How much does it cost to keep your GSD? Questions

For food (also what food you use?), insurance, worming, etc etc?

Just working out some numbers and wanted a rough estimate per month for "both dogs"

I feed raw
Insured with Petplan
Wormed with Drontal and Panacur

I tend not to work it out as I do not split the costs of dog ownership down into their component parts

eg

equipment
training
travelling
entry fees
seminars etc

I would be too frightened!

About £20 food (raw) - it's £40 for both and generally half and half as Casper seems to gain weight too easily/Kiki loses it too easily so they eat the same despite a size difference. Casper will get the slightly bigger carcass, the bigger half of the rabbit, etc. but it's practically 50:50
£25 insurance (higher than Kiki's £15 for a "large crossbreed")
He's right on the limit of the XL Advocate - when he was carrying a few extra pounds (actually, kilos ) the vet had to prescribe an additional pack of XS vials to treat him, so that's another cost to consider. I think it works out about £7 a month for the XL vials. Worming is ridiculously cheap on a "per month" basis, probably about a fiver and that's done once every 6 months.
Everything costs more in L/XL - beds are at least £25-40, harnesses, coats, even dog boots etc. can cost twice as much in GSD size compared to small dogs.

Food - expensive right now as pup has a sensitive stomach and the royal cabin gsd junior comes in at £44 for 12kg

Insurance - 50% more than my x breed

Same worming as SB, not any more than a dog that size.

WhenI start doing WT with him, training etc, don't want to do the sums! Put it this way, people on the same wage as me have a house twice the size of mine, but I'll choose the dog lifestyle over the material lifestyle any day!!!

I really need to work out my monthly costs, especially as at the moment I am feeding both younger GSDs on Natures Harvest twice a day. Flame gets Arden Grange dry with added extras such as tuna or sardines. They all get one or two meals a week of raw chicken wings and any other raw (mince, bones etc) that I can get my hands on at a reasonable price. They supplement their own diet with the odd fresh rabbit too.

When I started to own more than two dogs I stopped insuring them and just put a bit in an extra account each month.

I worm four times a year with Drontal and Panacur.

At the moment;

approx £10 per month food (raw) I have a FAB butcher , although I do have to buy frozen blocks from PAH occasionally (hence cost). But I am currently awaiting a delivery from bulmers of approx £20 ish that should last well over 2 months when supplemented by the butcher
£16 per month insurance (axa)
£30 every 3 months for worming and fleaing.

bed, he gets an old duvet on the floor, toys are cheap bargains I pick up on my travels, and his training treats, approx £2 per week atm

Don't do the maths -too scary!

I think costs are at the forefront now as this is the time of year that all club memberships are due, so I counted up how much my annual subs were for all the clubs I belong to and that was frightening.

5 breed clubs
1 Schutzhund Club
2 Working Trials Club

not to mention the training fees on top of the annual subs..............................

Too right, I've just been working it out and I'm wondering where it all comes from

Main costs for my GSD cross -

£20 per month insurance, bearing in mind he's a crossbreed so cheaper to insure (though Petplan are pricey anyway)
£15 - £20 per month for kibble
Approx £10 per month tinned food/raw extras
£11 per month Advocate XL (lungworm is rife in South Wales otherwise I wouldn't treat so frequently)
Couple of quid a week on chews to keep him occupied
Around a fiver every six months for Drontal tabs
He needs his anal glands emptied every six to eight weeks as well which is another £10

Argh!

I always reckon a big dog costs £1 a day minimum. Which is cheaper than smoking, drinking or eating out.

One of my big ones (GSD sized) would cost approx £10 per month for food (raw). I don't have my dogs insured because I have four of them, so can't help you there. As for wormers and flea treatment, I don't often use them but when I do I get them online and they are about half the price of the vet (Advantage and Drontal). One pack of Advantage is about £13 I think for 4 vials. I usually only use it on Rio as she has a flea allergy, but even then not every month. I only worm when we get a new pup or if they've been eating wild rabbits, so probably once a year on average.

I had bigger dogs before having a little one so I don't notice the cost really, but as Rogue is so cheap to keep I dare say the other way round could be a shock to the system. I try to do everything on the cheap though. They still get decent stuff, but at a lower price.

morning. i dont mean to alarm you,but... i just put panacur in google, and when you look at wiki description it says it is toxic. please look, and tell me what you think.

I didn't used to add it up when I had GSDs! I hardly need to count the cost of feeding my 4kg minpin - probably no more than 20 a month including her fresh and dry food.

My biggest outlay (apart from vet bills) is boarding and airfares/travel related stuff. Boarding bill alone last year was around €700 and I suspect her summer airfare costs this year will be around the same amount plus any short term boarding costs aside from the summer hol.

Probably around €1K annually - if she was a big dog - this would certainly double - food would cost much more and boarding fees are higher for biggies and airfare based on size.

*she is worth every cent!

Yep! SWTS, ASPADS, NEWCTS, SKC, Grangemouth Dog Training Club and Darcregan...phew! Just as well I fell out with MDTC over aversive techniques, saved me £12!

And then there's the joint and skin supplements, the toys, etc...., but hey ho,it's worth it!

Panacur is not any more toxic than any other wormers, I am not sure why vets would prescribe it otherwise?

It's used on pups, so must be ok?

We paid around £150 per month for our GSD. His food was £56 and that was on line if I got it from vet it would of been £74. This lasted 3-4wks. £38 for insurance. £24 ish for training, sometimes more. Monthly flea treatment, 3 monthly wormer, various supplements that he needed for HD and skin probs. At least one if not more £90 per yr vet excess. And this is before we get to toys and other incidentals.

Funny you should ask that.

I was doing money problems with the kids at school, and was trying to think of an engaging way to present the topic. I came up with the idea of basing it around the cost of owning 3 GSD'S:



Vet's offer a healthcare plan (worm treatment, flea treatment, annual injectios etc) which costs £10.50 per month for the first dog, and £9.50 per month for each dog after.
£10.50 x 12 = £126
£ 9.50 x 2 = £19
£19 x 12 = £228

£126 + £228 = £354

Bear eats Royal Canin prescription food at £70.99 per 14 kg bag.
Ella eats Wafcol Hypo Allergenic at £44.99 per 15 kg bag.
Locky eats James Wellbeloved Senior at £40.00 per 15 kg bag.

Each month: £70.99 + £44.99 + £40 = £155.98

£155.98 x 12 = £1871.76



What is the total cost of looking after the three dogs for 1 year?

£1871.76 + £354 = £2225.76

And there’s more!

Insurance for Bear - £28.99 per month. (£347.88 )
Insurance for Ella – £31.95 per month. (£383.40)
Medication for Locky £49.50 per month. (£594.00)

Total (Ins & medication) £1325.78


What is the total cost of owning three dogs for one year?

£2225.76 + £1325.78 = £3551.54

Not including excess, minor illness costs, travel and errrr legs of lamb:




And I don't enter shows, travel from one end of the country to the other etc etc....

brilliant thread. beautiful dogs. thank you.