By Ann Gates
In July, I had a visit from a thoughtful family who wanted to know more about cairn terriers, including how much they cost in up keep. This is a question we ask potential rescue homes all the time: Do you know how much it costs to keep a dog? The following are some basic costs of owning a dog. They are based largely on the charges of my vet. My vet is a big city vet in a fairly expensive suburb. Many pet-owners will probably depend on their local vet; but there are cheaper and creative ways to limit costs. County-sponsored rabies clinics, subsidized spay and neuter programs, and PCTC-sponsored health clinics and microchip clinics can all help reduce the costs of responsible pet ownership.
Veterinary care: Most puppies come to their new owners wormed and with at least one shot. They may need two more vet visits which would typically include puppy vaccine and one rabies shot, a physical examination, and maybe another worming. At my vet, that would cost $117.25 to about $137.00. Puppies don’t get tested for heartworm, but they do need heartworm medicine (e.g. Interceptor: 12 for $66.00) and Frontline for fleas (12 for $207.00). Frontline is an expense I gladly endure
, and now generic Frontline is available. Before Frontline, cairns often used to have problems with flea allergies that would lead to painful, ugly, and expensive skin conditions.
With luck, your pet will not need to see a vet until his 1-year check-up, for booster shots, another (3-year) rabies shot, and heart worm test ($41.55), totaling about $178.00. Spaying or neutering your pet costs anywhere from about $150 to about $450.00, depending only on your vet. Of course, any illness or emergency can be very expensive.
Food: My dogs eat about 2/3 of a cup to a cup of food a day. A 30 pound bag of good dog food costs about $50.00. It would probably feed one dog for about 2 months. In addition, my dogs get dog treats (about $3.00 a bag at Trader Joe’s) and vegetables and cottage cheese on occasion.
Grooming: The pet groomer in my neighborhood washes and trims a dog for about $65.00. She recommends coming in about every 6 weeks. I contacted 2 club members who groom professionally. Their prices range from about $25.00 (for tidying up) to about $80.00 (for hand stripping), depending on what the customer wants done. This does not usually include bathing — but the trimmed dog looks like a cairn should. They recommend a longer interval, around 3 to 6 months.
However, I really think that anyone can keep a pet cairn looking good and feeling comfortable. The tools are not expensive and the techniques can be learned. The club provides resources to learn about grooming and health.
Equipment: There are several items of equipment that I cannot live through a puppy without. A collar and leash (about $15.00), an exercise pen ($40.00 to $95.00), and a crate. Crates are essential; they are your dog’s refuge and car seat belt. I use the plastic, airline transport type crates. A medium one that will fit a grown cairn is about $45.00. At my house, dogs sleep on old towels and drink out of heavy crockery bowls (about $5.00) from Marshalls. You can limit grooming equipment to a pin brush ($8.00), a comb ($6.00), scissors (anywhere from my Fiskars school scissors to hundreds of dollars), and a stripping knife ($25.00), and get by. Basic supplies can be bought through Col. Potter Cairn Rescue (
http://mall.cairnrescue.com/mdse/).
Dogs, especially puppies, need toys, so they won’t chew your sofa. Toys are available in any price range.
Safety: When your dog is about a year old, you will want to microchip him ($62.65). You should also license your pet ($10.00), it will make it so much easier to recover any run-away.
Training: Training classes are also available for about $50.00 to $80.00 in Fairfax and neighboring counties. They cover everything from CPR and first aid, to basic obedience and agility. Classes give your puppy essential social skills and experience with other dogs and people. They give you a resource for solving problems. They are a special and satisfying way to interact with your dog.
