The Costs and Care of Raising My Dog, Mark

Thank you for the invitation. Personally, I think the most costly and time – consuming period of raising a dog is the first year. After the dog turns one year old, the monthly expenses become more fixed, and it’s not as delicate to take care of.

For dog food, in the first year, I bought natural dog food. A bag of about 1.5 kilograms cost more than 100 yuan or more than 200 yuan and could last for over a month. Now I buy domestic dog food, also 1.5 kilograms. Sometimes it has meat chunks, and sometimes it has freeze – dried ingredients. I believe that as long as the dog food suits your dog, it’s good dog food.

Regarding bathing and grooming, in my area, for small – sized dogs, the membership price for a bath is 32 yuan, and for grooming is 72 yuan. I bathe my dog four times a month, and grooming is about once every two months.

For snacks, a bag of meat strips costs more than 30 yuan, and freeze – dried snacks are a bit more expensive. My dog likes freeze – dried snacks.

Then there are the annual vaccination costs, which are more than 100 yuan, as well as the costs of internal and external deworming.

Since my dog came, we add disinfectant to the water when mopping the floor. I buy Mr. Muscle 84 disinfectant. It doesn’t have the pungent smell of ordinary disinfectant but has a light, fresh fragrance. I buy a box at a time. A box costs more than 90 yuan and contains 20 bottles, which can last for a year.

My dog has never had any serious illnesses. When it first came, it had kennel cough and I spent several dozen yuan on medicine. When it was over one year old, it had a case of paronychia, which I cured with hydrogen peroxide and erythromycin. When it was over two years old, a novice clerk at the pet store injured its testicle. The pet store gave me a bottle of topical medicine for humans. I was worried and took it to the hospital, spending more than 100 yuan. But after it recovered, it only had one testicle left. ⁄(⁄ ⁄ ⁄ω⁄ ⁄ ⁄)⁄ Even the doctor can’t explain why until now.

Then, at the end of 2018, it got acute pancreatitis and it cost more than 1,000 yuan to cure.

I hope my dog, Mark, will always be healthy. I love my dog. Oh, and here is a picture of the dog begging for delicious food.