A set of questions (and my answers) from a friend who was looking into getting her first dog.

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Hi Joe!

Could you send me your rough estimates on how much you spend on Cosmo annually for these categories?

Food - $25/year
Water - Free
Insurance - ?
Medicine
	•	Fleas
	•	Heartworm medicine
	•	Vitamins?
	•	Anal Gland Expression - $10/6weeks at Petco
	•	Others?
Grooming
	•	Petco grooming - ?/6 weeks
	•	Razor for grooming
	•	Brush
Any other big ticket items I'm forgetting?

No need to do a ton of research! Just hoping to hear how much you would typically spend on these buckets :)

Thank youuu,
Nisha

Hey Nisha! 

Sure. 
	•	Food
	◦	$25-$35/year
	•	Water
	◦	Free
	•	Insurance
	◦	We don’t have any (my parents don’t either, despite owning many animals). If you can get it through your work, that might be worth it, but I’ve looked into it standalone and it’s pretty expensive.
	•	Medical
	◦	Fleas/Tick
	▪	$120/year on PetShed (for small dogs)
	◦	Heartworm
	▪	$60/year on PetShed (for small dogs)
	◦	Vitamins
	▪	We don’t buy any. Don’t think my parents have ever bought any either. 
	◦	Anal gland expression
	▪	$10/6-8 weeks at Petco
	◦	Annual vet check-up
	▪	~$110/year (my parents usually do this every time I’m home)
	▪	Not sure exactly how much this costs, probably $75/year for the visit and on average another $35/year for vaccines etc.
	▪	The first set of vaccines might be expensive if there are only some vaccines the dog needs only once
	•	Grooming
	◦	Grooming
	▪	 Nail trim
	▪	$5/6 weeks at Petco (you could do this more or less frequently too)
	▪	We don’t do anything else
	◦	Razor for grooming
	▪	One time ~$20 purchase
	◦	Brush
	▪	One time ~$15 purchase
	◦	Dog Shampoo
	▪	Maybe $20 every 1-2 years
	◦	Flea Comb
	▪	Good to have, about $10 one time
	•	Treats
	◦	~$15/year maybe depending on how good of a boy
	•	Poop bags
	◦	~$20/year maybe
	•	Leash and harness
	◦	One time ~$30 (Village Pets has a lot; they’re across from Trader Joe's)
	•	Soft crate
	◦	Good for transporting on planes inside cabin. One time $30 at Petco.

I don’t think there’s anything else, but if you come across something in your research feel free to ask me if we do it. 

Cosmo’s excited to meet his new best friend!!!

Joe