The Price of a German Shepherd

[drosado]

R.D. was suppose to be $2000 and Mia was suppose to be $2,500. Breeder felt sorry for me that my 10 yr old GS had just died and I broke into tears when I saw R.D. I could only afford $1500 at the time so he cut $500. With Mia, he was so happy with how we take care of R.D., he immediately told me he was cutting the price for us. He is an amazing breeder and is always asking how they are doing. I spend $120 for food per month. I don't even want to keep track of other expenses. Just spend $500 at the vet for 3 year rabies for each of them and their regular check-up.

[ladyfreckles]

I'm still breaking into a monthly routine. His food is $50-$70/mo right now including supplements. We haven't yet decided which brand to go with food wise. The current brand we use costs about $60 for a 30lb bag. Eek, expensive. His toys we probably spend $20-30/mo on.

The local Schutzhund clubs charge anywhere from $150/yr to $400/yr + monthly fees. I know you have to be a member of the United States Schutzhund Club which is around $100/yr to be a member of the Schutzhund clubs. Training varies based on the trainer.

Originally Posted by wildo

Man- I didn't see that this was a public poll. Why is it necessary to see who voted for which option???

WHOOPS. I must have accidentally clicked that when trying to check the "enable multiple options" box. Sorry

Originally Posted by ZAYDA

To much unnecessary information IMO
All I can say is it has been worth every cent and I will be doing it again..

The point of the thread is to give people a good idea of what it costs before they get into it. I just recently had a friend who adopted a large dog to save money but then realized she couldn't afford to pay for his food and toys. She had to give him back within 3 months. A lot of people come here searching for information on German Shepherds and while they are PRICELESS some people jump in without thinking about the financial obligation of caring for a living creature.

[Cassidy's Mom]

I don't really know what I spend on food, toys, supplies, training, and vet bills in a year and I probably don't want to know!

Keefer was $1500. The breeder covered the shipping costs from Oregon.

Halo was $1200. The breeder covered 1/2 of of the $230 shipping cost from Connecticut, so she was $1315 total.

[ladyfreckles]

Originally Posted by Cassidy's Mom

I don't really know what I spend on food, toys, supplies, training, and vet bills in a year and I probably don't want to know!

I don't think I even want to know about yearly training costs, haha.

Keefer was $1500. The breeder covered the shipping costs from Oregon.

Halo was $1200. The breeder covered 1/2 of of the $230 shipping cost from Connecticut, so she was $1315 total.

What is it with shipping dogs and being so expensive? A 70lb suitcase is $25 to put down below. A 60lb dog cost my friend $200. Why.

[Cassidy's Mom]

Cargo just costs more. I've heard of shipping being quite a bit more than that, I was actually surprised that it was only $230 all the way across the country. It would have cost us a lot more to fly out there and get her. Keep in mind that the price to ship a puppy may include the price of the crate too. I don't think there was anything added on for Halo's crate because it wasn't new, but I returned it anyway since she was kind enough to offer to pay half the shipping. I also sent back Keefer's shipping crate once he outgrew it.

When we got Dena, we flew up to Oregon (same breeder as Keefer, she was his half sister), rented a car, and drove her home. I shipped the crate up in advance so it was waiting for us at the breeder's house when we got there and we could safely contain her in the car during the 10 hour drive home. It was cheaper to UPS it there than to fly with it as excess baggage.

[Emoore]

Originally Posted by ladyfreckles

What is it with shipping dogs and being so expensive? A 70lb suitcase is $25 to put down below. A 60lb dog cost my friend $200. Why.

I *believe* live cargo is treated quite differently from suitcases. From what I hear live animals are last on the plane and first off the plane and (hopefully) are treated with much more care than a suitcase.

[gagsd]

My biggest expense is gas (and buying a vehicle just for my dogs). I drive about 115 miles one way to training.

Training is offered twice a week for club training, and twice a week for paid assistance.

(When I rode horses, I rode other people's horses..... and got PAID! Dogs are way more )

[Jax08]

$75 adoption fee
Training weekly/bi monthly at different trainers - $100-$150 per month
Surgeries
Spay
Lump removal
Another Lump removal
Injured knee

Monetary cost - Thousands. I don't want to add it up!

Reward - anyone with a GSD curled against their legs on a cold night can answer that one.

[Debbieg]

Originally Posted by Jax08

Monetary cost - Thousands. I don't want to add it up!

Reward - anyone with a GSD curled against their legs on a cold night can answer that one.

[NewbieShepherdGirl]

I paid $300 for her (rescue)
Her food costs around $47 (I think $45 before tax) it lasts for about 6 weeks I think
The rest I'm not real sure about. I'll just say in my budget I allot her $100 a month (including food) and we usually reach it and sometimes exceed it. So if I were just going off of that she'd cost me at least $1200 a year, but I've probably spent closer to $2000 on her because of start up costs. Hoping this year to stay closer to the $1200. lol