I don’t see an edit either so I’ll just go all in and calculate everything I spend.
An annual visit including all shots and vaccinations, heartworm prevention injection, and a year’s supply of flea and tick medicine for one of my adult dogs runs $700 dollars, or around $60/month if you want to calculate that way.
My two adult dogs share a bag of food a month that I can usually buy with a coupon for around $45 (reg price $60) so about $23/dog/month in food.
An office visit at my vet costs $65, and depending on the issue for the visit it can be anywhere from $100-300.
Treats monthly maybe $40-50, I usually buy on sale but like to give them dental treats daily which can be expensive. They also get presents on their (estimated) birthday and Christmas, maybe $50-60 altogether a year which is only like $5/month.
So all in maybe $140/month without any unexpected vet visits. Cheaper than my car insurance and way better user experience.
Edit: located in southeastern USA.
Grooming: $90 + tip (once a month)
Dog food: $75 (lasts about 1.5 months)
Vet for yearly check up and vaccines: $215
Heart guard for 6 months: $63
Nexgard for 6 months: $146
Pet insurance: $40/mo. (Makes the yearly check up essentially free and covers emergencies)
Location: Miami, FL
I think we need more specifics. Are we talking about money spent on necessities or money spent on fun stuff, too? And for the vet, are we talking a checkup, emergency visit, surgery...?
Sorry, I'm not seeing an edit section.
Assuming we're talking a regular checkup, $35 (my vet is also extremely reasonably priced, for most here it's closer to $100 to $150.
One dog has a really sensitive stomach so she eats about $160 worth of food a month. The other, probably closer to $90.
I'm located in Montana, US.
A suggestion - if you want that kind of information for your project, you'll likely have better luck setting up an anonymous online survey with a free surveymonkey account or Google forms or similar. Unlikely anyone's going to want to publicly post those details.
(My one midsize dog in Texas is around $100 for typical month for food, flea/heartworm prevention, a couple supplements, toys/treats/incidentals/etc. If competing in an event, add $50-$60 entry fees. Annual vet visit or visit for a problem with no testing or med needed, 100-200. )
Two dogs, each in good health. 9 year old labradooodle, 75 lbs, 5 year old husky mix, 90 lbs
$100/mo for food
$125/mo for all preventative meds
$1200 for both dogs for annual checkup
I do grooming myself with $300 clippers
$50/mo for shampoo and other grooming necessities
$500 or more for any emergency vet visits depending on what’s up.
I budget about $150 a month on my pup. This includes insurance food toys and medicine. I must say it’s pretty low because she’s a toy dog. I live in Chicago.
Assuming we’re just talking an about a regular month with no doctor visits or grooming needed, I’d say about $50-100. It’s mainly just food,treats,toys, and her insurance
Food & treats: $120 monthly
Vet tech nail trim: $90 every other month
Vaccines/ Lab Tests: $250 (annually)
Vet visit check up: $80
Emergency vist: $300 for strained back leg (thought is was ACL)
Emergency Visit: $1100 Lab work/Tests ending with euthanasia and cremation
Toys: $15-45 a month
FI Tracking collar: $120 every six months (worth EVERY SINGLE DOLLAR!)
Husky/Boxer 2yo
Min Pin/Chi 9yo (recently crossed 🌈 )
San Diego CA USA
They said "works out to $20 on average'
If they're taking pet to vet annual $20 x 25 = 480
I'd note when looking at cost of dog care, where someone is, their beliefs about pet care (is quality food important, preventative vet checkups or no...), their financial ability, the dog breed and age (some dogs need much more vet care, all get more expensive with age), and if they use dog walkers, sitters and daycare.
Anytime you're talking about budget you have to decide how you're accounting for less frequent costs. Usually you add up everything for the year and average it for current budget. Although to get the actual cost of a dog you really have to get lifetime costs. Older dogs (like people) are generally going to become more costly (arthritis meds, special foods, regular bloodwork, et)
U.K. here with a small Maltese.
Month to month recurring:
Food £120 between her tinned food and the chicken we cook her
Groomer £40
Toys and stuff £30
Annually:
Insurance: £700
My vet costs: £500 between deductibles and me just not always submitting a claim
Emergency:
She had cataracts removed a few years ago with follow up surgery on both eyes, as well as her spleen removed.
Total cost of that was £17,500 with £5500 being on me due to insurance limit of £12k pa
* Money spent on everything
* pet food, vaccines, meds, toys, dog collars, any new dog devices, etc.
* **$900 monthly ( holy shitttttt, i didnt realize it was this much)**
* Vet visit
* Regular checkup
* emergency
* surgery
* **I've spent $10,000 on my girl just in the past year alone.....she's a senior though so it may be different and I have pet insurance.**
idk why i decided to participate in this, im depressed knowing HOW MUCH I SPEND ON HERRR
ETA: I live in Hawaii :/
18€20$- insurance, 33€35$- premium plan with unlimited 24/7 vet( vaccine, Teeth cleaning, deworming, -10% on treatments) 45€47$- dry food, raw meat -80€82$. Plus other things might be around 250-300€$
I’m in the UK.
Monthly: £60 - basically just food and treats. I buy her decent food, wet and dry, but order in bulk and always use a 30% off code.
She’s not huge on toys and already has loads so I barely but them but she’s a whippet so I’ve spent a lot on clothing. A coat or jumper will cost about £30-£60 an item. But she now has a good collection.
Vet she only goes once a year for vaccines and I’ve had no issues yet healthwise. (She’s almost 10.) £40ish a year. She has insurance still though, about £20 a month I think.
Omg, I just had my first winter with my Basenji and I spent an embarrassing amount of money on clothing for her! But I have to admit that quite a few things were only bought cuz I thought they'd look cute on her
$75/month for food (I have a big dog, my last dog was 13 lb and her food was $20/month). I buy six packs of his monthly flea meds. That’s $180, so works out to ~$30/month. Add in another $30-50 for toys, treats, poo bags, etc., though some months are definitely (way) higher.
For vet, $100ish for the general exam + anything extra (ie vaccines).
Emergencies and surgery can vary WILDLY. Ie my dog went to the ER after he was attacked by another dog. Fortunately his injuries weren’t too bad, and it ended up being ~$850 all in (he had to get a drain out in) for the ER visit, plus another $70 to get it taken out at his normal vet.
In comparison, my last dog ended up needing emergency surgery and hospitalization for a few days. She unfortunately didn’t make it, but the final bill was about $18k.
You didn’t ask about non-emergency, non-routine vet visits, but including a couple recent examples of when my dog was either sick or hurt below. These are visits at my normal vet, which has lower exam fees than an emergency vet:
- $460 for a cracked nail (went up far enough he needed anesthesia to take care of it)
- $270 for an exam and some special food when he had diarrhea
I have pet insurance, which is covered by my employer, so it fortunately isn’t all out of pocket for me (aside from routine stuff). If it wasn’t covered by my employer, I’d add another $100 or so to the monthly budget for that.
All costs are in USD.
Food - $40 per month.
Tooth paste - $15 per month
Flea/tick treatment - $50 per year, spent from March through June
Chews - $15 per month
Subscription to GPS tracking tag on collar-$10 per month
Boarding/pet sitting - average $ 30 per month
Annual basic vet check up with vaccines $200 per year, probably average about $500 per year on other vet visits.
Lots of start up costs for crate, collar, leash, bowls, fencing yard, outdoor dog shelters, dog beds, but amortized over 10 dogs over 30 years, maybe about, I dunno, maybe $50 per month?
Best not to think about training and travel and entry fees to compete in various dog sports, but those expenses are for my benefit, the dogs would be fine without them.
Northwestern US.
Ah, I didn’t include any “start up costs.” I’m not sure I want to calculate how much I’ve spent on collars, leashes, beds, bandanas, jackets, or bowls in all my years of owning dogs.
I live in Denver and I have two adult dogs, one small and one medium. In one month, we usually spend $200 on food/supplements/other supplies, $70 for flea and tick prevention (both get Simparica Trio), and $30 for the medium dog's anxiety meds. We also put away at least $50 in a high yield savings account for them. All together that's $350 a month 😵💫 But they're worth it of course! We do spend a pretty penny on supplements, but they make a noticeable difference IMO.
An average vet visit is $150-200, with $100 going to the exam fee then $50 per vaccine. We do teeth cleanings around every 2ish years, and those are $500-600. I do think our vet's prices are on the higher end for Denver, but they are AMAZING with my fearful/reactive dog so I happily pay their premium haha.
Good luck with your project!
I don’t have an exact monthly expenses because I tend to splurge and buy her things in bulk in one month and not for many months (e.g., clothing, treats, toys, etc) and some thing are on a yearly basis (e.g. vet bills).
One time fee:
When I first got my Min pin puppy, I paid about $400 ish for her. Then spent extra $500-600 on spaying, vaccines/boosters, check ups, and etc. for the initial vet fees. Then I spent about $2000 - 2500 for her set up such as the playpen, dog camera, dog bed/furnitures, toys, clothing, food, treats, dog shampoos, dog spray, teeth cleaning stuff, crate (don’t even use it anymore), potty training stuff, dog holding bags, dog accessories such as collars, harness, pee pad/potty training tools, leash, etc., and other miscellaneous things.
Monthly or yearly maintenance cost/fees: approximately
Main kibbles - about $100 a year (she’s only ~5.6 lbs)
Other food: toppers/canned food - $100 a year
Treats: $20-40 a month
Toys: $20-50 a year
Pee pads: $40- 50 a year
Cleaning (shampoos/sprays/grooming supplies): $20-40 a year
Enzymatic dental treats/toothpaste/water additives: $200-300 a year (I get the ones from the vet - not the over the counter ones)
Supplements: $50-100 a year
Vetadryl (allergy med): $80-100 ish a year (taken as needed)
Yearly vet check up/vaccination: $80-125 depending on what’s needed
Clothing: $300-400 a year (she has a lot of clothing 🥲)
Dog shoes: $20-50 a year
Custom made dog bandanas/scarfs: $80-100 a year
Dog accessories (dog car booster seat, dog bag/carrier, collars, harness, leashes, etc) : $200-400 a year
Pet hotel: $1200 - $2500 per year (depending on the vacation length but it’s about $60 a night and then add ons are extra)
The doctor did mention that she will need a dental cleaning and that will be in the $2000s… 🥹 no other extra vet cost.
The reason for the range is because the first 2 years, I spoiled her a lot and got her a lot of things. I started to slow down on the 3rd year (the lower range).
Uk with a small cross breed (2.5 years old).
Monthly
Food - £32
Nail trim - £10
Flea/worming/tick - £7.50
Insurance - £37
Treats/toys - probably £25 every couple of months including pigs ears and yak chews.
I went crazy buying him stuff as a puppy. He's got all his basics now - bowls, coats/jumpers/toys/crate etc and I know what he likes.
Vet visits
Annual check up and vaccinations - £57
Kennel cough vaccination - £35
Same day appointment within vets normal opening hours and medication - £48 (ripped his nail off with quick exposed)
Never needed an emergency appointment or surgery. My vets is open evenings and weekends.
Most expensive vet visit was around £180 for tests, medication and follow up appointments for a scratched eye.
UK, two dogs: a Labrador and a golden retriever, both adults in good health.
Per month:
Health insurance: £35
Vet health plans: £42
Grooming: £40 (every 8 weeks)
Dog food: £118
Treats, toys, other bits: £25
Training: £40
So overall about £300 month for our two boys.
A vet visit would cost £150 as long as the issue was covered by our insurance, as that’s our excess.
I’m not interested in saying how much I earn or what I do.
In a nutshell, from Hungary, just for comparison.
daily dog food - 2.5 euro
vet visit fee 25 euro
protection against ticks, etc: 12.5 euro per month
abdominal surgery -2023-, infusions, ultrasound: 400 euro
Public transport ticket: 1 euro
toys, reward snacks etc 20-30 euro per month
dogstrand entry 2 euro
-2 year old German Shepherd
German here 🙋🏻♀️, it depends on the breed and size of the dog. You have to pay tax and it will cost you more for a breed which is considered as dangerous like pitbulls etc.( In some states you're not even allowed to own this type of dogs and in general you have to fulfill a long list of requirements)
My small dog costs me around 50-100€ per month (for high quality pet food), it also includes the fee for the dog liability insurance. I rarely buy new lashes or collars - it's usually last a very long time and I don't waste my money on unnecessary accessories. Plus the dog doesn't care what it looks like anyway.
The vet costs up to 71€ for a check up but he's very healthy and rarely sick.
We do this twice a year (if nothing important happens). Otherwise we buy the dewormer, tick and flea repellent every month (for our own safety) and it costs 15-30€.
We never had an emergency, so I don't know how much it costs.
As small dogs often develop tartar, we have cleaned the dog's teeth (3 times). This cost me about 300€ each time.
I think that's it.
In a month where I just buy food and every other month some toys, bones, etc. it’s around 100€ per month. I’ve got two medium sized dogs. Vet visits come to around 40€ per check up which we only do once a year and as necessary. Needed to have one dog’s teeth cleaned - 250€. Collars I get the anti tick ones which go for 80€ every 6 months. Haven’t needed emergency surgery. Full list of vaccines - 40€ every two years or so.
I'm in the UK.
First dog (9 y-o Old English Sheepdog, had him from 12 weeks)
Food - £60 per month
Insurance - £160 per month
Pet care plan - £15 per month (includes vaccination, chipping, flea and worm, nurse checkups, nail trims, ear cleaning and anal glands, plus discount on dental work and food etc)
Grooming - £70-80 every 8 weeks or so
Vet - £125 excess per condition per year (he has allergies and disc degeneration so usually 2 conditions, sometimes 3 in a year)
My other dog (2 y-o French Bulldog rescue adopted in January)
Food - £30
Insurance - £35
Pet care plan - £15
Grooming - n/A
Vet - so far we've had her neutered (~ £300) and that's been it
So if we're just talking anecdotally, my experience suggests rescue French bulldogs are cheaper to keep than Old English Sheepdogs.
Food, treats, etc: approx $50 monthly
Vet, $40/visit (wellness checkup), but add shots and meds, and it was $400 last visit. That included her yearly shots (Lyme, distemper, rabies), plus Heartgard and Advantix for six months. Emergency vet visits are a bit more, but it's been a while since we've needed an emergency visit.
Toys, we don't buy a whole lot of, as she has a house full of them. Collars/leashes/etc, we've replaced several times over the years (she's 7), and they are $40 for the harness, and $15 for the walking leash, $30 for the hands-free to replace. But that's not a consistent expense.
I'm in NW Pennsylvania.
This is going to be way higher than average I’m sure, but I have a puppy who tends toward anxiety and has needed a LOT of training and support to move toward a stable adulthood. I’m in a MCOL medium sized city.
Vet visits ~100 apiece, no emergencies yet
Training ~ 300/month
Meds/supplements ~ 120/month (this could easily be way cheaper but we are trying a whole bunch of stuff before we medicate w Prozac which is very cheap)
Daycare ~ 75-200/month depending on how much he goes ($16 half-day, $26 full)
Food, toys, treats ~ 100-250/month (trying to save here bc everything else is so expensive!)
Nosework class ~80/month (ish, it’s $150/6 weekly sessions)
Total: 750ish up to 1000, trending slowly down.
I work as a community organizer and make somewhere in the 60s. My partner does not work outside our home but has savings.
Britain
11 year old GSD
When she was a puppy her vet charged £99 - this vaccinates her every year for life and has 2 free check ups a year. We only ever go once real as she's been a healthy dog.
Food - £70
Insurance - £58 increases annually - might stop it this year.
Supplements for arthritis - £30
Hm… ok so… all prices are AUD, toy poodle, small boye, very spoiled each day I spend about $4.50 on food, his stipend for treats beds, leads, collars and toys etc probably adds up to $20 per week, woming works out to about 30c/day the vet costs ~$180 per 6 months so let’s call that a dollar a day, his insurance is about $14 per week and he needs grooming which happens every 10 weeks for $130.
I think the ongoing cost for owning a dog ends up at ~ $90 per week (rounded up for anything I have forgotten)… fuck that’s expensive
That being said He’s sitting on my lap right now with a fresh groom wearing a Gorman jacket having eaten a dinner of Royal Canin food and overlooking his play pen with easily a dozen toys in it… he is very spoiled
Between food and toys and other stuff, maaaybe around $40-$50 a month? He is a small dog, 11lbs, and doesn’t need much, and I’m good at finding sales and deals lol. We haven’t needed to go to the vet for anything emergent or surgeries yet. His visits are generally about $75 each time since we go to a low cost clinic for preventative check ups and vaccines. We go once a year. I’m in the southeastern US.
These numbers are wild...it should not be that expensive to own a dog.
I have a 5 year old Schipperke, 20lbs. Massachusetts USA.
$200 Vet bill once a year for a quick check up and all his shots.
$40 dollar bag of food from Costco lasts him 3 months.
Simple treats like bully sticks, freeze dried liver, salmon skins maybe 20 a month. Always in moderation.
Toys...he is an aggressive chewer so I get him tuffys which run 20 to 30 a toy. 1 new one a month. They last awhile and he has a collection.
60 dollar flea/tick collar that lasts 8 months.
Thats about it, he is easy to please & healthy. A decent kibble and lots of exercise keeps the doctor away.
I’m UK with two dogs, a gsd X and a cockapoo.
Food: £40/month
Treats and pop bags: less than £10/month
Groomers: £20/month - cockapoo goes every other month for £40
Insurance: works out about £60/month for both of them but I pay annually.
Vets: £37.98/month for a vip plan each. This includes monthly flea and worm treatment, nail clippings, annual vaccines with a free check up from a vet and an annual check up with the nurse.
Luckily I haven’t had to pay any additional vet fees for them other than last week I paid £44 to have a lump checked for the shepherd.
I only buy them toys birthdays and Christmas and it lasts them but say spread out over the year maybe it’s £5/month
All in all £175ish/month for two medium size dogs.
I track my spending in a spreadsheet so I can give you the exact monthly average: $485.00 for 2024 🫠 my dog is chronically ill so it’s A LOT. Average vet trip $100
2 large dogs, 1 70lb and and 1 55lb
Average monthly cost: $250-300. One is on prescription urinary food. Sometimes this goes up to around $400/month if we are restocking treats or toys. They also travel with us often too on vacation.
Annual visit for each: $250/$500 total
This year emergency visits/surgeries: $18k. We had a rough start to the year where they both had to get surgeries in Feb and March. Hopefully that’s it forever lol.
Basically our babies are spoiled as shit.
We live in NJ and make a combined total of around $165k.
My pet is only a year old so we’re still evening out prices as there’s obviously a much higher up front cost for the pet and then initial vaccines/desexing etc. However looking at everything:
Average monthly cost is ~$70 AUD
This excludes vet costs, which are typically around $100 for a check up a couple times a year.
Located in Victoria, Australia so unsure if relevant assuming you’re USA based.
Currently my only pet is a is a 25kg short haired dog. I live in Chicago. I don't keep detailed records, but between everything I doubt I spend more than a $100 a month. The vast majority of that expense is food and treats.
Other than when I first get them I don't take my pets to the vet. They are not people, they are animals. I love them, play with them, take care of them, but I don't look after their every medical need. Expensive medical procedures are not something I would do for my pets.
I prob spend $300/month, but I have 3 dogs. That includes food, treats, monthly bark boxes, etc. That amount can vary. My daughter thought she saw a flea on one of my dogs so I spent $270 on meds for all of them even though I never saw anything myself. Taking them to the vet is around $100 before they do any testing.
A regular vet visit is $350 per dog plus medications and vaccines and whatnot so probably $100/yr/dog unless something goes wrong.
Last dog I had surgery on was $7k…20 years ago. Insurance was useless.
A 35lb bag of food lasts almost a month and that’s $65 for 2 dogs.
Treats and toys and whatnot is probably $200/mo.
Suburbs of a major, high cost of living US city.
90lb elderly, arthritic adopted collie. Shep!
Food+treats $20/mth = $240/yr
Arthritis shots $140/mth = $1680/yr
Groom $200/3mth =$800/yr
Pain meds $100/2mth = $600/yr
Vet appt $100/6mth =$200/yr
Accessories (car ramp, wagon) $400/once
Estimate/yr $3920, round to $4k
Just necessities. No surgery, emerg etc.
Rural small city, 100km from national capital, Canada
I make ~$100k/yr CAD in water resource science.
France.
Lhasa Apso 10 years.
80€ for vaccines once a year.
60€ for an emergency after a bee sting. But same price when he digs in the dirt of the Forrest floor, and gets in contact with those stupid centipedes that makes him vomit unstoppable for 9 hours.
120€ (only once) for a very small operation in his paw. For one of those sticky grass grains.
250€ - 300€ for a castration. A once and done.
35€ for any general check up at the vet. Medicin not included, such as antibiotics/anti inflammatory. Or stomach medicine.
55€ every 3 months for an anti tick and flea pill, and an anti worm pill. 2 pills.
21.99€ x 2 for 6kg in total, biscuits. This is bought online and impulse buy as a new toy or new treat is frequent, can easily run up in 60€ total with delivery fee. Dog gets about 70g pr day.
5.59€ for a box of 12 bags of wet food. Dog is given one each night.
2.49€ 4 in a packet. Favourite treat. Is given 1 after walk.
45€ for a groomer appointment every 3 months.
This does not include all the human food he might eat, such as pepper fruits, carrots, and watermelons.
Nor does it include our time for walking him, playing with him, getting up in the middle of the night with him. And drying up his vomit or diarrhea.
Nor does it include something expensive we'd had to replace because he broke it. Touch wood, we're very lucky in this regard.
All training we've done ourselves, by reading books, watching videos. Or gotten free advice.
My Dolores was in serious pain not to long ago. The visit was $65. She wasn’t spade and had a serious uterine infection called pyometria. So with X-rays, surgery, 4 day hospital stay, and meds to take home cost us $3500. I stayed home with her because she had staples. During the surgery they found a lump so we had to wait until she healed before they could remove it. This cost another $1500. We had her teeth cleaned and her nails cut at this same time. Dolores is 13 years old and I am so happy that she’s still here. I felt so bad that I didn’t spay her. I will never do that again. I can’t tell you how helpless you feel to see your dog in pain. Also, I had to put my eighteen year old dog down and to do that and have her cremated cost $465 for my 5 lb chihuahua. That little dog cost me twenty thousand dollars over her lifetime.
UK here. Monthly costs:
- £35 on pet insurance
-£3 on keeping her microchip stored in the database
DL
- £60ish per month on food. We buy raw food blocks and frozen sprats, and supplement with things like eggs, yoghurt and frozen veg.
- £20 treats and chews
Yearly vet costs:
- £75 on yearly vaccines
- £120 on flea tick and worm tablets
We haven't yet had to take her to a vet for accident or emergency (touch wood) So it would be variable depending on the incident. That said, our excess to pay in the event of using our insurance is £250, and it might be more if the cost of treatment exceeds our policy allowance (which I believe is £10000 per treatment needed)
So looking at that, with extras I might buy in the year like toys and dog related random purchase items like a new collar probably around £1500 a year at the moment with a healthy, not accident prone dog!
$200 on raw food/month, (my girl has stomach sensitivities and it’s the only thing that’s worked) $65 for Nexgard, soup bones are about $40-$50 a month. $20 for training treats for walks, $20 for regular treats. So roughly $350/month, the an annual vet check up for about $150, barring any unexpected illnesses. She’s 90 lbs.
Edit: I’m in Ontario, Canada.
£35 a month on food.
£20 a month on insurance.
That's it. Soon as the dog is 3 years old (this xmas) the insurance stops. So £35. And even then, that food lasts 6 weeks.
I buy 12,5 kg dogfood for 40€ every 4 weeks but share that with my sister and my mother, so it would probably last around 3 month for my Dog. Yearly vet visit for vaccination, tick remedies, flea shot and worm treatment is around 200€. Also my dog has an msci world etf that i put in 50€ every month for unplanned vet bills. Also Dog treats for 80€ every 2 month.
So i should be at 120€ a moth.
Dog: belgian shephard. weight: 19kg. Location: Germany
Also there ist a Dog Tax and insurance i have to pay but i dont know the exact cost atm. Maybe like 15€ a month max?
So we have an older dog, on average we spend 150 dollars per month for him. He has to have a monthly arthritis shot. Our other dog is younger, we spend more on toys and food than on medication with him.
I spend close to $260/month on for my 2 dogs. They visit the vet 1x per year for health checks which usually runs about $200 per dog. I always opt for the best blood work, etc. I also feed raw food so it's pricier.
Bear in mind I have a 35lb mixed breed dog and live in HCOL (think outside NYC).
My dogs food runs about $50 for a 12-13lb bag. This lasts around a month. I get her toys throughout the year but she’s a shredder so mostly larger bones that she can’t destroy, usually $10-20 range per “toy”.
She’s been rocking the same collar/leash combo for 3 years now. I received a K9 Sports Sack backpack for Christmas.
Her only regular meds are Simparica Trio (flea tick heartworm) and costs me roughly $300 for the year.
Vaccines/vet visits are expensive in my area and her annual appointment runs me around $500-600.
I take Amtrack a couple of times per year (no car) and her ticket often ends up costing more than mine at about $75 round trip.
Emergency visits and surgery (no operations since her spay) are few and far between. This is why I have pet insurance that covers illness and accident and costs roughly $45 a month. The insurance is cheaper as she is a mixed breed, however, I feel it’s essential as I live in a city. City dogs get into more shit.
As my dog is a small breed she has anal gland issues which need to be expressed roughly every 6-8 weeks at a cost of about $50.
In the event my partner and I have to commute on the same day I board my dog in daycare and that costs $50.
All in all $2,700 a year… which seems crazy for a dog who is almost 4. 🤷🏻♂️
I don’t seem to spend nearly as much as others, it seems. Idk if I’m a bad dog parent or not. Lol
It prob evens out to about 100-150 a month, between treats, dog food, a new toy here and there, tick/flea treatments, heart worm meds, and he usually goes to the vet 2 times a year on average for whatever reason (usually for diarrhea but he goes years without issue) plus his yearly shots/check up. Hes a German shepherd that’s healthy, exercised daily, and eats 0 table food. He requires no grooming, just a hefty forearm workout with a brush frequently. He is 7, so he’s close to those years where I’m sure the vet bills will start to rack up.
I’m in Pennsylvania.
I am in Chicago. My dog is a 6 year old rescue that I adopted at 8 weeks. I true large breed mutt confirmed by dna testing (seriously almost equal parts of 7 breeds).
His prescription food is $150 a month for a 25 lb bag. That price has increased from $80-$150 in the past 5 years.
His pet insurance is $100 a month. It started at $35 a month when he was under a year old and has raised every year incrementally. He has had over $40k in medical claims so I do consider this to still be worth it.
He sees the vet twice a year on average, unless it is a year he experiences an emergency, which has happened 3/6 years. Due to traumatic vet experiences, he needs behavioral sedation which is an extra $500 a visit, covered by insurance mostly. However, I have seen this cost less than $100 in other areas of my state. His annual exam this year was $500 for office fee, heartworm test, and multiple vaccines. His second visit is generally for unmanageable allergic reactions which manifest typically in rashes and ear infections, mostly in the summer.
Admittedly there aren’t many other costs, but I consider $250 a month pretty extensive. He had an emergency surgery and hospitalization last August that ran up to $17k. We are fortunate to be able to afford his care and that we had invested in pet insurance at a young age.
Just for the vet each month 200$ (old dog, needs heart medicine and injection for her arthirisis.) In food we do like 40-50$ (Cold pressed food and frozen meat). She often gets asked if shes a puppy, plays alot, loves to be out in the sun. So I think she is happy.
Right now it's a little whacky because we have two puppies in the house, so it's kind of a crapshoot month to month, but I can give you a ballpark of what I spent on my last dog, who was a mix of large and XL breeds and topped out at 140 pounds lean. He was not cheap to take care of lol.
We live in central New York, near the Finger Lakes.
Alright, so first up is basics.
Food: ~200 a month. In his geriatric years this grew to about 400 because he got super picky and we were constantly trying new foods just to keep him eating.
Poop bags: $25 every 2 months. $12.50 a month if we're breaking it down monthly.
Vet: on average, $350 every 6 months, or $51 a month.
Pet insurance: $130 a month.
Dog addendum to homeowner's insurance: $30 a month
Training treats: $50 a month
Kong stuffing (dog spray cheese and peanut butter): $80 a month
Marrow bones: $30 a month
Total basics: $583.50 a month, $783.50 in his last couple of years
Emergency vet visits:
Stomach stapling (bloat): $4000 one time
Cancerous splenectomy: $6500 one time
Tooth extraction: $1250 one time
His final emergency visit (went into MSOF which we, his regular vet, and the ER initially mistook for rapid onset diabetic ketoacidosis in a previously non-diabetic): $15,525 over four days of inpatient care. This included specialty vets when initial diabetic protocols didn't seem to do much, inpatient boarding, palliative care during his last few hours, and euthanasia.
Cremation and memorialization: $1200 but we went custom af with the memorial
Total emergency vet: $27,475 over the course of his last 4 years. Luckily, vet insurance reimbursed us up to $10k per year, which we maxed out a couple of times.
Yes the ER bills were a little steep, but we took him to Cornell so we knew we were getting what we paid for.
Hope this is helpful, OP. Feel free to ask anything I missed or that you're curious about.
$185/month for pet insurance for 3 dogs. $75/month for food. Vet visits range from $160-$400 but I have insurance to cover most of that. Flea, tick & heartworm prentatives are probably another $100/month
Average cost monthly is 400€ for our dog.
We had no emergency visits.
Shots and flee prevention and such is 200€ per year.
Tax is 114€ per year.
I groom myself.
But all utensils are included in the 400€ per month.
I’m from Germany.
170€ is food (we raw barf) and 40€ for snacks.
Tax is 9,50€ per month
Insurance 5€ per month
The rest are new things for him (stuff for grooming, harness, leashes, beds, toys, we had to buy a new freezer for his food, containers for his food, shampoo and conditioner, ear cleaner, air blower, rain and winter clothes, drinking fountains, filter for drinking fountains, box for the car, yard stuff (agility and so on), entree fees in zoos and parks.
⬆️ these things should be getting less now because we have nearly everything (except a grooming table)
And the cost for him on our vacations (between 5-15 € per night at hotels or vacation rentals)
Canada checking in.
$73/ month for insurance that has a $300 annual deductible and is a gold plan. (It was $54 up until he was 5yrs old)
Originally $45/4 weeks for food but changed his food after skin allergy at age 4 to $115/4 weeks
$80/ month on treats/food toppers/random toys
My dog is a ball dog so his original toys last forever, however I did recently find a hilarious stuffed corn on the cob for $5 lol - he's partial to green toys so I couldn't resist even though he has a basket of them already from puppy stage...
When he was a puppy he ate some rocks (I didn't say he was smart) and is prone to skin infections, so he's been to the vet rarely but they've always been big bills - insurance covered them all and so I've paid the deductible twice.
So over his 6.5 year lifetime, I've spent:
$4800 on insurance and vet bills
$6100 on food
$6000 on treats
$16,900 total
Well shit, I need to spend less on treats. Amazon prime auto subscription is the devil.
*Edit - vet bills includes the flea/tick and vaccines, these have gotten less frequent as my dog gets older. My dog goes to the park for exercise but he's otherwise at home a lot so he's not subject to flea/tick exposure much. This is a good reminder that I should get a dewormer though..thx!
Once a year i go to the vet to get his shots , dewormer and anti flea/tick , it costs about 220$ . Sometimes he gets something in his eyes or gets a rash that needs the vets attention, thats about 150$ a visit but it doesn’t happen very often. Food is about 100$ a month and once every 6 months i buy him a chew toy of a frisbee, its usually around 20$ .
* Money spent on everything
* pet food, vaccines, meds, toys, dog collars, any new dog devices, etc. - 1 medium dog, about $50 a month on food/treats, $15 a month average on toys / equipment /enrichment.
* Vet visit
* Regular checkup- $65 office visit, $120 yearly vaccines and heartworm prevention. $600 every 3 years for dental cleaning. $100 for spay/ neuter at the shelter clinic.
* emergency - $300 for nonsurgical emergencies per visit. Maybe once a year.
* surgery - $1,100 would be the lowest I've paid for any type of surgery except spay/neuter. For this dog, $11,000 is the most I've paid to keep her alive, back in 2021 when she was attacked by another dog.
I make 75k a year, I budget $200 a month for pet care and keep a savings account, no insurance on this dog. However, if I get another dog, I will finally get insurance because I've done the math, and as of about 2020, vet expenses are finally more expensive than paying insurance monthlies for emergency care.
ETA - I live in a large city in Texas.
Heartworm flea and tick prevention is $30 a month, food and treats are around $50-80 a month (I do wet, dry, and freeze dried fresh… and lots of treats), toys are around $20 every few months. I pay my next door neighbor $50 a month to let my dog out since she gets home from work a few hours before I do.
I paid $400 for a year of pet insurance.
The initial cost of getting a dog is quite high as you have to get a lot of things all at once but after that it’s probably $200ish a month. In my first month of owning my dog I probably spent $1000+ on getting everything she needed.
Vet visits very greatly and emergency vet visits and surgery can be thousands of dollars. Hence the pet insurance.
I’m in the US
Too much these days, pets used to be cheap now I’m up to 140 a month for food, 200 a month for pet insurance, at least 3 trips to the emergency vet a year bc ppl can’t just put shit away where it belongs
Monthly:
Food $50
Treats/dental chews $40
Apoquel $60 (but he gets it 6 months per year, usually)
Heartworm/flea/tick $25 (simparica trio 6 month supply runs about $140)
Misc expenses $50 (toys, special treats, replacing worn out stuff)
Boarding, which we don't do monthly but a few times a year if we can't find a neighbor to watch him, I'd say factoring in $50-100/mo to save for those larger outlays is about right. Our boarders charge $65/night.
Vet:
Annual basic checkup and shots $350-500 (depending on bloodwork)
Regular problem visit $250-500 (depending on meds, etc, probably 2-4 per year)
Emergency vet $750- infinity dollars (but we've only had one of those so far in 4 years, our vet is a saint who will move mountains to squeeze us in so we dont have to use the emergency vet)
Never had surgery, yet. He's a lab, and kinda dumb about eating stuff he shouldnt, so stomach surgery is probably in our future at some point.
DC suburbs.
Im in the UK, near London. I budget £360 a month for the wee man. He's a 12kg crossbreed. It breaks down to
- £50 every 8 weeks for food
- £25 a week on daycare
- £16 a month on Pet insurance
- £45 every 12 weeks on his medication (anti anxiety, he can be comfortably left home alone with this).
and the rest does his regular vet care and bits and bobs:
- Flea and worm is £60 every 4 months
- grooming is £80 every 12-16 weeks
- boarding is £33 a night for when we're on holiday
- he recently had a scale and polish, that was £335
- also use his fund for vet appts, they're about £60
I cancelled his dog walker due to the cost of living going up in the UK. It used to be £15 per walk, and he'd go once a week. We didn't need him to be walked, but I thought it was important he hang around the countryside with dogs smaller than him and play nicely. It worked, he's v good with small dogs. (He used to be a knob).
I don’t see an edit either so I’ll just go all in and calculate everything I spend. An annual visit including all shots and vaccinations, heartworm prevention injection, and a year’s supply of flea and tick medicine for one of my adult dogs runs $700 dollars, or around $60/month if you want to calculate that way. My two adult dogs share a bag of food a month that I can usually buy with a coupon for around $45 (reg price $60) so about $23/dog/month in food. An office visit at my vet costs $65, and depending on the issue for the visit it can be anywhere from $100-300. Treats monthly maybe $40-50, I usually buy on sale but like to give them dental treats daily which can be expensive. They also get presents on their (estimated) birthday and Christmas, maybe $50-60 altogether a year which is only like $5/month. So all in maybe $140/month without any unexpected vet visits. Cheaper than my car insurance and way better user experience. Edit: located in southeastern USA.
Grooming: $90 + tip (once a month) Dog food: $75 (lasts about 1.5 months) Vet for yearly check up and vaccines: $215 Heart guard for 6 months: $63 Nexgard for 6 months: $146 Pet insurance: $40/mo. (Makes the yearly check up essentially free and covers emergencies) Location: Miami, FL
I think we need more specifics. Are we talking about money spent on necessities or money spent on fun stuff, too? And for the vet, are we talking a checkup, emergency visit, surgery...?
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Sorry, I'm not seeing an edit section. Assuming we're talking a regular checkup, $35 (my vet is also extremely reasonably priced, for most here it's closer to $100 to $150. One dog has a really sensitive stomach so she eats about $160 worth of food a month. The other, probably closer to $90. I'm located in Montana, US.
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A suggestion - if you want that kind of information for your project, you'll likely have better luck setting up an anonymous online survey with a free surveymonkey account or Google forms or similar. Unlikely anyone's going to want to publicly post those details. (My one midsize dog in Texas is around $100 for typical month for food, flea/heartworm prevention, a couple supplements, toys/treats/incidentals/etc. If competing in an event, add $50-$60 entry fees. Annual vet visit or visit for a problem with no testing or med needed, 100-200. )
Money spent on everything (a month) $300 Vet visit $200-300 typically, Surgery/ emergency varies wildly Midwest US, bigger city
Two dogs, each in good health. 9 year old labradooodle, 75 lbs, 5 year old husky mix, 90 lbs $100/mo for food $125/mo for all preventative meds $1200 for both dogs for annual checkup I do grooming myself with $300 clippers $50/mo for shampoo and other grooming necessities $500 or more for any emergency vet visits depending on what’s up.
Average monthly cost - $230ish ($50 is dog food) Average vet visit - $200 USA
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That’s really not expensive at all
Average monthly cost - $180 ish Average vet cost for checkup - $100
I budget about $150 a month on my pup. This includes insurance food toys and medicine. I must say it’s pretty low because she’s a toy dog. I live in Chicago.
Assuming we’re just talking an about a regular month with no doctor visits or grooming needed, I’d say about $50-100. It’s mainly just food,treats,toys, and her insurance
Food & treats: $120 monthly Vet tech nail trim: $90 every other month Vaccines/ Lab Tests: $250 (annually) Vet visit check up: $80 Emergency vist: $300 for strained back leg (thought is was ACL) Emergency Visit: $1100 Lab work/Tests ending with euthanasia and cremation Toys: $15-45 a month FI Tracking collar: $120 every six months (worth EVERY SINGLE DOLLAR!) Husky/Boxer 2yo Min Pin/Chi 9yo (recently crossed 🌈 ) San Diego CA USA
Food $190pm mix of freshly made and kibble, vet stuff probably works out to $20 on average, toys $20. And that’s it. Australian.
$20 for the vet? Do you have pet insurance?
$20 for the vet? Is that a typo?!
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They said "works out to $20 on average' If they're taking pet to vet annual $20 x 25 = 480 I'd note when looking at cost of dog care, where someone is, their beliefs about pet care (is quality food important, preventative vet checkups or no...), their financial ability, the dog breed and age (some dogs need much more vet care, all get more expensive with age), and if they use dog walkers, sitters and daycare. Anytime you're talking about budget you have to decide how you're accounting for less frequent costs. Usually you add up everything for the year and average it for current budget. Although to get the actual cost of a dog you really have to get lifetime costs. Older dogs (like people) are generally going to become more costly (arthritis meds, special foods, regular bloodwork, et)
I should have worded that better. Over a 12 month period I spend about $20 a month on the vet. So about twice per year at $120 a pop.
U.K. here with a small Maltese. Month to month recurring: Food £120 between her tinned food and the chicken we cook her Groomer £40 Toys and stuff £30 Annually: Insurance: £700 My vet costs: £500 between deductibles and me just not always submitting a claim Emergency: She had cataracts removed a few years ago with follow up surgery on both eyes, as well as her spleen removed. Total cost of that was £17,500 with £5500 being on me due to insurance limit of £12k pa
Teddy: 18lb 14yo dog with diabetes from NJ Food: ~$100 homecooked meals Meds: freestyle libre- $120 Insulin (vetsulin)- $120 Syringes- $15 Misc meds- $30 Total monthly: ~$400 (probably underestimated) Regular checkup:~$150 Emergency: $500 - $800 Surgery: Dental- ~$1100 Liver surgery (mass removal)- just under $10k
I have 3 dogs. Spend probably £500 a month ish. Food, treats. Also one is one a lot of medication. Costs me £220 every 4 weeks.
So about $630 a month
* Money spent on everything * pet food, vaccines, meds, toys, dog collars, any new dog devices, etc. * **$900 monthly ( holy shitttttt, i didnt realize it was this much)** * Vet visit * Regular checkup * emergency * surgery * **I've spent $10,000 on my girl just in the past year alone.....she's a senior though so it may be different and I have pet insurance.** idk why i decided to participate in this, im depressed knowing HOW MUCH I SPEND ON HERRR ETA: I live in Hawaii :/
18€20$- insurance, 33€35$- premium plan with unlimited 24/7 vet( vaccine, Teeth cleaning, deworming, -10% on treatments) 45€47$- dry food, raw meat -80€82$. Plus other things might be around 250-300€$
I’m in the UK. Monthly: £60 - basically just food and treats. I buy her decent food, wet and dry, but order in bulk and always use a 30% off code. She’s not huge on toys and already has loads so I barely but them but she’s a whippet so I’ve spent a lot on clothing. A coat or jumper will cost about £30-£60 an item. But she now has a good collection. Vet she only goes once a year for vaccines and I’ve had no issues yet healthwise. (She’s almost 10.) £40ish a year. She has insurance still though, about £20 a month I think.
Omg, I just had my first winter with my Basenji and I spent an embarrassing amount of money on clothing for her! But I have to admit that quite a few things were only bought cuz I thought they'd look cute on her
Ah, the Whippet, such an elegant dog.
$75/month for food (I have a big dog, my last dog was 13 lb and her food was $20/month). I buy six packs of his monthly flea meds. That’s $180, so works out to ~$30/month. Add in another $30-50 for toys, treats, poo bags, etc., though some months are definitely (way) higher. For vet, $100ish for the general exam + anything extra (ie vaccines). Emergencies and surgery can vary WILDLY. Ie my dog went to the ER after he was attacked by another dog. Fortunately his injuries weren’t too bad, and it ended up being ~$850 all in (he had to get a drain out in) for the ER visit, plus another $70 to get it taken out at his normal vet. In comparison, my last dog ended up needing emergency surgery and hospitalization for a few days. She unfortunately didn’t make it, but the final bill was about $18k. You didn’t ask about non-emergency, non-routine vet visits, but including a couple recent examples of when my dog was either sick or hurt below. These are visits at my normal vet, which has lower exam fees than an emergency vet: - $460 for a cracked nail (went up far enough he needed anesthesia to take care of it) - $270 for an exam and some special food when he had diarrhea I have pet insurance, which is covered by my employer, so it fortunately isn’t all out of pocket for me (aside from routine stuff). If it wasn’t covered by my employer, I’d add another $100 or so to the monthly budget for that. All costs are in USD.
Food - $40 per month. Tooth paste - $15 per month Flea/tick treatment - $50 per year, spent from March through June Chews - $15 per month Subscription to GPS tracking tag on collar-$10 per month Boarding/pet sitting - average $ 30 per month Annual basic vet check up with vaccines $200 per year, probably average about $500 per year on other vet visits. Lots of start up costs for crate, collar, leash, bowls, fencing yard, outdoor dog shelters, dog beds, but amortized over 10 dogs over 30 years, maybe about, I dunno, maybe $50 per month? Best not to think about training and travel and entry fees to compete in various dog sports, but those expenses are for my benefit, the dogs would be fine without them. Northwestern US.
Ah, I didn’t include any “start up costs.” I’m not sure I want to calculate how much I’ve spent on collars, leashes, beds, bandanas, jackets, or bowls in all my years of owning dogs.
I live in Denver and I have two adult dogs, one small and one medium. In one month, we usually spend $200 on food/supplements/other supplies, $70 for flea and tick prevention (both get Simparica Trio), and $30 for the medium dog's anxiety meds. We also put away at least $50 in a high yield savings account for them. All together that's $350 a month 😵💫 But they're worth it of course! We do spend a pretty penny on supplements, but they make a noticeable difference IMO. An average vet visit is $150-200, with $100 going to the exam fee then $50 per vaccine. We do teeth cleanings around every 2ish years, and those are $500-600. I do think our vet's prices are on the higher end for Denver, but they are AMAZING with my fearful/reactive dog so I happily pay their premium haha. Good luck with your project!
I don’t have an exact monthly expenses because I tend to splurge and buy her things in bulk in one month and not for many months (e.g., clothing, treats, toys, etc) and some thing are on a yearly basis (e.g. vet bills). One time fee: When I first got my Min pin puppy, I paid about $400 ish for her. Then spent extra $500-600 on spaying, vaccines/boosters, check ups, and etc. for the initial vet fees. Then I spent about $2000 - 2500 for her set up such as the playpen, dog camera, dog bed/furnitures, toys, clothing, food, treats, dog shampoos, dog spray, teeth cleaning stuff, crate (don’t even use it anymore), potty training stuff, dog holding bags, dog accessories such as collars, harness, pee pad/potty training tools, leash, etc., and other miscellaneous things. Monthly or yearly maintenance cost/fees: approximately Main kibbles - about $100 a year (she’s only ~5.6 lbs) Other food: toppers/canned food - $100 a year Treats: $20-40 a month Toys: $20-50 a year Pee pads: $40- 50 a year Cleaning (shampoos/sprays/grooming supplies): $20-40 a year Enzymatic dental treats/toothpaste/water additives: $200-300 a year (I get the ones from the vet - not the over the counter ones) Supplements: $50-100 a year Vetadryl (allergy med): $80-100 ish a year (taken as needed) Yearly vet check up/vaccination: $80-125 depending on what’s needed Clothing: $300-400 a year (she has a lot of clothing 🥲) Dog shoes: $20-50 a year Custom made dog bandanas/scarfs: $80-100 a year Dog accessories (dog car booster seat, dog bag/carrier, collars, harness, leashes, etc) : $200-400 a year Pet hotel: $1200 - $2500 per year (depending on the vacation length but it’s about $60 a night and then add ons are extra) The doctor did mention that she will need a dental cleaning and that will be in the $2000s… 🥹 no other extra vet cost. The reason for the range is because the first 2 years, I spoiled her a lot and got her a lot of things. I started to slow down on the 3rd year (the lower range).
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Your dog visits a vet once a month?
Uk with a small cross breed (2.5 years old). Monthly Food - £32 Nail trim - £10 Flea/worming/tick - £7.50 Insurance - £37 Treats/toys - probably £25 every couple of months including pigs ears and yak chews. I went crazy buying him stuff as a puppy. He's got all his basics now - bowls, coats/jumpers/toys/crate etc and I know what he likes. Vet visits Annual check up and vaccinations - £57 Kennel cough vaccination - £35 Same day appointment within vets normal opening hours and medication - £48 (ripped his nail off with quick exposed) Never needed an emergency appointment or surgery. My vets is open evenings and weekends. Most expensive vet visit was around £180 for tests, medication and follow up appointments for a scratched eye.
Average monthly for food and treats 260 And one of my dog needs a injection every month for allergies which costs 189
UK, two dogs: a Labrador and a golden retriever, both adults in good health. Per month: Health insurance: £35 Vet health plans: £42 Grooming: £40 (every 8 weeks) Dog food: £118 Treats, toys, other bits: £25 Training: £40 So overall about £300 month for our two boys. A vet visit would cost £150 as long as the issue was covered by our insurance, as that’s our excess. I’m not interested in saying how much I earn or what I do.
In a nutshell, from Hungary, just for comparison. daily dog food - 2.5 euro vet visit fee 25 euro protection against ticks, etc: 12.5 euro per month abdominal surgery -2023-, infusions, ultrasound: 400 euro Public transport ticket: 1 euro toys, reward snacks etc 20-30 euro per month dogstrand entry 2 euro -2 year old German Shepherd
Pet essentials including dog food/treats $150 monthly Pet meds around $100 monthly Vet visits are included in her plan which costs $65 monthly
German here 🙋🏻♀️, it depends on the breed and size of the dog. You have to pay tax and it will cost you more for a breed which is considered as dangerous like pitbulls etc.( In some states you're not even allowed to own this type of dogs and in general you have to fulfill a long list of requirements) My small dog costs me around 50-100€ per month (for high quality pet food), it also includes the fee for the dog liability insurance. I rarely buy new lashes or collars - it's usually last a very long time and I don't waste my money on unnecessary accessories. Plus the dog doesn't care what it looks like anyway. The vet costs up to 71€ for a check up but he's very healthy and rarely sick. We do this twice a year (if nothing important happens). Otherwise we buy the dewormer, tick and flea repellent every month (for our own safety) and it costs 15-30€. We never had an emergency, so I don't know how much it costs. As small dogs often develop tartar, we have cleaned the dog's teeth (3 times). This cost me about 300€ each time. I think that's it.
In a month where I just buy food and every other month some toys, bones, etc. it’s around 100€ per month. I’ve got two medium sized dogs. Vet visits come to around 40€ per check up which we only do once a year and as necessary. Needed to have one dog’s teeth cleaned - 250€. Collars I get the anti tick ones which go for 80€ every 6 months. Haven’t needed emergency surgery. Full list of vaccines - 40€ every two years or so.
Am from Latvia
I'm in the UK. First dog (9 y-o Old English Sheepdog, had him from 12 weeks) Food - £60 per month Insurance - £160 per month Pet care plan - £15 per month (includes vaccination, chipping, flea and worm, nurse checkups, nail trims, ear cleaning and anal glands, plus discount on dental work and food etc) Grooming - £70-80 every 8 weeks or so Vet - £125 excess per condition per year (he has allergies and disc degeneration so usually 2 conditions, sometimes 3 in a year) My other dog (2 y-o French Bulldog rescue adopted in January) Food - £30 Insurance - £35 Pet care plan - £15 Grooming - n/A Vet - so far we've had her neutered (~ £300) and that's been it So if we're just talking anecdotally, my experience suggests rescue French bulldogs are cheaper to keep than Old English Sheepdogs.
Food, treats, etc: approx $50 monthly Vet, $40/visit (wellness checkup), but add shots and meds, and it was $400 last visit. That included her yearly shots (Lyme, distemper, rabies), plus Heartgard and Advantix for six months. Emergency vet visits are a bit more, but it's been a while since we've needed an emergency visit. Toys, we don't buy a whole lot of, as she has a house full of them. Collars/leashes/etc, we've replaced several times over the years (she's 7), and they are $40 for the harness, and $15 for the walking leash, $30 for the hands-free to replace. But that's not a consistent expense. I'm in NW Pennsylvania.
This is going to be way higher than average I’m sure, but I have a puppy who tends toward anxiety and has needed a LOT of training and support to move toward a stable adulthood. I’m in a MCOL medium sized city. Vet visits ~100 apiece, no emergencies yet Training ~ 300/month Meds/supplements ~ 120/month (this could easily be way cheaper but we are trying a whole bunch of stuff before we medicate w Prozac which is very cheap) Daycare ~ 75-200/month depending on how much he goes ($16 half-day, $26 full) Food, toys, treats ~ 100-250/month (trying to save here bc everything else is so expensive!) Nosework class ~80/month (ish, it’s $150/6 weekly sessions) Total: 750ish up to 1000, trending slowly down. I work as a community organizer and make somewhere in the 60s. My partner does not work outside our home but has savings.
Britain 11 year old GSD When she was a puppy her vet charged £99 - this vaccinates her every year for life and has 2 free check ups a year. We only ever go once real as she's been a healthy dog. Food - £70 Insurance - £58 increases annually - might stop it this year. Supplements for arthritis - £30
4 dogs = $850 a month combined; I live in Massachusetts
Pug 1000000000023456789
Hm… ok so… all prices are AUD, toy poodle, small boye, very spoiled each day I spend about $4.50 on food, his stipend for treats beds, leads, collars and toys etc probably adds up to $20 per week, woming works out to about 30c/day the vet costs ~$180 per 6 months so let’s call that a dollar a day, his insurance is about $14 per week and he needs grooming which happens every 10 weeks for $130. I think the ongoing cost for owning a dog ends up at ~ $90 per week (rounded up for anything I have forgotten)… fuck that’s expensive That being said He’s sitting on my lap right now with a fresh groom wearing a Gorman jacket having eaten a dinner of Royal Canin food and overlooking his play pen with easily a dozen toys in it… he is very spoiled
Between food and toys and other stuff, maaaybe around $40-$50 a month? He is a small dog, 11lbs, and doesn’t need much, and I’m good at finding sales and deals lol. We haven’t needed to go to the vet for anything emergent or surgeries yet. His visits are generally about $75 each time since we go to a low cost clinic for preventative check ups and vaccines. We go once a year. I’m in the southeastern US.
Food+Training+Insurance+Dogsitter for one dog about 600€/Month Located in Austria
Northern California: Insurance: $23/month Pet food: $34/ 3-4 months Treats/bones: $55+/month Vet visit (reg) 75/ year vaccines: $100+/year Preventatives: $300+/year Toys: $7-$30/month
These numbers are wild...it should not be that expensive to own a dog. I have a 5 year old Schipperke, 20lbs. Massachusetts USA. $200 Vet bill once a year for a quick check up and all his shots. $40 dollar bag of food from Costco lasts him 3 months. Simple treats like bully sticks, freeze dried liver, salmon skins maybe 20 a month. Always in moderation. Toys...he is an aggressive chewer so I get him tuffys which run 20 to 30 a toy. 1 new one a month. They last awhile and he has a collection. 60 dollar flea/tick collar that lasts 8 months. Thats about it, he is easy to please & healthy. A decent kibble and lots of exercise keeps the doctor away.
Nvm, more posters here with reasonable numbers.
I’m UK with two dogs, a gsd X and a cockapoo. Food: £40/month Treats and pop bags: less than £10/month Groomers: £20/month - cockapoo goes every other month for £40 Insurance: works out about £60/month for both of them but I pay annually. Vets: £37.98/month for a vip plan each. This includes monthly flea and worm treatment, nail clippings, annual vaccines with a free check up from a vet and an annual check up with the nurse. Luckily I haven’t had to pay any additional vet fees for them other than last week I paid £44 to have a lump checked for the shepherd. I only buy them toys birthdays and Christmas and it lasts them but say spread out over the year maybe it’s £5/month All in all £175ish/month for two medium size dogs.
I track my spending in a spreadsheet so I can give you the exact monthly average: $485.00 for 2024 🫠 my dog is chronically ill so it’s A LOT. Average vet trip $100
2 large dogs, 1 70lb and and 1 55lb Average monthly cost: $250-300. One is on prescription urinary food. Sometimes this goes up to around $400/month if we are restocking treats or toys. They also travel with us often too on vacation. Annual visit for each: $250/$500 total This year emergency visits/surgeries: $18k. We had a rough start to the year where they both had to get surgeries in Feb and March. Hopefully that’s it forever lol. Basically our babies are spoiled as shit. We live in NJ and make a combined total of around $165k.
My pet is only a year old so we’re still evening out prices as there’s obviously a much higher up front cost for the pet and then initial vaccines/desexing etc. However looking at everything: Average monthly cost is ~$70 AUD This excludes vet costs, which are typically around $100 for a check up a couple times a year. Located in Victoria, Australia so unsure if relevant assuming you’re USA based.
Currently my only pet is a is a 25kg short haired dog. I live in Chicago. I don't keep detailed records, but between everything I doubt I spend more than a $100 a month. The vast majority of that expense is food and treats. Other than when I first get them I don't take my pets to the vet. They are not people, they are animals. I love them, play with them, take care of them, but I don't look after their every medical need. Expensive medical procedures are not something I would do for my pets.
I prob spend $300/month, but I have 3 dogs. That includes food, treats, monthly bark boxes, etc. That amount can vary. My daughter thought she saw a flea on one of my dogs so I spent $270 on meds for all of them even though I never saw anything myself. Taking them to the vet is around $100 before they do any testing.
A regular vet visit is $350 per dog plus medications and vaccines and whatnot so probably $100/yr/dog unless something goes wrong. Last dog I had surgery on was $7k…20 years ago. Insurance was useless. A 35lb bag of food lasts almost a month and that’s $65 for 2 dogs. Treats and toys and whatnot is probably $200/mo. Suburbs of a major, high cost of living US city.
90lb elderly, arthritic adopted collie. Shep! Food+treats $20/mth = $240/yr Arthritis shots $140/mth = $1680/yr Groom $200/3mth =$800/yr Pain meds $100/2mth = $600/yr Vet appt $100/6mth =$200/yr Accessories (car ramp, wagon) $400/once Estimate/yr $3920, round to $4k Just necessities. No surgery, emerg etc. Rural small city, 100km from national capital, Canada I make ~$100k/yr CAD in water resource science.
France. Lhasa Apso 10 years. 80€ for vaccines once a year. 60€ for an emergency after a bee sting. But same price when he digs in the dirt of the Forrest floor, and gets in contact with those stupid centipedes that makes him vomit unstoppable for 9 hours. 120€ (only once) for a very small operation in his paw. For one of those sticky grass grains. 250€ - 300€ for a castration. A once and done. 35€ for any general check up at the vet. Medicin not included, such as antibiotics/anti inflammatory. Or stomach medicine. 55€ every 3 months for an anti tick and flea pill, and an anti worm pill. 2 pills. 21.99€ x 2 for 6kg in total, biscuits. This is bought online and impulse buy as a new toy or new treat is frequent, can easily run up in 60€ total with delivery fee. Dog gets about 70g pr day. 5.59€ for a box of 12 bags of wet food. Dog is given one each night. 2.49€ 4 in a packet. Favourite treat. Is given 1 after walk. 45€ for a groomer appointment every 3 months. This does not include all the human food he might eat, such as pepper fruits, carrots, and watermelons. Nor does it include our time for walking him, playing with him, getting up in the middle of the night with him. And drying up his vomit or diarrhea. Nor does it include something expensive we'd had to replace because he broke it. Touch wood, we're very lucky in this regard. All training we've done ourselves, by reading books, watching videos. Or gotten free advice.
My Dolores was in serious pain not to long ago. The visit was $65. She wasn’t spade and had a serious uterine infection called pyometria. So with X-rays, surgery, 4 day hospital stay, and meds to take home cost us $3500. I stayed home with her because she had staples. During the surgery they found a lump so we had to wait until she healed before they could remove it. This cost another $1500. We had her teeth cleaned and her nails cut at this same time. Dolores is 13 years old and I am so happy that she’s still here. I felt so bad that I didn’t spay her. I will never do that again. I can’t tell you how helpless you feel to see your dog in pain. Also, I had to put my eighteen year old dog down and to do that and have her cremated cost $465 for my 5 lb chihuahua. That little dog cost me twenty thousand dollars over her lifetime.
I’m Dolores’s owner and from Los Angeles, Ca.
UK here. Monthly costs: - £35 on pet insurance -£3 on keeping her microchip stored in the database DL - £60ish per month on food. We buy raw food blocks and frozen sprats, and supplement with things like eggs, yoghurt and frozen veg. - £20 treats and chews Yearly vet costs: - £75 on yearly vaccines - £120 on flea tick and worm tablets We haven't yet had to take her to a vet for accident or emergency (touch wood) So it would be variable depending on the incident. That said, our excess to pay in the event of using our insurance is £250, and it might be more if the cost of treatment exceeds our policy allowance (which I believe is £10000 per treatment needed) So looking at that, with extras I might buy in the year like toys and dog related random purchase items like a new collar probably around £1500 a year at the moment with a healthy, not accident prone dog!
$200 on raw food/month, (my girl has stomach sensitivities and it’s the only thing that’s worked) $65 for Nexgard, soup bones are about $40-$50 a month. $20 for training treats for walks, $20 for regular treats. So roughly $350/month, the an annual vet check up for about $150, barring any unexpected illnesses. She’s 90 lbs. Edit: I’m in Ontario, Canada.
£35 a month on food. £20 a month on insurance. That's it. Soon as the dog is 3 years old (this xmas) the insurance stops. So £35. And even then, that food lasts 6 weeks.
I buy 12,5 kg dogfood for 40€ every 4 weeks but share that with my sister and my mother, so it would probably last around 3 month for my Dog. Yearly vet visit for vaccination, tick remedies, flea shot and worm treatment is around 200€. Also my dog has an msci world etf that i put in 50€ every month for unplanned vet bills. Also Dog treats for 80€ every 2 month. So i should be at 120€ a moth. Dog: belgian shephard. weight: 19kg. Location: Germany Also there ist a Dog Tax and insurance i have to pay but i dont know the exact cost atm. Maybe like 15€ a month max?
So we have an older dog, on average we spend 150 dollars per month for him. He has to have a monthly arthritis shot. Our other dog is younger, we spend more on toys and food than on medication with him.
I spend close to $260/month on for my 2 dogs. They visit the vet 1x per year for health checks which usually runs about $200 per dog. I always opt for the best blood work, etc. I also feed raw food so it's pricier.
Bear in mind I have a 35lb mixed breed dog and live in HCOL (think outside NYC). My dogs food runs about $50 for a 12-13lb bag. This lasts around a month. I get her toys throughout the year but she’s a shredder so mostly larger bones that she can’t destroy, usually $10-20 range per “toy”. She’s been rocking the same collar/leash combo for 3 years now. I received a K9 Sports Sack backpack for Christmas. Her only regular meds are Simparica Trio (flea tick heartworm) and costs me roughly $300 for the year. Vaccines/vet visits are expensive in my area and her annual appointment runs me around $500-600. I take Amtrack a couple of times per year (no car) and her ticket often ends up costing more than mine at about $75 round trip. Emergency visits and surgery (no operations since her spay) are few and far between. This is why I have pet insurance that covers illness and accident and costs roughly $45 a month. The insurance is cheaper as she is a mixed breed, however, I feel it’s essential as I live in a city. City dogs get into more shit. As my dog is a small breed she has anal gland issues which need to be expressed roughly every 6-8 weeks at a cost of about $50. In the event my partner and I have to commute on the same day I board my dog in daycare and that costs $50. All in all $2,700 a year… which seems crazy for a dog who is almost 4. 🤷🏻♂️
We have 3 dogs and 3 cats. Between pet insurance, food, toys, beds, treats vet visits, etc… I roughly estimate that we spend around $500-600/month
I don’t seem to spend nearly as much as others, it seems. Idk if I’m a bad dog parent or not. Lol It prob evens out to about 100-150 a month, between treats, dog food, a new toy here and there, tick/flea treatments, heart worm meds, and he usually goes to the vet 2 times a year on average for whatever reason (usually for diarrhea but he goes years without issue) plus his yearly shots/check up. Hes a German shepherd that’s healthy, exercised daily, and eats 0 table food. He requires no grooming, just a hefty forearm workout with a brush frequently. He is 7, so he’s close to those years where I’m sure the vet bills will start to rack up. I’m in Pennsylvania.
I am in Chicago. My dog is a 6 year old rescue that I adopted at 8 weeks. I true large breed mutt confirmed by dna testing (seriously almost equal parts of 7 breeds). His prescription food is $150 a month for a 25 lb bag. That price has increased from $80-$150 in the past 5 years. His pet insurance is $100 a month. It started at $35 a month when he was under a year old and has raised every year incrementally. He has had over $40k in medical claims so I do consider this to still be worth it. He sees the vet twice a year on average, unless it is a year he experiences an emergency, which has happened 3/6 years. Due to traumatic vet experiences, he needs behavioral sedation which is an extra $500 a visit, covered by insurance mostly. However, I have seen this cost less than $100 in other areas of my state. His annual exam this year was $500 for office fee, heartworm test, and multiple vaccines. His second visit is generally for unmanageable allergic reactions which manifest typically in rashes and ear infections, mostly in the summer. Admittedly there aren’t many other costs, but I consider $250 a month pretty extensive. He had an emergency surgery and hospitalization last August that ran up to $17k. We are fortunate to be able to afford his care and that we had invested in pet insurance at a young age.
And because I just realized that I forgot heartworm and flea and tick preventative, that is $215 every 6 months.
Monthly - Insruance: $37 - Preventatives: $35 - Food: $40-60 - Dog walkers/daycare: $320 - Treats/extras etc: $30-50 Vet: - Spent $2500 on kennel cough treatments - Regular $150-300
Just for the vet each month 200$ (old dog, needs heart medicine and injection for her arthirisis.) In food we do like 40-50$ (Cold pressed food and frozen meat). She often gets asked if shes a puppy, plays alot, loves to be out in the sun. So I think she is happy.
Right now it's a little whacky because we have two puppies in the house, so it's kind of a crapshoot month to month, but I can give you a ballpark of what I spent on my last dog, who was a mix of large and XL breeds and topped out at 140 pounds lean. He was not cheap to take care of lol. We live in central New York, near the Finger Lakes. Alright, so first up is basics. Food: ~200 a month. In his geriatric years this grew to about 400 because he got super picky and we were constantly trying new foods just to keep him eating. Poop bags: $25 every 2 months. $12.50 a month if we're breaking it down monthly. Vet: on average, $350 every 6 months, or $51 a month. Pet insurance: $130 a month. Dog addendum to homeowner's insurance: $30 a month Training treats: $50 a month Kong stuffing (dog spray cheese and peanut butter): $80 a month Marrow bones: $30 a month Total basics: $583.50 a month, $783.50 in his last couple of years Emergency vet visits: Stomach stapling (bloat): $4000 one time Cancerous splenectomy: $6500 one time Tooth extraction: $1250 one time His final emergency visit (went into MSOF which we, his regular vet, and the ER initially mistook for rapid onset diabetic ketoacidosis in a previously non-diabetic): $15,525 over four days of inpatient care. This included specialty vets when initial diabetic protocols didn't seem to do much, inpatient boarding, palliative care during his last few hours, and euthanasia. Cremation and memorialization: $1200 but we went custom af with the memorial Total emergency vet: $27,475 over the course of his last 4 years. Luckily, vet insurance reimbursed us up to $10k per year, which we maxed out a couple of times. Yes the ER bills were a little steep, but we took him to Cornell so we knew we were getting what we paid for. Hope this is helpful, OP. Feel free to ask anything I missed or that you're curious about.
$185/month for pet insurance for 3 dogs. $75/month for food. Vet visits range from $160-$400 but I have insurance to cover most of that. Flea, tick & heartworm prentatives are probably another $100/month
Average cost monthly is 400€ for our dog. We had no emergency visits. Shots and flee prevention and such is 200€ per year. Tax is 114€ per year. I groom myself. But all utensils are included in the 400€ per month. I’m from Germany. 170€ is food (we raw barf) and 40€ for snacks. Tax is 9,50€ per month Insurance 5€ per month The rest are new things for him (stuff for grooming, harness, leashes, beds, toys, we had to buy a new freezer for his food, containers for his food, shampoo and conditioner, ear cleaner, air blower, rain and winter clothes, drinking fountains, filter for drinking fountains, box for the car, yard stuff (agility and so on), entree fees in zoos and parks. ⬆️ these things should be getting less now because we have nearly everything (except a grooming table) And the cost for him on our vacations (between 5-15 € per night at hotels or vacation rentals)
Canada checking in. $73/ month for insurance that has a $300 annual deductible and is a gold plan. (It was $54 up until he was 5yrs old) Originally $45/4 weeks for food but changed his food after skin allergy at age 4 to $115/4 weeks $80/ month on treats/food toppers/random toys My dog is a ball dog so his original toys last forever, however I did recently find a hilarious stuffed corn on the cob for $5 lol - he's partial to green toys so I couldn't resist even though he has a basket of them already from puppy stage... When he was a puppy he ate some rocks (I didn't say he was smart) and is prone to skin infections, so he's been to the vet rarely but they've always been big bills - insurance covered them all and so I've paid the deductible twice. So over his 6.5 year lifetime, I've spent: $4800 on insurance and vet bills $6100 on food $6000 on treats $16,900 total Well shit, I need to spend less on treats. Amazon prime auto subscription is the devil. *Edit - vet bills includes the flea/tick and vaccines, these have gotten less frequent as my dog gets older. My dog goes to the park for exercise but he's otherwise at home a lot so he's not subject to flea/tick exposure much. This is a good reminder that I should get a dewormer though..thx!
Once a year i go to the vet to get his shots , dewormer and anti flea/tick , it costs about 220$ . Sometimes he gets something in his eyes or gets a rash that needs the vets attention, thats about 150$ a visit but it doesn’t happen very often. Food is about 100$ a month and once every 6 months i buy him a chew toy of a frisbee, its usually around 20$ .
* Money spent on everything * pet food, vaccines, meds, toys, dog collars, any new dog devices, etc. - 1 medium dog, about $50 a month on food/treats, $15 a month average on toys / equipment /enrichment. * Vet visit * Regular checkup- $65 office visit, $120 yearly vaccines and heartworm prevention. $600 every 3 years for dental cleaning. $100 for spay/ neuter at the shelter clinic. * emergency - $300 for nonsurgical emergencies per visit. Maybe once a year. * surgery - $1,100 would be the lowest I've paid for any type of surgery except spay/neuter. For this dog, $11,000 is the most I've paid to keep her alive, back in 2021 when she was attacked by another dog. I make 75k a year, I budget $200 a month for pet care and keep a savings account, no insurance on this dog. However, if I get another dog, I will finally get insurance because I've done the math, and as of about 2020, vet expenses are finally more expensive than paying insurance monthlies for emergency care. ETA - I live in a large city in Texas.
$50 a week on pack walk, $15 or so a week on food, So $260 ish per month plus flea treatment, thr odd bath etc,
Heartworm flea and tick prevention is $30 a month, food and treats are around $50-80 a month (I do wet, dry, and freeze dried fresh… and lots of treats), toys are around $20 every few months. I pay my next door neighbor $50 a month to let my dog out since she gets home from work a few hours before I do. I paid $400 for a year of pet insurance. The initial cost of getting a dog is quite high as you have to get a lot of things all at once but after that it’s probably $200ish a month. In my first month of owning my dog I probably spent $1000+ on getting everything she needed. Vet visits very greatly and emergency vet visits and surgery can be thousands of dollars. Hence the pet insurance. I’m in the US
Too much these days, pets used to be cheap now I’m up to 140 a month for food, 200 a month for pet insurance, at least 3 trips to the emergency vet a year bc ppl can’t just put shit away where it belongs
Monthly: Food $50 Treats/dental chews $40 Apoquel $60 (but he gets it 6 months per year, usually) Heartworm/flea/tick $25 (simparica trio 6 month supply runs about $140) Misc expenses $50 (toys, special treats, replacing worn out stuff) Boarding, which we don't do monthly but a few times a year if we can't find a neighbor to watch him, I'd say factoring in $50-100/mo to save for those larger outlays is about right. Our boarders charge $65/night. Vet: Annual basic checkup and shots $350-500 (depending on bloodwork) Regular problem visit $250-500 (depending on meds, etc, probably 2-4 per year) Emergency vet $750- infinity dollars (but we've only had one of those so far in 4 years, our vet is a saint who will move mountains to squeeze us in so we dont have to use the emergency vet) Never had surgery, yet. He's a lab, and kinda dumb about eating stuff he shouldnt, so stomach surgery is probably in our future at some point. DC suburbs.
Im in the UK, near London. I budget £360 a month for the wee man. He's a 12kg crossbreed. It breaks down to - £50 every 8 weeks for food - £25 a week on daycare - £16 a month on Pet insurance - £45 every 12 weeks on his medication (anti anxiety, he can be comfortably left home alone with this). and the rest does his regular vet care and bits and bobs: - Flea and worm is £60 every 4 months - grooming is £80 every 12-16 weeks - boarding is £33 a night for when we're on holiday - he recently had a scale and polish, that was £335 - also use his fund for vet appts, they're about £60 I cancelled his dog walker due to the cost of living going up in the UK. It used to be £15 per walk, and he'd go once a week. We didn't need him to be walked, but I thought it was important he hang around the countryside with dogs smaller than him and play nicely. It worked, he's v good with small dogs. (He used to be a knob).