[nagdu] dog expenses question

Nicole Torcolini via nagdu nagdu at nfbnet.org
Tue May 27 04:50:33 UTC 2014


Hi,

	This is Nicole; my female black lab, Lexia, is from GDB in 2007. I
will give some information about finances  as well as some other
information. The information that I give is based on my own opinions and
what has worked for me; it does not work for everyone on this list, and it
may or may not work for you, so I would encourage you to do some research of
your own as well as considering all of the different advice from this list.
	As others have said, expenses will be a little higher when you first
receive your dog. How much these are will depend on what the school gives
you, what your dog needs, and what else you decide to get for your dog, and
it is possible to reduce them to very little or none. In general, these
expenses might be equipment, toys, beds/crate, registrations and other
random things.
	Most schools give you all of the equipment that you will need--a
harness, a leash, and a collar. Some schools also give out some kind of head
collar in addition to requiring you to use it just once in training.
Depending on the type of collar and your preferences, this may be all that
you need. When I received Lexia in 2007, GDB issued choke chains for their
collars. Upon returning home, I also bought Lexia a cloth collar that she
wears at all times. I leave her working collar attached to her leash and
take the collar off of her when she is not working. It also does not hurt to
have a spare leash. I did not have to purchase one because her puppy raiser
gave me one from when she was a puppy, and my family also had a few from our
pet dog. In addition to the extra collar, I also purchased a tag for each of
the collars that had my name and contact information. Finally, I got Lexia
microchipped as GDB did not do this at the time. It is worth the one time
cost. We all hope that our dogs will never get away, but there is still the
possibility that it will happen, and a microchip is something for which most
vets and humane societies will look. Some of the schools put tattoos on the
ears of the dogs--or at least used to--but most people are not going to know
to look for this, and, even if they did happen to notice it, I doubt that
they would think to look up what it meant.
	What you do for beds, blankets/towels, and crates is up to you. Some
schools give you a tie down for the dog. I was never a big fan of using this
at night because Lexia never learned to not tie herself up in it. In
addition to not having this problem, crates also have several advantages.
Contrary to common belief, most dogs actually like having a crate. It is a
safe haven for a dog. If a dog needs time alone, the dog will go lay in the
crate. If I leave Lexia's crate open in my living room, she will often lay
in it instead of laying on her blanket. Some people choose to get dog beds
for their dogs. These don't have to be anything fancy, and, personally, I
think that it is a little nicer for the dog. I would stay away from the ones
that have the high edges that are made of one solid piece of foam. I also
would not get the ones that are just stuffed with fluffy stuffing as these
tend to get lopsided. Depending where you live and how many places your dog
will lay will determine how many beds you get. Finally, you probably will
want to cover the beds with either a blanket or towel to make cleaning
easier. You can also turn "blanket" into a command for your dog that means
to go lay on the blanket. Most dogs catch onto this very quickly, and, when
you unhook the leash, they will go lay on the blanket without being told. It
usually works better than just trying to have the dog down, stay in one spot
with no type of marker.
	Whether toys are more of a once in a while or a more frequent
expense will depend on a lot of things, including if your dog likes to chew
a lot. Some of the schools give one or two different free toys, and you can
by more of the same toy or more different ones at the on site gift shops
before going home. Some toys, such as Goughnuts, last a long time, even for
dogs that chew a lot. A good handful of the toys that you buy at the pet
store wear out quickly. There is nothing wrong with buying the toys that
wear out; just examine the toys often, and don't leave your dog alone with
them for long periods of time as dogs can bite off chunks of toy and swallow
them. Lexia has some toys that last a long time that are for chewing. There
are certain others that are designated as tug or throw only. The one toy
that I give her that has to be replaced every few months is a rope.
	Finally, for beginning expenses, there will be whatever other random
things that you decide that you want for your dog. If you live in a rainy
area, a dog raincoat is not a bad idea. Collapsible bowls, a tray for food
and water bowls, more bowls, and a bag to go on the leash are some other
items that people might decide to buy.

	As people have said, the recurring costs are mainly food, medical,
preventative, and grooming. There is no right answer as to what your dog
should eat, but there is a wrong answer, so make sure that you research dog
food, and don't just buy a food because it is cheap. Trying to save money by
cutting corners with stuff like dog food will just drive the expenses up in
other areas, such as vet bills. What you feed your dog will depend largely
on your dog as some dogs have allergies to certain things. Also, if your dog
seems to be having health problems, you might consider doing research to see
if any of the symptoms are known to be related to food problems.
	For most healthy dogs, vet expenses won't be that much. Usually, the
best way to keep the vet bill down is to feed a good diet and to keep the
dog in good shape. No breed is necessarily "less likely" to have the
problems that can happen to any dog, but some breeds, such as German
shepherds, are more likely to have medical problems more common in that
breed. That being said, most schools try to eliminate any such problems from
their breeding stock, so don't let that scare you away from any particular
breed. As far as picking a breed goes, unless you have experiences with the
different breeds, the best thing to do is to tell the school what you want
in the dog besides breed, and they will pick the dog that they think is best
for you. Some schools will help pay for vet care, and some vets give
discounts to service dogs.
	Some people choose to use flea/tick/heartworm preventative, and
others don't. I do. Some people start and stop it throughout the year,
which, JMHO, is okay for flea/tick, but not necessarily for heartworm. At
GDB, they told us that giving your dog heartworm preventative after a long
time of not receiving it is dangerous because, if there are any adult
heartworms, they will die and break off into the blood stream, so you have
to get your dog tested before starting it again. Some schools will help pay
for the preventative.
	How much you spend on grooming depends on how often you bathe your
dog and who does it. How often should you bathe your dog? This depends on a
lot of things. Just don't let it get to the point where people wrinkle up
their noses or start whispering about what that smell is whenever your dog
walks by. I bathe Lexia every six to eight weeks. If it is just me alone,
then I have a mobile groomer do it, which runs about $100. However, this is
not every time. About every two or three months, either I visit my parents
or they visit me. When my parents visit, my mom helps bathe Lexia in the dog
bath at my apartment, which is free. When I visit my parents, Lexia gets a
bath at a self serve, witch runs about $20. So, I spend probably between
$200 and $300 on grooming a year, or sometimes below $200 depending on how
often we do it ourselves. Even if you have a tub or shower to yourself,
bathing a dog in a tub that was not meant for a dog, between getting the dog
into the tub, keeping the water in the tub while washing the dog, bending
over to wash the dog, and cleaning up all of the mess afterwards, makes
doing it at a self serve that much better.

	I hope that this information has been helpful, and I am glad to
answer any other questions that you have.

Nicole and Lexia

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of via nagdu
Sent: Sunday, May 25, 2014 11:33 AM
To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
Subject: [nagdu] dog expenses question

Hi,
I have a question: does it depend on the type of dog as far as finances go?
I hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
John Sanders
_______________________________________________
nagdu mailing list
nagdu at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/ntorcolini%40wavecable.co
m





More information about the NAGDU mailing list