I read a lot lately about people having to cut back on their pet expenses or about people not having enough money to care for their pets. Many of these people cite the economy or their job situation as the reason…

I just wanted to share how I prepared for my dogs before I got them and how I prepare for their future as they grow up in the the hopes that it may help someone else thinking about getting a new puppy soon.

Saving for the new Dog, The Doggie Budget, and the ‘Emergency Fund’.

Saving for the new Dog: This is important. If you have to borrow or use credit to buy your new dog – You can’t afford it…
I made a list of ALL the expenses for the first several months of my dogs life and saved enough money to pay for that before I ever bought the dogs. Aside of the actual cost of the dogs, I had to save for their food, crates, puppy shots and checkups at the vet, + their ear crops (Dobermans look goofy with floppy ears). Before I ever brought my girls home, I had already bought their crates and had a few months worth of food stocked up for them. I also had the money for all their normal trips to the vet set aside. A puppy is much less stressful when you plan ahead and prepare for their arrival…

The Doggie Budget: Food, treats, toys, leashes, collars, routine trips to the vet for checkups, more treats! Raising a happy and healthy dog is not always cheap but much more easy to manage if you plan ahead and set a ‘budget’ for them each month. You do not want to spend too much on junk that they do not need and then later on discover that you have no money left for their food… Even worse would be to spend so much on junk for them that you have no money for your own food! Money is always spent more wisely when one uses a budget and plans in advance. I have several friends that live on a budget – Most of them do not include their dog or animals on their budget and they wonder why they have nothing left at the end of the month… A well done budget will include ALL expenses (even the dog) and money will be allocated so that you spend LESS than what you you bring in.

The ‘Emergency Fund’: Life happens and does not always go by the ‘budget’. The transmission in the car goes out or you get laid off from work… You can’t always plan for these unexpected events but you CAN plan for dealing with them when they arise. Part of any any good budget will be the ‘emergency fund’ and this should be the most important bill that get paid each month in MY opinion… Having a credit card for ‘emergencies’ is not so smart. In the end you will pay much more (interest!) to deal with any sudden problems that arise. I set aside $50.00 (each) per month for my dogs to have their ‘emergency fund’. I keep this in a seperate account and use this ONLY for real emergencies. This is their security for ‘just in case’ something happens to them and they need an emergency trip to the doggie doctor. Hopefully, my girls will stay healthy and as time goes by this fund will get bigger and be able to cover larger and more costly emergencies. The dog owner must decide at what level to reach with their emergency fund for the dog. (This is the hard part) A dog ‘Emergency Fund’ is fully funded when the owner has decided that that is the MOST that they would be willing to pay to fix fido in the event of a problem…

My dog Princess knows that I hate spiders and will kill any that come near me… She has a good emergency fund set up for her…