Part 3: Care & Maintenance of Your Dog

Routine Veterinary Care: Routine veterinary care is a huge part of keeping your dog healthy. You should plan on going to the vet for checkups once or twice a year at a cost of about $200 - $400 yearly. Any required lab work can add about $100 - $500 and should not be skipped as it's an important part of preventive health care. Teeth cleaning may be required as often as once a year and will cost about $300-800. Expect vet costs to be higher if your dog develops a health issues. This is more likely to happen as your dog gets older. You may want to consider purchasing pet insurance for your dog, which will cover a percentage of vet expenses. Overall, you should budget about $700-1500 per year for veterinary costs, and that does not include emergencies. It also excludes preventive medications and supplements.

Preventive Medications and Supplements: All dogs need medications to prevent heartworms, fleas, ticks, and other parasites. Your veterinarian will suggest the best products based on where you live your dog's needs. Some dogs will benefit from vitamins and supplements. In general, you will probably spend $100-500 per year for these items depending on the size of your dog and his specific needs.

Obedience Classes or Training Resources: Most dogs will only go to puppy training, dog obedience school, dog training courses, or to a private dog trainer in their first year or two of their lives. You should understand that K9 training is something that should be ongoing throughout your dog's life. You’ll also need to decide what type of dog training is best for you and your dog. You can consider dog distraction training to keep your dog safe in any environment, e-collar training for complete control of your dog, puppy training, or just a general dog obedience school. Some training will only work while your dog is in a quiet place with no distractions, while more intense training can prepare your dog for off-leash reliability in any environment. E-collar training is a fantastic choice if you and your dog have tried regular “treat” or “clicker” training and are not happy with the results. Our 2-week e-collar board & train programs guarantee 100% obedience, 100% recall and 100% off-leash reliability. You should expect to spend between $100- $3000 to get your dog trained so that it is safe and reliable.

Pet Sitters or Boarding: You may need to leave your dog behind once or twice a year. This will cost from $25 - $75 per day or $200 - $500 a year. If you travel a lot you can expect to spend much more. In general boarding costs less than hiring a pet sitter but you may prefer the personal nature of a dedicated pet sitter. If you decide to travel with your dog you can expect your travel fees to increase and will need to prepare well in advance if a travelling by air.

Our next article will look at the specific costs emergency and unexpected expenses. If you have any questions about choosing your Perfect Dog For Life, or would like more information about our private dog training, e-collar training, K9 distraction training or puppy training please visit us at www.perfectdogforlife.com

For more details on our products and services, please feel free to visit us at k9 distraction training, board and train, dog training Toronto, Toronto dog training, off-leash K9 training