My dogs are costing me $850/month

[Anonymous]

An awful lot of people must be lonely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is why we didn't get another dog after ours died. Its been a financial relief of about $400 a month.

I do miss him.

That’s like a $5k annual raise!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why we didn't get another dog after ours died. Its been a financial relief of about $400 a month.

I do miss him.

That’s like a $5k annual raise!

Jackpot!

[Anonymous]

Dogs are like children in the sense that they can be very, very expensive. Or not so much, if you're lucky and willing to opt out on all the things modern-day dog "parenting" consider necessary.

I move every few years, so I refused to consider a dog that wouldn't fit under the seat in an airplane. Having a small dog is awesome is so many ways. He's cheaper for all the things that charge by size -- vet visits, grooming, flea/tick/hearthworm preventative meds, etc. I feed him high quality food (Orijen), and a $50 bag lasts for two months. I guess if I prorate all the expenses over the year, my dog probably costs about $100 per month.

He's trained to potty twice a day, in the morning and evening, so he doesn't need a midday walker. I tried to piddle-pad train him because I felt guilty for making him hold it all day, but he refused. He was like, nah, I'm good, if I pee inside you're just going to yell at me. I was like, cool, it's here if you need it, but yeah please wait for your evening walk.

Caveat is that I got my dog as a puppy at a time when I was able to accommodate 24-hour care. Now I'm in a job with no telecommuting option, but my dog is senior enough to be okay on his own. I definitely couldn't have dealt with a puppy on my current schedule, and would have either had to hire an army of sitters/walkers/boarders or (more likely) foregone adopting a dog.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dogs are like children in the sense that they can be very, very expensive. Or not so much, if you're lucky and willing to opt out on all the things modern-day dog "parenting" consider necessary.

I move every few years, so I refused to consider a dog that wouldn't fit under the seat in an airplane. Having a small dog is awesome is so many ways. He's cheaper for all the things that charge by size -- vet visits, grooming, flea/tick/hearthworm preventative meds, etc. I feed him high quality food (Orijen), and a $50 bag lasts for two months. I guess if I prorate all the expenses over the year, my dog probably costs about $100 per month.

He's trained to potty twice a day, in the morning and evening, so he doesn't need a midday walker. I tried to piddle-pad train him because I felt guilty for making him hold it all day, but he refused. He was like, nah, I'm good, if I pee inside you're just going to yell at me. I was like, cool, it's here if you need it, but yeah please wait for your evening walk.

Caveat is that I got my dog as a puppy at a time when I was able to accommodate 24-hour care. Now I'm in a job with no telecommuting option, but my dog is senior enough to be okay on his own. I definitely couldn't have dealt with a puppy on my current schedule, and would have either had to hire an army of sitters/walkers/boarders or (more likely) foregone adopting a dog.

How would you like it if you were only able to pee twice a day? Midday walkers are also for socialization and exercise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dogs are like children in the sense that they can be very, very expensive. Or not so much, if you're lucky and willing to opt out on all the things modern-day dog "parenting" consider necessary.

I move every few years, so I refused to consider a dog that wouldn't fit under the seat in an airplane. Having a small dog is awesome is so many ways. He's cheaper for all the things that charge by size -- vet visits, grooming, flea/tick/hearthworm preventative meds, etc. I feed him high quality food (Orijen), and a $50 bag lasts for two months. I guess if I prorate all the expenses over the year, my dog probably costs about $100 per month.

He's trained to potty twice a day, in the morning and evening, so he doesn't need a midday walker. I tried to piddle-pad train him because I felt guilty for making him hold it all day, but he refused. He was like, nah, I'm good, if I pee inside you're just going to yell at me. I was like, cool, it's here if you need it, but yeah please wait for your evening walk.

Caveat is that I got my dog as a puppy at a time when I was able to accommodate 24-hour care. Now I'm in a job with no telecommuting option, but my dog is senior enough to be okay on his own. I definitely couldn't have dealt with a puppy on my current schedule, and would have either had to hire an army of sitters/walkers/boarders or (more likely) foregone adopting a dog.

I still don't get why my DH wants a dog. I am very concerned about having to step in to care for the dog if DH is sick or is unavailable to do it. It's an unnecessary expense and sounds like a headache. You can't guarantee that a dog isn't going to pee on your carpet. I used to want pets as a child but as I have grown older, I have come to view them as a burden unless it's a truffle-sniffing dog.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dogs are like children in the sense that they can be very, very expensive. Or not so much, if you're lucky and willing to opt out on all the things modern-day dog "parenting" consider necessary.

I move every few years, so I refused to consider a dog that wouldn't fit under the seat in an airplane. Having a small dog is awesome is so many ways. He's cheaper for all the things that charge by size -- vet visits, grooming, flea/tick/hearthworm preventative meds, etc. I feed him high quality food (Orijen), and a $50 bag lasts for two months. I guess if I prorate all the expenses over the year, my dog probably costs about $100 per month.

He's trained to potty twice a day, in the morning and evening, so he doesn't need a midday walker. I tried to piddle-pad train him because I felt guilty for making him hold it all day, but he refused. He was like, nah, I'm good, if I pee inside you're just going to yell at me. I was like, cool, it's here if you need it, but yeah please wait for your evening walk.

Caveat is that I got my dog as a puppy at a time when I was able to accommodate 24-hour care. Now I'm in a job with no telecommuting option, but my dog is senior enough to be okay on his own. I definitely couldn't have dealt with a puppy on my current schedule, and would have either had to hire an army of sitters/walkers/boarders or (more likely) foregone adopting a dog.

I still don't get why my DH wants a dog. I am very concerned about having to step in to care for the dog if DH is sick or is unavailable to do it. It's an unnecessary expense and sounds like a headache. You can't guarantee that a dog isn't going to pee on your carpet. I used to want pets as a child but as I have grown older, I have come to view them as a burden unless it's a truffle-sniffing dog.

Why do anything that costs money?

[Anonymous]

If you invested that money instead, you could have $200,000 after 10 years, assuming a 10% rate of return.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you invested that money instead, you could have $200,000 after 10 years, assuming a 10% rate of return.

Imagine how much you'd have if you didn't have kids, but got dogs instead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you invested that money instead, you could have $200,000 after 10 years, assuming a 10% rate of return.

Imagine how much you'd have if you didn't have kids, but got dogs instead.

Yep. Kid is costing me 30K/yr or so. Dog is only about 1500. And dog is always happy to see me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you invested that money instead, you could have $200,000 after 10 years, assuming a 10% rate of return.

Imagine how much you'd have if you didn't have kids, but got dogs instead.

Yep. Kid is costing me 30K/yr or so. Dog is only about 1500. And dog is always happy to see me.

Let me tell you - as someone with no kids, and four pets, I don't know how folks with kids do it. G_d bless you for taking on that responsibility.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you invested that money instead, you could have $200,000 after 10 years, assuming a 10% rate of return.

Imagine how much you'd have if you didn't have kids, but got dogs instead.

Yep. Kid is costing me 30K/yr or so. Dog is only about 1500. And dog is always happy to see me.

Let me tell you - as someone with no kids, and four pets, I don't know how folks with kids do it. G_d bless you for taking on that responsibility.

Yes, of course kids are expensive. But this thread is about dogs specifically and how they are affecting the OP's finances. OP is shelling out $200,000 over a ten year period, which could be going towards retirement. If OP invested that 200,000 accrued over 10 years and added nothing for the next 20 years, it would equal well over a million dollars. I like dogs, but that's quite a trade-off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:An awful lot of people must be lonely.

I know! Get human friends and then you won't have to clean up their poop (hopefully).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you invested that money instead, you could have $200,000 after 10 years, assuming a 10% rate of return.

Imagine how much you'd have if you didn't have kids, but got dogs instead.

Yep. Kid is costing me 30K/yr or so. Dog is only about 1500. And dog is always happy to see me.

Let me tell you - as someone with no kids, and four pets, I don't know how folks with kids do it. G_d bless you for taking on that responsibility.

Yes, of course kids are expensive. But this thread is about dogs specifically and how they are affecting the OP's finances. OP is shelling out $200,000 over a ten year period, which could be going towards retirement. If OP invested that 200,000 accrued over 10 years and added nothing for the next 20 years, it would equal well over a million dollars. I like dogs, but that's quite a trade-off.

OP could just put himself into a long coma and really save money that way, too.

The point I am making is that some of us really love dogs. They make our lives richer and better. I'm sure you have some expensive habits, too. Perhaps you bought more house than as strictly necessary because you liked it. I bet you don't eat the very cheapest food available, either. Did you have children? What a $$ suck!

The point is that OP could probably cut down his pet-related expenses if he wanted to, without having to take the extreme position of never having any pets. Though he didn't actually sound that concerned about doing so.

[Anonymous]

As a kid, I always thought of dogs as something that only wealthy people could afford. We had no pets as a kid.

Now that we're doing fine financially, we have a dog and we love him so much! Our kids love him so much! Our dog truly brings joy to our children, and especially our son with a severe learning disability. So we view our dog as worth every penny we spend on him.