How much are your vet bills?

rosesandpetals

If you get a puppy, how much are the vet bills during the first year? I don't need an exact number, just a ball park. Are we talking $300 or $2,000? Or more? I assume they need to be spayed/neutered during that time.

DH wants to get a puppy when DD is older. I don't know anything at all about dogs, just trying to get an idea of what we'd be getting into. I know some people are touchy about rescue dogs, please don't flame me, I haven't done any research yet. Literally just starting to think about it.

Mrs.Hizzo

If the dog is totally healthy and you just need to do vacs and heartworm? Maybe $300 the first year. (Puppies are like babies, they need more shots on a more regular basis.) After that, they don't need vaccinations as often, although they do need heartworm tests and pills yearly. As Gwapes pointed out, a rescue or shelter puppy will already be spayed or neutered.

Trouble is, dogs aren't always healthy. My dog is 2.5 years, and we've spent a shit ton of money on giardia, ear infections, and surgery on his eyes because his eyelashes were growing on the inner eyelid. Then there's the super-expensive food that we buy to prevent the ear infections. Just from a health standpoint, he's been pretty expensive. I imagine we've spent upwards of $3K on that stuff, and it doesn't include his neuter (we had to take care of that on our own). And it doesn't take into account the other money we spend on him.

thechickencoop

A lot.  

If you get a puppy they will be seen every few weeks for the first couple months (maybe, 3 to 6 visits depending on the size of the dog) for vaccines and the boosters.  Then a spay or neuter.  I would say to budget maybe 1000 on the high end for everything.  It totally depends on your vet though and what vaccines you get. Some vaccines should be done no matter what - Rabies, Distemper, Lepto.  But, for example - you may decide to decline the lyme vaccine for your dog, but if you live in a high risk area, then you might want to get it.  

Also, a dog should be on monthly flea/tick prevention (usually runs, I would say, $8-17/month depending on the brand), and monthly heartworm prevention (usually about $7-10/month).  The heartworm pill is also a dewormer for the most common intestinal parasites and some of those can be transmitted to people so it's an absolute MUST with children in the house....

And....yea.  That's only the expected stuff.  The puppy gets a hold of a barbie and swallows the head....you're probably head for an exploratory surgery which can run possibly over $1000....

You can PM me if you want, I was a vet tech in my previous life

bhuffman

We have a payment plan through our vet. You may want to check with a local vet their pricing. We pay a fee each month and it covers a bunch of tests, vaccines, and heart worm meds.

Mrs.Hizzo

aliebno said:

A lot.  

If you get a puppy they will be seen every few weeks for the first couple months (maybe, 3 to 6 visits depending on the size of the dog) for vaccines and the boosters.  Then a spay or neuter.  I would say to budget maybe 1000 on the high end for everything.  It totally depends on your vet though and what vaccines you get. Some vaccines should be done no matter what - Rabies, Distemper, Lepto.  But, for example - you may decide to decline the lyme vaccine for your dog, but if you live in a high risk area, then you might want to get it.  

Also, a dog should be on monthly flea/tick prevention (usually runs, I would say, $8-17/month depending on the brand), and monthly heartworm prevention (usually about $7-10/month).  The heartworm pill is also a dewormer for the most common intestinal parasites and some of those can be transmitted to people so it's an absolute MUST with children in the house....

And....yea.  That's only the expected stuff.  The puppy gets a hold of a barbie and swallows the head....you're probably head for an exploratory surgery which can run possibly over $1000....

You can PM me if you want, I was a vet tech in my previous life

This is actually regional...we don't have a flea or tick problem where I live so it isn't prescribed.

And yeah, we may have spent more than $300 the first year on standard stuff. Our vet is pretty reasonable, I think most of those visits cost us around $75? Can't remember exactly how many there were in 12 months, maybe 4?

thechickencoop

Mrs.Hizzo said:

aliebno said:

A lot.  

If you get a puppy they will be seen every few weeks for the first couple months (maybe, 3 to 6 visits depending on the size of the dog) for vaccines and the boosters.  Then a spay or neuter.  I would say to budget maybe 1000 on the high end for everything.  It totally depends on your vet though and what vaccines you get. Some vaccines should be done no matter what - Rabies, Distemper, Lepto.  But, for example - you may decide to decline the lyme vaccine for your dog, but if you live in a high risk area, then you might want to get it.  

Also, a dog should be on monthly flea/tick prevention (usually runs, I would say, $8-17/month depending on the brand), and monthly heartworm prevention (usually about $7-10/month).  The heartworm pill is also a dewormer for the most common intestinal parasites and some of those can be transmitted to people so it's an absolute MUST with children in the house....

And....yea.  That's only the expected stuff.  The puppy gets a hold of a barbie and swallows the head....you're probably head for an exploratory surgery which can run possibly over $1000....

You can PM me if you want, I was a vet tech in my previous life

This is actually regional...we don't have a flea or tick problem where I live so it isn't prescribed.

And yeah, we may have spent more than $300 the first year on standard stuff. Our vet is pretty reasonable, I think most of those visits cost us around $75? Can't remember exactly how many there were in 12 months, maybe 4?

Ah, that is true!  We live in a very high flea/tick/lyme area so our pets need a little extra protection here!

jag101

In the big picture, the regular stuff isn't too bad, it's the emergency stuff that gets costly. I would check out an insurance program. Do your research as to the type of breed you are wanting, some breeds have more health isses too.

rosesandpetals

Hmm... I am not excited about paying 3k/year for emergency vet visits on top of everything else. Is pet insurance like medical insurance? Just a set amount every month? Is there a pet insurance company? I would feel a little crazy calling a vet to ask about their rates since I'm not planning to get one soon.

We probably wouldn't get a shelter dog, I know some people get flamed pretty badly for buying a "designer dog" or whatever (I don't even know what that is). But if we got one, it would be a puppy so we'd need to spay/neuter. And pay for training of some sort.

Thanks for the info. I'm glad I asked, definitely don't want to end up paying way more than expected.

vlagrl29

I would not even bother with pet insurance unless you get an unhealthy puppy.  It's been so long for me, I got our Gabby 6 years ago.  I paid $300 for a miniature schnauzer and she was 3 months old. The first vet visit was probably $200 with all the vaccines.  I then got her spayed a few months later but I don't remember the exact cost of that to be honest.  I decided against getting her ears cropped which is what most schnauzers have, so that saved me money and worry.

Yearly we spend around $100-150 on her annual visit.  We buy heartgard, flea and tick treatment for the summer months, and dog food.  Assuming your puppy has no heath issues they are pretty low maintenance.  I've always had dogs.  We got her chipped a couple years ago and renew her dog license every year as well ($12).  We also get her groomed every 2 months or so ($40).

In all the years we have had dogs I've never had an emergency situation with any of them.  That's just me though, you can't predict what will happen in life though.

thechickencoop

roses&65335678 said:

Hmm... I am not excited about paying 3k/year for emergency vet visits on top of everything else. Is pet insurance like medical insurance? Just a set amount every month? Is there a pet insurance company? I would feel a little crazy calling a vet to ask about their rates since I'm not planning to get one soon.

We probably wouldn't get a shelter dog, I know some people get flamed pretty badly for buying a "designer dog" or whatever (I don't even know what that is). But if we got one, it would be a puppy so we'd need to spay/neuter. And pay for training of some sort.

Thanks for the info. I'm glad I asked, definitely don't want to end up paying way more than expected.

No call!!!  It's not like they would check up on you haha.  We would get calls all of the time - 'hi, I'm possibly planning on getting a puppy soon and just wondering how much the vaccines/spay or neuter will cost'.  I believe the receptionists had pre-saved estimates and schedules that they could go over with people on the phone.  No biggie.

rockyrollgirl

Depends. Some hospitals have a puppy wellness program that you pay monthly and that can knock the cost down. A neuter, I want to say is usually no more then $200. It should not cost you too much unless there is an emergency or you get a sick puppy. I assume you are considering a breeder, so I would make sure you do research before buying from anyone. 

vlagrl29

roses&65335678 said:

Hmm... I am not excited about paying 3k/year for emergency vet visits on top of everything else. Is pet insurance like medical insurance? Just a set amount every month? Is there a pet insurance company? I would feel a little crazy calling a vet to ask about their rates since I'm not planning to get one soon.

We probably wouldn't get a shelter dog, I know some people get flamed pretty badly for buying a "designer dog" or whatever (I don't even know what that is). But if we got one, it would be a puppy so we'd need to spay/neuter. And pay for training of some sort.

Thanks for the info. I'm glad I asked, definitely don't want to end up paying way more than expected.

purebred I think  Regarding training - I never had to pay to train our dog, she was super easy.  Not all dogs are like that though.  I highly recommend when you do puppy shop to spend some time with each dog so you get to know their temperament.  I was looking in a litter of 5 for a female.  They had 2.  I played with 1 of the females and she seemed a bit too frisky for me.  The dog we currently have just calmly came up to me and laid in my lap and looked up at me with her puppy eyes.  You will know when it's the right one for your family.

rockyrollgirl

gwapes said:

Designer dogs I think are more "labradooddl" and "golden doodles" (hypoallergenic from the poodle part)

Yep, but it is pretty much any two breeds mixed together. My mom has a "Borgi" *Sigh*

rosesandpetals

Wow, that's really sad. I might have to veto the puppy idea now.

vlagrl29

roses&65335678 said:

Wow, that's really sad. I might have to veto the puppy idea now.

awww, that was really sad....but don't throw away the idea of a dog.  IMO it's worth the risk.  My mom bought a puppy from a pet store and we didn't know he had heart issues.  We had to have him put to sleep within a couple months.  Putting a puppy down really  sucks and ever since then I would never buy a dog at a pet store.  MIL gets her dogs from shelters and hasn't had any issues either.

vlagrl29

CnAmom said:

I designer dog is the result of intentional cross breeding of two or more recognized breeds. I didn't know what it was until we were getting ready to bring our dog home and I was researching his cross breeds.

I didn't know this either.  I've heard of the schnoodle - schnauzer and poodle

Andrewsgal

Less than $200. We adopted her from a shelter for $75 that included her spay/neuter, microchip, first 6 months of shots and a year of heart worm.

zbeesma86

having a puppy is so much fun. But so much work. Depending on the breed you are going to want to crate train. ( we did with both our dogs- mutt and shepherd). Buy them food & treats not full of fillers. Toys that last (kongs) vet bills & shots. Plus monthly tick & heart worm prevention. 

Like a pp said- If you go through a shelter & rescue a puppy you pay one flare rate for adoption, spay/neuter & first round of shots and tags. If you go through a breeder it can be more pricey. They usually do first round of shots but you have to cover tags & spay/neuter. Plus whatever exorbitant cost they charge for the dog. 

littlemermaid

We got a puppy last year.  With getting it fixed I would estimate $500 of vet bills.  The spay bill was only $100.  Vets do not want to deter people from getting their pets fixed so the cost is not high.  We also brought her to a few puppy training classes, which were really fun for the whole family.   Plus all the fun stuff you buy for your dog like their toys, bed, crate.  I would save up at least $1000 for the first year.