Tips and Warnings before you get a Dog
It's going to cost you money
Before getting a dog you must ask yourself if you are financially prepared. Your dog will not live healthy with just your left overs, you're going to feed it lots of food and you might even need to supplement your pet with vitamins. Also, dogs should be vaccinated against a lot of diseases yearly and should be dewormed once every one or two months. If you do not have an idea on how much owning a dog may cost here is a sample budget list to give you an idea:
Item
| Cost per Unit
| Repeats annually
| Annual Cost
|
|---|---|---|---|
Meals
| 0.2
| 1095
| 219
|
5 in 1 Vaccine
| 3
| 1
| 3
|
Deworming
| 1
| 4
| 4
|
Pet Shampoo
| 5
| 12
| 60
|
Pet Toys
| 5
| 2
| 10
|
Pet Emergency funds
| 500
| 1
| 500
|
Pet Regular Check-up
| 4
| 4
| 16
|
Anti-rabies Vaccine
| 3
| 1
| 3
|
Total
| 815
|
It's going to cost you time
Taking care of your pet is just like having a baby, it will not just cost you money but it is also going to cost you a lot of time. You will need time to feed your pet, walk your pet around, play with your pet and babysit your dog whenever he/she is sick. But do not worry the time you will spend with your dog will be filled with fun, and if you really love your dog then it will be a time well spent. If you have no idea on how much time your pet will toll on you, then here is a sample time table that will give you an idea on how much time your pet will need per day:
Activity
| Average Time Consumed (min)
| Times done per day
| Total Time consumed per day (min)
|
|---|---|---|---|
Feeding the dog
| 15
| 3
| 45
|
Walking your dog
| 60
| 1
| 60
|
Training your dog
| 60
| 2
| 120
|
Chillin with your dog
| 60
| 3
| 180
|
405
|
You gonna have to do a lot of cleaning
Even when your dog is potty trained, there will be times that your dog will poop or pee on undesirable areas of the house, especially when their sick. Aside from that, some thick coated dogs shed their furs a lot that you have to sweep from time to time to keep the house tidy. Some short jawed dogs drool. And most of all, overly active dogs, specially puppies may destroy or disorganize your belongings ending up with you cleaning it.
Not everyone is a dog lover
Every time you are going out with your dog, make sure that you keep your dog on a leash or you have full control of your pet. Because there are people who are does not like dogs, some have allergies, or fear of them. Also it may cause accidents if the unfriendly response of other people threatens your pet. And one last thing, if other people are threatened by your dog they may shoot it dead and report it as self defense. So be very careful.
Discipline your dog
You may treat your dog as your precious friend but your pet still needs your guidance. Thus you need to discipline your pet. Spoiling your pet leads to a whole lot problems and accidents, read all about it here:
- Spoiled Dog: Signs, Effects and Prevention
Pampering your dog is only good up to a certain degree, too much leads to leniency which gives birth to a spoiled dog, below is a list of signs, effects of raising a spoiled dog and how to prevent it.
You need to socialize your dog
You may want a pet only loyal to you, but it is inevitable that your pet is going to have to encounter other people or animals. Therefore, you need to familiarize your pet on what he/she will have to meet. Sudden encounters to foreign people or creatures might cause over excitement, fear, anxiety and trauma that may lead to grave accidents.
Watch what you feed your pet
You need to watch everything that enters your dog's mouth, there are common human foods that are toxic to dogs. Also some hard food such as bones may be lethal when ingested by your dog if it is not used eating one. Below is a list of food that you should NOT feed to your dog.
Food
| Danger Level
| Notes
|
|---|---|---|
Chocolate
| HighlyToxic
| Contains theobromine
|
Alcoholic foods/beverages
| Toxic
| |
Coffee
| Toxic
| Symptoms Include palpitation, contains caffeine
|
Avocado
| Toxic to dogs on high amount
| Contains Persin
|
Citrus
| Irritant on high amount
| |
Bones
| Digestive track hazard
| Symptoms include vomiting of blood
|
Cat food
| Potential Allergen, Toxic if given regularly
| Contains too much protein
|
Fatty foods
| Cumulative Health Hazard
| Contains Cholesterol and Fatty oils
|
Raw Meat
| Potentially Toxic
| Contains potentially pathogenic bacteria
|
Macadamia
| Highly Toxic
| |
Milk Products
| Potential Allergen
| Contains too much lactose
|
Fruits & vegetables w/ seeds
| Digestive track hazard
| |
Raw Eggs
| Potentially toxic
| Contains potentially pathogenic bacteria
|
Salt
| Toxic on High amounts
| Contains too much sodium
|
Sugar
| Cumulative Health Hazard
| |
Yeast dough
| Potential Digestive Track Hazard, potential allergen, potentially toxic
| Contains yeast
|
Xylitol (artificial sweetener)
| Toxic on high amounts
| |
Onions
| Toxic
| Contains Sulfoxides and disulfides
|
Garlics
| Toxic
| Contains Sulfoxides and disulfides
|
Grapes
| Toxic
| |
Seedy fruits
| Digestive track hazard, potentially toxic
| may contain cyanide
|
Hit the comments!
Do you have any more warnings or questions before getting a dog? Hit the comments and I will try to answer them as best as I can!
Comments
AUTHORSorry guys! I forgot to mention that this is only an under estimate and that the prices is when just the vaccine's price vet not included, editting it now. Thanks for noticing!
$10 per year for pet emergency funds? Very unrealistic.
Are the costs in dollar? Because getting vaccinated in my country is way more expensive. Like 50-60 usd if the vet does it. Anyway great hub and things to consider before owning a dog!
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