If you were to average the cost of a small dog over a whole year, how much do you think it would be? We can get a great dog off my parents that I know is fantastic with kids, because Xanthe plays with her all the time. Perfect size for us and our new yard.
I've never had a dog before, anything I need to know. Would a cat be better for a first pet for Xanthe?
Cats are cheaper to feed than dogs in my experience. Our staffy ate a 700g tin of food per day so about $1.20 plus some dry food. With cats you have cheaper food (4.50 a box of dry which lasts a few days or more) but you do ahve to pay for kitty litter too. You also have to factor in injections/flea stuff etc.
I prefer cats but thats just me, I hate having dog poo all over the yard!
Well I'm an animal person who doesn't really feel at home without pets! So of course I am biased.
I don't know how much they cost over a year. I don't immunise my dogs/cats as I don't immunise my kids! I live in a high tick area so that prevention costs about $20 per month. Probably $10 per week to feed. I have a dog that requires clipping so that's about $25 per 8 week period...
Cats much the same.
For me though it's a non negotiable as they're part of the family.
I think some household insurance companies allow you to cover your pets.RACQ in Qld is one. HTH
Thanks Inanna. I am not a dog person really (I would never ever abuse an animal, but I don't feel that friendship with them that others seem to). However, my daughter is undeniably an animal lover and she is just so happy and at ease with this little dog. So I want to give her that, but I also know that we are (and I'm being positive for once) going to have a new baby soon and have to take that into account as well.
$20 a week is more than affordable, I'm not so sure about vet bills though.
Vet bills can vary depending on the health of the dog, naturally! We take ours only once a year for their annual injections and heartworm (you can do a heartworm injection once a year instead of the costly once per month tablet) and for two medium sized dogs, it costs us around $250. We go through one bag of dry food per week, costs $14 and one box of chewy treats at $5. This is the total for both.
ETA - Wanted to add that DD ADORES the dogs and they are fantastic with her. She loves cats, but doesn't like to touch them, but will pat our dogs and ask to go and play with them.
It depends on whether yor get a good dog....or our dog!!! LOL.....Our dog got hit by a car before his first birthday and cost couple of grand in surgical/medical bills. he then managed to get a bowel obstruction before his second birthday costing his four grand!
So my advice is whatever you do get pet insurance cos you never know if you are gonna need it
Pet food wise our dog goes through a 10 or 12 kilo bag of dry food every 3-4 months at $100 a bag so about $30 a month. Plus he gets the ocassional treats such as pigs ears or liver treats...maybe another $20 a month. Normal vets bills should just be the annual vaccinations and heart worm etc at about $100 -$150
Dogs are more interactive animals for kids. we also have a cat which Connor loves to follow around but cats are not animals you can play with really...they sit on your lap and look pretty and give hugs and cuddles but more on their terms...Dogs tend to be more playful but they are more work...cleaning up dog poo before we can go outside to play is not my idea of fun, cats are cleaner animals in that sense..... hope that helps!
The decision over a cat vs dog is a really personal thing.Usually the cost to buy the animal is the cheapest part of the actual purchase. My furbabies are a complete part of my family. I know if I didnt have them ( and I do provide them with a life , that if i was ever to be reincarnitated, I would want to be owned by me) that there would be a lot of spare money floating around. Animals provide you with unconditional love, no matter what. That is priceless in my world!
Dogs you will need to pay registration for each year to the local council and this varies and depends on whether the dog is desexed or not. Anywhere from $40 to $90 a year.
Both dogs and cats will require worming. Worming brands differ in cost. For example some dog brands cover everything apart from heart worm and you will need another different one to cover that. There is also the ease of giving wormers. The super dooper easy place it on the back of the neck kinds are more expensive. Wormers are based on weight, so a smaller dogs worming will cost less than larger dogs.
Vet visits - a consultation cost is roughly $50 starting cost. Vaccinations vary depending on what it is and some places offer discounts depending on what other services you use and if you have multiple pets.
Dog / Cat Food - well it really depends. You can feed the super el cheapo no label stuff from the supermarket to the more expensive brands from the supermarket. There are pet store lines as well. This is where you need to do your research. There are loads of preseratives in these foods! Just like people, animals can have reactions to items. And its not nice at all! You can consider things like the BARF diet ( raw food). If you are willing to put some time and energy in, you could cook up rice and vegetables and freeze, and then add in fresh meat from a pet store. It would work out cheaper in the long run and a lot healthier for your animal as well. There are also natural things you can add like a bit of Garlic to keep fleas away.
The biggest thing is the UNEXPECTED vet bills that arise. You need to either have pet insurance or put some money aside in case something happens. At the end of last year, one of our furbabies was injured and required emergency surgery. It was not a cheap exercise at all.
If there is anything you want to ask, no matter how minor or even if you feel it might be silly to ask, feel free to PM me
I have found male cats interact better and are more friendly. Our cat Nelson thinks he's a dog! he is fabulous with kids and tolerates a LOT! DS just cut off his whiskers on one side last week He also lets my 1 yr old niece "pat" him without complaint. We got him from Paws and Hooves and was $150 which included desexing and needles.
Can you tell me about rescuing an animal from the pound... are they usually there because of poor temperment / physical ailment, and can they still be good pets?
I would look at Paws and Hooves or Animal welfare league or similar. Many people have rescue pets and love them. usually they are there cause owners can't be bothered or have moved or are too old to care for them, animals with personality problems usually aren't rehomed.
Animals surrendered to the RSPCA for adoption or to shelters can be there for any number of reasons, anything from relationship breakups, changes in accomodation (rentals often don't allow pets), ill health of owner etc.
Most shelters thoroughly assess each animal for suitability and will be able to give you an idea of their temperament and personality. We have a wonderful dog shelter here in Perth that does a lot of work with the dogs training them and getting them ready for re-homing if they've been poorly treated or have developed antisocial habits, I'd suspect there are others that operate along similar lines.
I do thoroughly agree with the recommendation of pet insurance though - emergency vet treatment can be hideously expensive. Small dogs don't cost too much to feed, neither do cats, although cats are a bit hit and miss in terms of how smoochy they are - males do tend to be more sociable once they're desexed.
I have a maltesexshihtzu - she is a fussy eater as mcuh as I tried to get her to eat all types of food from the day I got her! She eats my dog (the little square foil tins) - which I get on special or at Big W - works out around 90cents each, so she costs roughly 90cents a day to feed (sounds cheap hey) she also gets the odd schmako, sometimes raw meat, etc. I would estimate she costs around $12/week max to feed.
Other costs:
Annual vet costs - needles, checkups $200-$300approx
Sundry medical stuff - wormiing, flea treatments - $200 approx
I wash and trim her myself - bought pet hair trimmers at Big W for around $100 - they have lasted for about 3.5 years and are now needing to be replaced.
My suggestions would be to go for a dog you feel will suit your lifestyle, Holly is an inside dog - though she spends a fair amount of time outside too - I chose her breed because she doesn't shed hair - so can be on the navy lounge no worries. She is an active dog when you are or a sleepy dog when you're not doing anything. She actually does her poos in the garden, I originally started putting her in the garden in my outdoor area when I was training her (rather than walk out to the back yard) and she just adopted the habit. Rarely does she wee or poo on the actual lawn!
She loves being walked too, but with a smaller dog, if you have lots of yard space, that won't be a requirement every day.
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Getting a cat or dog, and expenses
He also lets my 1 yr old niece "pat" him without complaint. We got him from Paws and Hooves and was $150 which included desexing and needles.
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