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!