PUPPY help!!?

Question

what is the cost of having a dog...for example, shots, Heartworm...and so on.....

he's a puppy but will be a large breed of dog!

Answer 1

Assuming the average lifespan of a dog is ten years, the estimated cost of owning a dog for its lifetime is over $8300.

Average Cost of Owning a DOG the First Year

Puppy shots (series of 3)
$30-$80
Fecal exam and worming
$8-$25/year
Distemper/parvo vaccinations
$15-$28/year
Rabies (1, then every 3 years)
$12-$18
Spay (one time expense)
$50-$175
OR
Neuter (one time expense)
$45-$110
Heartworm check
$12-$22/year
Preventative pills
$40-$80/year
License
Spay/neuter
$5
Unaltered
$10-15
Food
$100-$150
Miscellaneous
$30

Total
$374-$658

Answer 2

A dog could run into a lot of money. Many states require license. Sometimes the spca or the state will offer free immunization as well as, free neutering. Many states require heartworm shots or pills too. Taking a dog to a private vet is most expensive. I had a mutt which cost about $50. The first year I had her, the vet bill was over $500. This included all her shots,medications and having her spayed. I also lucked out with grooming. I helped the groomer for a day and only paid $15. Grooming could easily go to $150 (depends on your area, your dog and what you want done) Some dogs also need special diets which can be costly. A cheap bag of dog food is about $2 or 3. Depending on the size of the dog the bag could last a week or 4 weeks.
Good luck picking a puppy and covering expenses.

Answer 3

Each visit to the veterinarian depends the cost is around 45 to 60 dollars plus if the dog is sick you have to buy medicine so probably around 100 to 150 dollars with medicine and visit. Food depends what brand, also if the dog eats a lot you will have to see if the dog is a large breed or not so probably every 15 to 20 days 30 to 40 dollars. So every month it could be like 200 dollars of the cost of having a dog.

Answer 4

It only costed me 70 dollars the first visit then as you keep going the bill gets cheaper the rabies shot here in Ga is only 15 dollars and heartworm chewables came with the 70 dollar visit a six month supply then you have to keep buying them they are not too expensive though dont skip a month or you have to take them back to the vet to get them because of the risk of heartworms if you skip a month then give it to the puppy again and he has heart worms it will kill the puppy

Answer 5

I have 2 springer spaniels, it probably costs about $800 per dog per year. If the dog is healthy the only trips to the vets will be for shots. The food can run from $50 per 35 lb bag of premium food to $17 for a 40 lb bag of not so good food. You can get most of your supplies and flea meds from online catalogs at a cheaper price than from the vet. Also, another cost to consider is grooming, can you do it yourself or will you have to have someone do it for you. That can cost $25-50 a session, most dogs need to be groomed every 6 weeks so that translates into $225 to $450 a year.

Answer 6

I have a Lab mix I got when she was a puppy. I paid $800.00 for the first year, that included all shot boosters, the first 6 months of heartworm preventative, spay, and dewclaw removal.
There is insurance and health plans for dogs now. Petsmart has a wonderful program. My aunt's dogs go there and they pay a monthly fee and they get lots of "extras" free.
Insurance companies vary, you will have to look up the companies your vet accepts.

Answer 7

Cost of Owning a Dog
by
Veterinary & Aquatic Services Department, Drs. Foster & Smith, Inc.


I am often asked by prospective pet owners what it costs to own a dog. Most pet owners calculate the price of the food and add it to the cost of the dog and figure that they can afford it regardless of their budget. The reality is that very few people have any idea how much owning a dog really costs and grossly underestimate it.

Why does it matter what it costs to own a dog? After all, we love our pets and we would not put a price on their health and happiness. The hard facts are that the cost of owning a dog is an extremely important consideration for a number of often overlooked reasons. The first concerns the purchase price of the dog. Many people balk at paying $500 to $1000 for a dog. They rationalize that they simply can not afford it and settle for a poorly bred $150 puppy instead. What a huge mistake. The cost of a guaranteed healthy, well-bred $1000 puppy is a fraction of what it will cost to own that dog for 12 years. A poorly bred dog with bad hips, allergies, and a not so bright disposition will end up costing you thousands more in medical bills not to mention hours of frustration and disappointment. At the same time, if you are not going to pay for a high quality purebred, then do the animal kingdom a favor and go to the shelter and get a mixed breed puppy that will be healthier and smarter than a poorly bred 'purebred.'

The second reason that the cost of owning a dog is important is that it is a big investment. This dog is going to cost you a lot of money, not to mention a tremendous amount of time. If you are not fully prepared to pay for a dog's needs and willing to spend a significant portion of your free time with the animal, then by all means do not get a dog. There are thousands of dogs put to sleep every year because the owners no longer want them or can not afford them. On top of this, there are hundreds of thousands of dogs that live miserable lives devoid of exercise, interaction, socialization, and basic housing needs because people do not realize the time, commitment, or expense involved in owning and properly caring for a dog.

The third important reason to understand what owning a dog costs is that when you realize what owning a dog costs, you will take the ownership and your responsibility much more seriously. We would not dream in investing $10,000 on a car that we know nothing about, had no warranty, we had not driven, and was completely unsuitable for our use. Yet people do this more everyday and they get a puppy without researching its breed characteristics, medical history, and parental history. And worse yet are the people that get a dog on a whim or for a child without any concept of the dog's needs and requirements, let alone the financial costs that are going to be incurred.

The following description lists the basic cost of owning a dog in several different scenarios. They include the absolute least amount it will cost for the first year, the upper level of what it could cost for the first year, and what it will cost each year for the rest of the dog's life both low and high end. It also includes what it would actually cost a tight fisted miser like me, that hates to spend money and grew up a farm, to purchase and own a 50 pound dog that lived to be 14 years old. Realize that these are basic costs and I live in the rural Midwest. If you live in a large metropolitan area you may need to double the cost and if you live in one of the top five metropolitan areas you may need to triple the cost. In addition, there is no consideration given to many other extras that come up or any consideration to your time and the monetary amount placed on the value of your time. These are rough estimates, but do not kid yourself, they are real world prices.



Product/Service Cost 1st Year Yearly Cost
Low Cost My Cost High Cost Low Cost My Cost High Cost

Purchase Price
0 50 1000 0 0 0

Food
125 300 500 125 300 500

Vaccines
20 75 150 10 60 100

Vet Bills
40 75 400 40 125 400

Spay/Neuter
35 120 200 0 0 0

Bed
25 70 150 0 7 15

Treats
20 20 100 0 20 75

Chew Bones
20 90 150 0 20 50

Bowls
5 8 25 0 1 3
Collars
8 5 20 0 1 2

Leash
5 7 20 0 1 2

Training
15 40 450 0 10 100

Fence
0 750 1500 0 0 75

Vitamins
15 20 75 2 15 8

Flea Control
20 20 200 20 20 200

Heartworm
50 52 100 50 52 100

Shampoo
6 6 25 6 6 25

Grooming
0 0 400 0 0 400

Grooming Tools
8 8 250 1 0 25

Dental Care
0 0 40 00 40

Stain Cleaner
8 30 75 5 5 75

Waste Disposal
0 0 500 0 5

Training Aids
25 25 300 3 3 30

Deworming
6 6 30 6 6 30

Boarding
15 150 200 15 150 200

Crate
40 50 150 4 5 15

Car Restraint
0 0 100 0 0 10









Totals
$511.00 $1977.00 $6600.00 $287.00 $807.00 $2485.00





Total over the life of a 14 year old dog

Low Cost My Cost High Cost

$4,242.00 $12,468.00 $38,905.00




These totals are pretty shocking aren't they? And remember, this is the cost for a 50-pound dog that lives in the Midwest. It is not uncommon to see some of these numbers double or triple in places like New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and Dallas. Now granted most people do not end up spending $40,000 on their dog, but some spend a whole lot more. A dog with hip dysplasia or severe allergies can have significantly higher veterinary expenses and I routinely see people who spend over $2,000 on a single veterinary problem. Chances are your costs will be similar to those I incur, but even with the minimum required care, it is still over $13,000.00.

What do we learn from all this? Well on the positive side we Americans love our dogs and are not afraid to spend money on them. But on the more important practical side we realize that there is no such thing as a 'free' puppy. With this huge investment it only makes sense that we are very careful about choosing a puppy. While I appreciate the benefits of a purebred breed, this highlights the importance of doing your research and getting a puppy that has parents with excellent hips, eyes, legs, disposition, and no history of skin allergies. Research the breeds and choose a breed that matches your lifestyle. Spending a $1000 on a puppy may be a shock at first but if it is healthy, intelligent and guaranteed free of defects, then it is worth every penny. Puppies that are bred for appearance and not structural soundness, intelligence, health, and disposition are a dime a dozen and will often end up costing you much more than the purchase price of a good puppy in health problems and often develop serious behavioral and disposition problems as well. Remember that hard to find breeds can cost $1000 and still be a medical nightmare. When I talk about a $1000 puppy it includes one that is free of all inherited problems including hips, eyes, skin, and legs. The parents and grandparents should be free of all medical problems and the breeder must show proof. The disposition and intelligence of both parents should also be excellent and they should be well trained. To get this kind of guarantee you are going to have to spend a lot of money and time, and in rare breeds, it will even be more, but it can be well worth it. You can pick up any Sunday paper and find a basket full of purebred puppies for $75 to $300 each. It would be very unlikely that these puppies' parents have certified hips, eyes, and elbows, or are free of allergies. The parents are often not well trained and usually the owners have never even seen the grandparents. I see these 'registered' dogs every day in my clinic and they often have hip dysplasia, skin allergies, bone problems, behavior problems, and eye problems. When you see what it costs to own a dog you will see the importance and reason why good dogs cost a lot more. Once in a while an intelligent, healthy dog emerges from the $100 section of the paper, but as a rule, you get what you pay for and ignorance is expensive.

On the flip side of the thousand-dollar puppy is the puppy that ends up in the shelter and needs a home or 'else.' There are some real diamonds in the 'ruff' to be found at the local humane society. But here again, there are some disasters waiting to happen. Be smart when you choose a puppy. Remember that mixed breeds often have fewer health problems than purebreds. Choosing a mix that is a cross between two breeds you like is a great way to go. Make sure you have the dog checked by a veterinarian first thing, and do your research on the breeds before you start looking. Taking a puppy from a shelter is a great way to go, but remember that you have to really want the dog for all the right reasons, not because you feel sorry for him. All three of my current pets were rescued from 'death row' and they are all unique and have made great pets.

Remember we own dogs because we love dogs. The money should not ever stop us from caring for or taking in a puppy that needs a home, but we have to be aware of the cost and our commitment to the animal. The animal's needs have to come first! This is so important I am going to say it again, The animal's needs have to come first! Lack of funds is no excuse for not providing adequate care for an animal. If we can not meet the needs of the animal or we are not fully committed to providing the time, energy, and finances that our dog needs then we should not bring that animal into our home, period, no excuses. It just is not fair to them.

Answer 8

i would suggest you get pet insurance. trust me, it will save you tons and tons of money in the long run. i have it and i have great piece of mind. I use VPI pet insurance.
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ps. i had to take my doc to the er vet due to a skin condition he got after his routine shots. there was a girl there with like a 2 week old kitten who was bitten by a rotwiler. she had to have surgery, and the girl and her mom were crying on the phone with the dad cause they were arguing whether to let the cat go to heaven or fight for it. i mentioned pet insurance for her...if she had it, she would not have to have made such a hard decision (the surgery was costly)...well, in the end, i left from there so i do not know what the outcome was

Answer 9

If it's a puppy he should get a parvo test, heartworm test, bordatella test, etc.
when he's around six you should get him neutered.
plus you gotta feed him and will most likely need to take him to obedience.
I'm thinking 500

Answer 10

They arent cheap, but they are cheaper than kids! Thats what I told the vet when I got the first round of shots for my puppy.