Cost of owning a dog

hardly work'n

A lot of "pure breed" dog breeds do pass on certian gentic disabilities or diseases. For example Dalmations blindness, certain lines of Irish Wolfhounds have liver problems, Newfoundlands / Black & Golden Labs Hip displasia (sp??) Lots of toy dogs with heart problems!

But that's what you get when you get people breeding just for money and money alone. A good dog breeder will not breed dogs that carry these gentic problem and will not breed that line. And will breed to improve the breed and make it more valuable. Becouse then in the long run they can charge a premium for a healthy dog

It never fails to amaze me that if you look thru dog for sale in your local paper you'll see the same phone numbers come up time and time again with all sorts of "high end breeds"

I think I have gone off thread a bit, but it just gets to me.

Glowing

As a general rule, Greyhounds don't seem to suffer from those serious genetic abnormalities or diseases since they are breed for strength and vitality (racing), not for a 'stubbier nose' or some other aesthetic reason.

Oh and seperate to that issue, when you get your Greyhound from a shelter, it will already be neutered or spayed for you - thats to ensure breeders aren't going there just to get a free dog.

Ruby Soho

Hi everyone, I have two greyhounds who are fed on Hill's Science plan, it costs 60 euro every three weeks for a 15kg bag, but when broken down, it only costs 10 euro per week per dog which I think is very reasonable, its a very high quality food.
Absolutely though, please consider a retired greyhound!!! There are so many misconceptions out there that greyhounds are vicious, highly strung child-gobbling monsters who need a twenty mile run every day, the reality couldn't be further from the truth. I would have ten greyhounds before I would have 1 high energy collie type dog (no offense to collie lovers out there!!). They really are low maintenance dogs with regard to grooming / exercise etc. Thats not to say they wouldn't enjoy a really good romp in the countryside, they do, but half an hour round the block on a cold windy night suits them just fine.
Also, like a previous poster said, the rescues are stuffed full of them so there's a dog to suit everyone out there... young, bouncy, playful and boisterous 2 year-olds or more mature, dignified and affectionate 6 year olds!! They also come in the cat friendly variety, and more colour combinations than you could shake a stick at!!
They are also generally free from most genetic / congenital problems, a greyhound showing any of these signs would most certainly not be bred from.
Sorry for the long winded post, I could go on all day about these dogs!!

javaboy

workaccount wrote: »

So how much does insurance cost?

Also, are there issues with spoiling a dog? ie. Giving it too much attention and making it into a fool?

You can get a quote from Allianz here:
http://www.allianzdirect.ie/?m=p&s=a&c=1&Ad=3.1.2

The price depends on the breed/size of dog AFAIK.

When it comes to spoiling a dog, the same rules as spoiling a child generally apply. Spoilt dog/child->bold dog/child.

There's no problem giving your dog lots of attention but as with a child, if they get attention when they misbehave, they will learn to associate misbehaviour with reward.
Any good dog training book will cover this kind of thing.

Alfasudcrazy

I have two dobies and a lively collie x and between the three the cost is pretty significant. I however never think of it as a cost like putting petrol in the car etc and worry that the first question you ask about owning a dog is the cost?

Perhaps a goldfish might suit better. It pains me to see people loading up with cheap Lidl dog food etc. Owning a dog is like (or should be like) getting a new member of the family and needs a lot of commitment and effort. You seem to have never owned a dog previously - if so you should think carefully BEFORE you get a dog.

Demonique

A couple of years back The Irish Times did a feature and reckoned it cost £1500 to keep a dog or a cat for one year.

Ruby Soho

Maybe if the cost is a real issue then you should think long and hard about getting a dog. If you're lucky, you might get a great healthy animal who only needs to see a vet once a year for vaccinations, but between one thing and another, this is RARE!! A visit to the vet for something as simple as a bout of diarrhoea or parasites may easily cost 60 euro or more, depending on the severity, thats just for a consultation / medication in some cases. A simple fractured leg can set you back 600 euro to put in a pin quite easily. A chronic skin condition can cost 5euro PER DAY to treat, depending on the problem. You really need top assess whether or not you would have this kind of money available to you should poor Rover have an accident or get sick. Im not saying that you need to be loaded to own a dog, but you really need to be able to get money when the time comes!! I just hate seeing animals euthanised because the owners cant afford the cost of treatment, of resorting to amputation instead of a repair of a broken limb because its cheaper.

Demonique

Someone on another forum had their dog's leg amputated because fixing the dog's leg would have ended up costing £1500 whereas amputation was £70

workaccount

Alfasudcrazy wrote: »

I have two dobies and a lively collie x and between the three the cost is pretty significant. I however never think of it as a cost like putting petrol in the car etc and worry that the first question you ask about owning a dog is the cost?

Perhaps a goldfish might suit better. It pains me to see people loading up with cheap Lidl dog food etc. Owning a dog is like (or should be like) getting a new member of the family and needs a lot of commitment and effort. You seem to have never owned a dog previously - if so you should think carefully BEFORE you get a dog.

Ruby Soho wrote: »

Maybe if the cost is a real issue then you should think long and hard about getting a dog. If you're lucky, you might get a great healthy animal who only needs to see a vet once a year for vaccinations, but between one thing and another, this is RARE!! A visit to the vet for something as simple as a bout of diarrhoea or parasites may easily cost 60 euro or more, depending on the severity, thats just for a consultation / medication in some cases. A simple fractured leg can set you back 600 euro to put in a pin quite easily. A chronic skin condition can cost 5euro PER DAY to treat, depending on the problem. You really need top assess whether or not you would have this kind of money available to you should poor Rover have an accident or get sick. Im not saying that you need to be loaded to own a dog, but you really need to be able to get money when the time comes!! I just hate seeing animals euthanised because the owners cant afford the cost of treatment, of resorting to amputation instead of a repair of a broken limb because its cheaper.

Come on guys please. Money makes the world go round. It has to be considered in everything you do...absolutely everything.

If you were planning to have a baby you would have to consider costs and just because you do consider costs does not mean you are going to cut costs!

workaccount

Ruby Soho wrote: »

Hi everyone, I have two greyhounds who are fed on Hill's Science plan, it costs 60 euro every three weeks for a 15kg bag, but when broken down, it only costs 10 euro per week per dog which I think is very reasonable, its a very high quality food.
Absolutely though, please consider a retired greyhound!!! There are so many misconceptions out there that greyhounds are vicious, highly strung child-gobbling monsters who need a twenty mile run every day, the reality couldn't be further from the truth. I would have ten greyhounds before I would have 1 high energy collie type dog (no offense to collie lovers out there!!). They really are low maintenance dogs with regard to grooming / exercise etc. Thats not to say they wouldn't enjoy a really good romp in the countryside, they do, but half an hour round the block on a cold windy night suits them just fine.
Also, like a previous poster said, the rescues are stuffed full of them so there's a dog to suit everyone out there... young, bouncy, playful and boisterous 2 year-olds or more mature, dignified and affectionate 6 year olds!! They also come in the cat friendly variety, and more colour combinations than you could shake a stick at!!
They are also generally free from most genetic / congenital problems, a greyhound showing any of these signs would most certainly not be bred from.
Sorry for the long winded post, I could go on all day about these dogs!!

Ok so If I was looking at e135 for insurance.
10e a week for food = e520. Plus put away 500 to cover vet costs and I'm talking in or around e1200...max!

javaboy

workaccount wrote: »

Ok so If I was looking at e135 for insurance.
10e a week for food = e520. Plus put away 500 to cover vet costs and I'm talking in or around e1200...max!

Probably add on a few quid for toys/beds/leads etc. Maybe kennel costs but that depends on your own situation. AFAIK with Allianz, the first €60 for any new condition you have to pay but after that it's covered.

workaccount

So is everyone here sure that a greyhound would be fine at home until I come home from lunch and then grand until the evening again?

hardly work'n

workaccount wrote: »

So is everyone here sure that a greyhound would be fine at home until I come home from lunch and then grand until the evening again?

Yes he will be fine. The fact that your taking the time to research & looking into what breed or type of dog that would best suit you and your lifestyle says a lot!! I wish more people took the time to consider which breed or type of dog would be best for them. They are great dogs as so many owners have said. You will be giving your dog a lot more time from the sounds of it, then a lot of dogs get. It will take a little time for the two of you to get to know each other but that is only one of the great things about getting a rescue dog. I wish all the best! And thank you.

When you do get him/her post a picture!

carwash_2006

Personally I think you are being responsible by trying to find out how much things are likely to cost.

Demonique

The better quality the dog food you feed your dog, the healthier it will be.
Pedigree Chum IS NOT quality food, "top breeders recommend it" refers to the winners of Crufts who are obliged to do an ad for Pedigree because Pedigree sponsors the competition

Dry food is better than tinned food which is too moist, tinned food can result in tooth decay. I dispise tinned food because I have Asperger's syndrome and one of the symptoms can be hypersensitivity to certain stimuli, like sounds and smells.
The tinned food = smell of tinned food coming from the dog's ar*e which isn't a nice smell anyway even if you're not hypersensitive to smells, the smell is a lot worse for me, particularly as my father thought it was cruel not to give the dog tinned food and he used to buy that awful Super Valu tinned dog food which was €2 for 6 tins. He stopped buying the tins when they started disappearing (over the wall courtesy of me)

Some people advocate a raw food diet for dogs. I bought a €1.50 cut of some sort of steak for the dog. I brought it home and my mother said "he won't eat that, your father said he won't eat raw meat". Bulldren, the dog, a black cocker spaniel, did a vanishing act with the steak within three minutes of being given it.

Obviously, if you can't afford it there's no need to feed a dog fresh meat on a daily basis. In America some people source meat for their dogs from local farmers and buy whole carcasses worth of meat. I think someone mentioned spending $100 for enough meat to last her dogs several months, but that would be a lot more over here.

You can look up recipes for dog food on the internet, like recipes for home made dog biscuits, etc

Lauragoesmad

Demonique wrote: »

The better quality the dog food you feed your dog, the healthier it will be.
Pedigree Chum IS NOT quality food, "top breeders recommend it" refers to the winners of Crufts who are obliged to do an ad for Pedigree because Pedigree sponsors the competition

The smell of the stuff tells you its not quality food.

kerrysgold

Most of it stinks, I only give my girlie foil packs if I have absolutly nothing else, cesar doesn't seem too bad, other wise she get's proper meat etc, I must try the raw meat thing too.

carwash_2006

Cesar is rubbish. If you are feeding a manufactured food, always go for a good quality dry food. Look at the list of ingredients, the first ingredient should be meat. Remember dogs do not digest cerials well so if the first ingredient is cerials most of it will just end up coming out the other end.

The exception would be some of the diet foods as they sometimes have to have a slightly different make up. I guess if you need to feed a diet food check the ingredients on the non diet foods in the same brand to see if it's a good brand or not.

Lauragoesmad

I know this is totally off the point but has anyone ever heard of "mammy mix"? (People obviously have different names for it)
A family down in Leitrim we know, their dog had pups and they made up a mix of porridge, boiled eggs and something else for the mother while she was feeding the pups. Supposedly all the farmers give it to the collies when they have pups down there. Has anyone heard of this? I have never heard of it before.

hardly work'n

carwash_2006 wrote: »

Cesar is rubbish. If you are feeding a manufactured food, always go for a good quality dry food. Look at the list of ingredients, the first ingredient should be meat. Remember dogs do not digest cerials well so if the first ingredient is cerials most of it will just end up coming out the other end.

The exception would be some of the diet foods as they sometimes have to have a slightly different make up. I guess if you need to feed a diet food check the ingredients on the non diet foods in the same brand to see if it's a good brand or not.

One thing to remember dogs are like humans they are omnivores. That means that they eat both meat & plants. Alot of cheap dog foods do use ceral fillers & yes you will need to feed more to get the same nutrional value as a more meat based product. And what goes in must come out! There are a lot of good quality dog food out there. That don't break the bank. So a strictly meat based diet is no more healthy for them as it is healthy for humans. We feed our dogs Gain which I find to be a great irish made brand. They make not only greyhound food, but horse feed too. The other good thing is that you know everything in that food is sourced in Ireland. Your not getting it shipped in from overseas. Also in there diets is fruit & veg! Our Great Dane cross will climb up the apple tree to get to the apples & drops them down for the others. Our wolfhound cross has something about bananas! Broccilli is also very very good for dogs & my lads love it!

workaccount

Which one of these would be right then for a greyhound

http://www.hillspet.com/zSkin_2/products/sd_product_list.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302024124&bmUID=1204381264995&bmLocale=en_GB

I really like this one...http://upload.irishanimals.ie/Uploads/84_sukiebody.JPG

hardly work'n

When you adopt your greyhound, speak with whom you adopt from. Becouse a drastic change of food could cause an upset tummy!! And a gradual change would be better while settling into a new home. Talk to your vet! There are a lot of choices out there and you have to figure out what is best for you. That's only a matter of asking questions and a bit of trial & error. No one way is 100% right! Even though we all like to think so.

Nice Sulki, He's a close relative to the greyhound also a sight hound and if memory serves correct they come from saudi arabi. But if I'm wrong I'm sure I will be corrected

workaccount

Rocco here makes me a little anxious. They say they had to give him back as he suffered from seperation anxiety. Could this happen to a greyhound especially one that has been beaten like in the link above.


Rocco
Rocco is a wonderful, handsome dog, who is looking for a new home where he would have company during the day. He is a large male, Doberman/Lab x, about 18 months old and is fully vaccinated, neutered and microchipped. He is great with people, including children, other dogs and even cats! He loves to run and play, loves his walks but most of all loves company more than anything. He is housetrained, good in the car and will make a brilliant pet and companion for someone. Rocco was originally found as a stray in May 2007 and went to a new home in Sept. 2007. His new owners did great work with him, including obedience training and loved him dearly but Rocco displayed separation anxiety while they were at work everyday, so unfortunately and reluctantly they had to give him back to Drogheda Animal Rescue. So Rocco's main requirement of a new home is that he has company for most of the day, and in return, he will be a wonderful pet and companion. Ideally, he would also like another dog for company and play. If you can offer a suitable home to Rocco, please contact us.
CONTACT:Drogheda Animal Rescue (041 9832418) email

http://upload.irishanimals.ie/Uploads/20_RoccoSmall.jpg

hardly work'n

workaccount wrote: »

Rocco here makes me a little anxious. They say they had to give him back as he suffered from seperation anxiety. Could this happen to a greyhound especially one that has been beaten like in the link above.


Rocco
Rocco is a wonderful, handsome dog, who is looking for a new home where he would have company during the day. He is a large male, Doberman/Lab x, about 18 months old and is fully vaccinated, neutered and microchipped. So Rocco's main requirement of a new home is that he has company for most of the day, and in return, he will be a wonderful pet and companion. Ideally, he would also like another dog for company and play.

http://upload.irishanimals.ie/Uploads/20_RoccoSmall.jpg

He's a smashing looking dog. But another dog for company! Can I ask is this going to be your first dog? It may sound like an odvious question? Or have you had smaller dogs? The fellow in the above link is a smashing looking dog too. One thing you may want to consider is volentuering at your local shelter or rescue center. Get to know the different dogs & the people. You will learn a lot about caring for a dog & may just find your perfect match. An hour or two in the evening go walk a dog for them or take them to play! Then you will maybe get a better idea of what your looking for. Be warned though in doing this one tends to lead to two or in my case THREE!!!!!

Rocco could turn out to be a bit of a handful? Plus Labs & Dobs for breeds have loads & loads of energy and at 18 months he's in those funny teenage years!!!

workaccount

Ruby Soho wrote: »

Hi everyone, I have two greyhounds who are fed on Hill's Science plan, it costs 60 euro every three weeks for a 15kg bag, but when broken down, it only costs 10 euro per week per dog which I think is very reasonable, its a very high quality food.
Absolutely though, please consider a retired greyhound!!! There are so many misconceptions out there that greyhounds are vicious, highly strung child-gobbling monsters who need a twenty mile run every day, the reality couldn't be further from the truth. I would have ten greyhounds before I would have 1 high energy collie type dog (no offense to collie lovers out there!!). They really are low maintenance dogs with regard to grooming / exercise etc. Thats not to say they wouldn't enjoy a really good romp in the countryside, they do, but half an hour round the block on a cold windy night suits them just fine.
Also, like a previous poster said, the rescues are stuffed full of them so there's a dog to suit everyone out there... young, bouncy, playful and boisterous 2 year-olds or more mature, dignified and affectionate 6 year olds!! They also come in the cat friendly variety, and more colour combinations than you could shake a stick at!!
They are also generally free from most genetic / congenital problems, a greyhound showing any of these signs would most certainly not be bred from.
Sorry for the long winded post, I could go on all day about these dogs!!

hardly work'n wrote: »

He's a smashing looking dog. But another dog for company! Can I ask is this going to be your first dog? It may sound like an odvious question? Or have you had smaller dogs? The fellow in the above link is a smashing looking dog too. One thing you may want to consider is volentuering at your local shelter or rescue center. Get to know the different dogs & the people. You will learn a lot about caring for a dog & may just find your perfect match. An hour or two in the evening go walk a dog for them or take them to play! Then you will maybe get a better idea of what your looking for. Be warned though in doing this one tends to lead to two or in my case THREE!!!!!

Rocco could turn out to be a bit of a handful? Plus Labs & Dobs for breeds have loads & loads of energy and at 18 months he's in those funny teenage years!!!

I was not considering getting rocco!

I was just caught by this line in the decription "His new owners did great work with him, including obedience training and loved him dearly but Rocco displayed separation anxiety while they were at work everyday"

Could this happen to sukie?

workaccount

Hmmm it seems that these guys don't let you adopt without a secure garden or yard. I did not think greyhounds needed this http://www.cottagerescue.ie/page8.html

kerrysgold

all dog's need a secure garden, preferably with a fence around 6' as some dog's can jump so high. it would be nice if you decided to adopt 2 dogs, it's the ideal thing to do really when a dog would be home alone for long periods it would be great for him to have a companion.