If your family includes multiple Yorkies or other breeds, need your help. - YorkieTalk.com Forums

Mom2Layla · 06-09-2009, 04:34 PM

I am interested in adding to the family...with furbabies that is. We have one female, Layla, right now and I would love more. But the only thing that holds me back is the financial commitment...the vet bills, monthly medicines for heartworm/fleas, grooming. We have plenty of love and time for more babies, but the money is another story.

For those of you that have three, four, five, six and even more furbabies...how do you do it? Do you take them all to the vet yearly or do you "vet" them yourself? Do you mailorder the monthly medicines? Etc. If I am not being too forward, how much do you pay yearly for vet services and grooming?

Thank you for the information. It will really help us decide if more furbabies will be in our future.

Jennifer

oopsmyhalofello · 06-09-2009, 04:51 PM

In all honesty I have no idea what amount it comes to yearly, i have 5 dogs and 1 cat. I get their flea meds through the vet and their yearly shots. That first year is the worst with all the first vaccines and spay/neuter. If things are tight financially then you might want to set up a little account for your pets and build it up a little before looking into adding to your pack. Unfortunately things come up unexpectedly health wise. I do all the grooming myself, that saves on the $ big time... LOL i groom my kids on my own too lmao

Britster · 06-09-2009, 05:09 PM

I personally only have my one boy, Jackson, right now. My dad has two dogs over at his house and my mom has one other dog at her house. I know, me being in college, don't have a ton of extra money to spare so for Jackson, he gets taken care of at the local clinic which treats him well and is a lot cheaper. His neuter was only $65 and his rabies shot was only $8. Originally, I was bringing him to a regular vet and it was getting highly expensive. He had all of his first shots and check-ups there equaling well over $300. Then I found the clinic!

Once I get my own place, I will for sure be adding another dog.

greyacresmom · 06-09-2009, 05:29 PM

I would not be able to afford it if I didn't work in rescue and the vet doesn't charge me office visits. I also do a lot of shots with the "clinic" here. I can get the rabies and booster for $15. (we live in a pretty ecocnimic depressed area) I was able to get max neutered and 11 teeth pulled for 80 bucks. (the clinic)

I would not vax.(boosters) the dogs myself..tho I have been taught how to do that. You have to be so careful about the temp and everything to make sure that they are still good.

I have two three special needs dogs and if it wasn't for the help of the vet, I would not be able to have the amount of dogs that I have.

I also do have a seperate checking account that my ex's child support (back support) goes into and that is the dogs account.

tnurse · 06-09-2009, 05:43 PM

It was pretty expensive from March till May. My pups were getting all their puppy shots and Sophie my 18 month old Maltese had her annual due at the same time. I still have spay/neuter to look forward to later this year. Luckily when I got Macy, she had already been spayed and was up to date on her vaccines. She was 7 months old when I got her.

LuvMySissy · 06-09-2009, 05:50 PM

Heck - it gets expensive with just two!!!!

After the first year of boosters, I will only vaccinate my girls with the 3-year rabies vaccine. I spend the extra money to do it with my vet however, as she gives only about 1/4 of the vaccine because of their size. I doubt they would do that at a shot clinic. We use Interceptor for the monthly heartworm medicine and it's fairly inexpensive ($40 for six months) as these meds go. I do not use flea protection as the girls use indoor potty pads and I also use shampoos with essential oils that are natural flea repellants.

That being said, I still do yearly check-ups with the vet (about $100), yearly fecals exams (about $30) and my Sissy has an intestinal disorder that has required special bloodwork that costs around $200 (and probably will for another year or two). They girls are also on a special diet (Sissy because of her illness - Angel as a precaution). This runs about $100 every 2-3 months.

mamartini · 06-09-2009, 07:13 PM

I have four and I buy my flea drops from a seller on ebay who sells real frontline plus in the monthly viles and it saves me about 50 to 60% on a 6 month supply. I still buy my Interceptor from my vet but it is only about $20 or so dollars for a 6 month suplly for the little one little more for the bigger dogs but still not bad. A spay is $99, and an office visit is about $30 minus any test. I jsut try to do one at a time.

Patti · 06-09-2009, 07:27 PM

I have 3 and just lost my 4th in February. I have pet insurance on the 3 which runs about 68 dollars a month. This gives me peace of mind should major vet bills come up. Cali has had a fortune in vet bills the other mostly routine visits and shots. I would estimate that for their yearly expenses it runs about 200.00 each. Cali is on medicine that runs 60.00 a month and she runs me about 1600.00 a year. I would have more if I could afford the vet bills.

tammy8833 · 06-10-2009, 05:01 AM

i have 4 yorkies
i buy the flea meds at ebay, advantage is 18.97 free shipping for 10 month supply (its a kit you do yourself) since i use it on 4 dogs, it doesnt last the whole 10 months, i use it mainly in the spring in summer, havent had a major flea issue. if they need their distemper shot, i order it and administer it myself..i can get a case of 25 for 65.00 ice and 2 day shipping and keep it in my fridge for a couple of years (i buy in bulk for when i breed) i can buy them individually for 4-5.00 each. the vet is going to charge 18-28.00 per distemper, so BIG savings. rabies i take 2 at a time and all i pay is the rabies 13.00 ea, no exam is done at that time.
i take them one at a time every two years for an exam and heartworm test. which is 32.00 and 25.00 ea time i take one.

i dont do heartguard but if you do, buy it online saves money

i buy my own dewormers. either tradewins for tapeworms (which i only need if i have a new puppy) or pancur (sp?) which kills all of them and its 3.99 online

xobklynqt143 · 06-10-2009, 06:17 AM

we have 5 dogs 3 malteses, 1 yorkie, 1 puggle....we use to take them to the vet which wouldcost 170 per dog....then i searched on google and petco does the yearly shots for 65 they also do the stool and heartworm tests as well so thats where im going to start taking them, as far as the meds go i order it online just an fyi if yo find the meds somewhere else cheaper petmeds meets the price.

Lou · 06-10-2009, 06:22 AM

Yikes, where do I begin.
We have sworn that we will never have more than two dogs at a time from now on. At the present time we have 4.
Ivan - German Shepherd - 8 yrs old (a rescue)
Cassie - Shi Tzu - 10 yrs old (also a rescue)
Adie - Yorkie - 3 yrs old
Skeeter - Yorkie - 1 yr old.

We can't take an annual trip to the vet without spending at least $200.00 so that would be $800.00 right there.

Ivan has hip dysplagia and his pain pill cost us about $60.00 a moth so that would be $720.00 a year. So now we are up to $1520.00 a year.

Two dogs go to the groomer every month at which time we pay $80.00 so there is another $960.00 bringing our annual total up to $2480.00.

I'm going to add another $200 for Heartgard and Frontline but I haven't bought any for a while and I'mnot sure of the price but that would bring our annual about to $2680.00 just for maintenance on 4 dogs.

During the past 6 months I have had Ivan in for his seborrhea acting up ($150.00) Skeeter went in for vomiting and diahhrea ($300) and Adie went in because of a choking accident ($180.00). So add $630.00 to the maintenance and it looks like we have spent $3310.00 during the past year. I wouldn't venture to guess how much we have spent on food, treats, toys, holiday photo's with Santa and the Easter Bunny and cute little outfits!

Bottom line is that it is expensive and you never know what kind of other expenses are going to come up. When we first got Adie she got sick the very next day and we ended up spending a couple of thousand dollars on her. I had to cash in some savings bonds to pay for her treatments as well as the week off of work. Now we have a doggy fund account we add to every payday just in case. We have never had it go over $2000.00 because we are tapping in to it regularly to pay vet bills.

Final words: If you can afford it get as many dogs as you want but be fully aware of the cost behind it. How fair will it be to those dogs if you can't afford treatments. Pet insurance like Patti said or a dedicated savings account are both great ideas. If you think you wouldn't use them you would be mistaken.

Another final word: I would never be a one-dog person because I feel that dogs have their own communication that they benefit from but I will never be more than a two-dog person and those dogs will be yorkies purchased from reputable breeders.

I am sorry if I sound like I am lecturing you. I don't mean to - I think I am lecturing myself!

RubyDuffield · 06-10-2009, 12:22 PM

yes it can b alot of money i hate 2 think how much i spend on my dogs i got 3 & i would get another .

bchgirl · 06-10-2009, 12:33 PM

I don't think simply the annual expenses need to be considered....how would you address an emergency? Or diagnosing a serious illness? It does happen and it's best to either have the funds readily available or some type of planning.

Last December Reese was really ill....1 trip to the regular vet...2 to the emergency vet and I spent over 2500...in one week.

Mom2Layla · 06-14-2009, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bchgirl

I don't think simply the annual expenses need to be considered....how would you address an emergency? Or diagnosing a serious illness? It does happen and it's best to either have the funds readily available or some type of planning.

Last December Reese was really ill....1 trip to the regular vet...2 to the emergency vet and I spent over 2500...in one week.

Thank you all for your responses. I appreciate the time you took to give me some very good information.

We currently have pet insurance for Layla that runs us about $28 per month. This covers the bulk of her regular care and would cover a vast majority of a serious illness or emergency. Not all but a good portion. So if I were to add another baby, I am looking at at least another $28 per month for insurance for a total of about $60 bucks. Very doable but you are right if there is an emergency, we would be a bit strapped. I would find a way to pay for the care, just as I would for my skin babies.

Mom2Layla · 06-14-2009, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bchgirl

I don't think simply the annual expenses need to be considered....how would you address an emergency? Or diagnosing a serious illness? It does happen and it's best to either have the funds readily available or some type of planning.

Last December Reese was really ill....1 trip to the regular vet...2 to the emergency vet and I spent over 2500...in one week.

Thank you all for your responses. I appreciate the time you took to give me some very good information.

We currently have pet insurance for Layla that runs us about $28 per month. This covers the bulk of her regular care and would cover a vast majority of a serious illness or emergency. Not all but a good portion. So if I were to add another baby, I am looking at at least another $28 per month for insurance for a total of about $60 bucks. Very doable but you are right if there is an emergency, we would be a bit strapped. I would find a way to pay for the care, just as I would for my skin babies.

A definite concern of mine and one of the factors included in my decision making.

Thanks again for all the info.

Jennifer

06-09-2009, 04:34 PM	#1
Mom2Layla Yorkie Talker Join Date: May 2009 Location: SC Posts: 24	If your family includes multiple Yorkies or other breeds, need your help. I am interested in adding to the family...with furbabies that is. We have one female, Layla, right now and I would love more. But the only thing that holds me back is the financial commitment...the vet bills, monthly medicines for heartworm/fleas, grooming. We have plenty of love and time for more babies, but the money is another story. For those of you that have three, four, five, six and even more furbabies...how do you do it? Do you take them all to the vet yearly or do you "vet" them yourself? Do you mailorder the monthly medicines? Etc. If I am not being too forward, how much do you pay yearly for vet services and grooming? Thank you for the information. It will really help us decide if more furbabies will be in our future. Jennifer

06-09-2009, 04:51 PM	#2
oopsmyhalofello Just Pawz Donating Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Liverpool, NY Posts: 1,827	In all honesty I have no idea what amount it comes to yearly, i have 5 dogs and 1 cat. I get their flea meds through the vet and their yearly shots. That first year is the worst with all the first vaccines and spay/neuter. If things are tight financially then you might want to set up a little account for your pets and build it up a little before looking into adding to your pack. Unfortunately things come up unexpectedly health wise. I do all the grooming myself, that saves on the $ big time... LOL i groom my kids on my own too lmao __________________

06-09-2009, 05:09 PM	#3
Britster Action Jackson ♥ Donating Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Maryland Posts: 17,814	I personally only have my one boy, Jackson, right now. My dad has two dogs over at his house and my mom has one other dog at her house. I know, me being in college, don't have a ton of extra money to spare so for Jackson, he gets taken care of at the local clinic which treats him well and is a lot cheaper. His neuter was only $65 and his rabies shot was only $8. Originally, I was bringing him to a regular vet and it was getting highly expensive. He had all of his first shots and check-ups there equaling well over $300. Then I found the clinic! Once I get my own place, I will for sure be adding another dog. __________________ ~ Brit & Lights! Camera! Jackson! CGC ETD TKP ~ Follow Jackson on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacksontheterrier Last edited by Britster; 06-09-2009 at 05:10 PM.

06-09-2009, 05:29 PM	#4
greyacresmom YT Addict Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: AZ Posts: 372	I would not be able to afford it if I didn't work in rescue and the vet doesn't charge me office visits. I also do a lot of shots with the "clinic" here. I can get the rabies and booster for $15. (we live in a pretty ecocnimic depressed area) I was able to get max neutered and 11 teeth pulled for 80 bucks. (the clinic) I would not vax.(boosters) the dogs myself..tho I have been taught how to do that. You have to be so careful about the temp and everything to make sure that they are still good. I have two three special needs dogs and if it wasn't for the help of the vet, I would not be able to have the amount of dogs that I have. I also do have a seperate checking account that my ex's child support (back support) goes into and that is the dogs account. __________________ Sheila and CO 6 Retired Racing Greyhounds: Max the Yorkie: Precious the JRT Last edited by greyacresmom; 06-09-2009 at 05:34 PM.

06-09-2009, 05:43 PM	#5
tnurse Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Tennessee Posts: 81	It was pretty expensive from March till May. My pups were getting all their puppy shots and Sophie my 18 month old Maltese had her annual due at the same time. I still have spay/neuter to look forward to later this year. Luckily when I got Macy, she had already been spayed and was up to date on her vaccines. She was 7 months old when I got her. __________________ Mommy to furbaby Ava and skinkids Justin, Sarah, Daniel, Emma

06-09-2009, 05:50 PM	#6
LuvMySissy Luv my Angel, too! Donating Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: USA Posts: 9,333	Heck - it gets expensive with just two!!!! After the first year of boosters, I will only vaccinate my girls with the 3-year rabies vaccine. I spend the extra money to do it with my vet however, as she gives only about 1/4 of the vaccine because of their size. I doubt they would do that at a shot clinic. We use Interceptor for the monthly heartworm medicine and it's fairly inexpensive ($40 for six months) as these meds go. I do not use flea protection as the girls use indoor potty pads and I also use shampoos with essential oils that are natural flea repellants. That being said, I still do yearly check-ups with the vet (about $100), yearly fecals exams (about $30) and my Sissy has an intestinal disorder that has required special bloodwork that costs around $200 (and probably will for another year or two). They girls are also on a special diet (Sissy because of her illness - Angel as a precaution). This runs about $100 every 2-3 months. __________________ Sissy & Angel

06-09-2009, 07:13 PM	#7
mamartini Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Dillsboro, IN USA Posts: 212	I have four and I buy my flea drops from a seller on ebay who sells real frontline plus in the monthly viles and it saves me about 50 to 60% on a 6 month supply. I still buy my Interceptor from my vet but it is only about $20 or so dollars for a 6 month suplly for the little one little more for the bigger dogs but still not bad. A spay is $99, and an office visit is about $30 minus any test. I jsut try to do one at a time. __________________ Loving My Furbabies More Everyday

06-09-2009, 07:27 PM	#8
Patti Donating YT 30K Club Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Illinois Posts: 35,509 Blog Entries: 6	I have 3 and just lost my 4th in February. I have pet insurance on the 3 which runs about 68 dollars a month. This gives me peace of mind should major vet bills come up. Cali has had a fortune in vet bills the other mostly routine visits and shots. I would estimate that for their yearly expenses it runs about 200.00 each. Cali is on medicine that runs 60.00 a month and she runs me about 1600.00 a year. I would have more if I could afford the vet bills. __________________ Cali Pixie Roxie : RIP Nikki; RIP Maya;RIP my sweet Dixie girl 1/17/08 http://callipuppyscastle.bravehost.com/index.html

06-10-2009, 05:01 AM	#9
tammy8833 Donating Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: VA Posts: 2,775	i have 4 yorkies i buy the flea meds at ebay, advantage is 18.97 free shipping for 10 month supply (its a kit you do yourself) since i use it on 4 dogs, it doesnt last the whole 10 months, i use it mainly in the spring in summer, havent had a major flea issue. if they need their distemper shot, i order it and administer it myself..i can get a case of 25 for 65.00 ice and 2 day shipping and keep it in my fridge for a couple of years (i buy in bulk for when i breed) i can buy them individually for 4-5.00 each. the vet is going to charge 18-28.00 per distemper, so BIG savings. rabies i take 2 at a time and all i pay is the rabies 13.00 ea, no exam is done at that time. i take them one at a time every two years for an exam and heartworm test. which is 32.00 and 25.00 ea time i take one. i dont do heartguard but if you do, buy it online saves money i buy my own dewormers. either tradewins for tapeworms (which i only need if i have a new puppy) or pancur (sp?) which kills all of them and its 3.99 online __________________ Tammy YT Gallery Lil Girl Princess & Theodore *Gidget R.I.P**

06-10-2009, 06:17 AM	#10
xobklynqt143 Yorkie Talker Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: brooklyn, ny, USA Posts: 20	we have 5 dogs 3 malteses, 1 yorkie, 1 puggle....we use to take them to the vet which wouldcost 170 per dog....then i searched on google and petco does the yearly shots for 65 they also do the stool and heartworm tests as well so thats where im going to start taking them, as far as the meds go i order it online just an fyi if yo find the meds somewhere else cheaper petmeds meets the price.

06-10-2009, 06:22 AM	#11
Lou Donating YT 3000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: A little town south of Chicago Posts: 4,525	Yikes, where do I begin. We have sworn that we will never have more than two dogs at a time from now on. At the present time we have 4. Ivan - German Shepherd - 8 yrs old (a rescue) Cassie - Shi Tzu - 10 yrs old (also a rescue) Adie - Yorkie - 3 yrs old Skeeter - Yorkie - 1 yr old. We can't take an annual trip to the vet without spending at least $200.00 so that would be $800.00 right there. Ivan has hip dysplagia and his pain pill cost us about $60.00 a moth so that would be $720.00 a year. So now we are up to $1520.00 a year. Two dogs go to the groomer every month at which time we pay $80.00 so there is another $960.00 bringing our annual total up to $2480.00. I'm going to add another $200 for Heartgard and Frontline but I haven't bought any for a while and I'mnot sure of the price but that would bring our annual about to $2680.00 just for maintenance on 4 dogs. During the past 6 months I have had Ivan in for his seborrhea acting up ($150.00) Skeeter went in for vomiting and diahhrea ($300) and Adie went in because of a choking accident ($180.00). So add $630.00 to the maintenance and it looks like we have spent $3310.00 during the past year. I wouldn't venture to guess how much we have spent on food, treats, toys, holiday photo's with Santa and the Easter Bunny and cute little outfits! Bottom line is that it is expensive and you never know what kind of other expenses are going to come up. When we first got Adie she got sick the very next day and we ended up spending a couple of thousand dollars on her. I had to cash in some savings bonds to pay for her treatments as well as the week off of work. Now we have a doggy fund account we add to every payday just in case. We have never had it go over $2000.00 because we are tapping in to it regularly to pay vet bills. Final words: If you can afford it get as many dogs as you want but be fully aware of the cost behind it. How fair will it be to those dogs if you can't afford treatments. Pet insurance like Patti said or a dedicated savings account are both great ideas. If you think you wouldn't use them you would be mistaken. Another final word: I would never be a one-dog person because I feel that dogs have their own communication that they benefit from but I will never be more than a two-dog person and those dogs will be yorkies purchased from reputable breeders. I am sorry if I sound like I am lecturing you. I don't mean to - I think I am lecturing myself! __________________ http://www.its-a-yorkie-thing.com Gracie Skeeter Adie Tyler Last edited by Lou; 06-10-2009 at 06:25 AM.

06-10-2009, 12:22 PM	#12
RubyDuffield Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Havant UK Posts: 128	yes it can b alot of money i hate 2 think how much i spend on my dogs i got 3 & i would get another .

06-10-2009, 12:33 PM	#13
bchgirl Donating YT 10K Club Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: at da beach Posts: 15,444 Blog Entries: 2	I don't think simply the annual expenses need to be considered....how would you address an emergency? Or diagnosing a serious illness? It does happen and it's best to either have the funds readily available or some type of planning. Last December Reese was really ill....1 trip to the regular vet...2 to the emergency vet and I spent over 2500...in one week. __________________ Deb, Reese, Reggie, Frazier, Libby, Sidney, & Bodie Trace & Ramsey who watch over us www.biewersbythebay.com