# Mans best friend



## outdoorser (Jan 14, 2013)

So I've been feeding my friends dog for a few days, and WOW am I beginning to catch the pet bug. And I'm not talking about lice :grin:.

I have never owned a dog, due to the expense and a family members allergies. But I am falling in love with these animals


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## utahbigbull (May 9, 2012)

I have been trying to get my dog bred this week hoss. If she takes, I'll have some golden retriever pups in a couple months. They might not be a lab but what they lack as a waterfowl dog they make up as a family dog. Plus mine does pretty good on the birds for not much training.


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## outdoorser (Jan 14, 2013)

Yeah I don't think I'm ready for one yet bigbull, but thanks for the info.
So to all of you out there, how much food would a regular sized lab or something like that eat in a month? What are the absolute necessary shots and medical bills going to be in a year of its life?


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## sknabnoj (Nov 29, 2012)

Besides the purchase price of the actual pup you are looking at anywhere from $30 to $100 a month in food, depending on quality (dry or wet etc). Spaying or neutering a lab is probably around $200. Supplies for training could be a couple hundred, including a kennel and all that. I usually put in about $200 a year for routine vet care.
Those costs don't include any emergency vet care or grooming if you are in to that kind of thing. 
Owning a dog is definitely not a cheap experience, you are adopting a four-legged child so, definitely something to budget for.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

I have found that I love pets. It doesn't matter if it is dogs, cats, birds, fish or whatever my neighbor or friends have. Yep, that's right what my neighbor or friends have. I can play with them, have fun with them, and just generally enjoy them and then I can go home without them. 

While I would love a dog I go just too many places that you don't want to take a dog along. That wouldn't be a problem but having to find someone or somewhere to take care of the dog like you are doing with your friends dog is just too much trouble for me in the long run. 

I actually came to the conclusion years ago that pets are worse to take care of than children.


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## Greenhead_Slayer (Oct 16, 2007)

You can make it work on a tight budget. The most expensive part for me is buying dog food, but I feed Benelli Eukanuba so it is a bit pricey. I think a lot of people overfeed their dogs so in return they over spend on dog food. I spent $55-ish every other month on dog food and that is really the only consistent monthly expense. If you follow the chart on the bags of food you will save a lot of money. I feed my pooch 3 cups of food a day, that really isn't that much. 

With my limited experience the necessities you will need are a leash, slip collar, e-collar, whistle, and some bumpers. Most those are pretty inexpensive except for the e-collar, but you can find decent ones for $150. You can construct a dog run for pretty cheap if you don't want to spend the money on a nice chain link dog run and build a nice doghouse or buy one off KSL for pretty reasonable. 

The vaccinations and heartworm pills aren't too expensive to keep up on after the first year.

It's like most things in life, if you wanted to spend thousands of dollars you certainly could, but you can get by and still get the job done without having to break the bank.


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

I won't hunt birds without my dog. Having a good dog really changes the hunting experience. They are worth every penny.;-)


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## riptheirlips (Jun 30, 2008)

Buying the dog is the cheap part, just like buying a horse is the cheap part. But you would never regret buying either.


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## Spry Yellowdog (Sep 8, 2007)

Theres the costs involved like everyone says when there training then working.
But also theres the pension plan they have earned during there career.
I have one retired now and I offer a pretty darn good pension for all the commitment
she has shown me.

Spry


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