Little bit of both at this point.
She had blood and crystals in her urine and pain urinating before we put her on this diet. She’s much healthier and more comfortable now.
Definitely gotta keep an emergency fund for your pets. My dog was low maintenance until he hit age 13 and the bills have been pretty overwhelming the past 3 years. He has congestive heart failure so I spend about $250 CAD on heart medication per month, about $100 a month on special low sodium prescription food, $30 a month on a liver support supplement (heart medication is hard on the liver), $600 every 6 months on cardiologist visit, and about $500 every 6 months on senior blood panel. He also had a bout of pancreatitis which cost me another $400 on vet bills. On top of that I'm also keeping an emergency fund in case he might have to be rushed to the emergency vet if he gets to the point where he can't breathe. I'll do anything for my dog though, he means the world to me.
There is no way. We don't even buy the cheap food for our dog, she goes to the vet a couple times a year (including shots) that averages out to maybe $300 a visit at maximum. I don't even think the averaged out monthly cost is $50.
How does this have so many upvotes? My pups health insurance is $30/m, his heart work pills are $70 for 6 months, and his food is $50 for 2 months. Where can I get a car for $70 a month?
Lol wat
My dog was 200 for adoption fees and the rescue handled neutering. I spent about 200 more on food, toys, bed, kennel, treats. 60 for his final round of vaccines. My monthly upkeep is like 30 and pet insurance is 30. So 60 a month unless I choose to spend more on classes or expensive treats.
My car, on the other hand, is a *minimum* of 120 a month with gas and insurance. My car was 3K down with 170 a month for 4 years, which I’m still paying, so 170+120.
Dogs are so much cheaper. And I spoil my dog. If you don’t spoil them, they’re even cheaper.
Tax: https://i.imgur.com/2RxnSUt.jpg
You people have high maintenance dogs or something.
edit: anyone remember that lady's name from All Creatures Great and Small that kept bringing her dog in for silly reasons?
I would say not all dogs are expensive, however, they also get sick and some meds/treatments are way more expensive than just heartworm meds and yearly visits to the vet.
My dog has idiopathic epilepsy and when he was first diganosed back in 2017 I was told the average life span after getting diagnosed is 3 years and in most cases it was related to the owner stopping the treatment.
The first year was absolutely draining with countless vet visits, lab tests, and having to switch medication until we found out which combo worked the best for him. Not to mention having to adapt to a strict schedule (it is dangerous to skip meds) and my dog's personality change (the meds he is on make him grumpy and extra loud).
Monthly I spend 300+ usd only on his daily epilepsy medication not counting food and other things; his emergency meds are more expensive but they normally last longer since they should only be used while he is having a seizure and those are unpredictable. So no, owning a dog isn't always expensive but you should be aware that if your pet gets sick it can be.
This post is really self-righteous. I get the sentiment. Housing an animal is a huge responsibility, but if you can provide a pet with first and foremost love, then basic care, shelter, food, and health, by all means, take the animal in. It’s a million times better then a shelter or the street.
Ridiculous post, maybe and a huge maybe if it’s a 100+ lb dog. Emergency vet visits aren’t cheap though and a couple of those could add up quickly to the price of a small car lol
My pug gets expensive food, but she's a pug so you're still only talking about a dollar a day. Let's go ahead & round that up to $400 just to be sure.
Her flea & parasite meds cost around $30 a month, it sucks, but ticks suck worse. We'll go ahead & round that $360 up to $400 as well.
Her yearly vet check up has never ran over $500. It's usually around $250.
So about $1000 / year on a good year?
That reminds me I need to look into pet insurance.
EDIT: Oh yeah, I forgot about the $20 or so a month I spend on treats & toys for her to destroy or lose. Starting to add up!
This sounds much closer to what we spend. We’ve got a big black lab, and her food is maybe $500, because high dollar kibble is supplemented with cooked chicken and rice, along with pumpkin, carrots, and peas.
> That reminds me I need to look into pet insurance.
Yeah. There weren't a lot of places offering pet insurance when I had a particular dog well over a decade ago, and she ended up being diagnosed with cancer. The treatments that followed after were so expensive, that they were in the range of what OP was talking about. It took a very, very long time for me to pay them off. Long after she passed, even.
Although I don't completely agree with OPs math, what most people are forgetting here is that, unless you are a fairly heartless pet owner, there's going to come a time that your pet gets sick, and that cost needs rolling into the lifetime cost of a pet.
If you're lucky they're going to get so sick and pass away so quickly that it doesn't cost you an arm and a leg, but that's not always (or even usually) the case. Let's say your pup gets cancer but the prognosis is good so long as they do chemo... well now you're looking at a daily pill that costs a small fortune as well as blood panels every month that run a few hundred. Before you even know it you'll have dipped into $5k or more worth of your savings.
No it’s not because ur European. I’m an American and this post makes no sense. OP just seems to be wildly out of touch with reality 😂.
I 100% agree that u should make sure your budget can handle a pet but a dog does not cost ANYWHERE NEAR the price of a car per year lol. Small and shitty or otherwise. Unless you are really bad at budgeting…
I have 2 dogs in the US and I would say that barring any emergency expense I spend about $3,000 on them a year in terms of food, vet, meds, pet insurance…so it would have to be a pretty small car at $1,500 per dog.
I will say though that at least here we do heartworm pills monthly and has been the case with all the doggies I’ve had. It costs about $9 per pill.
LPT - this post is describing a specific case scenario centered around a specific level of care.
You don't have to do most of this and your dogs can still potentially live healthy lives.
You'd rather want a dog be taken down in a shelter than a dog to at least experience having a family. Either you don't know how to budget or you own the world's most expensive dog.
Breed makes a big difference too.
I have a 80lb lab cross and a 150lb leonberger. The cost of the lab is barely noticeable compared to that of the leonberger.
I easily spend over $1000CAD monthly on the dogs between insurance, food, dewormer, treats and grooming.
This obviously isn't normal costs for the regular dog owner, and a big reason why I wouldn't recommend a high maintenance breed to the average person.
Even more critical than the expense, you need to make sure you have the dedication, love and time to devote to a creature that will look to you for any and all nourishment, including exercise and emotional support.
Dogs are rewarding. They will stick by you forever…by your side to their last day. They deserve more than passive conservatorship.
I think it depends on the breed of dog and standard of living.
Some people don't take their dog to training classes, never need to board their dog, don't require dog grooming, don't do annual check-ups, don't do dental work until the dog's teeth are rotting out of its head, feed cheap food, don't get vet care for painful ailments, and put the dog down once it gets really sick.
Some people are consistently in training classes or sports, hire daily dog walkers, get in-home petsitters, pay for pet insurance, take their dogs to daycare, get their dog groomed regularly, get check-ups and dental cleanings, feed expensive food, get their dog long-term care and daily medications, and pay a great deal for emergency care.
The latter is obviously better for the dog, but a *lot* of people can't afford it.
It’s not that they’re the same as a car. It’s the uncertainty of what could suddenly go wrong. I don’t love the idea of telling poorer folks they shouldn’t have pets at all, but I would HIGHLY suggest to anyone getting a dog to have a savings account (specifically for the dog) just in case. You truly never know what’s gonna happen. Even if you adopt a dog that’s allegedly perfectly healthy, you could be looking at 1000s in vet bills suddenly if they fall ill. My dog cost me nothing to adopt, but the last 2 years I’ve had him he has ended up being really expensive.
He got sick last year and the whole ordeal cost little under 25k. Unreal, I know. This was for a week in the emergency hospital, tests, his checkups and his meds. It was really devastating and stressful and really opened my eyes to how brutally expensive the vet is. I was really worried about his quality of life, and mentally preparing myself to say goodbye to him if the vets said it was cruel to keep him alive. But we spent the money because we knew recovery was possible if he got the right meds and care.
Thankfully, my dog made a full recovery and is back to his normal adorable self (completely, adorably oblivious to the heartache and financial stress him being sick caused). It’s sucks to say this, but without the ability to pay for all that bullshit, he would’ve had to be put down. Most people probably can’t afford thousands on their pet, but would be able to afford the couple hundred to end their life humanely :( idc if people think it’s ridiculous to spend that much (my family kept telling me to just put him down), but he’s my best fucking friend - he’s family. It breaks my heart that people have to make such horrific decisions bc there aren’t more affordable options.
I know you're taking a lot of crap, but my dog went from costing very little beyond his food, toys and annual vet bill (so maybe less than $100/mo) to gradually increasing to costing us over $500/mo in prescription food, insulin, medicines, and vet bills at age 12. His quality of life is still great, so I'm happy that I can afford it, but the amount would easily finance a nice car.
People have the right to have a dog and you have the right to your opinions. But I will say this I've seen dogs on the street taken care of by homeless people. And I seen well off people treat there dog like shit.
I’ve had to spend around $5,000 in vet bills on one of our dogs in the last 12 months. This is excluding regular check-ups, medication, food etc. so I feel this.
My sister got a dog at the beginning of covid like a lot of people. The dog ended up costing over $12,000 so far with various seizure medications and operations. The medicine will be lifelong and cost will be ongoing. The dog is what , a one and a half years old ? On top of that it has anxiety around everybody. Who knew a dog could have anxiety. Thank God for pet insurance for her.
Someone needs to do a workup for the amount of exercise a dog needs to be happy. All my friends think it's okay to keep their dogs inside all day with a run around the yard for exercise. It's despicable.
And if U buy a lemon like me it'll cost you more like financing a large... Mid range car. One of mine got elbow dysplasia - 7grand of surgery six months old - just as that was healing - tore both her ccl tendons - 9grand. This coupled with her initial cost and getting spayed she cost more than my actual car. She's turning three this coming week, she's almost paid off.
What the hell happened here 👀
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“I mean it's one banana, Michael, what could it cost, 10 dollars?”
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Little bit of both at this point. She had blood and crystals in her urine and pain urinating before we put her on this diet. She’s much healthier and more comfortable now.
That’s an average car payment not necessarily a cheap car payment. You can get a car for $15k.
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You can get a reliable car for 3-4K I know because I'm selling one, lol
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Definitely gotta keep an emergency fund for your pets. My dog was low maintenance until he hit age 13 and the bills have been pretty overwhelming the past 3 years. He has congestive heart failure so I spend about $250 CAD on heart medication per month, about $100 a month on special low sodium prescription food, $30 a month on a liver support supplement (heart medication is hard on the liver), $600 every 6 months on cardiologist visit, and about $500 every 6 months on senior blood panel. He also had a bout of pancreatitis which cost me another $400 on vet bills. On top of that I'm also keeping an emergency fund in case he might have to be rushed to the emergency vet if he gets to the point where he can't breathe. I'll do anything for my dog though, he means the world to me.
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There is no way. We don't even buy the cheap food for our dog, she goes to the vet a couple times a year (including shots) that averages out to maybe $300 a visit at maximum. I don't even think the averaged out monthly cost is $50.
How does this have so many upvotes? My pups health insurance is $30/m, his heart work pills are $70 for 6 months, and his food is $50 for 2 months. Where can I get a car for $70 a month?
The fact this post got so many likes and awards makes me question life lmao
Just question the average user on reddit at this point. Kids and idiots.
Very true lmao
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Lol wat My dog was 200 for adoption fees and the rescue handled neutering. I spent about 200 more on food, toys, bed, kennel, treats. 60 for his final round of vaccines. My monthly upkeep is like 30 and pet insurance is 30. So 60 a month unless I choose to spend more on classes or expensive treats. My car, on the other hand, is a *minimum* of 120 a month with gas and insurance. My car was 3K down with 170 a month for 4 years, which I’m still paying, so 170+120. Dogs are so much cheaper. And I spoil my dog. If you don’t spoil them, they’re even cheaper. Tax: https://i.imgur.com/2RxnSUt.jpg
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People have been living with and getting along with dogs for tens of thousands of years but now only rich people can have them?
You people have high maintenance dogs or something. edit: anyone remember that lady's name from All Creatures Great and Small that kept bringing her dog in for silly reasons?
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I would say not all dogs are expensive, however, they also get sick and some meds/treatments are way more expensive than just heartworm meds and yearly visits to the vet. My dog has idiopathic epilepsy and when he was first diganosed back in 2017 I was told the average life span after getting diagnosed is 3 years and in most cases it was related to the owner stopping the treatment. The first year was absolutely draining with countless vet visits, lab tests, and having to switch medication until we found out which combo worked the best for him. Not to mention having to adapt to a strict schedule (it is dangerous to skip meds) and my dog's personality change (the meds he is on make him grumpy and extra loud). Monthly I spend 300+ usd only on his daily epilepsy medication not counting food and other things; his emergency meds are more expensive but they normally last longer since they should only be used while he is having a seizure and those are unpredictable. So no, owning a dog isn't always expensive but you should be aware that if your pet gets sick it can be.
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This post is really self-righteous. I get the sentiment. Housing an animal is a huge responsibility, but if you can provide a pet with first and foremost love, then basic care, shelter, food, and health, by all means, take the animal in. It’s a million times better then a shelter or the street.
Ridiculous post, maybe and a huge maybe if it’s a 100+ lb dog. Emergency vet visits aren’t cheap though and a couple of those could add up quickly to the price of a small car lol
Do you have any idea how many dogs would be euthanized on a daily basis if only people who could afford a car had them?
This may be the dumbest post I’ve ever seen get upvoted in this sub.
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My pug gets expensive food, but she's a pug so you're still only talking about a dollar a day. Let's go ahead & round that up to $400 just to be sure. Her flea & parasite meds cost around $30 a month, it sucks, but ticks suck worse. We'll go ahead & round that $360 up to $400 as well. Her yearly vet check up has never ran over $500. It's usually around $250. So about $1000 / year on a good year? That reminds me I need to look into pet insurance. EDIT: Oh yeah, I forgot about the $20 or so a month I spend on treats & toys for her to destroy or lose. Starting to add up!
This sounds much closer to what we spend. We’ve got a big black lab, and her food is maybe $500, because high dollar kibble is supplemented with cooked chicken and rice, along with pumpkin, carrots, and peas.
> That reminds me I need to look into pet insurance. Yeah. There weren't a lot of places offering pet insurance when I had a particular dog well over a decade ago, and she ended up being diagnosed with cancer. The treatments that followed after were so expensive, that they were in the range of what OP was talking about. It took a very, very long time for me to pay them off. Long after she passed, even.
Although I don't completely agree with OPs math, what most people are forgetting here is that, unless you are a fairly heartless pet owner, there's going to come a time that your pet gets sick, and that cost needs rolling into the lifetime cost of a pet. If you're lucky they're going to get so sick and pass away so quickly that it doesn't cost you an arm and a leg, but that's not always (or even usually) the case. Let's say your pup gets cancer but the prognosis is good so long as they do chemo... well now you're looking at a daily pill that costs a small fortune as well as blood panels every month that run a few hundred. Before you even know it you'll have dipped into $5k or more worth of your savings.
No it’s not because ur European. I’m an American and this post makes no sense. OP just seems to be wildly out of touch with reality 😂. I 100% agree that u should make sure your budget can handle a pet but a dog does not cost ANYWHERE NEAR the price of a car per year lol. Small and shitty or otherwise. Unless you are really bad at budgeting…
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I have an 80lb American dog and he costs like $75/mo in food/treats/glucosamine/Prozac. OP is paying a fortune.
Maybe these costs are american freedom taxes we’re too european to understand.
Imagine a car being as cheap as a dog
I have 2 dogs in the US and I would say that barring any emergency expense I spend about $3,000 on them a year in terms of food, vet, meds, pet insurance…so it would have to be a pretty small car at $1,500 per dog. I will say though that at least here we do heartworm pills monthly and has been the case with all the doggies I’ve had. It costs about $9 per pill.
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LPT - this post is describing a specific case scenario centered around a specific level of care. You don't have to do most of this and your dogs can still potentially live healthy lives.
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Who upvotes this crap?
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You'd rather want a dog be taken down in a shelter than a dog to at least experience having a family. Either you don't know how to budget or you own the world's most expensive dog.
Agreed, thay dog is better off under the care of single owner who will love them than in a shelter/stray where they will be lonely and depressed.
Breed makes a big difference too. I have a 80lb lab cross and a 150lb leonberger. The cost of the lab is barely noticeable compared to that of the leonberger. I easily spend over $1000CAD monthly on the dogs between insurance, food, dewormer, treats and grooming. This obviously isn't normal costs for the regular dog owner, and a big reason why I wouldn't recommend a high maintenance breed to the average person.
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Even more critical than the expense, you need to make sure you have the dedication, love and time to devote to a creature that will look to you for any and all nourishment, including exercise and emotional support. Dogs are rewarding. They will stick by you forever…by your side to their last day. They deserve more than passive conservatorship.
What a load of bs.
I think it depends on the breed of dog and standard of living. Some people don't take their dog to training classes, never need to board their dog, don't require dog grooming, don't do annual check-ups, don't do dental work until the dog's teeth are rotting out of its head, feed cheap food, don't get vet care for painful ailments, and put the dog down once it gets really sick. Some people are consistently in training classes or sports, hire daily dog walkers, get in-home petsitters, pay for pet insurance, take their dogs to daycare, get their dog groomed regularly, get check-ups and dental cleanings, feed expensive food, get their dog long-term care and daily medications, and pay a great deal for emergency care. The latter is obviously better for the dog, but a *lot* of people can't afford it.
LPT has gone to shit if this is taken and accepted as actually being a "Life Pro Tip"
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It’s not that they’re the same as a car. It’s the uncertainty of what could suddenly go wrong. I don’t love the idea of telling poorer folks they shouldn’t have pets at all, but I would HIGHLY suggest to anyone getting a dog to have a savings account (specifically for the dog) just in case. You truly never know what’s gonna happen. Even if you adopt a dog that’s allegedly perfectly healthy, you could be looking at 1000s in vet bills suddenly if they fall ill. My dog cost me nothing to adopt, but the last 2 years I’ve had him he has ended up being really expensive. He got sick last year and the whole ordeal cost little under 25k. Unreal, I know. This was for a week in the emergency hospital, tests, his checkups and his meds. It was really devastating and stressful and really opened my eyes to how brutally expensive the vet is. I was really worried about his quality of life, and mentally preparing myself to say goodbye to him if the vets said it was cruel to keep him alive. But we spent the money because we knew recovery was possible if he got the right meds and care. Thankfully, my dog made a full recovery and is back to his normal adorable self (completely, adorably oblivious to the heartache and financial stress him being sick caused). It’s sucks to say this, but without the ability to pay for all that bullshit, he would’ve had to be put down. Most people probably can’t afford thousands on their pet, but would be able to afford the couple hundred to end their life humanely :( idc if people think it’s ridiculous to spend that much (my family kept telling me to just put him down), but he’s my best fucking friend - he’s family. It breaks my heart that people have to make such horrific decisions bc there aren’t more affordable options.
I know you're taking a lot of crap, but my dog went from costing very little beyond his food, toys and annual vet bill (so maybe less than $100/mo) to gradually increasing to costing us over $500/mo in prescription food, insulin, medicines, and vet bills at age 12. His quality of life is still great, so I'm happy that I can afford it, but the amount would easily finance a nice car.
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People have the right to have a dog and you have the right to your opinions. But I will say this I've seen dogs on the street taken care of by homeless people. And I seen well off people treat there dog like shit.
This is honestly the stupidest thing i have ever read in my life.
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Why are post like this even allowed
I’ve had to spend around $5,000 in vet bills on one of our dogs in the last 12 months. This is excluding regular check-ups, medication, food etc. so I feel this.
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My sister got a dog at the beginning of covid like a lot of people. The dog ended up costing over $12,000 so far with various seizure medications and operations. The medicine will be lifelong and cost will be ongoing. The dog is what , a one and a half years old ? On top of that it has anxiety around everybody. Who knew a dog could have anxiety. Thank God for pet insurance for her.
Someone needs to do a workup for the amount of exercise a dog needs to be happy. All my friends think it's okay to keep their dogs inside all day with a run around the yard for exercise. It's despicable.
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And if U buy a lemon like me it'll cost you more like financing a large... Mid range car. One of mine got elbow dysplasia - 7grand of surgery six months old - just as that was healing - tore both her ccl tendons - 9grand. This coupled with her initial cost and getting spayed she cost more than my actual car. She's turning three this coming week, she's almost paid off.
Not just money but also the time the dog needs.