We Make £60k – Here’s How Much We Spend On Our (Extremely Adorable) Puppy in a Month

Welcome to Petty Cash, a series where we find out just how much real people are spending on their pets in a month – from weekly costs and treat budgets to surprise vet visits and next-level splurges.

Pet name: Arthur

Pet age: eight months

Pet breed: Patterdale/Lakeland Terrier

Location: London

Household salary (per year): £60,000

Pet parent’s job/industry: Marketing, design and photography

What’s your gotcha story?

We got Arthur from a family friend. Her dog had puppies and we’d been thinking about getting a dog for ages. Arthur was actually given away to a family that brought him back the next day because he cried at night. We went to see him and fell in love with his cute face and lovable character. We debated for a while, pluses and minuses, costs, losing our independence and our sanity (which both happened for a few months) – and eventually we decided to give him a home.

How much did your pet cost?

£400 (half was paid by my partner’s parents as a gift).

How much (roughly) did you spend on up-front costs?

£100. We bought a dog bed that was too small and he didn’t want to be in it. We also bought a crate that he hated with all of his being. A collar, which we do not use. A few rope toys, which he still loves. We also bought two bowls for food and water. Some treats, which he did not like.

How much do you spend on pet insurance each month and what does it include?

£13. Includes mostly accidents and emergencies. It does include a 24/7 online vet service, which can be quite useful.

How much do you spend on subscriptions for your pet each month?

£24 for vets. This covers flea and worming treatment. It also includes vaccinations, two vet consultations and nail clipping.

What’s the most you’ve spent on a health emergency for your pet?

£85 for an allergy. Last Christmas, he indulged and ate everything that was given to him at the Christmas dinner table by various family members under different degrees of intoxication. One of the things he ingested caused an allergic reaction. So we had to go to our local vets who charged us £85 for an anti-sickness injection. It went away in a few days.

What is the most expensive thing you’ve ever bought for your pet?

Curtains for £80. Arthur sleeps in the living room by himself, out of the crate – a master stroke of training from our side and the thing that we are probably most proud of. At the same time, our garden in London gets visited by all sorts of wild and domesticated wildlife like foxes, squirrels and cats. So my partner had the brilliant idea of putting up some curtains so he won’t see the fauna in the garden in the morning and we can have a lie-in.

What’s the most outrageous purchase you’ve made for your pet?

We are quite old-school when it comes to spending on pets and try to have perspective in terms of what gadgets are truly needed. Probably, the only outrageous expense was getting a behaviourist for one session at a cost of £220 to find out that dogs are pack animals. Would not recommend unless your dog has real behaviour problems.

Do you have any tips for saving money on your pet spending?

I think it’s important to remember that, although they are 100 percent part of the family and have equal rights, they are also a four-legged animal that probably does not need a Burberry trench coat and dog bowls made out of fine china.

Monthly spend

Week one

Purchase 1: insurance, Animal Friends, £13

Everything seems fine so far and we haven’t taken advantage of it. It’s more for peace of mind and in case of a medical emergency.

Purchase 2: vet subscription £6/week, £24/month

So far, Arthur seems to like the vets because they have treats. We mostly go there to weigh him once every couple of months and to get his flea and worming treatment.

Purchase 3: Yak Chews, £10

Yes, our dog’s favourite chew is a bar made out of the milk from Himalayan oxen that cost £2.50 each, four times the price of a Mars bar.

Purchase 4: wet food, Lily’s Kitchen, £6.80

Arthur has a mix of wet and dry food. We have decided to not go for the cheapest nor the most expensive. We go through about two cans a week, using it as a topper. It’s either Lily‘s Kitchen or Forthglade. This month it's Lily's Kitchen and a pack of 12 costs £40.90 which works out at about £6.80 a week.

Purchase 5: dry food, Arden Grange, £2

The dry food we buy is roughly £2/week and it comes from Arden Grange. I have visited a number of forums and review sites, and landed on this obscure but well-reviewed kibble, which he only has when there is nothing else around, like wet food or steak. Arthur eats about 130g a day and a 12 kg bag costs £45.

Purchase 6: curtains, £80

Thankfully a one-off purchase that keeps Arthur from seeing the London wildlife in the garden, so we can have a sleep-in.

Purchase 7: sprats, £10

Arthur‘s favourite treats: sprats at £10 a bag. These little crunchy fish have done wonders for training. The only downside is carrying them around and constantly smelling like a fisherman.

Purchase 8: bone, £3

As a treat (as if his whole life is not a big treat), we get him a beef bone with marrow from the local, very overpriced butcher. It costs £3 a pop but sometimes they just give them for free.

Purchase 9: puppuccino, £1

Arthur loves dairy in every form. He is particularly partial to this ridiculous form of steamed milk and he inhales it a few mornings a month in the local park, sitting on a bench.

Purchase 10: treats, Wagg, £1.50

We buy Wagg steaklets treats. They come from Amazon and he loves them. Not as much as sprats though.

Week two

Purchase 1: training £60/hr

This is only our second session with a local trainer. He helped us with lead walking and dropping the ball. The latter has not worked, so I guess it was only worth £30.

Purchase 2: wet food, Lily’s Kitchen, £6.80

Same as last week.

Purchase 3: dry food, Arden Grange, £2

We bought a big 12kg bag for £45. I worked out the weekly cost over a period of three months.

Purchase 4: treats, Wagg, £1.50

Steaklets safely secured.

Purchase 5: bone marrow, £3

Back to the local butchers. Sadly no freebies today.

Week three

Purchase 1: wet food, Lily’s Kitchen, £6.80

Their ‘Sunday Lunch’ offering is a particular fave.

Purchase 2: dry food, Arden Grange, £1.50

A staple!

Purchase 3: toy, Petface, £5

Once a month or so we do need to buy a new toy because he destroys his old ones. This latest chew toy is this dog off Amazon, from a company called Petface. So far, the toy is intact, apart from its tail and tag – they were the first to go.

Purchase 4: harness, Hurtta, £35

He hates it. We’ve tried a few harnesses and none were great. They get loose, they don’t fit right. We found this Finnish company that makes really good ones and we love it. Arthur hates it and thinks he can just go without.

Purchase 5: sprats, £10

How much am I losing in extra clothes washing costs to make the fishy smell go away? We’ll never know.

Purchase 6: camera, Ring, £40

In our quest to make Arthur an independent young man, we bought a surveillance device in the shape of an indoor Ring camera, so we can keep an eye on him while we are having half a pint in the local pub. The camera cost £40. We also got a deal when we got pet insurance and we received a free camera, which we now use. Therefore, we now have two indoor cameras and a dog, which technically makes our home more secure than the US Treasury.

Week four

Purchase 1: wet food, Lily’s Kitchen,  £6.80

If he could choose, Arthur could have this exclusively.

Purchase 2: dry food, Arden Grange, £2

It seems that he only prefers it in the evenings or when it gets stuck to the wet food.

Purchase 3: bone marrow, £3

His lucky day (again)! Carefully and surgically extracted the marrow from the bone upon receiving it.

Purchase 4: treats, Wagg, £1

Amazon have a great deal on them at the moment.

Purchase 5: puppuccino, £1

Yes, they charge for warm milk.

Total amount

£336.70

Conclusion

I think in some ways we spend less because we do try and keep the cost of gadgets under control and only buy essential things, you know, like bone marrow, Yak Chews and Atlantic pole-caught sprats. You can always spend less or way more. We have friends who spend a lot on raw food subscriptions and have every gadget under the sun. We also know older people who barely spend anything, so my assumption is we are somehow in the middle, a happy mix of London millennial yuppies and a dose of pragmatism.

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