Hi.
I have a question about small breed dogs. I have had a shih tzu before and I really wanted to get another one, but i was wondering if you knew of any others kind of like shih tzus that arent so expensive. I also had a question about grooming. I want to keep the hair cut and i wanted to know if you knew around how much, a month, it would cost to keep it up and healthy a month. Grooming, food, shots (not sure how often those are needed). And also, what is a good food brand you think would be good for shih tzus (or other small breeds) and whats the best place to get a dog. I have heard bad things about adopting at a store, but i am also not sure about breeders.
As you can tell, i was younger when i had my shih tzu and i didnt have to pay for anything, thats why i am not so sure about those things, but i know you are one of the best pet advice giver here (=))
so anything you can tell...will help...
thanks!
Sorry about the huge delay in answer, I went on a little vacation.
Anyway.... I'm not too familiar with small breed dogs right off the top of my head. I have answered a few questions about good, friendly small breed dogs that I'll try to find for you.... As for prices of buying the dogs, you'll have to search individual breeders for that.
You should also try searching your local shelters or humane society's. They often have small breed dogs, and puppies available.
PET STORES ARE EVIL!!!
Seriously. They are. Pet stores do not care about the animals that they sell (despite the commercials you see for PetCo, most of the people working there know absolutely nothing about the animals they sell.) And it only gets worse when you go to a small pet store.
Pet stores get their animals from puppy mills. They may tell you otherwise, but, I would be willing to bet that any pet store that makes a profit get's their puppys from a puppy mill. The puppy's are extremely unhealthy and very inbred. Not only that, but they are much more expensive that a good breeder.
The animals that you get from a breeder (research the breeder of course to make sure they don't overbreed their dogs) these animals will be good "quality" pet dogs. Most breeders breed a certain breed of dogs because they care about the breed and want to keep the breed alive and healthy. They will usually ensure that the pets are spayed/neutered and first vet bills are taken care of.
Search google for "dog breeds" or other such keywords to find out which breed you would be most interested in, and then search for "_____ breeder" for the breeds that you want to learn more about. I'm sorry I can't help you more with that.
Now, as for grooming and other prices.
I have taken care of a Rottweiler. The other animals I had were all payed for by my mother when I was living with her.
food for my 150 LB rotty was 40 dollars a month. I bought him the most expensive food because anything else gave him major stinky gas. Also because he was overweight and had bad joints.
I would say, for a small breed, it will be closer to 20 dollars a month.
Grooming is 20-30 dollars each time. You should get your dog groomed about once every three months. Depending on whether you get a dog with hair that grows indefinately, or fur that sheds, you can do most of the grooming yourself. Clipping hair that grows indefinately can be quite difficult, but fur that sheds can be brushed weekly to cut back on grooming costs.
Shots should be given once a year. You should also get your puppy spayed or neutered.
Shots=rabies, bordatella(if the dog will be bording) and distemper. Bordatella is the kennel cough vacinne and probably shouldn't be given unless your dog will be exposed to many other dogs.
Rabies is around $15 and should be given every 2 years.
The other two are roughly the same price, but given every year.
So... Food=$20/month
Grooming=$30/3months
Vet bills
spay/neuter=$50-$150 (depends on age, breed, species, sex, and individual vets.)
Shots=$30-$45 each years depending on amount of shots given.
A good food brand? I always liked "Nutro Natural" or "Wymans" I believe that was what they were called. It's hard to remember. When I get more time, I will search online for those two brands and add them to my answer.
Anyway, I think I got everything, anymore questions, just ask.
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thanks so much
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