To all dog owners... (questions!)

[Guyverarmor]

For the OP:
Depending on the size of the dog and what brand of food you use, I would say that food alone will probably cost you between 100-150$ a month for a midsized dog (40-70 lbs).

As far as shots etc.. if you do choose to adopt a dog they usually have a fee which includes booster shots and wormer treatment.

I don't give my dogs toys persay, but i give them Nylabone which is pretty much a hard plastic bone that they can shred into small pieces that pass easily through the digestive tract. They last forever and they are very good for the animals dental health. And they are much safer than any stufffed animal, chewtoy, rawhide chew etc...

A crate for a midsized dog is probably about 50-75 dollars at walmart. im a a big advocate of crate training dogs for housebreaking. its really easy and the dogs love thier crates after a while. some say its the denning instinct? as you probably know a dog wont urinate or defecate where it sleeps. So just put them in there and slowly extend the time in the crate as they grow taking them out immediately when u let them out of the crate.

Yeah, I buy those chew bones for my dog, he loves em! to the OP, if you get a dog, get some of these.. make toys go a long way!

[Odesseiron]

Heh, yeah thanks for actual input about dogs lol.

Not to mention I said I was thinking about getting one, and not like in a week. Just had the idea in my head. Other stuff comes first of course.

Those were the rough estimates I was thinking. I would go with a mutt from the local kennel or Northshore Animal League, as paying $1000+ for a dog is insane. Just give me a plain old mutt any day of the week.

[Creeps]

Uh, you should save the money you will be spending on the dog's upkeep and move out of your parents apartment. You're 27 and it's quite embarrassing that you still live with them, even if you do live in New York. Go on craigslist or facebook and find people that do need a roommate, because you don't need to live with friends in order to move out of your parents house, that's ridiculous.

When you move out, make sure wherever you move to is pet friendly though.

You live in Florida, shut up. Gainesville, of all places, is ridiculously cheap. I live in Boca Raton, FL 2 miles away from a university and even my rent is way cheaper than most rent in NY. Rent in Gainesville is like $600 for a 1 bedroom, rent in Boca is at least $900 for a 1 bedroom and rent in NY is probably something like $1500+ for a 1 bedroom.

That said, dogs are expensive and imo, it's cruel to have a medium-big sized dog in an apartment. They need a yard to run around in.

[sirdude]

ya like elphaba said adopting a pet is rather inexpensive. most places have all there shots and spay/neutering done because they WANT u to take them lol

[Mizango]

I wouldn't give 2 shits about what they say anyway , they aren't paying your bills so nuff said.

Apparently neither is he. :s But I regress.....

If you are hell bent on supporting another life then make sure you are the type of person that can get out and go for walks and get the dog exercise. I am from the hood and used to seeing hood dogs. Dogs destined to live their entire live tied to a goddamn tree with a 5 foot radius in which to piss, shit, eat, fuck etc....

If you can do that then that is a good start. Now the food issue, Sir hit it right on the head. We have a Pure bred AKC Chocolate lab Male that is a solid 75lbs and we go through about 100 bucks in food a month. That consists of Food and/or chew treats, bones etc... if you can easily do that plus keep medication up to par then you will be good. Our lab's vet fees are in the range of 65-100 bucks or so bi-monthly.

Hope that helps and Good luck I suppose. My personal experience is as such; It is MUCH harder to find a per friendly place AFTER you have a dog. You will notice that some places you can afford (assuming you ever do move out) have a limit on size and that is if they allow pets in the first place. This is the pain in the ass part, I have friends that have had to make the decision of "Do I part with the dog so that I can move in? Or do I look more..."

Just keep that in mind because most "decent" places have strict pet rules which SUCKS.

[Tajin]

It's embarrassing to still live at home at 27. Save your cash and move the fuck out.

Shit well, we got a problem here, technically my parents are living with me, since I'm paying the house :/

And fuck paying another house.

[Shuemue]

Shit well, we got a problem here, technically my parents are living with me, since I'm paying the house :/

And fuck paying another house.

I wasn't referring to third world countries, Mexico doesn't count.

[Isiolia]

Living arrangements vary. The main thing I would say regarding that is that as you likely do plan to move out down the road, consider that a dog would be something you'd have to accommodate later. What would happen if you had the opportunity to take a job halfway across the country? If you went looking for your own place, it'd have to work for the dog too. That sort of thing.
I'd like to have a dog too, but I've elected not to get one for the time being because I live alone, so it'd possibly be alone too much. My family had dogs growing up though, and everyone but me has one now >_>

I live in an apartment, so I can't get an oversized dog, nor do I want a dustmop. I just want a good mutt. Maybe in the size of a retriever or collie.. something around that size. Will living in an apartment affect my dogs temperment at all? It'd have a lot of space to roam in the house, and my mom is retired, so someone would pretty much always be around. Walking it isn't a problem, I can go right outside to a trail behind our building, it can do it's business, and I don't even need to pick up after it.

You want to look into the type of dog for one. Herding/working type dogs require activity. Lots of it. They want a job to do. If they don't get it, they may become obnoxious, or destructive. Terriers are generally more high strung, so if you don't want a dog that'll start yapping at the drop of a hat, you probably don't want one.
Do your research on the typical temperment of the breeds you're considering, not just the physical size/appearance.

One advantage of a purebreed is knowing the general characteristics ahead of time. Mixed breeds typically show traits from both sides, but may be less predictable. Training is also a factor, but that only goes so far. Trying to train away behavior that has been bred into a dog for generations will be hard.

Socializing a dog is also important, but you should accomplish that by walking it in areas where there are other people and dogs. If you keep it locked up in the apartment all the time, then sure, it'll adjust differently than in other situations.
There are methods for training/housebreaking that you could follow though. Plenty of resources out there.

Also, how much of an upkeep is a dog per month roughly? I know It's a couple hundred for it's shots/neutering it, then dog food, a crate, toys and all misc things.

Depends mostly on what you decide to feed it, unless it gets hurt/sick. Dogs often are overfed, since most will happily scarf down anything edible they can get. I'd say around $1-4/day for food, depending on whether you just give them a bit of dry food, or some canned food plus kibble n' stuff.
Some dogs are perfectly happy on dry food, friend of mine with a German Shepherd feeds her around a couple plastic cups of dry food a day. If my parents gave that to our mixed breed small dog, she'd probably give a look like "the HELL is this crap?".

If anyone can offer thoughts/opinions on their dog raising experiences and any unpleasantries, it'd be appreciated. I already am expecting the whole getting up early, going out late to walk them, and walking them in the freezing cold of winter, but I can deal with that.

It's very worth putting up with the downsides. Dogs are great, provided you want to pay attention to them, because they usually eat it up.
That being said, pay attention to training a lot. Dogs are easily encouraged into bad habits simply because it's cute or funny at first. You need to be firm with 'em...everyone who regularly interacts with them needs to be...and it's not always easy.

I'd seriously consider the commitment to a dog too. It's a companion that you should plan to have around for the next 12-15+ years. If you can't really commit to that, don't get one.

[Tajin]

I wasn't referring to third world countries, Mexico doesn't count.

Touche fucker ;-;

That actually made me giggle, <3 flame taru

[Tyche]

I have 2 dogs and their upkeep is less than $50 a month. Costs me about $200 a year on misc shots. It'll probably take about a year to housetrain. We tried to cratetrain our greyhound and she pisses and shits all up in it without much care in the world. House training can really suck =/. Some dogs can be trained in a kitty litter box in less time if your down with that.

Also, get a dog without papers. Papers are the most overrated, over-priced peices of shit in the dog world. People who pay $1000+ for a dog with papers and never even show it at an AKC event are throwing away money.

Also, fuck what everyone else said about moving out. If I was single and without a kid, I wouldn't mind living with my parents at all. My dad would probably be the coolest roommate I could have anyway.

[Lbelle]

Frontline for cats was like 90 bucks or something when I went to Petco the other day, that's where that number came from.

[Odesseiron]

i moved home recently because i was sick of paying $600 for a room in a house 25 miles outside of washington dc, and i pay my parents $25/week to live in my room. that is currently 1/6 of my income BEFORE taxes. It might not be much, but i DO pay rent, and how do you know he doesn't? yeah.

That. I pay $350 a month to live at home. While it's not much, it's money. I pay for electric, cable modem, food etc. I'm not getting a free ride at home.

Some of you people make it sound like I don't have the aspirations to move out. I do, and have been looking. It's not something you can just jump right into though. Most of these places do not allow pets, so until I have my own place it's something I can't say for certain. I just wanted an idea, which I am getting now

[Jefe]

Having a dog in an apt. it's like having a kid in a candy store. Get it trained to reduce the mess ;x Oh, and you don't have to explain why you're living at home lol, fuck them.

[Kobb]

Having a dong in an apt. it's like having a kid in a candy store.Get it trained to reduce the mess ;x Oh, and you don't have to explain why you're living at home lol, fuck them.



^

quoted for the lulz

[SephYuyX]

Dunno what all the hate is for living with parents, im 24 and im planning to stay with my parents for another 2~3 years till school is over and done with. I could go out and rent/buy a house now.. but why? Living at home is 300~600$ I dont have to fork out, plus free food?

Like Tyche said, a lot of people move out when theyre young, and often they say if they had the choice, they would move back in with their parents.

Obviously there are different views, and I think age 30 is probably the max one should be living with their parents. But hell, if your parents dont care, you dont care, and you actually are able to find a significant other who doesnt care, whats the point of moving out?

One of the things other countries look down upon on the USA is for poor family ties. Not only do we want to leave our parents as earlly as possible, we want to put them in a home as soon as possible. When it used to be a typical thing to say 'my parents live with me', it's now looked upon as a strange 3rd world contry thing.

[Mizango]

QQ

[sirdude]

i saw a bumpersticker one day.

"Purebred is inbred. save a shelter animal today."

best one ever.

Unfortunately this is entirely true. most akc/ckc registered dogs are inbred and come from severely limited gene pools which sets them up for a myriad of health problems. once worked with a champion AKC german shepard show dog who was 3 years old and couldn't get in the bed of a truck because of severe hip displacia.

And for the fun heres a pic of my dog she is 10 months old

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/c...23/sophie2.jpg

[Acturus]

I have two Jack Russel Terrorists, brothers from the same litter.

They are large for the breed, Bandit at 23 pounds, and Buddy at 26.

Food costs me about $40 a month, they just had their annual shots last month, and that was about $150.

Let me say though, that these are not house dogs. My wife and I live in a two-story house with 5 bedrooms, a bonus room that sits over a garage, and a very open downstairs, and it's not enough. They still need a lot of exercise and playtime.

OP, when considering a dog, don't just look at size, but also breeds. Retrievers, Collies, Aussie Shephards, any hunting or herding dogs need a LOT of space to roam and/or a lot of exercise outside the home.

Having said that, I highly recommend rescuing a dog from the local pound or similar agency, as opposed to a breeder or retail store.

It wouldn't be a bad thing to get a dog, as opposed to a puppy. Oftentimes they are partially or fully trained, and a lot of dogs are given away because they aren't good with children or other dogs. If you have neither children nor other dogs in your apartment, there is a wealth of good animals out there that you could pick from.

Also, if you end up getting a puppy, look into doggy health insurance. I'm not kidding. Paying doggie insurance while they're puppies oftentimes saves you money on the regular shots and checkups. After about the first year though, you can cancel your policy, because your dog requires less attention at the vet.

[Acturus]

Also, for the off-topic discussion:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boomerang_Generation

[TacoTaru]

Depending on the size of the apartment, I would stray away from a dog the size of a collie/retriever, but that's just me. Even though both aren't huge dogs, they are fairly large for an apartment; and like others have mentioned, they are really dogs that need lots of room to run. Like I said, depending on apartment size, maybe a beagel size is more appropriate.

My mom is a dog lover and currently has 7, and she probably spends about 50-60$ on food/supplies a month. Granted we all have little dogs, but if you don't get anything too large that's all you should spending on food and such. Vaccinations are outrageous and you'll probably spend are $150 on those. If you go for the adopting path, it's possible (our local animal shelters do ) that they will vaccinate for you. Our shelter charges $60 or $90, I can't remember which, for full adoption fees + vaccination charges.

One last thing to watch out for, is even if you adopt, you can still end up picking up full breeds of dogs. Lots of breeds have certain things they are known for having problems with and can lead to a boatload of extra costs down the road when you are fixing a misaligned hip, or something else of that nature. First thing that comes to mind since you mentioned collies are that they do have hip/join problems regularly. My fiancee has owned two or three, and even starting fairly young they've had to make regular visits for each that they've had to get medication+extra check ups.

Decent estimate, I would guess around 800-900 a year max for a beagel size dog. Might be a little more depending on the amount of vaccinations you opt to get + extra blood work they try to sell you on at the clinics.