Cost of a New Puppy

March 31, 2009

in money,puppy

photo-1
He’s cute isn’t he? Well, they both are. ;) But I’m talking about the fluffy, adorable puppy. He’s such a love.

Things are hectic with a new puppy, and 4 young kids. The puppy needs 2 walks/run times a day, and to be taken out frequently. That’s the easy part. The hard part is getting him to behave IN the house. We resorted to using his leash in the house, since when he has free roam he tends to get into trouble. We figure this will continue until he learns to settle down in the house, and not chew EVERYTHING on the floor (including the kids!) We moved his crate to the kitchen, so he is sleeping through the night, and his turning around in the middle of the night doesn’t wake me up anymore. He’s doubled in size since we brought him home! It’s amazing how fast he’s growing!

Now on to the expenses. These expenses are for his first month. We have a 2nd vet appointment scheduled this month, and expect to purchase a “tie-out” for the yard this week. Other than that his only expense will be food. In May we will begin puppy kindergarten with a local trainer, which should cost around $200. Well worth it if it gets him to behave in the house!

March Puppy Expenses

Purchase of dog: $400

Beginning Supplies: $298
Includes crate, toys, shampoo, nail trimmers, brush, leash, collar, leader, training treats, treats, travel crate (will sell this at a later date when he outgrows it)

First Vet Visit: $112
Includes shots, worm check, flea/tick medicine, and well checkup.

Additional food/toys: $65
We found the food we were giving him wasn’t proper for a puppy, so we had to spend another $27 for food, and an additional $38 for rawhides (he likes to chew!) and a several more toys.

1 Visit from Puppy Trainer: $55
Worth every penny!!! She was amazing with him!

Total Expenses for 1st Month: $930

I anticipate we’ll be spending an additional $400 over the next 2 months, plus the cost of neutering, and then expenses should level off to include only food and a few treats now and again. After we are through the next few months of expenses we will start putting $50/month into a savings account for pet emergencies.

Of course all the expense is WELL worth it. We are so happy to have a puppy, and he brings us a lot of joy and peace.

Kelly

© 2009, Whalen Media LLC. All rights reserved. To repost or publish, please email Kelly.

About Kelly


Kelly Whalen is the founder of The Centsible Life, a blog where motherhood and money meet. Her goal is to help readers live well on less. Kelly is a mom to 4, and loves that she can stay at home with her kids, and still pursue her passions for writing, personal finance, and social media. You can often find her on twitter and Facebook talking money and motherhood.

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  • Kelly

    I feel a little bad since he spends most of his time leashed/crated, but it is a huge sanity saver.

    The only casualty was the leg of a table that he chewed will leashed to my hubby. He was sneaky about chewing it, he had a rawhide right next to him too!

    We’re working on a ball, Sheila. He has the sticks down pretty good.

    We met an amazing 100 lb. golden at the park the other day and Appa loved chasing the ball with him. (he couldn’t beat the big guy but he tried!)

  • Kelly

    I feel a little bad since he spends most of his time leashed/crated, but it is a huge sanity saver.

    The only casualty was the leg of a table that he chewed will leashed to my hubby. He was sneaky about chewing it, he had a rawhide right next to him too!

    We’re working on a ball, Sheila. He has the sticks down pretty good.

    We met an amazing 100 lb. golden at the park the other day and Appa loved chasing the ball with him. (he couldn’t beat the big guy but he tried!)

  • Sheila

    When I was fostering dogs/puppies for the Humane Society, I would always have the dog either leashed to me (I’d wrap it around my waist so I could have my hands free) in the house or in a crate. The dogs were never allowed free access in the house until they had “proven” themselves trustworthy. Puppies were always put in the crate when I was busy and couldn’t watch them. I saved on furniture using the leash and crate method. :-)

    You’re probably already doing this, but be sure to teach him to fetch (not all retrievers retrieve) so that if you’re tired, you can just throw a ball and wear him out. All puppies can learn to fetch if you start them young enough. I’ve always loved this motto: A tired puppy is a good puppy.

  • Sheila

    When I was fostering dogs/puppies for the Humane Society, I would always have the dog either leashed to me (I’d wrap it around my waist so I could have my hands free) in the house or in a crate. The dogs were never allowed free access in the house until they had “proven” themselves trustworthy. Puppies were always put in the crate when I was busy and couldn’t watch them. I saved on furniture using the leash and crate method. :-)

    You’re probably already doing this, but be sure to teach him to fetch (not all retrievers retrieve) so that if you’re tired, you can just throw a ball and wear him out. All puppies can learn to fetch if you start them young enough. I’ve always loved this motto: A tired puppy is a good puppy.

  • http://rainydaypennies.net Cathy @ Rainy Day Pennies

    They do grow so fast! I remember when my kitten was a kitten. She was a tiny little fluff ball when I left for work. When I got home from work, she had these long skinny legs! I couldn’t believe she grew that much in 10 hours!

    The first year I had her was the biggest expense, with vet bills and having to replace vases she knocked over. Now it’s just food, litter and catnip. I couldn’t imagine life without her dancing around the food bowl at suppertime, and annoying the boyfriend by napping on his laptop!

    • Kelly

      It’s like they grow overnight! Amazing to watch. :)

      We have 2 cats as well that we got as kittens so I know that in 6 months to a year he’ll be so much bigger, and calmer. The kittens used to be CRAZY, but they’ve settled down now. Mostly they nap and steal the dog’s food. ;) Now they just cost food, litter plus annual vet visits. Now that I’ve got my oldest scooping the cat litter they require zero maintenance from me, and they are so nice to have around.

      Kelly

  • http://rainydaypennies.net/ Cathy @ Rainy Day Pennies

    They do grow so fast! I remember when my kitten was a kitten. She was a tiny little fluff ball when I left for work. When I got home from work, she had these long skinny legs! I couldn’t believe she grew that much in 10 hours!

    The first year I had her was the biggest expense, with vet bills and having to replace vases she knocked over. Now it’s just food, litter and catnip. I couldn’t imagine life without her dancing around the food bowl at suppertime, and annoying the boyfriend by napping on his laptop!

    • Kelly

      It’s like they grow overnight! Amazing to watch. :)

      We have 2 cats as well that we got as kittens so I know that in 6 months to a year he’ll be so much bigger, and calmer. The kittens used to be CRAZY, but they’ve settled down now. Mostly they nap and steal the dog’s food. ;) Now they just cost food, litter plus annual vet visits. Now that I’ve got my oldest scooping the cat litter they require zero maintenance from me, and they are so nice to have around.

      Kelly

  • http://www.MyLifeROI.com MLR

    For people looking to cut down on these costs:

    You can cut the $400 down to around $200-300 by getting a rescue dog. They usually come spayed or neutered, too. Add on the fact that you are saving a dog from being killed and that is a benefit in itself.

    If you want to avoid all of the training costs and puppy like behavior, get a young or adult dog. If you are more sedentary get a senior dog. That will save the $55 and $200 mentioned here.

    I usually print out the $15 off $50 coupons to Pet Smart to get supplies. Make 6 visits (I have 2 on my way to/from work… so over the course of 2 days I can make 6 visits easy) and your $300 in startup supplies gets knocked down to $210.

    The biggest thing I splurge in is food. Do not get cheap stuff.

    MLR

    • Kelly

      Great comment, thanks for sharing your thoughts. :)

      “We” (and by that I mean everyone in the fam but me!) wanted a puppy to raise. We have rescued animals before, and have 2 cats that were rescued by friends that we adopted. I still paid for them since my friends had to spend a lot on vet care and food.

      Good idea on printing off the coupons!

      We buy food from a local pet store, they have a program where the 7th bag is free. Beats the deals I found elsewhere.

      I definitely don’t think having a puppy is for everyone, but we’re really happy to have him.

      Kelly

  • http://www.MyLifeROI.com/ MLR

    For people looking to cut down on these costs:

    You can cut the $400 down to around $200-300 by getting a rescue dog. They usually come spayed or neutered, too. Add on the fact that you are saving a dog from being killed and that is a benefit in itself.

    If you want to avoid all of the training costs and puppy like behavior, get a young or adult dog. If you are more sedentary get a senior dog. That will save the $55 and $200 mentioned here.

    I usually print out the $15 off $50 coupons to Pet Smart to get supplies. Make 6 visits (I have 2 on my way to/from work… so over the course of 2 days I can make 6 visits easy) and your $300 in startup supplies gets knocked down to $210.

    The biggest thing I splurge in is food. Do not get cheap stuff.

    MLR

    • Kelly

      Great comment, thanks for sharing your thoughts. :)

      “We” (and by that I mean everyone in the fam but me!) wanted a puppy to raise. We have rescued animals before, and have 2 cats that were rescued by friends that we adopted. I still paid for them since my friends had to spend a lot on vet care and food.

      Good idea on printing off the coupons!

      We buy food from a local pet store, they have a program where the 7th bag is free. Beats the deals I found elsewhere.

      I definitely don’t think having a puppy is for everyone, but we’re really happy to have him.

      Kelly

  • http://www.nodebtplan.net/ No Debt Plan

    Zoinks! We got our dog from the humane society when she was 2.5-3 months old. $150 and she came fixed, with her first round or two of shots and a free follow up visit at a vet’s office.

    Did you buy from a breeder?

    • Kelly

      We got him at 9 weeks old from a local breeder.

  • http://www.nodebtplan.net/ No Debt Plan

    Zoinks! We got our dog from the humane society when she was 2.5-3 months old. $150 and she came fixed, with her first round or two of shots and a free follow up visit at a vet’s office.

    Did you buy from a breeder?

    • Kelly

      We got him at 9 weeks old from a local breeder.

  • http://checkbookdiaries.com/ Adam @ Checkbook Diaries

    Hi Kelly! I just posted an article the other day about Expecting the Unexpected Costs Associated with Owning a Dog. In summary, we adopted a 7 month old lab, quickly realized he had hip dysplasia, and ended up paying nearly $10,000 in medical bills to have his hips reconstructed so he could live a normal life. It was worth it because he’s the best dog in the world (we think he actually know what we did for him and appreciates it), but the financial implications of adopting him and what COULD be required never crossed my mind.

    Hope I didn’t scare you. Good luck with your pup! They really are worth the expense and effort.

  • http://checkbookdiaries.com/ Adam @ Checkbook Diaries

    Hi Kelly! I just posted an article the other day about Expecting the Unexpected Costs Associated with Owning a Dog. In summary, we adopted a 7 month old lab, quickly realized he had hip dysplasia, and ended up paying nearly $10,000 in medical bills to have his hips reconstructed so he could live a normal life. It was worth it because he’s the best dog in the world (we think he actually know what we did for him and appreciates it), but the financial implications of adopting him and what COULD be required never crossed my mind.

    Hope I didn’t scare you. Good luck with your pup! They really are worth the expense and effort.

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