adam f Posted August 19, 2011 Report Share Posted August 19, 2011 I'm in the delicate process of negotiating a gun dog with the wife... She has agreed in principle and we have found common ground on a breed with a working Cocker. So far so good, but she wants to know what all this will cost? It seems the actual dog will be circa £500 but what else? Insurance, jabs, weekly food bill, crates / cages, kennel etc, etc Can you guys give Neva few ball park figures? Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigger Posted August 19, 2011 Report Share Posted August 19, 2011 Well depending if your going to have your dog in or out of the house a crate would be roughly £30 kennel aroung £150-£200 first jabs my vet charges new customers puppy course £25 i think insurance well i insure 4 dogs for £100 a month so i guess £25 a month, food depends on brand etc we get ours for around £20 per 15kg but they always reccomend spending the best you can afford as a pup requires different nutrients etc etc so they say anyway and puppy/junior food is always much dearer aswell............... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Harry Posted August 19, 2011 Report Share Posted August 19, 2011 My brother in law has 6 cocker pups ready to go in a few weeks. Forest of Dean area if that's any good for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donnie Posted August 19, 2011 Report Share Posted August 19, 2011 The initial jabs cost around £65 with micro chipping then boosters etc cost around £15 with a check up. Food I would say for a cocker and from a pet shop would be in the area of £30 for 3 months as remember as pups they eat a lot less. Kennel if you choose can be made but the cheapest kennel and run I found was in the area of £400. Crates can be picked up online or new would be about £50 to keep a cocker in when fully grown. Insurance can range dependent on if you declare that the dog will be used for shooting or "just caught himself on barbed wire when out walking!" tesco etc do offers I pay £22 with pet plan. Some suggest no insurance but this is all very down to each owner as you will find with everything in training a gun dog. A book, bowls, lead, whistle and lanyard and bed could be covered £100 dependent on what kind of bed you want and which books. Then you get onto your dummies, starter pistol, dummy launcher all down to personal preference and not needed until 5/6 months again down to owners preference. These can be found online and are all bout the same price anywhere you go. Treats. And bones if you choose are a couple of pound. Like I say all down to each owners preference and obviously most can be bought second hand or can be handed down. Hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam f Posted August 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2011 Thanks, very helpful. Will be after a choc brown cocker as and when we do go that way... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom&Dexter Posted August 20, 2011 Report Share Posted August 20, 2011 money will be no option when that little ball of fluff and fun comes in to the house crate £40 ebay insurance £20-£35 PM food (good stuff) Bag of Royal cannin at £40 last me 3 month ish on the pup books lead beds etc etc etc they cost a small fortune and lots and lots of time but are worth every Pennie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigger Posted August 21, 2011 Report Share Posted August 21, 2011 money will be no option when that little ball of fluff and fun comes in to the house crate £40 ebay insurance £20-£35 PM food (good stuff) Bag of Royal cannin at £40 last me 3 month ish on the pup books lead beds etc etc etc they cost a small fortune and lots and lots of time but are worth every Pennie HERE HERE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FalconFN Posted August 21, 2011 Report Share Posted August 21, 2011 We have a liver cocker and it dosen't have to cost a forture to keep her. We feed her Skinners Field and Trial food which is good value at around £6 per month, plus she has raw rabbit (the bits we don't eat), the occasional raw egg, fish heads etc. Insurance is around £6.50 per month (Tesco). We picked up a second hand crate for £15, dog bowls from Ikea (£1.50 each) and whistle, dummies etc for less than £20. Your main cost will be in time and worn out shoes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Harry Posted August 22, 2011 Report Share Posted August 22, 2011 My dog has cost me an absolute bloody fortune when you add it all up. Cost of purchase, vaccinations, 3 years worth of eukanuba, insurance and the new kennel and run is about £4865 for 3 years. This does not include the excess for the numerous insurance claims I have had or beds, crates, bedding, leads, collars, whistles, treats, training courses, dummy's or chickens and ducks her has killed. The list goes on and on. Having said that he is worth every penny as he is my best mate and shooting buddy. Harry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted August 22, 2011 Report Share Posted August 22, 2011 They can be as expensive as you make them, mine was £500 to start with cam jabbed and chipped, since then jabs yearly have been free flea and worming is about £5 a month food she has a mix of wet food and Dr Johns which is about £15 a month and then insurance is £18 a month. Only incidental has been a cut pad at £85 but thats it in 4 years. Look hard into the dog you get to start with getting a well bred healthy puppy can save you an absolute fortune, I have a breed where there has been lots of inbreeding done by some of the supposed now top breeders and its pretty disgusting quite what they will do with their own lines of dog. The breed now seems to be famous for having epilepsy which can be tracked down to one of these individuals just crossing the same dogs over and over again till they created the problem. Check out the parents pedigree well for signs of too much of it as thats the first start to getting off on the right track. I like to get dogs from people who breed for fun rather than a business as a breeder with heaps of dogs you do get accidental matings happening that never get declared. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferguson_tom Posted August 22, 2011 Report Share Posted August 22, 2011 So far our collie has cost about £500 extra which includes toys a crate, bowls and insurance. We are taking him to training classes as well which are very good but its a club we go to rather than a school so very good value. As for finding the right dog I would definitely agree with finding someone who does it for fun. Some pedigree dogs are known to be very short tempered and have inherited problems. I think you know straight away when you go look at the dog about the environment they are in and if you are happy with it. Our collie come off a farm with two working dogs from different places so no worries about in breeding, also he was a steal at £150.00 although got no papers with him which i really aint fussed about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scutt Posted August 22, 2011 Report Share Posted August 22, 2011 put your foot down and be a man go out and get it soon as she sees it she will be hooked then do what we all do fib about how much it costs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted August 22, 2011 Report Share Posted August 22, 2011 I personally don't insure, why not put £20 per month in a sepparate account I bet you dont spend over £200 a year on claimable vet bills through the dogs life. Food? i believe in real meat and bones which i get free and table scraps, i challenge anyone to find hardier, fitter better conformed dogs. once over people shot a dog that had HD etc. nowadays we breed weak rubbish pay vets and insurance companies mega bucks and send them to a spa to conveless after surgery Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferguson_tom Posted August 23, 2011 Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 Not to sure about the view on not taking out insurance, I see it slightly differently. If my dog breaks his leg or seriously injures himself im looking at about £1000.00 in vet bills for an overnight stay and the operation. I pay 200 a year insurance so that's the same amount as 5 years worth of insurance. My old springer needed 3 overnight stays over her 14 year life for various things so works out about the same money over all but I didnt have to worry about finding the money if the pot was not up to the cost of the bills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom&Dexter Posted August 23, 2011 Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 The question of insurance has been well debated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigger Posted August 23, 2011 Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 I think it would be foolish not to insure your dog espicially as its a working dog i no of a few who go on my shoot who wish that they had thats for sure they are thousands of pounds down on what it would have cost to get the dog insured my dogs have had thousands spent in a year before now,if it was a pet dog it might be worth the risk but with them being working dogs its just to risky unless you can afford to spend thousands a year but i cant also what would you do if your dog needed a major operation and you could not find the money what would happen to the dog then? Not worth the risk imo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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