How much does your small breed dog cost per week?

My partner and I are considering rescuing a small breed dog, but before we enquire further about specific dogs I'd be interested to know what your running costs are!Eg: Food, toys, insurance, grooming..I want to make sure we are financially ready :)ThankyouThankyou! What are the costs for worming and flea treatment and how often are they done? What about clipping for longer haired breeds?

hi well i have a small jack russel i think they don't really cost alot but you have to be able to afford vets bills if necessary? food cost- well about £10-£15 a month ( depends on the dog food you choose) it cost me £15.50p for a month. ( this is a very good food for a nice healthy dog) http://www.petsathome.com/shop/bakers-small-dog-adult-complete-dog-food-with-beef-3kg-12686toys cost- about £6 a month depends how many toys you want to buy my dog gets 3 new toys a month insurance cost- about £5 a month or cheaper grooming- cheapest way is buying the shampoo,brush,conditioner ect your self i groom my dog my self its cheaper and gets your bond with the dog better ! also you have to buy flea treatment and worming treatment also its always dear when you get the dog as you have to buy everything but then its really cheap when you have got everything but make sure you have about £100 in the bank for any vet fees hope i helped

i agree with jessica, but if you afford will be better spend more money on food. Bakers is one of the worse food in england. has only 4% meat. Good food from pets at home is James wellbelowed (cost only bit more than bakers) purina pro plan, royal canin. My dog has orijen now. This is the best dog food on market.

Hey Anna, I have two Jack Russells. The main costs are in buying the dogs, getting the jabs done and then having them spayed / castrated. I pay £5 per month insurance per dog. I do not spend money on toys, they like to play with empty plastic bottles and an old towel that I have tied in a knot. I feed them Royal Canin, they often have it on offer in my local pet shop, I guess to costs about £15 per month per dog.In the mornings I feed them on chopped liver, heart and kidney that i get from my local butcher, it's cheap and they love it. I also get bones for free from the butchers. I worm them every month and the worming tablets are £6 each - I buy good ones from the vets as my dogs often eat horse / sheep poo!I would say £50 per months, that would include a little to set aside for vet treatments, new bedding, occasional new toys, collars etc. Hope that helps.

I have a small/medium breed.They are fed a raw diet which costs about £3.50 a week (that includes treats etc).Once a year injections are around £40.00, worming 4 times a year - total £10.00. I rarely treat for fleas as I've never had a problem. On the rare occasions when I've found a flea, they get treated but not otherwise as I don't believe in exposing them to chemicals unnecessarily.Toys can cost as little or as much as you want to pay for them - old socks, toilet roll middles, plastic containers etc(under supervision of course) can provide hours of entertainment. Expensive toys can be totally ignored (just like kids, really). Don't spend a lot on puppy collars and leads - they get eaten or grown out of. Metal food bowls will last for ever. Don't buy peepads - they're expensive and just teach a puppy that it's OK to use the house as a toilet - then you have to teach him that it's not.One more expensive piece of equipment is a crate/indoor kennel is invaluable for house training and for keeping your puppy safe when you can't be there. They're not clipped, if they were I would learn how to do it myself so the only cost would be initial payment for equipment.I don't believe in pet insurance, I put aside £20.00 a month - nice way of saving as I've never had to use it!Possible vet treatment is the most expensive part of owning a dog - you can cut down the risk of this by buying from a responsible breeder, thoroughly researching the breed and making sure that the parents have been tested for all possible conditions. Don't be fooled into thinking that cross breeds or mongrels don't suffer from them either, although if you are getting a rescue dog, therescue centre should have had the dog thoroughkly checked for problems.Training classes are a good investment for a puppy or a rescue dog - a good class can cost as little as £4.00 a week for a course of 8 or 10 weeks.

THE EXPENSE OF OWNING A DOG.Food is not too expensive, however if you buy the cheap stuff a dog will suffer. I never consider the cost of grooming, just buy the equipment and groom it yourself. The biggest expenses are veterinary costs, even insurance is expensive. One never knows when a dog will need a vet, without insurance you might need thousands of pounds if it has an accident or other medical problems.Puppies do a lot of damage; they pee on the carpets and chew the furniture. If you rent, you will be responsible for the damage and if the other tenants or neighbours complain about the noise you could be evicted and you will have a problem finding accommodation for you and your dog.You must have a yard/garden if you have a dog, because it may need to go out during the night, is it safe for you to go out in your nightwear? In addition you must make provision for its exercise. If you work you will need to take it for a long walk before you leave, hopefully come home at lunchtime AND pay a dog walker to help. If you fail to do this a puppy could grow into an aggressive hooligan and if it cannot get out for pees and poos it will develop bowel and bladder problems.I adore dogs, unfortunately calculating the expense is very difficult. I you do not have a healthy income or a large bank balance, think again.

It is hard to put a price on it as they are so many factors. I.e what type food you feed . Pet insurnace is very imporatnt thing to have one of those things you hope you never need but are glad you have it when you do. But each company have different types of policy and what they cover and month cost. It also depends on where you live and breed of dog. And of course they don't cover everything the bill need to be a certain amount so if the dog is ill and need the vet and the bill is only say £50 you want be able to claim so worth putting alittle money aside just incase. As for grooming again it depends on where you live and type of breed. Non-moulting dogs need grooming about every 6 weeks and the price can vary. Of course they are also vaccination etc you need to think about. Adult dogs need worming every three months and flea treatment every month to two months depends if you dog has a flea problem. The best produces to treat both fleas and wormers are what you vet carriers but you can now get them on line form vet drug companies and they do work out alot cheaper.