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First cabbage from the COVID garden.
I hate that this is our choice 😢
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Rising Star
It really depends. Like my dog is fine being home alone (I adopted an older dog) so I dont need to pay for a walker or doggy day care. I probably spend $2k a year (dog food + vet + flea and tick prevention + dog sitter when I’m on vacation).
Rising Star
Also don’t cheap out on dog food. Most dog foods are actually crap - I don’t even know how they allow it on the shelves. Happy to provide recommendations :)
Dogs are priceless though with their unconditional love and affection.
Enthusiast
Pre-Covid I use a dog sitter or walker weekly in NYC. It was closer to 6-7k.
I’m more on the high end, but want to show how it varies. When I got my dog I was in a relationship where my SO would take care of the dog when I travelled. Fast forward several years, I’m not giving him up and spend way more money than I’d like to make sure he is taken best when I’m traveling.
Your lifestyle can change and expenses may change. It’s not a one year commitment.
Enthusiast
Yep, tens of thousands is the total lifetime ownership cost. Agreed.
Chief
Varies on the size and breed of dog, your availability, and there’s no way to anticipate how much of your shit they’re gonna eat. Also factor in non-routine vet bills and how bougie you wanna be with their food. My littlest dog destroyed 3 couches beyond repair and cost me an extra months rent twice at the vet by happenstance. And my largest dog who’s still a puppy has a taste for consuming shoes, oaklies, and we’re on Samsung remote control #9. So.
Chief
$3k with doggie daycare
In a normal year (the usual vet, 5 day a week walks, occasional boarding) probably $6-8k. My dog is a lemon though and has had one $5k surgery, another $2k extended vet stay and a couple of dog bites that required a $1-2k emergency vet visit. Also depends on size of dog (mine is 70). A lot of daycare and boarding places charge based on weight. And obviously they eat more.
Enthusiast
2k/year is about right- as your dog gets older and has higher vet costs and visits (I mean way more) you can get pet insurance to help but expect an increase regardless the last few years of their lives by 1k.
Rising Star
So weird. The opposite has been true for me and also my parents dogs. They adopted a puppy and that dog was at the vet every month his first year.
Chief
My dog is 4 and I spend around $1,000/year on vet appointments, food/treats/toys, and heartworm/tick medicine. I have family/friends to pet sit if I need that. This is excluding any emergency vet visits
Enthusiast
G1 that’s awful. So sorry.
More than just financial cost - do you have a yard? A dog door? Do you live in an apt where you can’t be gone for more than 6-7 hours? What’s your plan if you go out of town?
love this! thank you!
If the dog has health issues it will cost you a fortune. Vets won’t blink at charging you $1000 every time you visit.
Rising Star
A2 - how bad are the allergies? My dog has them as well and we have treated them with Zyrtec and then I give him a bath once a week with hypoallergenic shampoo. They got so much better!
Also keep in mind grooming. Depending on the dog, they could need cuts every 3 months and it costs around $50 a time, minimum.
My dog is 12 and I'm in NYC. We have spent on average $8k a year on dog walker (1x day), occasional boarding when we are on a trip, and essential vetcare and grooming.
We do NOT Consider ourselves indulgent dog owners.
And yet there you are, over a hundred grand on the dog so far!!!!!! 😳🤯
Enthusiast
G1 no shame in calculating the cost of ownership. It’s very expensive.
Enthusiast
I spent $35k on my dog when she was passing away. I tried everything I could do to save her. Her dog insurance covered $7.5k of it. So there’s that.
Enthusiast
Thanks A2. I’m glad we did everything we could. I miss her so much.
That's less than I would have expected. Considering getting a dog within the next year or so.
https://youtu.be/ma3Mt5BPlTE
Yeah i think it varies on the dog...I have a golden retriever and before covid I’d spend probably $60/month on food plus $20-30 a week on daycare...if we end up traveling at some point and you have to board that can be $20-30/day...toys are surprisingly fricken expensive for whatever reason
Damn, I was in Dallas and it wasn’t the nicest place but they were good to my dog...I think a nicer place in Dallas was probably closer to $50-60
Time is certainly the greater commitment than the money. If you don’t have the time don’t get a dog.
Rising Star
Definitely have the time! Have considered that aspect well
In NJ and pay 600+ a month in daycare
Pro
A bit over $3k a year (boarding or petsitting adds up if you travel), more when I was working long hours and needed a dog walker.
You don’t notice the every day expense but the thing that still surprises me each time is that vacations cost twice as much
Rising Star
Also if you do decide to get one, please adopt from a dog rescue. I foster for a rescue and the fosters are always very honest about the dog and their personality. Rescues have puppies as well
please get pet insurance and DONT ask your friends/family to donate for your pet surgeries (it’s not their problem). I see it far too often.
adopting a dog is a great move! 😬 thank you for not buying!
Ehh, you might be better off just setting up an emergency fund instead of pet insurance. See, e.g., https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/is-pet-insurance-worth-it/2018/10/23/64ff3dfa-ccb1-11e8-a3e6-44daa3d35ede_story.html