{"id":523,"date":"2020-10-14T17:38:17","date_gmt":"2020-10-14T17:38:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marshallbrain.com\/wordpress\/?page_id=523"},"modified":"2020-10-18T15:50:43","modified_gmt":"2020-10-18T15:50:43","slug":"dogcost","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/marshallbrain.com\/dogcost","title":{"rendered":"How much does a dog really cost? Let’s find out!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Marshall Brain<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Irena is my daughter and she is 8. For half of her life she has been lobbying her mother Leigh and I for a dog. I will admit that I resisted, and so did her mother. But finally, in late 2008, her parents buckled to unrelenting pressure. A dog would be Irena’s Christmas present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not a bad thing, because Leigh and I are “dog people”. Way in the past – it seems like several lifetimes ago now – we lived on a farm and we always had several dogs. There was one point where we had eight dogs. Their names were Fluff, Roo, Fort, Bobby, Mamma Dog, Ginger, Barney and Yellow, and they formed a well-behaved little dog society. Through the normal aging-out process, our eight dwindled to two. And when we moved into town the two came to live with Leigh’s parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was when the last two finally aged out (at age 16) that Irena saw her chance. She upped her lobbying, and it worked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, over the long Thanksgiving weekend of 2008, the Brain family explored the world of animal shelters. We visited three shelters (the local SPCA<\/a>, the Wake County animal shelter<\/a>, and a shelter that sets up in PetSmart on Saturdays). We picked out a nice mutt, about six months old, that Irena and her mother both loved. We went back to the Wake County Animal Shelter on Sunday evening and made a commitment. We put down a $50 deposit on our new family member, who would soon be known as Trixie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Leigh and I have four kids, and I have always wondered in the back of my mind, “If I had actually recorded every penny we spent on the kids, how big would that number be?” But that is hard to do, because kids change everything in your life. If we didn’t have the kids, we wouldn’t live in the house we live in. But how do you account for that? The same thing happens with cars, vacations, food, restaurants, etc. It would be hard to tease out the fractional parts of all the decisions and changes you make as a parent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what about a dog? Here it is much easier. There is only one reason you buy dog food or a chew toy. It should be very easy to track the cost of a dog over time. I have no idea how much a dog costs, but I bet it will be a surprising number. So here I present you (and me) with a complete accounting for Trixie in her first year with us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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November 30, 2008<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We made the commitment to Trixie today. We had to put down a $50 deposit and sign the paperwork. But we could not pick her up, because she needed to be spayed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here we see a huge cost benefit in getting a dog from the county animal shelter. We will spend a total of $70 to adopt Trixie, and for that $70 we get:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Free spaying<\/li>
  2. Free microchip implant<\/li>
  3. Free first vet visit<\/li>
  4. Free stitches removal<\/li>
  5. Free first round of shots (at the shelter), plus free second round of shots (at the vet)<\/li>
  6. Free 5 pounds of Science Diet food along with a bunch of samples of other products<\/li>
  7. Free leash<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    We also got a free DVD (produced by Animal Planet) to prepare us for Trixie’s arrival. One of the things stressed in the video is the need for a “crate” to keep the dog in so she doesn’t chew up your house. So Sunday night Leigh got on CraigsList.com and found someone nearby selling a used crate of the proper size for $35 (about half price). We picked it up Sunday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So, on day 1, Trixie cost us $50 (adoption deposit) + $35 (crate) = $85.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If we had gone to a pet store and purchased a pure-bred puppy, we would have spent $500 to $1,000, and all of the above-mentioned items would not have been free. We saved a lot of money by getting a pound puppy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    December 1, 2008<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    On Monday night we made the obligatory trip to PetSmart to buy a few accessories. We bought two chew toys and an engraved ID tag (they have a machine in the store that engraves it while you watch). The prices in this store are startling. Example: A rubber chew toy. Probable cost to manufacture: 20 cents. Cost on the shelf $10.99.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We spent $28 at PetSmart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Trixie’s Total cost: $113<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Had we not been prior dog owners, we would also need to be buying a food bowl and a water bowl, a brush, etc. But we had these already. Grandma also made a pillow and a cover for Trixie’s crate and donated them to the cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    December 4, 2008<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    The happy day has arrived! We go to the animal shelter and pick up Trixie. We pay the reminder of the adoption fee ($20) and $8 for a harness, because Irena thinks that Trixie will like it better than a collar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Trixie’s Total cost: $141<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Both Irena and Trixie are ecstatic, and the whole family has a glow. Value of all that happiness? Definitely more than the $141 spent so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We take Trixie home and let her get acquainted with her new address. She takes many walks. I replace a couple of loose boards in the fence so we can let her loose in the backyard. Which brings up a good point: the fence came with the house. This would be a major expense otherwise. The neighbor across the street opted for an “invisible fence” that he installed himself when he got a puppy earlier in the year. That’s the cheapest option possible and probably cost about $150. If we had had to pay for it, our fence would have cost several thousand dollars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Somehow we end up at PetSmart again that evening and spend another $25 on a “beautiful collar” (don’t ask), pig ears, treats and several other necessities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Trixie’s Total cost: $166<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    December 5, 2008<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Trixie has her first vet visit. The way this works is that we take Trixie to the vet and the animal shelter reimburses the vet for a shot, de-worming medicine and a check up. The vet applies a lot of upsell pressure for additional tests (at $50 a pop) that Leigh resists. Total cost of vet visit: $0. [If you want to be a stickler, we had to drive about 15 miles back and forth to get to a vet that would take the animal shelter’s voucher.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The vet tells us that Trixie is probably 8 months old rather than 6 (based on her teeth). The vet speculates that she is a beagle (tail\/body) + terrier (body\/head) + sharpei (skin\/coat) mix, but who knows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What we notice after reviewing the first 24 hours of Trixie’s life with the Brain family is that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. She loves the crate. She will happily go in and lay down.<\/li>
    2. She sleeps through the night in the crate no problem. Doesn’t make a sound.<\/li>
    3. She doesn’t bark at all in the house<\/li>
    4. She is really good on a leash<\/li>
    5. She is as sweet as she can be with the kids. No biting, nipping, scratching, etc. Very playful and happy<\/li>
    6. However…<\/li>
    7. She likes to jump up on people<\/li>
    8. She immediately starts barking at any stranger and especially at any other dog while she is walking<\/li>
    9. She seems to be reverse potty trained. She will wait to go inside the house! We have had four or five accidents. Perhaps this is because she lived for several months in a small pen at the shelter, and all the dogs go in their pens.<\/li>
    10. She totally ignores the Science Diet dog food they gave us at the pound.<\/li>
    11. Any item left on the floor (shoes, slippers, toys, even Christmas ornaments on low-hanging branches, anything) has a high probability of being carried back to the crate and chewed.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      No damage yet because we are watching her like a hawk. But the damage potential is high. There is probably a cost to the accidents as well, but the carpet is old (and has already weathered the spills of 4 small children for years) and is scheduled to be replaced after she is fully house trained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Trixie’s Total cost: $166 as of Dec 5, 2008<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      December 8, 2008<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      A tragedy today – Trixie ate her beautiful harness. She had it on, and she was able to reach around and chew through part of it and get it off. So when Leigh and the kids were at Wal-mart today they bought three chew toys for $12.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Once she got settled in after a couple of days, she started eating the Science Diet food without any problem. We feed her twice a day. We received a 10 pound bag of dog food in early December from Grandma. It was Purina Pro brand for “senior” dogs, but Trixie liked it just fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Trixie’s Total cost: $178 as of Dec 8, 2008<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      December 21, 2008<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      A friend at HowStuffWorks suggested that we check out Big Lots for dog paraphernalia. Boy, was she right. We sent Leigh and Irena into the local Big Lots on Sunday and 20 minutes later they came out with a big bag of dog stuff for $12. One of the things they found was a stake that you screw into the ground ($1.50) to hold a line that would let you have the dog out in the front yard while you are doing yard work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      So on Monday Leigh and Irena went to Target and bought a steel cable (20 ft long) to attach to the stake. That was $8. They also went to PetSmart and bought a new harness ($9) and a bottle of dog shampoo ($5).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Trixie’s Total cost: $210 as of Dec 22, 2008<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      December 22, 2008<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Trixie went to the vet and got her stitches out. This was free through the animal shelter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      December 26, 2008<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Trixie got her first bath today. She didn’t particularly like it, but she stoically bore her burden and smelled much better when she got done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      December 27, 2008<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Time to buy more dog food. We went to Wal-Mart and, after reading a bunch of labels, picked out Purina One Puppy Food (lamb and rice blend) at $10.83 for a 10 pound bag. Why this brand? Because Leigh has been reading, and supposedly you want to find a dog food that has a meat as its first ingredient, rather than corn. And you want something other than corn to be the main filler (after the meat). And you want “crude protein” to be as close to 30% as you can get. It was a toss up between the Purina and Rachael Ray’s Nutrish dog food, and the Purina stuff had more protein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      (Note that you can buy 50 pounds of Old Roy dog food for $17 at Wal-Mart, so there definitely are cheaper options when it comes to dog food. But Old Roy’s main ingredient is corn.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Trixie’s Total cost: $221 as of Dec 27, 2008<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      January 1, 2009<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      January 1 came cold, crisp and beautiful in Raleigh. To ring in the new year, we went for a 3-mile family walk at Lake Johnson. Here is a self-timer family portrait we took on the dam. Trixie is a full family member at this point. She loves taking walks and does really well in public settings. You just have to hold her back if another dog comes along.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"\"\/<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

      Today didn’t cost a thing. It was a lot of fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      January 2, 2009<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Time for another vet visit, this time for another round of vaccinations. These things can get so expensive that vets now produce a preliminary estimate, just like they do at the car repair place. It looked like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"\"\/<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

      There is nothing you can do about the top two items. The DHLPP and Bordetella lines are the actual shots she needs. The rest is proposed tests. For example, the Fecal line is a proposed test for worms, even though at the last visit Trixie was given de-worming medicine. Leigh took the four required lines and declined the rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      She also bought a 12-month supply of heartworm medicine. The proposed price was $75. But Leigh had taken a printout showing the online price to be $47.50, so the vet sold it to her for $47.50 instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Total vet bill for the day: $132.55<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Trixie’s Total cost: $354 as of January 2, 2009<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      January 4, 2009<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Another trip to Good Will today to dump a load of stuff there, and since Good Will is next to Big Lots and Trixie needs more chew toys, another trip to Big Lots. We bought a 17.5 pound bag of Iams Healthy Naturals dog food ($15) plus 4 chew toys and a one-pound bag of rawhide strips ($5). The total bill was $29.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Trixie’s Total cost: $383 as of January 4, 2009<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      January 5, 2009<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Trixie totally rejected the Big Lots rawhide strips. At BJ’s today Leigh bought a 2.5 pound bag of premium pig ears for $18. That should last awhile, we hope. (You might be asking why this dog needs so many things like chew toys and pig ears. It’s because she wants to chew CONSTANTLY, and buying this stuff is cheaper than having her start devouring shoes, toys and furniture.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Trixie’s Total cost: $401 as of January 5, 2009<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      January 12, 2009<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Today Trixie got tangled up in the power cord of my laptop and knocked it to the floor. In the process she shattered the screen. As described in the following three blog posts, I initially thought she might have doubled her cost:<\/p>\n\n\n\n