Pupdate: reviewing the cost of 2 dogs
April 8, 2019
When we brought Sera home last year, I ran the numbers on what having two pets was costing us. It didn’t seem excessive but it’s also not cheap! A friend asked me for help with budgeting for a pet so I thought it’d be good to dust off my records and figure out what we’re paying now.
SEAMUS – April 2018
Daily costs:
$1.71, dog food. ($72 for 6 weeks of food)
$0.50, carrots,
$0.70 of sardines,
$3.30, bully stick,
$0.24, routine prescription meds,
$0.24, vitamins,
$0.40, glucosamine
$0.06, Benadryl
$7.15 a day, or $2609.75 annually.
$12/bath, 6 times a year, $72 annually.
Budgeted $1200 annually for veterinary care.
Total expected costs: $3881.75
SERA – April 2018
$1.71, dog food.
$0.70 of sardines,
$3.30, bully stick,
$0.24, vitamins
$5.95 a day, or $2171.75 annually.
$12/bath, 6 times a year, $72 annually.
Also budgeted: $800/year for veterinary care.
Total expected costs: $3043.75
Both dogs: $6925.50
Routine changes since last year:
- Seamus has stopped chewing on his bully sticks responsibly. He’s getting impatient and trying to swallow them half chewed and I’ve had to save him from choking twice. That’s enough of a pattern for me! I’ve taken away the bully sticks and given them to Sera whose young and powerful jaws make quick work of them. I’ve replaced them with much less chewy dental chews.
- Sera is now on board with the carrots but her skin and fur have come around so I’ve added carrots and green beans to her diet and taken out the sardines which were just an expensive treat for her.
- Sera is actually fine with baths so she and Seamus are bathed in the same tub and 45-minute session for $12.
SEAMUS – April 2019
$2.38, dog food. ($90-100 for 6 weeks of food, depending on sales)
$0.50, carrots,
$0.50, green beans,
$0.70, sardines,
$3.30, bully stick –> (2) C.E.T. VeggieDent FR3SH Chews, $0.97/each
$0.24, routine prescription meds,
$0.24, vitamins,
$0.40, glucosamine
$0.06, Benadryl
$6.96 a day, or $2540.40 annually.
$6/bath, 6 times a year, $36 annually.
Also budgeted: $1200/year for veterinary care.
Also budgeted: $350/year for boarding.
Total expected costs: $4126.40
Where we blew the budget (twice this year already):
- February: Seamus started drinking 6 times more water than normal and his urine was incredibly dilute. This could indicate diabetes, kidney disease, or Cushing’s disease. We tested him for everything, to no avail.
- March: Seamus’s arthritis has progressed from mild to moderate, and he’s really showing his age. We had to take x-rays to confirm what else was going on and found he’s got swelling in one of his knees.
- We’ve added an expensive anti-inflammatory and pain medication to his routine to help him through the discomfort.
- We’ve also added an excessively expensive allergy treatment. The latter (Apoquel) is a newer medication and I’m wary of using it on a prolonged basis, so we only use it sparingly as needed when he has a flare up of itching to relieve him symptoms. I spring for the pricy stuff because it has virtually no obvious side effects like the steroids do – and we avoid using the steroids more than twice a year because it’s tough on their systems. I don’t know about the long term effects of the Apoquel but it’s so much easier on him, doesn’t excessively increase his drinking and urination, and takes half the time (3-4 days instead of 8 days) to clear up a flare. Cross your fingers that the $350 (3 month supply) I just bought of all the special meds will last all year.
- I’m probably going to add a Cosequin supplement powder when his current glucosamine runs out.
SERA – May 2019
$2.38, dog food,
$0.50, carrots,
$0.50, green beans,
$3.30, bully stick –> C.E.T. HEXtra Premium Chews, $1.30
$0.24, vitamins,
$4.92 a day, or $1795.80 annually.
$6/bath, 6 times a year, $36 annually.
Also budgeted: $800/year for veterinary care.
Also budgeted: $350/year for boarding.
Total expected costs, $2981.80
Where we blew the budget:
- That $1000 incident. We’ve been working on socializing her ever since. She’s getting a little better but still doesn’t understand how to dog.
- Sera has destroyed the hand me down crate from Doggle. We haven’t committed to a replacement crate yet but a heavy duty one that won’t wreck her face and that she can’t escape will set us back hundreds.
Both dogs: $7108.20
In a good year with no emergencies and only minor health issues, both dogs cost about $20 to maintain a day. It goes much higher if things do happen and that’s what the emergency fund is for.
As Seamus is showing his age more and more, we need add some more cash to the emergency funds held for them.
Wow, that’s a lot more expensive than cats.
Yeah 🙂 They’re about 6-20x bigger so it makes sense.
I haven’t set out all that the dogs are costing. After looking at your figures I don’t think I ever will!!!
Uhhh… same!
I’m exhausted reading through your accounting (and so so impressed by the level of detail!)
@NZ Muze, I was curious, I had to know! Plus how can I properly budget if I don’t lay it all out for myself, right?
@frogdancer Apparently this is disturbing a lot of people XD
For your dog on Benedril, we have a boxer who was having major skin issues (rashes, ear infections) and also had runny bowel movements. We found he was gluten intolerant (my idea and it worked). Possibly change his food. We changed to Stella and Chewys raw coated kibble and we add three tablespoons of Dr. Martys freeze dried to it for extra raw food. This food as immediately caused a wonderful change, weight gain, full coat, no more rashes and best of all, normal bowel movements.
Just a suggestion. THe food is more expensive but its better than having to dose up the dog and run him to the vet (had at least four visits costing 200-500 each to diagnose and treat allergies and infections!)
We’ve definitely changed his food a few times to good effect but it hasn’t taken us all the way, perhaps we had to go another few rounds to find the right food! I bet that it works out to be about the same for more expensive food but fewer vet visits.
Ah, the cost of dogs. I have two and three cats. One dog with liver disease, one dog most likely has Cushings, is being tested. A cat on meds and the other two are fine, save for the fact one had crystals removed last year. Total cost per month between food and meds for all five pets is $500 and that’s without any complications that pop up in between. I love my pets, it’s a total commitment when illness and age happens to them.
You’re getting 5 for the price of less than my 2, that’s pretty good! And yes, it’s completely a commitment.
I use Appoquil for my guide dog. He’s been on it for 4 years with no issues. It also doesn’t knock him out so he can still work. No worries about those meds.
We’ve tried Apoquel! It’s very expensive but it works well.
This is an insightful article. Thanks for laying all the costs out there. We have had our dog for 12+ years now. My husband loves rescuing animals and has wanted to add a second dog numerous times. We go back and forth on it. After bringing our child into the pic, I am now firmly saying, “No!” I don’t mind helping animals for a few months and finding them other homes, but one cat and one dog waking up our baby is enough!!! Now, as a more financially aware person, it’s also hard not to notice the never-ending costs (opportunity costs included).
LOL in some ways a second dog is more chaos and in some ways it doesn’t make any difference at all so it works for us. I don’t think it would have worked so well when JB was much younger.
Oof, I’ve never sat down and calculated out the cost of any of our pets. I definitely wouldn’t expect $20/day, but we’ve had better luck with pet health/medications than you have, I suppose. And there was a few times we had to run hundreds of dollars of tests, I guess. So maybe it did even out to something that pricey.
I’m lucky in that the cat is very low maintenance. She’s healthy (I said, jinxing it) and while her food isn’t cheap (about $35 a bag) it could certainly be more expensive. And it lasts forever. So I’d say she probably costs me less than $1 a day at present. Long may that continue.
Still, I’m glad you treat your dogs so well. It’s heartening to see someone willing to spend the necessary money to make sure their dogs have a good life — even after they calculate out the costs.
I was cringing when I got that all totaled up, honestly, but we need to know so we can budget for it.
May your sub $1/day requirements last for all her days!