You’re thinking about a dog for a hunting partner, and you’ve looked at several. The price of purchase is one thing, but what is the investment over the average life of the dog?
The purchase
First, there’s the purchase. For labs or pointing dogs with better-than-average pedigree, expect to pay at least $2,000, and often more. If the dog is “started,” beyond the puppy phase with basic bird dog training, the cost will be higher. If you train yourself, the cost is lower, but your time commitment isn’t.
Cost: $2,000
Training
Next is training. For many, about three months for basic bird dog training will get the dog ready to start hunting, as long as the owner puts in the time and continues the development. Often, a return for a few weeks for a “refresher” is recommended. For Texas dogs, you’ll also want to add rattlesnake training, probably twice to convince the dog to keep his or her distance.
Good trainers cost about $900 per month, with some of the best charging more than $1,200. Run-N-Gun Adventures, in Bay City, charges $850 per month with a three-month minimum. Add in the cost of an electronic and/or GPS collar, a crate for the vehicle and training gear. Not included are toys that dogs quickly and routinely destroy. Also, if the owner decides to enter the dog in field trials, the cost increases significantly.
Cost: $4,500
Healthcare
Routine veterinary care will run about $500 per year, and likely more toward the end of the dog’s life. It includes examinations, vaccinations and flea and tick prevention.
Then there is emergency care. Hunting dogs sustain more injuries than the average pet. According to Project Upland, if the dog has one major incident and three minor ones over its hunting career, the likely cost is around $6,000.
Cost: $12,000
Food
A large bag of top-brand dog food runs about $55. A bag lasts about a month. Over 12 years, that totals $7,920. Keep in mind, that doesn’t include special foods for dogs that need it and, of course, it doesn’t include treats. Cost: $7,920
For quail outfitters, injuries are more common, and training often takes longer. Jay Stine, an avid quail hunter, has a dog, Bo, that has been taken in to be put under anesthesia to remove porcupine quills several times, each costing more than $1,000, but the experience doesn’t change the dog’s disdain for the prickly critter.
“He hates porcupines,” Stine said.
West Texas Quail Outfitters recently posted about the cost of maintaining a large group of bird dogs.
“Every now and then we’ll have someone complain, ‘Your prices are too high,’” the post read. “For an operation our size, with 27 dogs, this load of dog food will last about 95 days.”
The group pointed out how upland bird outfitters usually spend three or four months of revenue on food.
“But the dogs have 12 months of food needs,” WTQO said.
So what’s the total damage? Over a 12-year lifespan for a dog without serious health problems or needs, the answer is likely more than $26,000.
Hunting dog owners acknowledge the cost, and agree those new to the experience should go into it informed.
The vast majority, though, say it’s worth every penny.
Steve Barber may be an extreme example. After spending more than $19,500 on his late dog, Raven, and with his current dog, Thunder, facing prostate cancer, he said what you spend is “all in the beholder,” and that the estimates are in the ballpark but might be on the low side.
“Dogs have been such a big part of our lives for a long time,” he said. “There’s nothing better than watching a good retriever do his job.”
