First Year Puppy Costs

omgtainomgtain
edited June 2014 in General
Hi all!
I am very hopeful to breed Tavi in the future, when people have inquired me about this in real life, they seem to think that I will be cashing out on the puppies and making a lot of money. So, to try and put things in perspective, I put together a list of all the costs I've incurred with Tavi until she has been with me for 1 year. We've been lucky there has been no serious incidents that have required the vet (knock on wood) but that could happen any time.

First year (Nov 8 2013 - Nov 8 2014)
Puppy: 1,200
Flight: 500
First year of shots and wormings: 300
10 day Giardia treatment: 20
6 week agility: 150
6 week agility: 150
6 week agility: 150
herding (at least x1/month, mostly x2/month): 170 - 340
collars (x2): 30
leashes (x3): 40
gas (hiking x1/week, 10 each trip; class x1/week, 5 each trip): 780
registration in AKC FSS / UKC (35 each): 70
barn hunt registration: 30
barn hunt trial: 35
nosework class: 40
nosework II class: 40
training supplies: 30
food (20/month): 240
treats (20/month): 240
crate: 40
toys (10/month): 120
8 week obedience (free, otherwise $120 for 6 weeks): 0
Flea / tick medicine (for summer months @ 12/dose): 60
harness: 30

So far Tavi will cost 4,650+ in her first year.

(I should just get my own sheep....)

Comments

  • CrispyCrispy
    I've been encountering this with my puppies. A few people I encounter every day have asked me how much a puppy is "going for" and when I tell them, they think I am making all of this crazy money.

    I've been keeping a folder of all of the litter costs and keeping a folder of all of Nami's costs, just like this.

    It's not cheap, that's for sure.
  • lindsaytlindsayt
    Most won't be making any profits doing this, especially if your girl has small litters.
  • sjp051993sjp051993
    Shoot, it would be nice just to break even.
  • DragonflyDragonfly
    I keep track of Kiyoshi's expenses and in total we're heading towards 6k+ (which is ridiculous!), he's not even a year old yet and that number keeps rising quickly. Money just falls out of my pockets..

    Owning a dog isn't cheap.
  • TheWalrusTheWalrus
    I just close my eyes and open my wallet. No calculating costs for me. I did that one time last year, and realized I'd be really lucky if I ever break even with my dogs.
  • Myabee09Myabee09
    I have no intention of breeding, mainly because I don't know what the heck I'm doing as far as breeding goes, but I do know that puppies are insanely expensive. Without the cost of purchasing Shelby, I'd say I spent about $700 in just kennel, food, bed, toys, bowls, leash, blanket, collar, and initial vet bills within the first month. I know she cost us thousands, and that's not including the things she destroyed that we had to replace or the cost of cleaning my car when she got car sick all over the back seat. By the time it's all said and done, I figure I'll have a 6 million dollar dog. :) and she's worth every penny.
  • mdokicmdokic
    i really don't even want to put numbers to this. nope. no thank you.

    also, all i have to say is thank goodness for pet insurance. i think we've almost made money off them by now lol.
  • PoetikDragonPoetikDragon
    I could have bought three brand new compact cars at this point.
  • CrimsonO2CrimsonO2
    If I start calculating, I'll start crying. No thanks.

    Jesse
  • laurenmarielaurenmarie
    First two weeks of owning Oni, he swallowed a toy, it burst his intestines and $6000 dollars later....I would say we have spent well over 10k on that dog, haha, but he is worth it
  • BootzBootz
    I think most of us agree you can't put a value on the love/bond we have with our NKs.
    They are worth it to the very end.

    If you don't agree..well, i think you got the wrong dog :(
  • Kira_InuKira_Inu
    I agree with @Bootz - I initially started tracking all Kira purchases and then just stopped because it was irrelevant. It doesn't matter if I spend a fortune on her, she means the world to me and I will continue to do so as long as there is money in my checking account.

    I will extend the comment as well - if you don't agree then don't get a dog. All dogs deserve to have an owner that will consider the relationship and bond that they have with their pet before a monetary value.

    I do feel very confident that I have pet insurance and a great veterinarian. That security is really invaluable.
  • shibamistressshibamistress
    I probably spent $15,000 on my puppy mill girl alone in vet bills in her 8 years of life. I kept rough track of her big vet bills (and the ones she inflicted on Toby), but not all her day to day to care, food, toys, etc. Luckily I have a relatively inexpensive vet.

    Pet insurance is, unfortunately, not cost effective for multiple dogs either, so we didn't have that.....
  • ShikokuShikoku
    I'm starting to agree on that cost effectiveness of pet insurance @shibamiss stated. Waiting to see at the end of 12 months for a proper analysis of pet insurance and pups
  • mdokicmdokic
    With Kona and Kimber on pet insurance like I said, I've almost made money on them. Got $1100 of my $1200 emergency vet bill covered, $700 of $800 vet bill for the other dog covered...for routine things we don't get as much back, but you do pay less each dog you put on the plan. So, it depends really. Insurance is a gamble obviously not just with pets, and you very may well lose money, so far it's been incredibly beneficial to us and Kona will be 2 in September and Kimber 1 at the end of this month. But that's just my experience (and THANK GOD it is lol)
  • shibamistressshibamistress
    We couldn't get anything that was reasonably priced for four dogs, so for awhile I had it for two dogs, one on Bel, who had the most health issues. When they finally paid on something, they paid less than 1/3 of the bill, because they said our vet charges were "too high" for the area. Our vet is exceptionally reasonably priced compared to other vets in our area, so that was ridiculous. It simply wasn't worth it, and I only had coverage for accidents.
  • laurenmarielaurenmarie
    We are lucky enough to have found an amazing 24 hr emergency vet who knows how to handle our Hokka because he freaks the eff out at the vet. They could have charged us 7k on his life saving surgery but they only charged us 6k.

    We now have insurance for the Hokkaido but not the Shiba
  • Jazzie_LJazzie_L
    It really irks me when I see people who aren't taking care of their dogs, or give them up because even feeding them costs too much. I believe we all know how much a dog or any animal companion can be expensive. But that's what you sign up for when taking responsibility for the animals life and care! I have been waiting to get a pup for over a year now. In that time I've been researching and preparing as much as possible, buying supplies, and visiting vets and classes. I can't imagine how people just up and buy an animal without first putting thought to the responsibilities and costs that come with it. I have two extra rooms in my house, and they're filled with dog supplies!

    *End rant*
    Lol. Sorry! I noticed someone selling a pup and I remember seeing them pick it up just a couple months ago. Their excuse was "No time or money for it."
  • Myabee09Myabee09
    I completely agree with your rant... now for mine ;)

    I used to be a dog groomer. I always got so angry when people would bring in these filthy, matted dogs and complain about the cost of grooming. They didn't understand why it cost so much to shave the dog. I guess they thought that never bathing or brushing a curly haired dog and only bringing it in for grooming once a year was completely acceptable. I had one woman who screamed at me because I wouldn't demat her severely matted dog and charged her 5 extra dollars for shaving the poor dog. The dog had a severe mat over its rear end that caused feces to build up and eroded the skin. She tried to blame me for this and refused to pay... all over 5 extra bucks. I went home and cried for that poor dog.

    @Jazzie_L your comment brought that to my memory, and also what my Shiba had to endure before I got her. I can't stand people who get a dog because it's cute and then give it away because, holy crap..you have to feed these things.. and buy them toys and take them to the vet!

    *End rant*
  • IliumIlium
    edited September 2014
    Yikes! It's always distressing to hear about dogs being abandoned. :( (Also I realize my comments are coming several months late; sorry for res-ing a dead topic.) I just want to say I thought this was a really interesting thread, not because people should equate their dogs with a certain monetary value (obviously you shouldn't) but as a person looking into getting/owning a dog for a first time on my own, I have been working on making sure I'm setting extra funds aside to just the strict purchase of a dog and it's really good to see some kinds of ballparks for what I should expect so that I (and other first time owners) can have a good sense of the bare minimum we should expect to set aside so we can responsibly provide for an animal (barring of course emergencies, unexpected illnesses, etc etc that one should also be setting aside for, just in case).
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