I switched to English Cockers & my 1st one lived to the age of 15, probably costing less than $2000 in vet bills over her entire life! She was always healthy – just got basic care. I took her to the annual rabies clinic for a $6 vaccination and gave the rest of her shots myself, purchased from a local feed store.

I’m on the 2nd English Cocker now, so we’ll see how that goes. So far, so good. I feed high quality food, because I think that’s worth the investment in long-term health.

Even mixed breed dogs are chancy – I’ve seen some with terrible allergies and others that are healthy. The mixed breeds I’ve seen from the pound tend to be much more difficult about things like bathing, grooming & nail clipping due to unknown fears…

As for nails, my current pupppy is freaky about getting her nails clipped also – 1st time I’ve ever dealt with that. I bought a rechargable dremel for $20 at Wal-Mart and she’s fine with having them sanded down~! A worthwhile investment.

Dogs are very expensive, and they absorb a lot of time (at the moment, Cassie the Corgi is lobbying me to turn off the computer and play with a ball). At one point I figured I’d spent over $40,000 on my German shepherd and my greyhound over the course of their 13-year lifespans. But what did I do after they were gone? Naturally, I ran out and got another dog.

There’s no rationality entailed in acquiring a dog as a pet. Chuck that idea out the window. There are only two rational reasons to get a dog: 1) if you hunt and you’re competent to train a hunting dog; and 2) if you need a service dog for a handicap. Dogs should never be acquired to “guard” your house: animals bred and trained for aggression are dangerous, and burglars have guns and knives, which they use without compunction on your protection dog. Burglar alarms are cheaper, more effective, and safer.

Now that you know you’re making a purely emotional decision, do consider getting an adult dog at the humane society or a breed rescue. Let someone else replace the furniture the dog ate in puppyhood & adolescence and the carpets the dog destroyed in the course of house-training. If you’re lucky, you’ll even find a pooch that’s already obedience trained.

Of the smaller dogs, I would highly recommend a corgi. The one I found at the humane society is an incredible little animal: small enough that I can pick her up (important in one’s old age), exceptionally friendly and compliant, and safe around children.

But if you have room for a larger dog and no one in the house is the careless type who will leave the front door hanging open, you can’t beat a greyhound. Nothing could be a better house pet (except for the size: most are fairly big dogs, although some only reach about 40 or 50 pounds). Overall, if they haven’t been injured on the track their health is excellent. They are fully socialized to be around humans and obedience-trained to the nines. Greyhound adoption agencies are overrun with the critters, and the people there will make an honest effort to find a dog that fits the needs you describe.

Google your local humane society and also “your desired breed” + rescue + “your state.”. Most rescue organizations have photos of available dogs. They’ll usually describe the breed’s characteristics, including its drawbacks.

I found a place in Silicon Valley (where I live) that’s $20-$24 depending on the size of the dog. I imagine that’s towards the top end since it’s Silicon Valley. At least I can now budget around $30 a day for when I go on vacation. That’s not as horrible as it seems.

We’ll look into it in more detail when we get back from a week-long trip. We have a number of other weeklong trips scheduled through the year, so the costs of a week of kenneling would have been good to find here.

As a former foster mom for a rescue group, I really do urge you to look into breed-specific or all-breed rescue groups in the area. A lot of the time, people take home a dog and then realize because of the dog’s personality, activity level, fears, etc that it’s not a great match. If you have the trial period, you can learn that before you commit and potentially get yourself into a bad situation for years to come. I hope you look into it!!

But if you think the time and money investment in kids compares to a dog, you’d better avoid kids also! The opportunity cost of kids makes pet ownership pale by comparison.

And if you think kids will give you love and companionship on the same level as an animal, think again! Dogs will be thrilled to see you and be with you always, kind of like an infant -5 year old. After that, things change with kids.

I have 2 sons, 17 & 22 and currently 1 puppy & 1 cat. I love them all – my kids are wonderful, but they’re not much into companionship – and mine are more willing to be with me than most kids their ages. But the puppy adores us!

Having had multiple dogs over the years (4 at a time for many years) I’m well aware of the financial and opportunity costs, but for me the dogs are well worth it – as are the kids! I wouldn’t want to live without either of them.

My feeling is that you can live a neat and tidy life, or you can live a large, happy, messy one that includes kids and pets. Sometimes I can see the appeal of neat and tidy, but overall I find that rather cold & sterile… just something to consider.