cost of puppy care
I am planning to get an OES puppy and have been reading all kinds of useful information here! Thank you everyone! Before I commit to love, cherish, and care for a puppy I want to make sure I have all the facts. I am aware of the patience, time and dedication I will need. My puppy would get all the love and companionship it needs. I was hoping someone could guide me as to what to expect financially. What are the costs of feeding, grooming, and veterinary care? Just a ballpark is fine. Thanks in advance for any information, Erika |
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| Doing a rough calculation for my food, grooming, and me taking my 2 yo oes to the vet last year (just the essentials, not including any special grooming tools, treats, or anything special) ...i came up with a total of $1,357 according to the few bills I added up, the only THREE times she went to the groomers, a few essential brushes, and her food.
Others will tell you they spent SO much more on a normal year (assuming there weren't any big medical problems). The ones I included were all minor (shots, scratched her eye, blood tests, thyroid test, just seen for allergies and they sent me home with nothing), and what I consider normal... I'm sure I forgot so much... but if you include all the pampering, the cost skyrockets another 1,000 at least.  |
| Thank you!
That helps. I'll round your figure up to $2000 yearly; barring health problems that should cover it. I am very excited.  |
| I'll just add my 2 cents for what its worth...If you plan to take your OES to the groomer on a regular basis, expect to pay close to 100 bucks. At least that is what it costs me almost ten years ago here in NY...
Also add in the cost of preparing for puppy'a arrival...crate, baby gates, bowls, leash, brushes, toys, etc....As a pup expect to visit the Vet about three or four times for shots, etc...then probably once a year for annual. But there is still heartworm meds ( if they give that where you are), flea & Tick preventative...ummm, I guess that's it... But the cost would be about the same for any breed...too bad we can't use them as dependents for income taxes! |
| Our latest addition to the family is eighteen months old now. We were concerned about anticipated and unanticpated veterinary care costs, and opted to shift the burden of the unknown to a pet care insurance carrier. We were insured by Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI) the first year, and following the lead and endorsement of several in this community we shifted from VPI to PetCare Insurance (www.petcareinsurance.com) this year. We were swayed to switch when we discovered that VPI pays a % of what they believe to be "reasonable charges," where PetCare Insurance pays a % of "billed charges" on covered diseases/injuries/services.
I suspect that for about $500.00 in insurance costs this year, we will recover some significant portion of our out of pocket expense for the insurance, and find comfort in knowing that the insurance company is "rolling the dice" on unanticipated claims. While some will refute our strategy, I find "peace of mind" knowing that the insurance company is rolling the dice, rather then us. One lesson that we did learn with pet insurance is that there is a certain period after you enroll that you will not enjoy the full compliment of coverage. Should you opt for pet care insurance, I would suggest that you begin your coverage one month before you bring your puppy home. That way, once he/she is home, you will enjoy full coverage without the "holding period" limitations. While we recognize that the insurance industry makes a fortune by assuming risks that others (subscribers) don't want to assume, we have no objection to making the insurers fatter, by passing the risk along to them at a relatively small out-of-pocket expense to us. |
| Hello, you're going to love having an oes. We just got our puppy Feb 2nd and so far have spent $500. This includes the crate, the puppy pillows, toys, brushes, combs, shampoo, conditioner, bowls, leashes, collar, license, vet check up and shots, and puppy rugs for the crate. Another helpful hint, that didnt cost anything but I found most helpful of all, I called and asked a local groomer if he would show me how to properly clean Beaufords ears and dehair them. That was my best bargain
On a side note, the first oes my parents owned came from a champion in San Antonio TX. Texas is a great state |
Puppy pillows?!!!! Lucky baby!!!
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| Actually, I think the cost of grooming your dog depends on where you live and where you go.
The place we take Barney is a doggie day care and a grooming place, so to let him play for the first half of the day and then get groomed the second half, if it's a bath only, it'll cost us around $65. For a haircut added I think it was $80. So for play and pamper (they call is a spaw day) it doesn't cost that much... |
| I added up the "routine" vet care for Ty in his first year and came up with $800.00 that included the usual shots, neutering and one "sick" visit for an eye infection. Add to that the food and the grooming (which depends on your area and how often or IF you decide to go to a professional groomer) as well as the expense for toys collars (which a puppy needs a few of in the first year d/t growth) and I expect you could EASILY be between 1500 and 2000.
That is for a "well" animal, you need to also have an "emergency" reserve for those illness' that do crop up. |
| You may want to add in the cost of obedience school. I found it a necessary with both my OESs. These dogs grow big fast and they're so dang cute it's hard to dicipline them and tell them "no". Of course, it's almost as hard to find a reputable trainer as it is a reputable breeder. |
| I don't even want to tell you what I really spend on the dogs because it will scare you away from getting one. Then again, I have 3. |
| We're a group of folks that spoil our animals WAY above the average dog owner.
However, there are people who manage to have OES' AND find ways to take care of them when they get sick and spend a lot less. I'm usually the first to discourage people (in person) from getting an OES (because I'm a grinch), but I'm positive people can manage with the understanding that medical bills and food for a large dog CAN get very expensive. You could always shave your dog which after the purchase of clippers ...is free. |
| I can't even begin to calculate what day care at $11 a day times two cost me - never mind boarding when I went away on business or pleasure or for ten days when my mother died out of state.
Be prepared to spend more than you could expect and hope to be surprised. Right now we buy a 40 lb bag of food about every three weeks, and classes cost $200 every 6 weeks. They destroy $7 worth of stuffed animals within minutes and then there was $1000 for the radio fence. For a while it seemed like I spent $80 every weekend in the pet store (but they do have a large inventory fo matchilg or coordinating collars and leashes )
Yesterdays grooming cost $145. Did someone say we spoil these dogs? |
kerry wrote: I can't even begin to calculate what day care at $11 a day times two cost me - never mind boarding when I went away on business or pleasure or for ten days when my mother died out of state.
$11 a for each dog perday? That's an awesome deal! I pay $50 for the boys. Ironically, the boarding people that I work with only charge me $35 a night for all 3, and they board right in their home and treat them like one of their own. It's like a vacation for the dogs when we go on vacation! |
ButtersStotch wrote: kerry wrote: I can't even begin to calculate what day care at $11 a day times two cost me - never mind boarding when I went away on business or pleasure or for ten days when my mother died out of state. $11 a for each dog perday? That's an awesome deal! I pay $50 for the boys. Izzie is $13 a day when you buy a large package in advance...and she goes 3 days a week.....now I know where my shoe budget went  |
Andy 'n us wrote: You may want to add in the cost of obedience school. I found it a necessary with both my OESs.
Obedience training is a requirement! Not necessarily expensive, though. I did two 8 week group courses (beginner and Canine Good Citizen) at $75 apiece. And the training is all about training YOU, so that you will teach your dog good habits each and every day. My dog sitter in the Phoenix area is $17 for a 45 minute in house visit and $34 per day for boarding. We stopped taking Bailey to the groomer because we couldn't find one that does a good job. And, given the warm weather here we keep him relatively short and can bathe him outdoors all year round. We did have to invest in good clippers and grooming tools. |
| This is the chart my husband and I used when looking at figures.
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm ... cleid=1543 This man's dog only weighed about 50 pounds though, keep that in mind. Some items seem very low too, like the he has a "high" purchase price for a pup at $1000, and as you probally know, that is most likely a "low" price for an oes. |
| To determine a more accurate guesstimate I would call around to local vets in your area to get a range of prices. Otherwise, guess high because you normally want to spend money on the things that are dearest to you! |
| You also have to look at where you are in the Dallas area.
Park Cities, North Dallas, and its burbs have some of the most expensive vets and stores. This can easily translate into several hundred dollars difference a year, per dog. You are going to need to keep your dog on a heartworm preventative all year long, with a a flea & tick preventative from March through November. I do my own grooming as I haven't found anyone I like yet. Be aware that it gets too hot in the summer for much outside activity in the daylight. Congrats. They are very addictive. |
| So far we have spent in the last six months with Edgar $3,310.27. Now granted this also is including the $1,200 purchase price of him. I Don't feel like we have spent money crazy either because we had nothing dog related to start with. I have a few more things to buy and then we will be done so i will expect the price to be much lower for the second year of owning him. Those stupid vet bills add up. It was about $300 for this last vet visit concerning his skin problem.
The full breakdown is this:
Gear: $1167.63 Purchase: $1200.00 Vet: $686.52 By comparison (not that there is one), our two cats in almost 4 years have only cost $1746.20. But hey, either way it's cheaper than children! |
| Lol. I love your avatar, Edgar's mom. I thought my eyes were going crazy for a minute! |
Oh thank you.  My husband did it for me. He was dying to make me an animated avatar. I of course could care less but when you get computer geeks like my husband I find he is off doing some computer tweaking or some odd computer project. He was rather miffed because the first one he did with more frames in it wouldn't work. So he had to slim it down to just two pictures of Edgar. 
I will tell him you liked it. It will make his day as he keeps asking me if anyone has noticed it yet. |
I noticed!! I thought my eyes were playing tricks at first too. Very clever!  |
| I live on Long Island in NY and obedience classes run from $100 to $175 for a six week group class...Also, be sure to add in "unexpected" medical bills...we had a tummy problem with our 14 week old OES and so far the Vet bill has run us over $400...medications, bloodwork, lab fees, x-rays and Vet visits... And they still have no answers as to what was wrong.
I just took heath insurance through AKC...had I done it when I first registered him, it would have saved me a few bucks...you might want to look into that too. AKC offers a complimentary trial when you register your pup...my suggestion is to take advantage of it and shop around for one that may suit your needs... |
Beaureguard's Mom wrote: I noticed!! I thought my eyes were playing tricks at first too. Very clever!
Me too, it freaked me out the first time I saw it. |
| The shifting Edgar got me too. I was babysitting gr-daughter Breanna and she loves it!!! |
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