I am getting a German shepherd puppy later this year. I have waited for 5 years so as to be in a position to provide a good home to a dog, in terms of both environment and the financial implications of dog ownership. I have come up with detailed costings and have the money for all this already saved (i.e. cost of the puppy, cost of 8 and 12 week vaccinations, monthly worming, micro-chipping, as well as costs of a first aid kit, bed, blankets, food bowls, leads, insurance) and I have also looked in detail into the monthly costs of dog ownership, and can comfortably afford this. However, I want some advice on pricings I could not research without advice. For one, how much does it cost, on average to have a German Shepherd (or similar sized breed) bitch neutered? Also, what is the general consensus on the best brand of food (I am not interested in the cheapest necessarily, but the best in terms of providing a dog with everything it needs to stay fit and healthy and happy)? For a family pet (regularly walked, but not a working dog), what is the average feed cost per month (bearing in mind the size of a German shepherd)?
I know this probablymakes me look like an utter novice. I have grown up with dogs, as has my partner, but this will be the first dog we have owned together, and although my partner's mother has three german shepherds, it is hard to gage how much she spends on food per month because her dogs eat more as working dogs (on a farm) leading an exceptionally active lifestyle, and she also can buy food wholesale because of her farm (local prices near her are much cheaper than where I live down south).
Sorry for the long message, but I would appreciate advice!

Contactin the breed clubs will be a good start as an expereinced owner of GSD's will be able to advise.

ALLERTONSHIRE GSD CLUB. Sec. Mrs T Hunter. Tel No: 01748 812251
BIRMINGHAM & DISTRICT GSD ASSOC. Sec. Mrs Hood. Tel No: 01992 457615
BOLTON & DISTRICT GSD CLUB. Sec. Mrs C Morrison. Tel No. 0161 368 4928
BRITISH ASSOC FOR GSDS. Sec. Mrs K Dunkason. Tel No: 02380 263999
BRITISH GSD TRAINING CLUB. Sec. Mrs A Weeks. Tel No: 01630 638540
CLYDE VALLEY GSD CLUB. Sec. Mrs J Swan. Tel No: 01555 860389
CREWE & NORTH STAFFS GSD CLUB. Sec. Ms A Doran. Tel No: 01782 388402
DERBYSHIRE GSD CLUB. Sec. Miss P Roe. Tel No: 01142 336262
FIFE GSD CLUB. Sec. Mrs H Christie. Tel No: 01307 466373
GSD CLUB OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. Sec. Miss Hassall. Tel No: 01302 751743
GSD CLUB OF BRISTOL. Sec. Mrs P Harvey. Tel No: 0117 965 7761
GSD CLUB OF DEVON. Sec. Miss S Tucker. Tel No: 01626 833260
GSD CLUB OF ESSEX. Sec. Mrs S Rankin. Tel No: 01708 342194
GSD CLUB OF HERTFORDSHIRE. Sec. Mrs J Green. Tel No: 01438 832525
GSD CLUB OF KENT. Sec. Mrs S Briggs. Tel No: 01622 746762
GSD CLUB OF NORTHERN IRELAND. Sec. Mrs P Mathews. Tel No: 02890 729363
GSD CLUB OF SCOTLAND. Sec. Mrs E Young. Tel No: 01292 521129
GSD CLUB OF SUFFOLK. Sec. Mrs M McCrae. Tel No: 01473 719514
GSD CLUB OF WALES. Sec. Mrs Jeffries. Tel No: 01685 876147
GSD LEAGUE OF GB. Sec. Miss C Lister. Tel No: 01630 638540
GRAMPIAN GSD ASSOC. Ms Dawson. Tel No: 01224 848201
HEADS OF THE VALLEY GSD CLUB. Sec. Mrs M Davies. Tel No: 01443 412975
HUMBERSIDE GSD CLUB. Sec. Mrs O Hickson. Tel No: 01430 422091
ICENI GSD CLUB. Sec. Mrs Tidy. Tel No: 01473 310461
LEICESTERSHIRE GSD CLUB. Sec. Mrs D Walgate. Tel No: 0116 222970
LINCOLNSHIRE GSD & ALL BREEDS TRAINING SOC. Sec. Mrs Halford. Tel No: 01522 543806
LOWLAND COUNTIES ALSATIAN TRAINING CLUB. Sec. Mrs E Port. Tel No: 01698 843555
MIDLAND COUNTIES GSD ASSOC. Sec. Mrs Fahay-Newlands. Tel No: 0115 937 5165
NORFOLK GSD CLUB. Sec. Mrs J Mann. Tel No: 01603 754713
NORTH EASTERN GSD CLUB. Sec. Mrs Charlton. Tel No: 0191 241 2374
NORTH WALES ALSATIAN CLUB. Sec. Mrs C Wilson - 01407 840486
NORTH YORKSHIRE & SOUTH DURHAM GSD CLUB. Sec Ms Ingham. Tel No: Contact the Kennel Club for further information
NORTHERN ALSATIAN AND ALL BREEDS TRAINING SOC. Sec. Mrs J Cookson. Tel No: 01457 872376
NORTHUMBERLAND & DURHAM GSD TRAINING CLUB. Sec. Mrs A Newsham. Tel No: 01325 300686
PRESTON & FYLDE GSD CLUB. Sec. Mr J E Horsfield. Tel No: 01254 261446
REEDYFORD DOG TRAINING AND GSD CLUB. Sec. Mrs J Foster, 21, Wellhead, Vinehall, Trawder, Nr Colne, Lancashire BB8 8BW
SHEFFIELD GSD SOC. Sec. Mrs A Hardy. Tel No: 01777 703417
SOUTH OF SCOTLAND GSD AND ALL BREEDS TRAINING CLUB. Sec. Miss E Bonthron. Tel No: 0131 334 3938
SOUTH WESTERN GSD CLUB. Sec. Miss S J Kozhevar. Tel No: 01963 362699
SOUTH YORKSHIRE ALSATIAN ASSOC. Sec. Mr R Brandon. Tel No. 01302 721015
SOUTHERN GERMAN SHEPHERD DOG CLUB. Sec. Mrs V Kimber. Tel No: 01992 301585
TYNE VALLEY GSD CLUB. Mrs L Whales. Tel No: 01207 282801
WEST YORKSHIRE GSD CLUB. Sec. Mrs B Trafford. Tel No: 0113 2572067

Hi there, Nice to see that so much thought and preparation is going into getting a gsd....there are far too many people that just go and buy on impulse without giving prices, what it takes to bring up a gsd puppy etc. a second thought.

Anyway, I have only 2 of my bitches spayed, one had pyometra so was far more expensive than normal spay, but the other cost around £120. Of course prices vary as to which area of the country you live in and how much the dog weighs. I live in the North East of Engalnd and Jade weighed around 33kg, if that helps lol.

All of my gsd's are fed arden grange dog food, if you type in the name of the food then the website shoud pop up, sorry Im not sure how to do links. This is the only food that I have found that agrees and works for my girl with a food intolerance, and beleive me I have tried nearly all of them. It costs around £25 for a 15 kg bag that should last you about 4 weeks or so. I cannot say how much it will cost a day as to be honest I have never tried to work it out. I manage to feed 4 gsd's out of a 15kg and it lasts me about 2 weeks, if that. Bearing in mind 2 of mine are on a diet lol.
As you already know it depends on how active the dog is as to how much you feed per day.

Really hope this helps. Why not join the group and if you have any more queries then you can ask. Guests can only post one message. Please feel free to Private message me or mail me at amjamilagsds@aol.com if you need any more help.

Good look and have fun with your new pupper :-)

Amy

Hi

I work at a practice in North London and we would charge 130 pounds to spay an average size GSD bitch.

Re food - it's only my opinion but I feed my whippet a mixture of Pedigree Puppy and Hill's t/d.  I started with Hill's puppy but he really didn't like it, and while I know that Pedigree isn't ideal, I really don't have the expertise (or time!) to feed him BARF or similar.  He seems to be thriving on his slightly junk food diet (which includes anything he can steal!)

One other factor you may want to add to your budget is puppy training classes.  In my opinion, almost all pups, and especially breeds like GSDs benefit from these classes.

HTH