How Much Does a Dog Cost per Month?

I found myself asking this question recently: “How much does a dog cost per month?”  We just welcomed a new puppy into our home, and after the “newness” had worn off a bit, my mind began to wander back to the bottom line 🙂  What?  I can’t help it!  Read on to find out the normal expenses of owning a dog and what you can figure your monthly cost of owning a furry canine will run.

Up Front Costs of Owning a Dog

There are several up front costs of owning a dog.  Depending on how you handle these, it can make a big difference in your “down payment.”  However, over the long run of 10-15 years it has little practical significance…

The biggest up front costs of owning a dog is actually how much you’ll pay for it.  Prices could range from free (if you get the dog from a friend, neighbor, family member) to thousands of dollars.  Most local pounds or shelters will sell you a nice pup in the range of $25 – $100.  Most advice I’ve heard over the years warns folks to stay away from pet stores when buying a dog – they are overpriced and can typically be mistreated.

In our case, we had our mind set on a very specific type of dog – a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.  After watching probably 20+ hours of dog videos on YouTube, this breed seemed like a good fit for our family.  We reached out to a couple local breeders and were appalled to find that some wanted $2,200 for a puppy!!!!  WTF?!?!?  In the end, through a vet friend of ours, we were able to find a local family that was having puppies that would sell one for $500.  Not very cheap, but still a 77% discount compared to a “breeder.”

Another up front cost if you are in the market for a puppy is vet bills for various vaccinations, de-wormings, spay/neutering, etc.  We haven’t had all of these completed yet, but I think it’s probably a safe bet to figure that you’ll have to shell out $300 in the first six months.

The final up front costs that you should budget for will be food and water bowls, a collar, some toys, dog shampoo, etc.  I would figure $25 – $50 for this type of stuff.  As with anything in life, you can easily go cheaper or much more expensive depending on your wallet.

Now that we’ve discussed the up front costs of owning a dog, let’s move onto the routine costs…

On-Going Costs of Owning a Dog

Owning a dog is not cheap!  There are a number of items that you will want to budget for throughout the year.  The table below lists some of the most likely routine expenses.  Let’s breakdown each expense and discuss them one-by-one:

• Vet Bill – I assume that you will want to take your pup to the vet once per year for a health checkup.  This really is a good habit to get into to ensure your dog will live a happy and healthy life.
• Heartworm and Flea Medicine – This is a must for dog owners in the south eastern part of the US!  Check out this map to see the heartworm incidence rate for your area.  Fleas can also be very bothersome to your dog and your home.  They now have a combined heartworm and flea medicine that can be given to the dog monthly.  I show $20 a month in the table below, but this could be higher if you own a larger dog.
• Food – Feeding your dog a good diet is essential for their health.  This is not a good place to skimp!  For smaller dogs, $20 a month will suffice.  For dogs 75 pounds and up plan for $40 or $50 a month.
• Toys – Here’s where you can get a little creative.  You can buy toys outright from the store or make your own (if you’re careful).  One toy idea that was shared with us recently was putting a used water bottle in an old sock and tieing the end.  Our dog loves the sounds it makes and it costs practically nothing.  If you are going to make your own toys, just make sure they are safe and you monitor them frequently to ensure they stay safe!
• Shampoo – Of course you will need shampoo for those baths every once in a while.  I’m not a big dog bath person, so I figure maybe once a month or every other month for a dog bath.  Most people give their dogs a bath more frequently I think 🙂
• Grooming – Here’s an area where you need to be careful!  Our dog does not require grooming (thank God) – but I filled this in with $25 a month just for illustrative purposes.  You can easily drop a fortune in this category if you are not careful.  While you can perform the grooming yourself, it can take several hours a month depending on the breed.  If you haven’t picked out a dog yet and you are trying to save money, be sure to pick out a breed that does not require a lot of grooming.  This will keep your dog looking good and your wallet looking even better!

Item	Cost	# Times / Year	Annual Total
Vet Bill	$120	1	$120
Heartworm/Flea	$20	12	$240
Food	$20	12	$240
Toys	$10	2	$20
Shampoo	$5	2	$10
Grooming	$25	12	$300
Annual GRAND TOTAL =			$930.00
Monthly TOTAL =			$77.50

 

So, How Much Does a Dog Cost Per Month?

While it is difficult to answer the question because so many factors play into the number, I will give it a shot.  For us, and a small 15 pound Cavalier King Charles Spaniel if I take the up front costs and the routine monthly costs and assume our dog will live 10 years, this gives a cost of $58/month.

On the other hand, let’s assume that you love full sized poodles.  These dogs are 50 Lbs and require lots of grooming.  This will double the heartworm/flea cost ($40/month), double the food cost ($40/month), and incur high grooming costs ($50+/month).  All these factors put together now give an estimated cost of $148/month.

As you can see, that’s quite a big range!

Final Thoughts

If you are reading this post, then I’m going to assume you are pretty cost conscious when it comes to owning a dog.  If this is the case, the best way to keep your costs low is try and get as many of these traits as possible when selecting a dog:

• Small size – this will help save on food, heartworm and flea medicine, toys, shampoo, etc.
• No grooming required – stay away from dogs with real curly hair
• Good health – do a little research – several pure bred dogs can have health problems.  No one wants to decide between a healthy dog and a huge vet bill!  If money is tight, mutts are almost always a good way to go.
• Behavior – lastly, try to pick a type of dog that doesn’t like to chew, chew, chew if you aren’t all that interested in paying to replace your nice stuff.  Many hounds are notorious chewers and can really do a number on your furniture if they get bored.

Whatever type of dog you pick, it is hard to put a price on the many years of joy and love that they will provide you and your family!