Getting pet Dog need some info and help (Alexandria, Chantilly: insurance, how much)

[san312]

Hi,
I am planning to get the Dog medium size something like poddle, I need some information before I make a decision of getting it, I went to Petco in Chantilly where they have dog adoption every sunday and they charge $325, is there any place where we can adopt pet for much less then this or for free. And for those who has dog can you please provide me in general how much it cost to keep a dog.

I want to get puppy around 3-4 month old, i heard its easy to train them but if you can give input on that also it will be great.

Thanks

[GoHokiesGo]

Check out all the local pounds, humane societies, etc on petfinder. $325 does sound a little on the high end for an adoption event, but I've seen a few with prices up there. I think it's far less expensive if you find one from a local animal shelter.

As far as breeds, read up on the breeds you want at this site:
Dog Breed Info Center®, DBI
Make sure that your lifestyle and family matches the temperament, energy levels, and upkeep of the dog. They all have different behavioral quirks, so make sure it matches the amount of time you can devote to them. Dogs are a lot of work, but they're a rewarding addition to the family.

[Denton56]

Please don't get a dog unless you are willing to put in LOTS of time with training. A dog that is a bit older, and housebroken, might be a better choice if you don't have a lot of time. So many dogs needs homes. Here's a good place to start looking for a dog to adopt:
Dog Adoption :: Search by breed, size, age and location.

[mdcrim]

Craigslist and your local shelters (Friends of Homeless Animals is a great, local no-kill shelter).

[CaliTerp07]

A few things...

First, that $325 fee is actually a bargain when you break it down. Dogs from rescue have been pulled from rural shelters, and fully vetted. That means they've had their shots, gotten heart worm treatment (MANY dogs come in heartworm positive) and been spayed/neutered. If you add up the costs of those procedures for the average person who doesn't get discounted vet services, you're looking at a $600+ price tag.

The rescue I foster for actually LOSES money on dogs that we adopt. The average cost is actually higher than that, because we have many dogs who come in with parvo, broken legs, are heartworm positive, etc. We have to feed the dogs for up to a year while we wait for them to be adopted. We make up the difference through donations, fundraising, and a couple very generous benefactors.

The final thing to think of when you go through rescue is that these dogs have been in foster care. That means they've been in people's homes, not shelters. The foster parents have been working on training (all my fosters have gone to their new homes knowing "sit", how to take a treat gently, and being housebroken. Not bad!). They should have a very accurate representation of the dog's temperament. If you go to a rescue and tell them what you want (e.g. medium dog, low energy, good with kids, etc), they should be able to find you the perfect pet.

Shelters serve a purpose, and I would highly encourage you to go look at them as well. I paid $50 for my dog through the Alexandria shelter, and she's wonderful! I had to pay to get her spayed though, pay for all her shots, and her personality ended up being nothing like the shelter thought. It worked out, because it's just my husband and me, so we had time to work through her issues (dog reactivity, houdini-like escape abilities, prey drive up the wazoo, energy that never ends)...but man, if I had children and didn't have the time to devote to her, it would have been trouble.

Take a look at Pet adoption: Want a dog or cat? Adopt a pet on Petfinder Most of the shelters and rescues in the area post their dogs on there, and post their adoption fees as well. If you have an idea of what you're looking for, let me know and I can help you track a suitable dog down!

[CaliTerp07]

Originally Posted by san312

I want to get puppy around 3-4 month old, i heard its easy to train them but if you can give input on that also it will be great

It's actually a lot of work to train a dog. I would highly suggest reading the following (free!) book from Ian Dunbar (a really great trainer)

Sirius Dog Training

A dog around 2 years old will actually be easier to train than a young puppy, because it will have a longer attention span. Millions of people train puppies every year, so obviously you can do it--but it's not easy. (It's not easy to train a dog of any age) You will need to be willing to devote a LOT of time, regularity, and patience to it. Expect several weeks of getting up multiple times in the middle of the night to house break it, some chewed objects, and the trash can busted into.

We had to install baby locks on my kitchen cabinets, because my dog is THAT food motivated. I had a foster with separation anxiety who chewed through a wall. I had another foster who woke me up at 2am and 4 am EVERY NIGHT for 3 weeks straight until I had him housetrained.

Be prepared for work. If you do it properly, it doesn't last forever...but don't go in expecting it to be easy.

[Caladium]

There are many beautiful dogs at the Loudoun County Animal Shelter who need a home. Sadly, one of the things that happen in a recession is some owners have to give their dogs away when money gets tight. A lot of those dogs already have some basic training and you'll be able to gauge their personalities (a puppie's personality can be hard to tell). That would be the route I'd choose.

[GreenGene]

Originally Posted by san312

Hi,
I am planning to get the Dog medium size something like poddle, I need some information before I make a decision of getting it, I went to Petco in Chantilly where they have dog adoption every sunday and they charge $325, is there any place where we can adopt pet for much less then this or for free. And for those who has dog can you please provide me in general how much it cost to keep a dog.

I want to get puppy around 3-4 month old, i heard its easy to train them but if you can give input on that also it will be great.

Thanks

We adopted a dog from HART (Homeless Animals Rescue Team), and they regularly hold pet adoptions at the Petco in Chantilly - there's one this coming Saturday. They also hold pet adoptions at a Petco in Fairfax.

They have TON of information on their homepage (see link above). And I second what CaliTerp07 said about the adoption fees - your adopted dog will come with all the shots, etc. According to their website, the HART adoption fee for a dog is $250 ($350 for puppies under 6 months).

We adopted a miniature poodle (Coco is about 15 pounds or so) who was about 5 years old when we adopted her last January, coming to us from a family going through a divorce.

She didn't seem to know anything, and since poodles are so darned smart, we thought perhaps she was coming to us from a non-English speaking family, and we just weren't speaking her language! But she caught on VERY quickly to our training, and we also took her to dog training classes.

She is wonderful. Our last dog was a German Shepherd, and for some reason, I had thought we end up with another dog roughly that size. But my wife suggested - rather smartly, I thought - that since we aren't getting any younger, it might be better to get a smaller and more easily controlled dog. Our GSD, although a gorgeous and very smart dog, was an incredible amount of work.

We are delighted with Coco, and we were very happy with the adoption process through HART.

[ShannonMilligan]

Some general thoughts

I have a 4 year old Lab. Girl. Got her when she was 3 months old for $500 from a breeder. Potty training was pretty easy for her-AFTER the first month at home. The first month was awful and I wanted to give her back, lol! One day I came home from work and she had #2 in her cage. Take her out to clean it and I turn around and she's doing #2 on the floor. Rush her outside. She goes. Come back in and start cleaning again. Turn around and she is doing #2 AGAIN on the floor. I about lost my mind that day. I tried to teach her to ring a bell everytime she needed to go out (did this by rining a bell everytime I took her out so she would get the hint)...It worked EXCEPT she started to grab the bell and run through the house with it. So much for that idea. Long story short, we crate trained her and took her out every 2 hours or so until she just got it at about 7 months or so.

As for cost to maintain a dog. I HIGHLY suggest you get Pet Insurance. I didn't and I am so paying for it. Vet visit is about $55 per visit. Medications and such depend but I have found most to be about $60-100 (at least what we use) Mine had ear infections and on those two visits I paid about $500 to get it figured out and cleared up. Then started the skin problems. Spent about $1500 getting to the bottom of that. Now she has to have grain free food which is about $50 a bag...about $100 per month. But it beats having to get her allergy shots everyday and it did clear up the problem. Most recently she had a kneww problem. Took her to the vet and $500 later (XRays, pain medications, office visit, lyme test, etc) I was told to take her to a SPECIALIST. Turns out she tore her ACL. (CCL in a dog) Just had surgery on Thursday. It cost us $2800 on top of the $500 from the regular vet. AND I drove her to central PA to have the surgery b/c it was $1500 CHEAPER than here in VA.
Then you have the monthly stuff like heartworm and flee control. You want to do this or it could cost you in the long run.
All in I paid $500 for the dog and have put about $5K into her over 4 years. She is a walking, furry pot of gold. Plus while she is recovering from her surgery, I am pretty much home bound with her. She needs therapy exercises 3 times a day, iced 3 times a day, 2 heating treatments daily, and leash walk ONLY to go potty. Other than that she has to be kept STILL. difficult to do.
If I only would have gotten the pet insurance when I got her. Its about $30 a month but it would have saved me A TON. (6 days after getting her we had to take her to an emergency room vet b/c she ate the fuzz off a tennis ball and that was another costly bill)

My point is not to scare you. Just to prepare you for things that can happen. And of course spaying is important and can run you $300 or more dollars. Some adoption places will do it for free when you adopt.

On the other hand I had a mutt for 15 years and he never cost me more than an office visit a year and the heatworm and flee medication. It just all depends. Pure breds tend to need more medical stuff than mutts, but it CAN happen to mutts too. That being said, I LOVE my dog like I love my children. She is part of the family and the most gentle giant you will ever meet. Everyone loves her.

So...my suggestion is to go into eyes wide open. Know what can happen. Start off on the right foot. Get the dog pet insurance. get the dog on a good food (not a junk brand that is cheap...again that could cost you in the end. some dogs do fine on junk brands but many don't)

Good luck to you! I think having a dog is one of the BEST things that ever happened to our family. 100% unconditional love, someone to greet you everyday and is always happy to see you, and mine espcially is fabulous with kids.

[FindingZen]

Don't forget that if you're looking for general insight on domesticated animals, there is a Pets forum here with separate sub-forums for both Dogs and Cats.