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I am thinking of adopting a small dog, shih tzu, and have a few questions? On average, how much do you spend monthly for a small dog? We are or will be first time pet owners,and not sure of what we should expect. Whats pros and cons adopting from a rescue or shelter,health wise?What preps should be in place before we bring our dog home? Food costs, grooming, preventive care etc. Routine vet check ups, how much and how often? Any low costs vets or mobile vets in Dallas? Our first major cost will be pet deposit of $350. We live on a tight, low income budget, and while getting dog would serve as a good companion, we are concerned with dogs best interest. If we decide to do this, we want to do it right.
That is a wide open question and hard to answer as I for one do not live in Dallas. Pick up your phone and call the vet clinics to get an idea on how much an office visit is; vaccinations, spay or neuter, microchipping. Having your dog groomed will be decided on how fast the coat grows, anywhere between 6-8 weeks is typical again, call local grooming salons and ask how much they charge.
When you're making these calls, find out how much it is to walk into the emergency clinic and then add another hundred or so for everything the vet does, because most often things tend to happen in the middle of the night.
You'll also need to factor in decent food, not the stuff you get at the Walmart. Most of the time the cheaper the food, the more often you're going to be at the vet.
Other items to consider on the start up: leash, collar and/or harness, bowls, bedding, toys, ID tags, brushes and combs, flea/tick preventive, heartworm preventive.
If you were a friend of mine asking me these things, I might suggest re-thinking the idea, but I do realize you're asking now and applaud that.
Your biggest yearly expense will be grooming. We get our dog groomed every 6 weeks at a cost of $55 each time. That comes to $495 a year. His yearly check up with shots runs about $250. Food is about $250 as well. Heartworm and flea control run about $150. Treats and toys probably around $150. That puts our cost at $1295..... Over $100 a month. For one 22 pound dog. Oh and don't forget you need an emergency fund as well. One day long stay at the emergency vet for a snake bite cost us $1200.
Unless you can provide for the dog (and yourselves) without severely straining your budget, I'd rethink getting a dog.
You also might consider fostering a dog or two also, some breed clubs are always looking for a foster and often foot many of the food and vet bills while you care for the dog in your home. It's a good way to get your feet wet without the expense.
I'd also recomend doing lots of reading about training the dog, there are many good books including ones for the newbie on their first dog, you can also visit dog training classes at a good (not pet smart) obedience club. If your in the Dallas area I'll bet there are plenty to choose from.
Like the prior poster said, good dog food will save you in the long run.
Great lists above. I'd add as potential expenses: dog walking or doggie care if someone isn't home to walk the dog regularly during the day. Day care runs me $30 a day if I have a long day at work, dog walking is $10/15 a pop on day when I need it. This is one of my larger expenses with my dog. If you travel at all boarding the dog will cost anywhere from $60 - $100 a day, depending on your area. Even if you work on training odds are you new puppy will ruin something so figure that into the initial cost as well. If they don't chew they may have a beyond repair accident on a rug or something of that sort.
I second the fostering idea. It's a great way to help multiple dogs when you want to help and to have a furry friend but are unsure of the expense.
I am thinking of adopting a small dog, shih tzu, and have a few questions? On average, how much do you spend monthly for a small dog? We are or will be first time pet owners,and not sure of what we should expect. Whats pros and cons adopting from a rescue or shelter,health wise?What preps should be in place before we bring our dog home? Food costs, grooming, preventive care etc. Routine vet check ups, how much and how often? Any low costs vets or mobile vets in Dallas? Our first major cost will be pet deposit of $350. We live on a tight, low income budget, and while getting dog would serve as a good companion, we are concerned with dogs best interest. If we decide to do this, we want to do it right.
We have two Shih Tzu mix dogs. For one it would be $24.95 per month for Banfield pet insurance. That covers all the puppy shots and the spay or neuter. Other expenses are the Frontline heartworm meds and flea/tick treatment and that will be close to $100 for the season.
OP, you may want to consider a dog with low grooming demand. That alone will save a considerable amount of money.
You may want to post in the section for the city you live in on the board for Texas. You can most likely get recommendations for a local vet, groomer, etc.
Keep us up to date and we'll all be glad to assist with any further questions you may have.
I wish that I could only spend $10 on food.... I have 2 dogs and I spend about $90 on insurance/month, $130 on grooming every 8 weeks, $50-100+/week on their foods and treats. I take them to the vet once a year for their yearly blood work and check up and that's usually about $400 if not a little more for the two of them. I rarely board them but the last time I did last year, that bill was $1000 for almost two weeks for the presidential suite.
50+ amonth on food and treats? holy...what ar you feeding?!
i have 3 dogs currently, 1 is an 8 month old mastif mix and the other 2 are small chinese cresteds, thier food is $30 a month that feeds all 3 of them, its not "the best" food, but its not junk either (no byproduct, o corn, soy or wheet and the first ingreident is MEAT.
treats, i make my own dog cookies and jerkey, i spend MABE 10 a month on meat and ingredients to make my own treats!
unfortunatly OP cost is VERY depenant on area, and your own inginuity...what one person spends a monht on treats you mght not ven come close, what one person spends on toys, you may think outrageous...
so heres my breakdown.
FOOD:
a 40lb bag of diamond natruals (again not "the best" food but better than any grocery store brand by FAR) sets me back about $30 after tax. that bag lasts 4 weeks feeding 1 large and 2 small dogs. when it was just my 2 small dogs 1 bag would last 3 months, so it was costing me $5 a month to feed a 10lb medium energy dog.
TREATS:
treats are not "freely given" around here they are earnt and i make my own...
id say i spend about $10 a month on "ingredients" to make my own dog cookies, jerkey and training treats, i pick up pigs ears, chicken breast and beef when its on sale (managers specials and freezer burnt meats are geat for this, slice thinkly and dry in a dehydrator or oven and tada jerkey. dce the chicken up real small boil and freeze in small snack sized sandwhich bags for great training treats.
cookie ingredients are the same as human cookie ingredients minus the sugar so i buy big bags of flour ect as i make my own bread and cookies and such for me too so i just change the ingredients round to make dog frinedly. add a jar of low sodium peanut butter as a kong filler and tada, treats on the cheap.
TOYS:
this will definalty depend on the dog. i always suggest investing in at least one "puzzle toy" (ie a kong) but other than that, some dogs dont like toys, some like only certain types of toys ect...
i spend mabe $5 a month on new toys and its a simple 1: trip to the fabric store for fleece to braid togehter to make fun tug toys and ropes ect...and a stop at goodwill for stuffed animals, remove any buttons/eyes ect as those will be the first to go, but having a dog that LOVES stuffies, but kills even the tough ones quickly...goodwill is the best bet for sacrificial teddybears...(never leave puppy alone with ANY toys except the likes of a kong, even toys made specifically for dogs cna pull apart ect.)
i do save up about $10 per dog each year to buy new "tough toys" at christmas time, they each get a new skinneeze toy and something else that looks "fun"
Flea control:
this will definatly depend on brand you choose...some of the pill forms like trifelxis are more expensve but some of the topcals are loosing effectivness.
currently i use advantage... as frontlinehas been useless...
cost is about $10 per month
heartworm protection:
this has to be perscribed by yourvet (and woudlnt be nessicary if using triflexis or revolution ect...)
but assuming your going topocal add another $5 a month for heartworm protection.
Collar/leash/harness...
one time purchase for an adult dog, youll have to get bigger if buying a puppy though as they grow. expect to spend $5-$10 on a good leash $5-$10 on a collar, and up to $15 on a harness...with a small bred you dont need anything thats going to control a rino, so you dont need to go overboard, a simply nylon hanress and leash is fine.
bed/crate...
a ****zu is a relitivly small breed, you can pick upa 24" crate brand new off amazon for $25 inc shipping, save some money and make your own dog beds using a pillowcase and some stuffing...
dishes...
again variable one time purchase, invest in stainless or ceramic, but for a small dog, mabe $10 total...
VET costs...
this will be highly variable based o area, and what you get done/your scheudal.
i follow a LIMITED vaccine schedual, only basic puppy shots (no lepto of bordatella) at 12 weeks, then Rabies at 6 months. i repeat the 5in1 at 1 yr and the rabies at 1 1/2 yrs (1 yr after the initial shot) then ONLY rabies every 3 years...
generally in connecticut, visit for puppy shots was $50, add another $25 for the rabies, howver theres MANY low cost vaccination clinics where you can get everything dne for cheaper...
Id say make sure you set aside up to $100 for your puppies initial visit (depending on your vet and the age of th epup whe you get it, that could be x2 (thats on the high side though) spay/neuter ive seen go form anywhere from $75-$300 depending on the vet (and most places do have low cost options)
so id want to set aside about $400 just for puppy shots, rabies, dworming and spay/neuter.
and at least another $100 a year for checkups/emergencies.
personally i have a care credit account whichis specifically for animal elergencies and i have a snall savngs account with high interest that i try to put at least $20 a month into.
grooming will also depend on you, your skill, what your looking for.
a basic shave down is ALOT cheaper than a fancy trim...or earn to do it yourself! a tzu will need to see the groomer every 8 weeks or so.
nails you can do at home.
i dont bother with insurance as i found the care credit and a savings account a better option for me...
i dont go away and leave them so no boarding feeds, no doggy day care or dog walkers here either...so cant help you there and after working as a vet tech id NEVER take my dog for expensive tests every year (unless theres a pre-existing conditio or the dog is getting up their in years...
so obviously your own perosnal preferences and needs will dictate alot of cost.
id say to keep only 1 of my small dogs, id be looking at $50 a month which includes the monthly deposit to the vet fund which is $20 whether i have 1 dog or $10, (and more if i have extra at the end of the month)
in terms of pros/cons of shelter dogs
PROS: adopting a shelter dog usually includes spay/neuter, microchip and vaccines in the adoption fee, saving you that initial vet output.
Whats pros and cons adopting from a rescue or shelter,health wise?
Unfortunately, it doesn't matter where you get your dog from, there is no promise or guarantee of health. I know dogs that have never had a vet visit other than annual checkups; one came from a shelter; one was from a good breeder. I know other dogs that have founght health issues their whole life. Once again, one was from a shelter; one was from a top breeder. Just like people, there is no guarantee of health.
I would recommend pet insurance for emergencies that may happen. You should be able to find a policy that isn't too expensive. Do not worry about it covering vaccines or routine things, as you can easily find out the cost for those and budget accordingly. It should cover accidents or major illnesses only, which will keep your monthly premiums down, but allow you the peace of mind to know that, if something awful should happen, you aren't focused on the cost.
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