How much money did you spend on stuff for the puppy?!?!

Im trying to figure out how much a puppy is gonna cost me the first couple of months so Im trying to figure out how much each item is gonna cost me, but I havent decided ona bed yet for the puppy?

I guess my question is does a puppy need like one of those bed beds or should I just throw old t shirts and towels into the crate for him in the beginning? Cause I heard if I get a nice bed for the puppy in all actuality the puppy will probably tear though it with his chewing!!

One last thing as I was making the list of what to buy and how much it cost the list continued to grow longer and longer and the grand total kept getting bigger and bigger. I mean im close to $800 dollars and I havent even calculated the vet visits or the vaccinations or the neutering/spraying!!! And Im sure theres plenty more I missed that I will have to add later! But I was just wondering if you guys knew about the range or what not as to the cost of a puppy for like the first 6 months. Obviously not everyone is gonna spend the same amount, but I just wanted to get a general figure so I know how much to prepare! Thanks!

thats a very good question

your puppy will need a safe place to sleep and most important YOU ....
some good quality food and some toys to entertain him when your not around you can spend as much or as little as you like

one think i wouldn't do his give him/her your clothes to sleep with he/she will probably chew them and he might forget that any nice clothes you leave about are not his :yikes

Excellent forward thinking! I did the same almost a year before I actualy bought Harvey..
I counted up the cost of him, the cost of his vaccinations and neautering, a couple of months worth of food, toys, blankets, training classes, leads/collars etc..

Then I set about saving it all up before I got him.

I am due to get a little cav pup at the end of this year and have already started putting money away each week from my wages because then it doesnt seem to cost as much when you have it all put away.

Yes they are expensive but if you prepare yourself it mazkes it all the more worthwhile.. I would say I will roughly be spending this time round 400 for the pup (I am getting the price knocked down a bit as we already had Harvey from them and they say they are honoured we would like another), I will put away 100 plus for first vet trips, 50 on colars, leads blankets, toys, 30 on food, 30 for the training classes. and then of course anything I have left over from what I saved will go towards the extra pet insurance. total roughly 610 UK pounds.

k thanks for the tip about not letting it sleep in old clothes never thought of it like that. I think my puppy is gonna be very spoiled haha! I had another dog before (Akita) but it was more my dad's and a watchdog more than anything. But to me its just amazing Im looking at my list and its all these small numbers like 5 dollars here and 10 dollars there and then the grand total is so much! Well its a good think Im not in any kind of financial trouble or anything and yes definently setting money aside now as we speak just in case of emergency or anything for the dog

Funny thing is is that my major was business/econ/finances in college and Im a very "if I put in a certain amount of money I want a certain return" type of guy in all aspects of life but with the puppy I find myself not caring about the "return" just the joy and fun we will have!

We just use these crate pads for beds - they're inexpensive and easy to throw in the washer. I use 2 pads per dog in the winter, and one per dog in the summer. They come in different sizes to fit in crates, or you can use them on the floor.
http://www.petsmart.com/global/prod...=1172664841502&itemNo=4&In=Dog&N=2025624&Ne=2

I bought my puppy a really cheap cat bed (£4) to start off with as he was much too small for his dogbed. I put some old blankets in it and he seemed very happy! He's nearly 6mths and just grown out of it.

His favourite toys are cuddly toys I bought from a local charity shop for 20 pence each!! When he ruins them, I throw them out and buy him new ones. The ones which I spend money on from the pet shop, he turns his nose up at!!

You can save TON on supplies, toys, everything except food if you shop online, petedge.com pretty much charges wholesale, but order everything at once due to shipping charges, and kvvet is good too, they usually don't charge shipping

I agree with nancy. . .

I've been using www.dog.com and they have a 150% best price protection guarantee.. ..

I can't believe how much cheaper things are when you order online. I got some bamboo nail cutters for 5.99 and I seen them in the store a few Saturdays ago for 19.99! :yikes :yikes

i dread to think how much we have spent on lady but she's worth it. I was given lady for a birthday/ christmas pressie so we only had to put aside money for crate, beding, food, toys, vets expenses etc. which we did every month but i got really carried away and spent over our planned buget. :roll: I rang up a couple of vets to get estimates for vacs, worming and flea treatment. There a good list of all the stuff you need in the caring for your cavalier sestion. P.s i wouldn't bother getting a fancy bed we got lady a beautiful pink slipper bed which she has been trying to destroy so we took it away from her hopefully she can have it back when she less descructive. So probably in a years time I have found that fleecy blankets are great to line her crate with, but buy plently so you can keep chucking them in the wash lady has started carrying her kibble into the crate to eat it. Which is a cute little habbit she now has. So hers get messy quickly. I found squashed banna in it yesterday. Hope that helps sorry for the rambling.

if anyone else uses dog.com, please PM me.....I can give you a way to save even more : 6% off prices, plus credit on ebates, AND I get credit for the referral :lol: , doesn't have to be your first time using them either.

good thinking----

we spent about 500 euro to get indy started which included his vaccinations, a bed, a crate, collar, lead, x-pen, books, insurance, food, bowls, toys, etc....

indy chewed through his dog bed within a month. i don't think he ever actually slept in it apart from his first couple of days because as soon as his teeth touched it for the first time it was forever a toy in his mind :yikes . a crate is a great first bed. yes i agree with the others that shopping online is a good way to go---you have a good bit of time to do this and to keep an eye out for sales. petsmart is having an online and in-store sale at the moment as well.

great idea about putting money aside for it---i'll definately do that next time

k

Oh really Nancy?! Thanks! I live off of that site. I am actually ordering my flea medication along with my granny's and my mom's in April.. Should be about $250 :yikes I ordered so much that last time they called and asked me if I was a breeder!! :yikes :yikes icon_whistling

It's funny that this came up because my hubby and I were going over budgetting and we calculated that I have spent over $650 on the dogs in the past 2 months :yikes :yikes :yikes We have four dogs and have had some wierd medical issues AND got a new puppy, so it isn't like I spend like this all the time, but it does add up VERY quickly and I will admit that it becomes habit...

Saving ahead is an excellent idea and I wish I would have done that before I got Zoey, but if I had planned too far ahead then hubby would have changed his mind icon_whistling :lol:

A great way to save money on dog beds is to go to the fabric store and by fleese reminants. They are on sale right now for $1 a yard here, and you can get really fun seasonal colors. Dog.com is excellent, it is by far the cheapest website that I have found. AND when I register Zoey with the AKC, I get a $40 credit $40 goes a looong way on Dog.com!

Hey...it's only money, righty?! I can't begin to tell you how much I've spent on the pups. I love petedge.com and jbpet.com. I order toys from them that are very cheap. You'll see the exact same toys at Petco for 4 times as much. When Shelby destuffs one I throw it away and bring out another. As far as the crate pads...I use something similiar to what Cathy suggested. I cover mine in a king size pillow case so I can just pull off the pillow case and toss it in the wash. I also have covers for both the crates.

I spent too much, I repeat, too much on things that I thought I needed or were the wrong size. Like oh the 60 bucks in wrong size collars.... First was a super small cat size - umm fit a wk, the second 8-12 inch leather but really fits more like a 6-10 nylon (it was meant for 4 mths up so it will be too small by then), puppia (small) fits but personally I should have waited till later and she was more ready for the medium its not really necessary in early mths as we are not out much due to vaccination period).

I got the 18x24 metal crate - wished I'd gotten the 24x30 instead. Same with plastic, I got the petsmate intermediate - wish I'd gone up to large. I also bought retractable leash (which i used for 15 yrs with a lab and love) but for a puppy (especially a small breed one) it is not practical till they are more trained so I could have waited. I also bought the washable pad as I didnt want the disposable attracting her to pee in the house - she has never used it to pee on the odd 5x she has had an accident in 6 wks.

Now the things I spent on and did right. A nylon 6' lead, nylon collar, bed - sheepskin inside with sides - large enough she plays in it all the time and when she is big she will fit to sleep. She tugs at it and the sheepskin is very durable - no ripping. Nylon bones, chill bone, balls, kong, treat ball and big stuffed toy are all utilized daily and holding up.

I am not going to give you a dollar cost, because I live in Canada and my $ would be oh double what you would spend!

What a topic! I would hate to add up the amount we've spent...but it's considerable. But we've bought so much that isn't NEEDED, but what we've WANTED. The vet bills have taken me by surprise though. Molly got sick one weekend a couple weeks after we got her. We took her to an emergency clinic on a Sunday morning and spent $225 for meds, an x-ray and office visit. Max had a case of diarrhea last week and that cost me $120 for two different stool tests, office visit, bag of special dog food from vet and meds.

Collars, harnesses, leads, beds, kennel, chews, food, flea/tic & heartworm meds and a few toys are the things I think you have to buy. My guess is that I have spent 3/4 of the price of the dog in vet bills (spay/neuter too) and all the extras (all the extras, not needed stuff too)

Lol... don't even ask...

Actually... I am not going to tell.. you all would think I am bonkers!

But, as long as you have the necessities... you should be fine... Good Luck!