11.2.17

What is the cost of a dog in the first year?


I've seen a lot of websites showing the average costs of getting a dog, but they are all a bit vague "You could spend this, you might spend that, you could buy this, you might buy that" so I thought I'd look at what Fizz has cost us in her first year.

First things first, Fizz is a border terrier. She was bought from a Kennel Club breeder, she has a good pedigree, we met her in her house with her mum where she was born and grew up, and she was microchipped (according to law) when we collected her. She was 9 weeks old.


Like most puppies she had been regularly wormed by the breeder before we got her, but she had not yet started her vaccinations against common puppy diseases.

Price of pedigree pup = £700

Our first few costs were the preparations for a pup in the house.

2 x stairgates = £23 each

1 x dog cage = £55

1 x dog bed £10

Multiple dog toys = £15

Collar, leads, harness, dog coat = £40

Dog insurance = £132 per year


Fizz arrived with food from the breeder but she rapidly taught us that she didn't like kibble, so we switched her to Butchers puppy food cans. (She's a tripe hound)

Canned dog food = 60p per day (£219 per year)

Dog Treats = £3 per month (£36 per year)

Poop Bags = £1 month (£12 per year)

Dog bowls, cleaning products, puppy wee pads, dog blanket = £50

She had a check up with our vet when she arrived and was started on her puppy vaccinations.

Vet visit and vaccination course = £79

During her first few months she managed to break a tooth while leaping and biting! We did not take her to the vet, but took the 'wait and see' approach. The milk tooth eventually fell out and was replaced. Win! Cost? £0

Unfortunately she also decided to rip out a claw while playing....much blood and whimpering ensured a trip to the vet at the cost of....

Claw removal and pain relief = £50 (under our insurance policy excess)


Time passed and nothing untoward happened until....Fizz escaped from an open door while she was in season! Although she was found unharmed very quickly, she had been out and about for over an hour, so we decided she should have the dog version of the 'morning after' pill. This is an injection to prevent pregnancy and is almost 100% effective. Sadly it is not cheap.

Anti-pregnancy injection = £130 (didn't claim on the insurance, not sure if 'owner stupidity' is covered)


Oh how could I forget, Fizz also got a urine infection (initially we thought her housetraining had failed big time!) and an eye infection.

Urine test, vet appointment, Antibiotics = £90 (policy excess is £99 obviously)

And of course she continues to need worm and parasite prevention each month

parasite treatments = £10 per month (£120 per year)

At 10 months we had Fizz spayed, cheaper than more escapes! Fizz was sold to us on a non breeding contract (which means none of her offspring, pedigree or not could be registered with the Kennel Club) and we are not breeders (have you any idea of the costs of that!) so we were happy to have her 'done'

Spaying = £216

And so here we are, Fizz is almost a year old, and we have managed to spend the amazing total of

£2000

and they say kids are expensive...

You may be wondering why we didn't claim on the dog insurance, well the truth is that there is a minimum we have to pay before we can claim and to keep the cost down we set that fairly high, and some things, spaying, routine vaccinations etc are not covered anyway.

You may also be wondering why we bother at all! Well she's worth it, making us laugh every day, snuggling with us every evening and generally being a loved member of the family.


Do you have a dog? Have you ever dared look at how much it's costing you??


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