Your First Year - Budgeting for a Puppy Friend

It's exciting to bring a new family member into your home, and anticipating all the moments that your pet and you will have together is a wonderful feeling. That said, very few people are well and truly prepared for the cost of owning an animal for the first time; pets take a lot of work, requiring a good deal of care and attention while still puppies and kittens, as well as generating considerable expense when they get older. This article will focus on budgeting for the first year of owning a new cat or medium-breed dog. The prices on some of these goods can vary wily both depending on where they're purchased, and the size of the dog breed - chihuahuas are just cheaper to keep than Great Danes, I'm afraid. But, hopefully this table will help prepare new owners for what they're getting into when they're eyeing that cute fuzzball in the window; not that they shouldn't get excited, but they should understand the costs they'll be taking on to keep that little guy healthy. Short of an emergency or exceptionally early emergent health issue, the first year is very likely to be the most expensive, what with all the vaccinations, dewormings, and first-time purchases, so understanding the first year cost is a useful parameter for keeping books in order for the years to come.

Canine costs - year 1, assuming a Labrador retriever

Several of these estimates assume multiple charges per year - the examination fee presumes four per year, double-stacking with the DAPPv vaccination estimate, and assuming that the spay/neuter operation does not cover its own examination fee, presuming five visits to the vet in the first year of owning a puppy. This means that the lower bound of the estimate is likely too high, but that's somewhat intentional; it's always better to overprepare. A good deal of the services offered below are available for much cheaper when obtained from an animal shelter, and the cost of things like dog toys and leashes varies wildly - but, as is often the case in budgeting, it pays to prepare for the worst.

Home Supplies	$150 - $300
Food (dry, puppy food)	$300 - $500
Vaccination (Rabies)	$50 - $120
Vaccinations (DAPPv)	$150 - $450
Vaccination (Bortadella)	$30 - $90
Vaccination (Leptospirosis)	$60 - $140
Vaccination (Lyme)	$60 - $140
Flea, Tick, Heartworm Prevention	$150 - $400
Dewormings	$40 - $100
Spay or Neuter operation	$300 - $800
Examinations Fees	$150 - $500
Estimated Total:	$1,440 - $3,400

As an added note - these costs vary with both where you live, and the pricings of the veterinarian you bring your business to. A good flea, tick, and heartworm medication may be $500 for an entire year's worth of protection, but a perfectly adequate substitute may go for a quarter of that price. Either way, the first year of owning a dog can be expensive - extremely expensive. Going forward, the costs of vaccinations drop considerably, as does the cost of supplies, and often food as well, but it is wise to keep in mind just how expensive petkeeping will be in the early stages of your puppy's development. Going forward, a typical year's expenses will begin to look more like the following:

Home Supplies	$30 - $100
Food (Adult food)	$200 - $500
Vaccination (Rabies, 3 year)	$70 - $150
Vaccination (DAPPv, 3 year)	$70 - $150
Vaccination (Leptospirosis)	$30 - $70
Vaccination (Lyme)	$30 - $70
Flea, Tick, Heartworm Medication	$200 - $600
Examination Fees	$60 - $200
Estimated Total:	​$690 - $1,840

Going forward, the costs continue to drop, but an annual cost of several hundred dollars at minimum should be expected, and an emergency could potentially cost thousands. Budgeting for these unfortunate circumstances, doing what you can to prevent them, and being prepared for it, is an important part of being a proactive pet parent.