Saving up for a pet with children

[Deleted]

So my family and I have decided to add a puppy to our home.

I am very much a planner. We are looking into pugs or something similar due to generally easy going nature. Currently are getting our house puppy-proofed as well as change some habits of our family to avoid any dangers (clean up cable wires, etc) we have a cat, and so this will be a bit adjustment for everyone.

I also would like to save up for the pup (if not adopt) as well as plan for the 1st yr expenses and any emergency that may occur as well. I was thinking about gathering up an estimate for what an investment would cost...as well as put a chart countdown on the fridge so my 13yo and 8yo can learn financial planning.

Any other ideas to help show kids the planning of this?

[Deleted]

Well I know the cost can vary greatly if you buy vs adopt. My dog that I got via an accidental backyard litter was much, much more expensive in the first six months vs my adopted dog who had all his vaccinations and was neutered. If your vet has a puppy shot program that can also give you some insights on shots and pricing.
Look up crate training and then see how much a crate will cost, bedding, toys, the type of food (plus feeding guidelines to figure the cost of a year), flea/tick meds, heartworm medications, spay/neuter, harness/leash, microchip, training, potty training aids (puppy pads or bells), pet insurance, consistent nail trims or tools, dog beds, toys, treats, etc.
You can get the kids to pick out stuff online at Chewy.com, petsmart, petco, etc or go inside a store and have kids "pick" things out and write the prices down. Once you have the pricing for everything, add 10-15% for extra funds and an emergency fund such as if the dog gets into something they shouldn't.

[lemoncupcake]

Generally speaking, pure bred pugs are prone to a lot of medical issues (breathing issues, skin issues, etc.). So if you really want a pug that would be something to consider

[heygrey]

Research the breeds you are considering and plan for long term expenses. Some are definitely more susceptible to long term health care needs with can be quite expensive. A pug is not a dog I would consider if I'm being budget conscious.

[Deleted]

We are not looking for a specific breed, just a small to medium size thats generally good with kids and cats.

We are looking into pugs, Shih Tzus, Havanese...or a mix of the breeds (cavachon, teddy bears etc). We had 2 smooth hair doxies over the years and one was sweet natured and one was very timid, stranger reactive and high strung. There is a rumor that says long hair doxies are more even tempered due to being bred with a setter of some kind, but I would need to interview breeders to see if this is true.

We do like big breeds like Goldens and Great Pyrenees, and we have room right now for one, but we plan to downsize our car to a compact sedan in the next few months, and will probably downsize when we move closer to DHs work as the town we will move to, its more townhouse/Apts and homes with minimal yards.

We would love to adopt as our cat is from the county shelter. It's budget friendly, the pup would already come spayed/neutered and we are saving a life...Sadly 98% of dogs there have breed restrictions in our county. Irregardless of what type of dog the most important thing is to see how the pup interacts with the kids, and as far as the cat goes...the dog will be trained through training and the cat correcting him/her.

[starlily]

Are you asking what start up expenses you should consider when getting a dog or how to explain the cost of a new dog to your kids?

[Deleted]

Aug 15, 2022 13:27:11 GMT -5 starlily said:

Are you asking what start up expenses you should consider when getting a dog or how to explain the cost of a new dog to your kids?

How to explain the cost to the kids...

I printed the savings chart, had the kids color the section of what we have now in the jar and placed the tracker onto the fridge.  Not only did they embrace this idea, but they also started to come up with ways to earn money towards the fund like a lemonade and cookie stand which is too stinkin cute.

The fund goal includes both the cost of the adoption as well as all first year expenses.

[sarahsays]

I would strongly encourage rescuing and not buying a puppy. This will likely also be more cost effective. You can usually find adoption fees on the website of the rescue you are considering.

My vet has a puppy/kitten program that is a flat fee monthly for the first year and includes spay/neuter, all shots, wellness, and unlimited sick visits. It was a great deal for my cats since I rescued them very young and they needed it all, but less so for my puppy who was rescued from an organization that handled most of that before his adoption.

If you already have your kids learning aspects of the household budget, I think teaching them that this is another line item is a good thing to add. It could also be helpful to take them to the pet store and have them help you price out food, treats, toys and to talk about what is realistic as far as how often to buy those things.

[jewel]

I know not what you asked, but - I’d highly encourage a rescue adoption. You can google breed-specific rescues in your local area, or look at independent pet rescues. I just got a kitten from a private animal rescue and it was a great experience. Most of the animals are in foster homes and really well socialized. You can talk with the foster parents about temperament, find out if they’re currently living with kids/other animals, etc. This particular rescue had a HUGE huge variety of dogs, all kinds of breeds. If you have them in your area, something like this would be a great place to start because you can submit an application with qualities you’re looking for in the animal as the starting place, instead of the breed.

[Deleted]

Would love to adopt, and it might be something to consider...we would be saving a life and I love everything is included.

We adopted our cat from the county shelter.

[simpsongal]

Hmm I remember the first 18 months being the most expensive. Can you local vet give you a schedule of typical first year appointments and expenses? Also you might want to consider pet insurance. There's the cost of food and gear, nail trimmings (and grooming depending on the dog type). We adopted our pup at 6.5 weeks (he's 12 today!). We went through the humane society to have him neutered (like $100 vs $700 w/our vet).

[cherry1111]

We rescued our puppy 3 weeks ago. I bought a puppy wellness plan through Banfield for her first year. It’s about $75 a month and includes her wellness office visits, shots, spay, and monthly heartworm/flea/tick. I figure since it included spay it comes out to be a good deal in the end.

[jlt19]

I’m just going to answer your question because everyone else has the buy vs adopt covered. BUT, the difference WILL come in to play when budgeting the first year.

1. Procurement of dog
A. Breeder-$1,000+
B. Rescue-$250-$500
C. Shelter-$25-200
2. First year medical basics
A. More b/c of spay/neutering & chip not included $500-$1000
B/C. $100-$500 for shots, HW prevention, flea/tick
3. Equipment $200-$500 for all (crate, leash, bed, toys, collar, etc)

Other things to consider are training costs for puppies (and replacing what they ruin by chewing and peeing on stuff) vs going the rescue route and getting a potentially trained dog that is already kid/cat “tested”.

Yearly I pay roughly $1000 /yr for an annual vet visit and hw/flea/tick preventative for my two 20lb rescue mutts. This will be more the bigger the dog.

Food (Kirkland Natures Domain salmon) runs me about $20/month. Again different foods are different amounts and bigger dogs need more food.

Extra lifelong medical care. Obviously this is different for every dog. But, I had 3 large dogs at once for many years and it has influenced my future dog choices for sure.

Rosco (2001-2014): Rott/Shepard (?) mutt I got from a shelter at 6 weeks old in 2001. Topped out at 85 lbs and lived to be 13 without any major medical issues.

Mabry (2007-2016) pure bred Great Dane I got off of CL at 4 months old from a woman that had lost her house and could only keep the mom (so sort of a byb, but I didn’t pay for him). Topped out at 130lbs, bloated once ($$$), but lived to be 9 (not a bad age for a poorly bred Dane).

Brunson (2005-2010): pure bred Great Dane I got from a “breeder” at 8 weeks and about $600. I found him online and picked him up at the airport when they drove down from Iowa to transport others. More than likely was a puppy mill. He nearly died at 9 mo. but was dx with Addison’s disease and survived. That was a monthly shot and daily pill costing about $150/mo. He also had a cancerous tumor removed from his leg, and at one point somehow also got ecoli in his cheek (like, WTAF?). There was probably more but he died over 12 years ago so I don’t remember everything.

He died at 4 1/2, after suffering an Addisonian crisis and spending 2 days at the Evet. He topped at 110lbs, but was 99 when he died. He also had lost nearly all of his hair by age 2. I can’t even count the thousands spent on him in his 4 short years.


This got long, sorry. I’m bored today and while not the best memories posted here, I do love to remember my “boys”.

[missva]

You could kind of think of it like budgeting for a car. You have the up front cost which is widely dependent based on type (responsibly bred purebred vs. adopting), then maintenance (food, routine meds), equipment (crate, bowls, bed, harness leash etc), and then unexpected costs (medical emergencies, boarding etc).

[mich1]

You can spend as much on a dog, or as little. We have a terrier mutt we rescued at around 6 years from a backyard breeder. As she was older, I think we paid about $100 for her from the humane society. She was spayed when we received her, as she had been a breeding female. Unfortunately, this increases her risk for breast cancer considerably so we have to check her out regularly. Stuff we bought her probably was about $200 at first, and now we spend about $20/mo for dog food and maybe $100/year at the vet and for meds. She's cheap and has no health issues.

My neighbor bought a rottie puppy. I think she paid about $1000 for her dog. She's only about 3-4 years old and neighbor has already invested $10,000 in knee surgery on her 2 back knees. Bigger dog, more food.

Don't forget to add boarding costs in. It costs us $30/day to board the mutt and we have already spent about $1000 this year on her boarding fees. If you travel (and we're doing more and more these days) it adds up quickly.

[icedcoffee]

jlt19 , I didn't know you had an Addison's dog. <3 So sorry for your loss.

My beagle has Addison's. He's now 8 and was diagnosed at 3. We were VERY lucky to already have pet insurance on him because it really increased his costs as he's on drugs for life. It's really hard to predict cost of a dog. Beagles aren't known to be expensive, but shit happens.

I would really avoid pugs, bulldogs, and even great danes if I really want to avoid costs though. They're just known to be pricier dogs.

We got him from a breeder. At the time, I didn't really understand all the things about breeder vs. rescuing (It's my first dog and yes, I feel stupid in hindsight). My next dog will absolutely be rescue beagle.

All that to say...I love him and I'd do it all again.

ETA:  He also had a couple other unexpected medical things--undescended testicle and cherry eye which needed surgery and insurance didn't cover.  He's a big of a mess.  LOL.  I love him so much.

[imojoebunny]

Aug 22, 2022 15:28:39 GMT -5 mich1 said:

Don't forget to add boarding costs in. It costs us $30/day to board the mutt 

Where is this $30 a day creature who cares for dogs?  I might be willing to take our fellow ther for some of our longer trips!  We pay $60 and think that’s a bargain.  This is a big expense for us.  We travel 10-12 weeks a year, often with our dog, but for about a month each year, we have a sitter.  I would estimate on average, our 7 year old dog is about $125 per month in vet expenses, $60-100 in food, and he has to be groomed 4-6 times a year, which is $100-120. (Poodle coat, most dogs do not have their expense, but might have things like nail trips and anal glands)

[mich1]

Sept 3, 2022 22:34:54 GMT -5 imojoebunny said:

Aug 22, 2022 15:28:39 GMT -5 mich1 said:

Don't forget to add boarding costs in. It costs us $30/day to board the mutt 

Where is this $30 a day creature who cares for dogs?  I might be willing to take our fellow ther for some of our longer trips!  We pay $60 and think that’s a bargain.  This is a big expense for us.  We travel 10-12 weeks a year, often with our dog, but for about a month each year, we have a sitter.  I would estimate on average, our 7 year old dog is about $125 per month in vet expenses, $60-100 in food, and he has to be groomed 4-6 times a year, which is $100-120. (Poodle coat, most dogs do not have their expense, but might have things like nail trips and anal glands)

We have a sitter who is doing this to supplement her social security.  Harriet is with her right now while we are in Fiji.  We are getting a tremendous rate, but it’s cash only and you have to pay up front (she has had clients abandon their dogs on her).  Harriet is spoiled rotten and she adores going to ‘grandma’.  We were gone 54 days last winter and sitter spoiled her to the tune of 8 additional lbs on our 42 lb dog.  She now knows limited treats, we were afraid we’d have to take Harriet to the vet and we’d get yelled at!  Weight is off, so all is good.  

It costs us $20/day to kennel the cat.  Unfortunately the cat and dog sitters are 30+ min away in opposite directions!

Our boarding costs last year were nearly $3000, so it is a good chunk of change.