I'm determined to get all of the required dog stuff before my tax return is gone, so we went to PetCo and PetSmart today. The dogs are all fed one specific type of food, and it is not the cheap stuff. The good news is that PetSmart had the big bags on sale, so we went to get a bag. The 35 lbs bags were on sale for $39, which is really expensive to me. We next adjourned to Target where we spent 10 minutes debating the merits of plastic vs metal bowls. Honestly, we're going to have a highly trained, intelligent dog and we are worried that seeing his reflection in the bottom of his water bowl would scare him. That doesn't even include the extra 5 minutes spent wondering if the dog would too afraid to drink from a self-refilling bowl.
Fortunately, someone already warned me to make sure the dog food is kept in a sealed container, so we got a huge one to avoid very nasty surprises later. And, because our dog is going to be spoiled, we got two boxes of dog treats. Just in case.
Total so far: $120 for cage, food, treats, bowls and food container. This is more expensive than I thought it would be. If I was still at my part time job I would be very hard pressed to afford any of this. I'm sure everyone who owns a dog thinks this is self explanatory, but it's a surprise to me!
Are there any grants available to help? If you see a grant application, let me know. I have written (and successfully gotten) a number of grants for the chapel and for our church camp. I would be happy to help if you would like.
ReplyDeleteDogs are not cheap to keep. The food I feed my dog runs $46 a bag if I catch the sale. I feed this food because it's a grain free, meat based diet, which is how a dog is meant to eat. I wouldn't want to live my life eating McDonalds every day, which is what cheap dog food is equivalent to. Junk food. So to a new dog owner, yes, it can be surprising to see the cost of GOOD dog food. Then there is $45 for a pack of Frontline, $40 for a pack of Interceptor (I prefer this) or Heartgard (an ok substitute), shots which range from $50 to $100 depending on your vet, the kennel (which you already know is costly), dog beds for in the kennel and/or your room(which can be as little as $8 or as much as $100), dog treats (again, choose GOOD treats, I use Three Dog Bakery since they do not use dyes, preservatives or artificial ingredients, $5 a box), dog toys, leashes, good quality collars (never buy cheap stuff, it's a recipe for disaster!), licenses, name tags, microchips (only about $30-$50), nail clippers or a grooming appt to get it done if you aren't comfortable doing it, 2x yearly check ups at the vet ($30 to $100 depending), brushes, doggy shampoo, and don't forget (Yes, this is a MUST) a doggy toothbrush and doggy toothpaste ($10). (And never ever use human toothpaste on a dog!)
ReplyDeleteSo yeah, it adds up and can be shocking! But for those of us who love and need our dogs, it's the way it has to be, right?!? :-)