 2 weeks later ER visist for Peanut $260 then next day admitted to vet's ICU for 3 days $482 and there's the stool samples we had to do total of 3 between max and peanut $58...then OH yeah antibiotics, vaccinations that visit cost $160 I NOW HAVE PET INSURANCE

oh we also had numerous visits in past for Max for bad diarrhea and testing negative to everything ( i am not adding up that cost hahhahaa)

[KingstonTodd]

Not to mention the unexpected expense of replacing household items. Hershey just chewed through my digital camera cord. Our fault for putting it in a closed box 5 feet of the ground just taunting her

[gene]

Shame on you! I'm just as bad, I had my work shirt hanging on a hook in the bathroom while I was showering and The dastardly duo got it and Miko chewed a hole in the back! Temptation is hard to control!!

[MaxandMe]

hmm i once fell asleep on the couch and my glasses fell on the floor. somehow Max only 4.5mos then decided to chew up one lens to see if it tasted as good as it looked. He said NO as he left the right lens alone.

[Paintsmeblue]

Thanks for the updated input!

I'm in the process of coming up with more questions. After exams I'll definately post them