Do need plenty of funds to own two dogs?

A question about : Do need plenty of funds to own two dogs?

I already own a rescue dog and have seen another rescue dog that I'd love to offer a home.

However, I'm not financially well endowed, so wondering whether I'd be irrisponsible giving this pooch a home.

How do other people manage? I know there are many people who are probably in the same boat as me

Best answers:

• You'd need to factor in certain things I think:
  Costs of food may double or more depending on the size of dog you already have and the dog you are interested in.
  You'll need to factor in insurance and vet costs (for smaller things like boosters) for 2
  2 x flea and worm treatments
  2 x collar/harness and leads
  2 x treats, bones etc.
  2 x boarding kennels/home boarding if you go on holiday.
  That's just off the top of my head.
• Could you perhaps foster the dog for a while? Then you can get a sense of the cost, the dog will be out of kennels and if all goes well and you can cope with the extra cost, you could adopt him/her
• I own two large dogs. They cost me about Ј150 a month in costs - Ј50-60 in food (raw-fed), I make my own treats with cheap ingredients like oats, eggs, homemade stock
  Ј60 to insure both, one was more than the other due to being purebred, but was overtaken when the crossbreed developed a couple of ongoing conditions we've made several big claims for.
  Costs like flea & worm treatment are spread over the year - I buy Advocate at about Ј40 for 6 pipettes, I treat a few times a year and worm once every 6 month with Cestem (cheaper version of Drontal) so the cost works out about a fiver a month for both dogs. I found boosters at a good deal using a local vaccination clinic - Ј10 each, a massive saving from my regular vet's price.
  Toys are bought to last - pound shop rope toys are actually one of the longest lasting toys I've found, they do a variety of shapes. Grooming costs are the investment in a couple of good brushes (an imitation Furminator - cheaper than the real thing - and a human Tangle Teezer work well in combination) and some occasional dog shampoo (I only bath when they really need it).
  Beds were bought on sale, with washable waterproof covers to help make them last. I replaced the mattress on the cheaper one when all the fibres separated, with a cot bed mattress free from Freecycle.
  Boarding costs aren't a factor at the moment, we haven't any immediate holiday plans, other than one which the dogs will join us on, and have family who will look after them if needed. It's not cheap though, and although most kennels do discount for a second dog, it's still extra money to spend.
  If you're MSE about it, you can keep costs down. There are some factors outside of your control though - you can't predict an ill pet (even with insurance, there's the excess cost plus you may have to pay upfront if the vets won't direct claim - many emergency vets insist on payment at the time of treatment, especially if it's not your usual vets). You're at the mercy of insurance premium rises, especially if your pet develops an ongoing condition - my crossbreed initially cost about Ј15 a month to insure when we first got her, I now pay about Ј40 for her, and this is very likely to jump substantially at her next renewal due to AXA passing customers over to a new company (may well just move her elsewhere and pay for her thyroid meds - but then have the complication of finding somewhere that will cover an 8 year old dog). I'm also quite aware that some treatments could easily blow the fairly decent cover I have through insurance, I can only hope that it doesn't happen, but I have a pretty good limit on my credit card and some savings put aside for such a situation - think about whether this could affect you a lot financially (depending on how much, for us it would probably just mean foregoing some mortgage overpayments and scrimping every penny for a couple of months - for some then the debt may literally not be feasible)
  If you feel unable to afford a second dog, then you could consider other ways to help rescue dog. Many rescues will cover some, or even all, costs for foster dogs. Pet sitting could be an option - there are companies who seek out 'host families' to look after dogs - it could even supplement your income. Or maybe finding someone locally who could benefit from a dogsitter - there are schemes like BorrowMyDoggy, or you could place some adverts locally.
• The real problem for me would be the unknown vet costs
  Maisie (current dog) is literally never away from the place
  I can pretty much guarantee she's there every couple of months
  Never (thank goodness) anything major but things like ear infections, tummy upsets, UTIs, itching etc etc
  None are hugely expensive - usually around the Ј50 - Ј100 mark BUT none of them are claimable on her insurance so it's 'out of pocket' money iykwim
  On the other hand - Ben was hardly ever at the vets ...... if a 2nd dog was like him, then it would be fine BUT if a 2nd dog was another like Maisie .... I'd really struggle
• We have two dogs (amongst the rest of our menagerie!) we thought about the cost before getting our second. I think the biggest thing is definitely the cost of the food, and then as you say unexpected vet bills are definitely something to consider, plus the additional insurance bill every month.
  Also, our two like quite different toys and one is a real toy hogger so we have had to increase the toy collection but quite a bit to ensure we can cater for both their needs.
• Agree with fostering.
  I think dogs can be as expensive as you want to a certain extent. If you don't have lots of money then buy good quality food that you don't need to feed much of or feed raw from the butchers.
  Toys- can be homemade- plastic bottles, rope toys, balls, soft toys from charity shop (about 50p-Ј1) etc all inexpensive
  Medicine- I would consult the vet only if there is a serious issue. For things like boosters I've never seen them as essential. Your choice though. Can get pet store products to do similar things to vet prescribed ones although not as strong but may do temporarily.
  Bed- old duvet or pillow
  Leads/accessories- you probably have several for your current dog anyway
  The dog won't be used to much in a kennel so being in a home is a luxury
• It's not to do with money, but if it helps... my son, an animal behaviour degree under his belt and dog nutcase, tells me regularly that two dogs are much easier to manage than one, simply because they're happier (something to do with pack mentality, but I may have stopped listening....)
• Foster for a while to see if the costs are mangeble and if the dogs get on.
• We currently have 3 GSDs. The current of food is Ј250 a month with free bones from the butchers. Vets costs are higher, but primarily due to two of our dogs being diagnosed with chronic health complaints.
  We found that our first pup was much happier with the addition of the other pups and the two new pups picked the training quicker as they watched and followed our first. It is more the time factor that people need to consider. Although I have heard people say that if you have had one dag, and extra one wont make too much difference, time wise, we tend to spend 99% of out free time with our dogs. Each of them want one-one-one time with us and it is much harder to find suitable kennels or people to keep an eye on them if we want to pop out for dinner etc.
• Thanks for all the replies.
  I couldn't foster a dogs to be honest, I'd only end up keeping them all.
  Also, I've just found out that the dog I was looking to rehome is a male and my dog really doesn't get along with other male dogs so I don't want to put him in what could be a very stressful situation.
  My dog isn't a costly dog in terms of food, however, since I got him over 2 years ago, he has cost me a fortune in vets bills, even though I have pet insurance. I guess you can never really factor in how often your visiting the vets.
  So for the time being I'm going to stay a one dog household.
• I spent a while considering getting a second dog due to cost etc.
  In the end I decided to foster to see what costs, time, workload etc would be like.
  I am currently fostering an older dog and have had her around 9 months now. I can't see she will find a home any time soon due to her age.
  The rescue I foster for pay her vets bills (although I have paid most so far as a 'donation' to the rescue).
  I pay for her food, which is just less than double what I was originally spending.
  Costs of toys has gone down as she destroys everything, so neither of them now get new toys!
  She tolerates my boy, and he tolerates her in the house. They will never be best of buddies. Outside on a walk however, they chase and play and it is wonderful to see. He definitely seems to enjoy his walks more now he has chasing company.
  Fostering has given me a chance to suss out costs whilst knowing that big vets bills are taken care of. It has also given me chance to see how my boy reacts to having another dog in the house. Chances are she will be a long-term foster too, which is quite nice in a way.
• I have 2 dogs although the second one wasn't by choice! He is a rescue that has been illtreated (long story as to why I have him which I won't bore you all with).
  To start with I was worried about the cost - OH is self employed and had very little work at the time. Luckily apart from vaccinations he hasn't needed the vet and I haven't really found it much more expensive to feed 2 dogs (I feed raw) and they are quite large dogs.
  They are both male and both unneutered. They are two and a half and one and a half. The younger one is the rescue and we have had him just over a year now. They get on brilliantly and the older one has taught the rescue how to play (he had never seen a toy before). If they didn't get on we would not have been able to keep the rescue as our house is far too small to keep them apart.
  The only problem I have is that I have to walk them separately. This is mainly because the rescue has issues with dogs he sees on his walk and will start jumping and barking and then I can't hold the 2 dogs. I do find this difficult as I have health issues and walking 4 or more times a day quite honestly knackers me!
  The only other thing is when they play in the house. Two big dogs in a small house! Not a real problem though
• I've spent Ј2.5K on my Staff since I got him a year ago. Most of it goes on food then there's flexi leads and harnesses, 'lifetime' insurance, toys, treats, crates and bedding, incidental stuff such as a head-torch for nighttime walks (that's for me, not him) and a few over-cautious vet visits.
• If I didn't have my OH I wouldn't be able to afford two. To be honest, I probably wouldn't even be able to afford one. Not because the dogs are expensive but my wage isn't great! Lol
  I cut costs on hings like toys - B&M Bargains do toys for Ј2.99 that Pets at Home sell for closer to Ј9.99. No toy is ever gonig to last too long with my destroyers so I need to be savvy with them! Although they do have a Kong each. They were expensive to buy but I highly recommend them, they're a great boredom breaker. I buy my feed from a fee merchant instead of a pet shop, works out about Ј5 cheaper (Skinners) a 15kg bag used to last two months but now it maybe last 5 weeks?
  I can't remember what I pay for insurance but I know my vet is reasonably priced.
• I'm far from loaded, and I have three big dogs (all rescues too ).
  As long as I have them insured (which in my head is important), then other things can be worked around.
  I always bulk buy dog food when its on offer, sometimes spending Ј150 ish. My dogs have health problems so need quite expensive food, when its on a special deal I get a lot of it and store it, so food doesn't cost me too much (around Ј1200 for 3 dogs a year).
  I only worm when needed (worming tablets only kill worms present, they don't prevent them). So if I think they have them (and its usually quite easy to tell), I'll buy Drontal (don't bother with cheap ones, they don't make any difference).
  Flea/tick treatments - I do them only between March - November. I used to buy Frontline but there are several other brands sold in the pet shops or online like VetUK that are just as effective as Frontline without the really high price tag. Not cheap supermarket ones, again, they do nothing and can be quite dangerous. Never had a case of fleas in over 15 years.
  If you want to vaccinate yearly, a lot of vets do plans for life, where you pay one off and you will get worming, flea and tick stuff, vaccinations and yearly check ups all at a reduced rate.
  I found 2 dogs are definitely easier than one, they keep each other company. Three makes things a lot harder but to be honest, I wouldn't be without them
• Another option to consider would be helping out for somewhere like the Cinnamon Trust, looking after the dog of someone who's ill, injured or hospitalised until they're back on their feet again. You get the benefit of a second dog around without the financial or permanent commitment, and you can't become a 'failed' fosterer.
• Hi Guys,
  not sure if it's useful, but I've just started a blog to keep a track of my dog experiences. Mainly me just putting down some thoughts as I get asked advice quite often by work colleagues and figure if I write it down once it's there to share forever.
  I've just written a post detailing how much owning a dog has cost in my experience. I've spent a lot of time documenting my vet bills for all of animals (2 cats, 2 dogs), and put together the data for anyone who might be looking for real work examples of ownership costs, particularly vet bills.
  I can post links yet being a new user, but if anyone is interested, please feel free to reply and I'll try and share. It details cost breakdowns showing an estimated annual cost of around Ј1,300 per year even for a medium sized dog. It's based on real data taken from my two dogs over the last 6 years. Not the most comprehensive data set, but a decent guide I hope.
  Hopefully it can help someone. Happy to help if anyone has any questions though. It's taken me quite some time to capture all the data, so hopefully it will be useful.
  Thanks
  Ian