UK ONLY!!! PLEASE HELP!!! Dog financial???

Question

I am thinking of getting a Brown Labrador. And i was wondering if anyone else has had one. And basically I want to know how much it costs roughly a month to keep one??? and that includes everything from food to vets bills. UK only?

Answer 1

Hi, don't have a Lab but have a Setter - sort of similar in size.

The cost of feeding is going to vary depending on what you feed your dog &, if you get one as a puppy, it's a fairly good idea to stick to what the breeder has been feeding it a first. Generally, I suppose that mine costs me about £25 a month in food & treats.

As for the vet bills - if you really want to budget then you could consider taking out a Pet Insurance policy & then you'll know exactly how much you have to pay out without worrying about the cost of unexpected vet's bills. These start from around £7 a month.

The other costs are a yearly vet's bill for booster vaccinations (£30 ish possibly including a suppy of worming stuff), the cost of regular worming (have no idea got mine from the vet when she went in for booster) but say, around £12 for the year - so £1 a month. Plus you might need some anti-flea stuff - this could be a regular monthly cost or an every now & then depending on how you decide to deal with fleas. I'd allow £1 a month.

There are some one off costs (or almost one off) - collar, lead, id tag, brush, blanket, bed, dog shampoo, toys, chews. Plus anything you might have to replace because he or she decides to have a quick chew. This is difficult to work out as it depends on how much you want to spend. Beds could be a cardboard box or a plastic thing costing around £15 in Argos. The prices of collars & leads also vary ... I'm currently only paying £1 for leads from my local pound shop but am getting through quite a few as the cats knock the lead off its hanger & then the dog chews it in half ... aargh! I think in total I'd budget about £40 for this or about the equivalent of just under £4 a month.

So I think that works out at around ...
Food £25
Vets £3
Pet Insurance £7
Fleas & Worms £2
Accessories £4

Total of about £41 a month. Give or take a couple of pounds depending on what you decide to buy.

Answer 2

First of all - you need to do a lot more research before buying a pup. Labradors are "chocolate" not brown! Before deciding on the colour, you should check that the puppy is KC Reg'd and comes from a reputable breeder who has hip scored & eyetested the parents before breeding. You may get a cheap puppy, but the chances are, it will cost you a lot more in vet's bills and heartache over the years. Feeding can cost as much or little as you want it to cost. Vet's bills may be negligible or vast - think about insurance which will cost you £10 -20 a month if money is an issue. Basically, if you can't afford to pay the going rate for a puppy, you can't afford to keep a dog.

Answer 3

Labradors are generally excellent dogs to have as pets, I have had them and still have one now that is just over two years old. I have heard that chocolate Labradors are not quite so easy to train as the other colours, but there are several around where I live and they all seem well trained.Cost depends on whether you are unlucky enough to need the services of a vet, but I buy my dog food in large bags about 15kilos,these can vary from about £7 to £40 a bag depending on the make, and last about six weeks.I would allow about £10 per week to cover most cost except any Vets bills. Good luck they are fabulous dogs, I would never be without my Labrador.

Answer 4

food is gonna depend on whether you opt for dry or wet food, I have a greyhound and roughly the dry food costs, plus treats, are about £25 a month

The insurance is around £16 a month (i went for an all out policy which covers illness for life and third party liability)

drontal worming tablets are three monthly and roughly a tenner each from the vet,

Frontline for fleas, ticks, parasites is roughly £25 a go

vet's consultations are usually around £25 not inclusive of treatment but that's why you get insurance,

you need to get the dog microchipped which is a bout £20

and if you are gonna get them spayed/neutered this cost varies with which vet you go to,

obviously initially you need to buy a collar, lead, a water and food bowl (stainless steel ones are best) a basket for it to sleep in (or a double duvet folded on the floor will do)....

so all in all NOT inclusive of initial outlay for the other essential bits you are looking at between £35 and £45 a month does that help a bit?

Answer 5

get a rescue dog they have already had the most expensive vet stuff,but what ever you do get,get your new dog insured it is very little a month but piece of mind that your dog will have the best medical care,as for food etc allow £10.00 a week that will cover most things.just remember don't buy your new puppy cheaply go for a well bred dog that has come from a breeder that cares ,get in touch with the kennel club for breeders in your area,and as for Labradors they make excellent pets a good all rounder good luck,but do consider a rescue Labrador rescue dogs make the best pets i know i have a rescue dog.

Answer 6

about £7/8 a week extra for grooming but when you say vets bills get an insurance its cheaper in the long run I have just had my dogs legs attended to and a bill of £500 odds

Answer 7

Read somewhere the other day (might have been the Kennel Club website) you should budget for around £25 a week in an average year.

Answer 8

labs are gr8 dogs but they have a habit of eating and eating and putting on unwanted pounds so you will have to watch his diet and also they love to destroy things they are very inelegant dogs may i suggest you also put agility training in ur budget it will do u both good and it will hep with the weight and if you keep him active he shouldn't destroy as much

Answer 9

it really depends
- food can be eas cheap as like £3 a week or as expensive as £600 a week
- vet bills are always expensive, i suggest if youre short of cash thenget her/him after theyve been neutered and had their first injections and stuff

Answer 10

labs are great i have one that will bite when any one trys to hurt me were vary close