Question for dog owners

[Zack Uidl]

Hey everyone,

So, I got a call from my brother today. His friend needs to get rid of his pit bull that is coming on being a year old. She is neutered, has all the vaccines, has been professionally trained (knows around 10 commands.),etc

So, my wife and I are really considering adopting this puppy. We both want a pit bull and this could be an awesome opportunity to get one that is really, really well behaved and for free! I know vet bills could get pricey but we are looking at the commitment besides that.

That being said, having never personally owned a dog, we are curious what the annual/monthly expenses tend to be. Obviously things change but we are just looking for some numbers to get an idea.

I know that we will take good care of her. I work from home and can always take her out unless I am on tour. Also, we own a house with a large yard.

We are just wanted to know the financial commitment before we agree to adopt her.

 

[Zack Uidl]

Btw, this is the dog in question:

http://db.tt/LDMQ24O3

I am on my iPad so hopefully this worked....

 

[AudioPhile777]

Its like a child. You have to feed it and take care of it and hope it doesn't eat all your shoes/furniture.

 

[Harry Hughes]

A well behaved/trained adult dog will probably not be eating shoes/furniture fortunately.
A dog is also significantly cheaper to take care of than a child (thank fuck ).
Factor in :

Food
Dog toys
Vet checkups
Flea/ticks/heartworm medications
Leash and collar

Those are the necessities out of the way.
A dog bed is always a good idea, but I suppose if you're always cool with the dog being on a couch/sleeping on a couch, then it doesn't matter so much.

 

[colonel kurtz]

if the dog is already spayed, vaccinated, and trained, your greatest cost is really just going to be food. add on the occasional flea/worm/ear mite treatment if necessary, plus toys for it to eat. my dog loves ripping the faces off of stuffed animals more than anything, so we just get old cheap ratty shit from goodwill or garage sales for next to nothing and toss it her way. i know the guy above me mentioned vet checkups, but i've honestly never taken any animal i've ever owned - cat or dog - to regular vet visits, and they've all either lived to a ripe old age or were hit by cars, in which case vet checkups wouldn't have helped anyways!

 

[Mutant]

Nothing to add except:
Prepare for about a week or even more of her missing her old family and looking very sad, maybe even whining a bit from time to time.
Fill her time with play and many new experiences.

Oh ! And joining some dog owner forum would be a good idea too.

 

[MIAnn]

my advice would be to get that beautiful dawg! put her on a well balanced raw food diet and you wont need to worry about flea or worming treatments

 

[Jind]

It's hard to say the exact cost as it can be dependent upon several factors. I have two small dogs, Pekingese, that we have had for almost 4 and 3 years respectively and we chose to keep them on a almost entirely home made diet. While we do mix in a very small amount of quality dry dog food, we decided early on we were going to try what is called a raw food diet for our dogs, sometimes called by the acronym BARF (I know, it sounds awful), the breeder we got Mattie and Willow from recommended it and so did the trainer we took them to as puppies, so that makes up the majority of their diet.

This does introduce an added expense, but in our minds it has been well worth it. They are extremely healthy and aside from yearly checkups, our vet bills have been low. I order the other necessities like flea and tick treatment and heart worm chews from an online resource.

Also to note is I make my own dog treats - I have a food dehydrator so I make them jerky treats from chicken and beef as well as oven baked peanut butter based treats, both of these work out to be a lot less expensive than store bought treats and add a little bit of comfort that I know what they are eating and where it was made. Not sure everyone knows, but many of those store bought jerky treats (at least those found here in the states) have been linked to numerous dog deaths within the last few years and there is a current FDA investigation of the Chinese manufacturer that makes them for many of the brands. You can find stories about it online. Making your own treats is extremely easy and our dogs love them.

I think while their diet may be a bit more expensive than just putting out a bowl of kibble from any grocery store brand, between what seems to be reduced vet visits and making the treats at home and buying the other supplies at online discounted re-sellers (for the flea and tick, heartworm stuff), it all works out pretty similarly to other pet owners and our dogs are very healthy.

 

[PhilTheBeard]

Get the dog! And if you feed her good dog food your looking at probably spending around 75-100 a month on dog food and then whatever extra cost's are for toy's and dog shampoo and everything else. Even thou dawn soap actually work's really well as a dog shampoo. also if your dog ever get's flea's for some reason dawn also kills fleas as well. But other then that dog's are easy to take care of. It only get's more costly as they get older once you put them on heart worm med's and all that other stuff. But if the dog is already well trained and a good girl and your getting her for free i would take the dog in a second . good luck!

 

[SocialNumb]

Nothing to add really as far as the financial goes.

I just took in a 3 year old Chiwawa, (tiny little thing, I felt bad for it and it was headed to one of those "rescue" places) the poor thing cried and moaned for about 3 weeks straight. Really tested my patience. It peed everywhere and I couldn't really yell "No" due to how nervous it was. That just made her pee more. She's settled in now but that period of adjusting was pretty rough for me. I'm sure it was worst for her.

Heres hopping, if you do take the pit in, that you don't have go through to much of that. Then again, Chiwawas are just nervous little things.

 

[colonel kurtz]

our dog is a chiweenie...half chihauhau, half mini dachsund, and it also pees everywhere when she gets excited/scared/whatever. shit's ridiculous. she also cries like a little bitch more than anything i've ever seen/heard, but the wife loves it to death, so i'm stuck with it =/

 

[Zack Uidl]

Thanks for the comments so far! They are highly appreciated

The good thing about this dog is she is very well behaved, calm, hardly barks, loves people and especially kids (I have a herd of nieces and nephews) knows my brother well and he will be around a lot to help get her acclimated to my wife and I. If we adopt her, which we probably will, there will be very little issues getting her to know our home and us.

Thanks again. More comments are definitely appreciated

 

[DanLights]

I think besides the regular food expenses, you should always keep some savings just in case there's any medical emergency (living in America I assume you already do it for yourselves, it's just that it actually is an important point in countries with free human healthcare such as Spain), and there's always the initial investment for toys, bed, and any other gay-ass accessories you feel like buying him, but that's not something you'll be buying regularly.

Take him in, he'll be grateful at first and you will be eternally grateful to him in the long run.

 

[hurdy]

You must learn the commands of the previous owner, otherwise she'll learn new bad habits (that are not good)
Use a strong tone when commanding the dog, let her know who is in charge.
Just because its had training doesnt mean itll b perfect. Gotta keep it up or itll gain bad habits

 

[J the TyranT]

Ive got a german shepherd.

I feed her pretty quality pricey stuff which runs about $57 a bag and lasts about a month. I personally mix in the occasional leftover with her kibble. I give her her wormer every month on the 1st... getting the stuff from the breeder was cheaper than getting the other options but be careful you gotta know what you're doing...

I also vaccinate her myself, which cut vet costs as well, but again.. be careful, lol.

Other than that, expenses off the top of my head:

Toys
Food
Bowls
Leash
Collar
Bed
Cage/crate
flea spray
shampoo
hairbrush
treats

That's really it. It honestly doesnt cost a lot... unless something happens and you get vet bills of course... hopefully that never happens:

 

[egan.]

Heartworm pills are about $10/month (even though you buy them 6 or 12 months at a time) and flea/tick stuff is around the same though you won't need to use it year round. Plan on a max of $50/month for food if you buy the expensive stuff and a couple hundred dollars a year for regular shots and tests. Things get expensive when dogs get older or when emergencies come up but honestly the money just doesn't matter much to me. It quickly becomes a family thing.
That said, I'm not sure that I think a pitty is a good first time owner dog. It's sort of like learning to drive in a corvette with bald tires. That's not to say they aren't good dogs but they require lots of attention, exercise and discipline.

 

[Boerboel666]

Do yourself a favour and get some pet insurance , Vet bills for dogs can run into thousands of $ . I have been stung so hard by not having this in the past I would never own a dog without it .

 

[Zack Uidl]

Heartworm pills are about $10/month (even though you buy them 6 or 12 months at a time) and flea/tick stuff is around the same though you won't need to use it year round. Plan on a max of $50/month for food if you buy the expensive stuff and a couple hundred dollars a year for regular shots and tests. Things get expensive when dogs get older or when emergencies come up but honestly the money just doesn't matter much to me. It quickly becomes a family thing.
That said, I'm not sure that I think a pitty is a good first time owner dog. It's sort of like learning to drive in a corvette with bald tires. That's not to say they aren't good dogs but they require lots of attention, exercise and discipline.

Thanks for the insight dude!

I should say this....I have "owned" dogs before. When I was young and living with my parents, we had two dogs (that overlapped for around a year before the older one died) and they were nearly exclusively the responsibility of my brother and I. I also have been a lot of friends who have pittys and I know how to handle them I have house-sitted and been around them a lot.

Due to the fact that I work from home, I would have no problem with attention, exercise (although since marrying my wife who is a pastry chef I have become a fatty haha), or discipline.

I appreciate you bringing it up though as it makes it more real in regards to what is required!

 

[Zack Uidl]

Thank you everyone else as well!!!

 

[sprack]

Socialize the hell out of her while she's still young. Pit bulls and australian cattle dogs are ferociously loyal and protective and if they aren't properly socialized will attack most other dogs when they get older. Lots of time at a dog park where they learn they aren't the alpha.
Switch out you and your wife feeding her and make sure to put you hand in their food and mouth while they eat so they know their position in the pack. Don't let them sleep in you bed. Pack animals need a clear sense of hierarchy and they will test it regularly. If/when you have kids make them feed and treat the dog the same way.
Make them sit when you introduce her to new people or other dogs.
Run the hell out of her, dogs destructive behavior is usually from boredom or feeling abandoned.