The Hidden Cost of Dog Ownership: £35,596!
It’s more than a brand new car!!!!!
In August 2018, our beautiful puppy of 8 months was diagnosed with both elbow and hip dysplasia. We knew it would be a long road, but we didn’t fully realise just how much it would cost – financially, emotionally, and practically.
This blog is to share the financial reality of caring for a dog with a chronic condition due to an inherited disease, and how without pet insurance we couldn’t have given her the quality of life she had.
No one insisted we undertook all the alternative treatment options we did, we decided ourselves to explore all the management options that modern vet medicine could provide for her so she could live as pain free a life as possible. She was lucky in that we were both working and could afford the cost but thousands of other dogs are not as lucky and spend their lives in extreme pain and discomfort due to inheriting conditions because of irresponsible or ignorant breeding and the normalizing of certain conditions.
The Vet Bills
Over the 6 years, her vet care added up to £17,701.45 (this was the total of the claims we put in to our insurers). Thankfully, our insurance covered £13,066.84, but that still left us paying £4,634.61 ourselves.
These costs came from investigative procedures, the operation on her elbows, scans, check-ups, medications, and treatments such as physiotherapy, hydrotherapy and ultrasound therapy.
Every appointment was another reminder of how much she depended on us, at times I felt physically sick thinking how we humans through our years of inbreeding for the “perfect looking dog” has led to this situation where there is continually an increase in generation after generation of puppies inheriting conditions which cause such pain and suffering.
Insurance Premiums
Between January 2018 and May 2024, we paid £5,693.03 in insurance premiums. While the monthly costs were significant, without insurance the financial burden would have been overwhelming. For anyone with a dog, we can’t stress enough the importance of choosing a solid insurance plan. We had looked for a plan which would cover something like a broken leg as we thought that would be the worst that could happen but luckily we also took out the one which continues treatment year after year not just paying once and then no more. I’ve since spoken to two separate younger couples who are dog owners and opted for the once only policy as they could not afford the much higher premiums of continued treatment plans and now, due to, again, inherited conditions, they are having to pay thousands in fees they can barely afford. They have actually taken the decision to stop premiums all together and just put that money towards treatment costs which they can only continue to fund for a limited amount of time, when they run out of money they will be faced with horrible choices.
Special Food and Supplements
Managing elbow & hip dysplasia isn’t just about vet visits—it’s daily care too. We invested in:
- Special joint-supportive food: £3,900 over 6½ years (£50 extra per month on top or normal pet food)
- Supplements (Omega oils, joint aid, etc.): £3,666 (£27 + £20 monthly)
The Big Picture – More than a Brand New Car!
The full cost was £35,596 of which the total amount we actually paid over the almost 6 years was £17,895.64 – and that’s on top of the normal cost of keeping a dog.
It’s a staggering figure, but one that many dog owners dealing with chronic health issues will understand all too well.
More Than Money
Was it expensive? YES! Was it stressful? VERY! Were we consumed with guilt that us humans had done this to such a loyal and loving animal YES! (and because of this we chose to give her every possible option to leading as pain free a life as possible). Seeing what she went through, have we vowed to do all we can to improve breeding practices so puppies of the future are less likely to inherit elbow or hip dysplasia and other inherited diseases. YES!
We owe her this commitment to improving breeding practices because the love, loyalty, and joy she’s given us can’t be measured in pounds. Every cuddle, every wag of her tail, every moment we’ve had with her has been priceless.
Key Takeaways for Dog Owners
If you’re thinking of getting a dog, here are some lessons we learned: – 🐕🦺 ALWAYS ask to see the hereditary health certificates of the parent dogs of your proposed puppy and discuss the results and the implications with your vet. There are some results which will indicate a higher risk of inheriting a disease than others. It’s not only pedigree dogs that can inherit some crossbreeds can too. 🐕🦺 Insurance is essential. Lifetime cover is worth it. – 🐕🦺 Budget for more than food and toys. Chronic conditions bring hidden costs. – 🐕🦺 Commit for life. Dogs aren’t just for the good days – sadly it’s a reality that many many more pups will inherit not just Elbow and/or Hip Dysplasia but one or more of the many other inheritable diseases dogs can pass onto their puppies, it’s our responsibility to ensure their life is as happy and healthy and full of quality as possible.
Conclusion
Pedigree dog breeding is at crisis point! Years of inbreeding prioritising specific traits and looks over health has led us to the state we are in now which is that many breeds have lost so much genetic diversity it is inevitable they will pass on debilitating inherited diseases which cause pain and suffering to puppies and heartache and financial stress to owners.
Too many dogs are being bred without having had their breed specific hereditary health tests which means breeders have no idea what diseases could be passed onto their offspring and how to breed to lower that risk, or they are being bred even though they have test results which indicate there is a high risk of passing on a certain disease to their puppies.
Our vow to improve the lives of future puppies means we are campaigning for mandatory breed specific hereditary health tests prior to breeding. You can follow our campaign on Facebook @pawsagainstED and on our website www.pawsagainst.co.uk.
This is a link to our tribute to a wonderful loving kooky girl:
YouTube Video
You can check by breed what heritable diseases to look out for in your own dog:
DBRG Breed Health Information