From the comments of Oct 8's How to Go from Middle-Class to Kickass:
Jamesqf
MMM does include dog expenses (I think) under Miscellaneous – “voluntary ownership of multiple large animals”. The easy way to cut expenses here is to adopt rather than buy purebreds (or “designer breeds” like labradoodles, which are just mutts with a price tag). I’ve never had a critter that I had to pay money to get. Most were of the “can you keep him just for a week or two, otherwise he’ll have to go to the (sniff, snif) pound” variety.
I have a dog, and like Jacob at ERE I consider him "so offensively cute" and lovable as to be more than worth the expense. :)
That being said, I do wonder if I could be doing better on his costs.
I paid a breeder $1500 for him about eight years ago. My rationale was that a responsible fancier would screen out hereditary health issues, thus saving me future vet bills. So far he's made it to his golden years without any big (or genetic) health problems, for which I am very grateful. But I have no idea if my earlier reasoning was remotely right. Has anyone else tried to make the tradeoff between purchase price vs. vet bills later? (I did look into getting a shelter dog, but as a first-time owner was a bit wary of not knowing a dog's health history... A co-worker had sunk $500 into tests for a mystery ailment his new rescue dog had, ran out of money, still had no idea what was wrong, and had to put him down. I would be heart-sick in that scenario and went for the known quantity, back then.)
I feed him decent-quality, store-brand food (bought in bulk to save an extra 10-15%). Biscuits and treats, though not too many. In his older years he doesn't wear out his toys anymore, so those don't need replacing. Have his original leash and collar (sturdy, so I expect they will last, too.)
Grooming: I brush his teeth, trim his nails, clean his ears, brush and bathe him at home. So no vet/groomer costs for this (minimal outlay for nail clippers, toothbrush and doggie toothpaste, brush, shampoo, tissues and cotton swabs.)
Heartworm and flea prevention, vaccinations: already on most economical option for these without compromising quality.
Annual city license: he's micro-chipped and neutered so it's the lowest rate of $25/year; the only dogs that don't pay some kind of fee are service dogs.
Dog-walking: 100% in-sourced, cost is $0. :)
All told I estimate doggie costs to be $125-150/month. I wonder how that stacks up with others who voluntarily own (multiple) large animal(s), and are there ways I could pare this down a bit? I do hear the "feed him better/more expensive food to keep him healthy" guilt trip from dog food advertisers, periodically, so sometimes I wonder if I'm being penny-wise, pound-foolish on that or other aspects.