My $10 000 dog

I am inspired by DSSR to share my own story of raising an Australian Cattle Dog. I bought Duster to show and to have fun with. An obedient outdoor dog, right? Well we had to iron out a few kinks first.

Purchase price- $800 (and that was 11 years ago!)
Flight- $300
Show fees: $1000
Handler fees: $1000 (and that was only to the far away shows!)
Duster was #1 puppy in Canada that year and #4 overall.
Hip x-rays and evaluation- $800 (he was displastic)
Neutering- $100
General destruction the first year- $500
Obedience lessons- $100
Vet fees for the attack on Taz, my Schipperke- $2000
Separate kennel so he would not share a fence with another dog- $200
Vet fees for the next dog he bit- $200
Well repair fees after he chewed it- $2000
Incidental expenses for destruction in the years out of puppyhood- $1000

There you go: $10000! And I am not counting regular expenses of food and general vetting.

Sorry, DSSR, had to share.

I know what you are saying Sue
I have had a few of them in the last 39 plus years of showing
infact I have a couple of them now that I have spent alot on in different expenses.
some times I wonder why I even keep with the show dogs.
I know this year we are placing a few and just cutting way back.
at least the poultry we can eat LOL
Thanks for sharing your story.

Joe

I completely understand this thread! We call her the million dollar dog. I can't actually add up what we've spent on her as I'd probably have cardiac arrest (ignorance is bliss!) and she just turned 2yrs old last week. Started as a 18lb ball of fluff the size of fat Pomeranian at 8wks when I flew to pick her up in Vancouver after her huge flight from Minneapolis to Texas to Vancouver. I spent an hour at 2am in Vancouver airport bathroom cleaning layers of crap off her. Then flew home with her 5hrs later. The second week she "helped" me when i was chasing kids and bringing in groceries by tipping over and chewing the lid off a 4lt jug of milk in my minivan (stow and go and the extra seat was down in the floor so soaked up all the milk!!). 4 tries with our hand held spill cleaner and 3wks of stink meant a $300 detail for my van. Then a couple months later and a few pounds heavier we had visitors over so she went in the house as she thinks everyone but us wants to be jumped on and in less than 5mins she'd pulled the socket cover off the wall chewed/broke it into teeny tiny pieces and then started work on the wall leaving us with a 6inch diameter circle where there is no drywall around the socket. Next trick was to bounce in the kennel until she loosened the screws and then escaped!!!! Seriously she'd send the screws everywhere and I swear she started eating them because our large vari kennel has 1screw left! We subbed screws but then she learned sticking her massive paw through the front door would push the clasp down enough that she'd just push and out she'd come. We now have a huge wire kennel that we lock with 5 luggage locks so she is finally unable to escape! Oh did I mention when she'd escape she'd chew the wall and there is now a 12 inch diameter circle in our basement wall completely devoid of drywall and it is right where the kitchen waste water pipe is so she'd banged on it enough to loosen it and have the water leak on the floor!!! Outside she has 5acres to run in but she only craps right beside the hot tub! Yep she'll come running in from the back field crap and then head right back out to the field to play!!! She chews and chases everything because she just so happy go lucky that she thinks the world and everyone in it is to entertain her. There is no malice at all in her but wow frustrating!! I locked her in a horse stall and before I'd taken 2 steps she was over the door, beside me panting and looking for attention. We have hot-wire around the perimeter of our property not for the horses but for a foolish dog that is just too smart and strong for her own damn good!! We've done obedience with her twice and was an absolute star student but at home she can be a huge loving MENACE!!! Then there is the puppy "accidents" (lakes) which ruined rugs, Costco bday cake she pulled off the counter and ate half of (again "accidents" after that!), many other things she helped herself to, the dumb chickens that would hide at lock up time and she'd find and play with until dead. Since she was over $2000US when we got her at 8wks I'd say she's getting up there in price too!

(and to think I was complaining about a couple of old door mats being chewed up!)

Well my two dogs are now 11 yrs old
and have been thinking of what to
do when they are gone.
What to replace them with?
After reading all the stories
maybe I should get two stuffed
dogs with tape recordings playing
24/7 and forget the puppy thing.

I'm starting to really appreciate my $200 mexican rescue, that loves more than anything to spend every day in a 1 acre paddock with his goat buddies.
Just ask him if he wants to go be a goat, and he runs to their gate.
He can chew whatever he wants in there!

karona wrote:Well my two dogs are now 11 yrs old
and have been thinking of what to
do when they are gone.
What to replace them with?
After reading all the stories
maybe I should get two stuffed
dogs with tape recordings playing
24/7 and forget the puppy thing.

Hee hee! Get a Schipperke! After show fees most of my dogs' expenses are limited to food and vet bills!

Sue

We have 2 SPCA specials as well as the menace pup and they are as healthy and well behaved as we could ever as ask for. One we got as a 10mnth old victim of a divorce from the SPCA. He's now going on 7yrs old but some sort of collie or border collie cross so still tons of fun for the kids to throw balls etc he'd all day long and never get tired but calm and quiet in the house. He's a bit nervous if he's the only dog in a new place but with his buddies he's fine. We can do off leash walks and he is perfectly behaved and we've never had to crate him.
The other SPCA special we got as a 6ish yr old stray and he'd had a very very rough life before us and needed alot of patience and love but again we really couldn't ask for a better behaved lovable dog and he's nearing 9yrs so getting pretty old (130+lbs) but we can take him anywhere anytime and he is just a calm lovable fella. He's huge but even the those who are scared of dogs end up giving him a hug. Neither boy has ever had any major vet bills just regular health checks. It's the purebred puppy we paid a fortune for that is just a menace!