How Much Does It Cost To Own A Dog?

The cost of owning a dog runs $1,390 to $5,295 a year, or about $116 to $441 a month, according to Rover’s Cost of Pet Parenthood survey. Rover’s own monthly figure for a medium dog is $120 to $435. The first year costs more: Rover puts upfront first-year costs at $1,150 to $4,420 before you pay a puppy price or adoption fee. Over a full life, Rover estimates $16,440 for a small dog, $29,500 to $33,700 for a medium dog and $52,075 for a large dog.

Those ranges are wide because size, coat, health and your own spending habits all move the number. A Chihuahua eating a quarter to half a cup of food a day and a Mastiff eating 4 to 12 cups land in very different places. The tables below break the cost of owning a dog into the categories that drive it, so you can see where your own budget will fall.

First-Year Cost Of A Dog

The first year is the most expensive year for most owners. You pay to bring the dog home, then cover vaccines, spay or neuter surgery and a pile of supplies in the same few months. Rover’s survey breaks those one-time costs into the categories below.

Category	Low	High
Puppy price (breeder)	$775	$4,750
Adoption fee (shelter or rescue)	$30	$455
Spay or neuter	$125	$600
Vaccinations	$195	$470
Initial vet exam	$90	$170
Preventives (flea, tick, heartworm, deworming)	$20	$310
Microchip and ID	$15	$65
License	$25	$125
Essential supplies (crate, bed, bowls, leash)	$220	$1,160
Grooming supplies	$300	$645
Starter food and treats	$65	$430
Cleaning supplies	$45	$125
Toys	$20	$100
Rover’s published upfront total (excluding purchase)	$1,150	$4,420

The listed categories add up to $1,120 to $4,200. Rover publishes its upfront total of $1,150 to $4,420 separately, so treat it as Rover’s overall estimate rather than a sum of the rows.

Rover separately puts a puppy’s ongoing yearly spending at $1,520 to $6,415, the widest range of any life stage. Food is the biggest swing item for puppies, at $555 to $4,465 a year, followed by pet insurance at $270 to $1,120 and gear at $255 to $715.

Other surveys land in a similar zone. A 2022 study by Synchrony, which polled 1,200 pet owners and 100 veterinarians, put a dog’s first year at $1,300 to $2,800, with the low end leaving out insurance and wellness plans. The ASPCA’s older cost table, labeled a 2021 update, lists $1,030 in initial one-time costs and a first-year total of $3,221.

For a closer look at what you pay to bring a dog home, including prices by breed type, see how much is a puppy.

Monthly And Yearly Cost Of A Dog

Once a dog reaches adulthood, spending settles down. Rover reports that yearly costs for an adult dog run $1,260 to $4,170, and senior dogs climb back to $2,555 to $4,680 a year before any end-of-life care. The table shows Rover’s range for each spending category. Not every owner pays for every category, such as training, daycare or insurance, so the rows don’t add up to the yearly total.

Category	Yearly low	Yearly high
Food	$655	$1,905
Treats and chews	$50	$730
Routine vet visits	$75	$110
Preventives (flea, tick, heartworm)	$120	$420
Dental care	$430	$600
Training	$115	$290
Gear and supplies	$65	$205
Toys	$20	$100
Grooming (high-maintenance coats)	$300	$975
Dog walking and daycare	$230	$410
Pet insurance (Rover survey)	$602	$1,120
Pet insurance (NAPHIA average, accident and illness)	$836	$836

The North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA) reports an average accident-and-illness premium for dogs of $836 a year, which works out to about $70 a month. An accident-only plan averages $190 a year, or about $16 a month. Premiums depend heavily on breed, age and ZIP code, so check dog insurance costs for what moves a quote.

How Much Does A Dog Cost Per Month?

Rover puts the monthly cost of a medium dog at $120 to $435. Here is how that monthly budget splits by category.

Monthly category (medium dog)	Low	High
Diet and health	$48	$174
Medical	$18	$65
Pet care services	$18	$65
Gear	$9	$30
Grooming	$6	$22
Miscellaneous	$22	$78

Rover’s newer survey of 1,000 pet parents raises that medium-dog range to $145 to $505 a month, but those figures come from news coverage of the release by FOX TV stations rather than Rover’s full report. The category breakdown above comes from the report Rover published directly.

Rover also recommends keeping $790 to $2,990 set aside for surprises. Rover’s examples of surprise costs include an emergency vet visit at $280 to $1,750, diagnostics at $105 to $210, end-of-life care at $250 to $320 and pet damage to a rental at $100 to $1,150.

Lifetime Cost Of A Dog By Size

Size has a big effect on lifetime cost. Large dogs eat more, cost more to insure and need bigger doses of weight-based medications, while small dogs often live longer but cost less each year.

Dog size	Lifetime cost (Rover)
Small	$16,440
Medium	$29,500 to $33,700
Large	$52,075

Rover’s latest press release puts the median lifetime cost of a medium dog at $39,350, higher than the medium range in the table. The 2022 Synchrony study gave a broader lifetime span of $20,000 to $55,000 for dogs of all sizes.

Breed-level estimates on this site follow the same pattern. A Chihuahua runs about $19,460 to $29,040 over a 14- to 16-year life, while a Mastiff runs $22,360 to $54,400 over just 6 to 10 years, because its yearly costs are more than double.

Cost Of Owning A Dog By Breed

The table below ranks every breed on breedcosts.com/ by the high end of its estimated first-year cost, most expensive first, with puppy price, monthly insurance and lifetime cost for each.

Breed	Puppy price	Insurance per month	First-year cost	Lifetime cost
Bernese Mountain Dog	$1,500–$4,000	$65–$130	$6,080–$10,860	$27,560–$50,100
Cane Corso	$1,500–$5,000	$50–$100	$4,900–$10,200	$25,700–$45,400
Mastiff	$1,000–$3,000	$80–$210	$5,560–$10,120	$22,360–$54,400
Goldendoodle	$2,000–$5,000	$40–$70	$5,480–$9,440	$28,700–$50,600
English Bulldog	$2,000–$4,500	$70–$110	$5,340–$9,020	$22,420–$35,300
Poodle	$1,200–$4,000	$32–$60	$4,880–$8,920	$34,410–$51,200
Saint Bernard	$1,000–$2,500	$55–$130	$5,260–$8,760	$27,380–$45,300
German Shepherd	$1,500–$3,500	$44–$80	$5,080–$8,510	$25,700–$41,620
Rottweiler	$1,500–$3,000	$56–$125	$5,120–$8,450	$26,100–$39,500
French Bulldog	$1,500–$4,500	$55–$95	$4,210–$8,390	$21,400–$34,680
Golden Retriever	$1,000–$3,500	$40–$95	$4,380–$8,340	$25,800–$41,780
Doberman Pinscher	$1,200–$3,000	$40–$115	$4,630–$8,330	$26,500–$44,960
Cavapoo	$1,500–$4,000	$27–$70	$4,270–$8,090	$28,190–$45,750
Maltipoo	$1,500–$4,000	$25–$55	$4,200–$7,960	$27,300–$44,860
Biewer Terrier	$1,500–$4,000	$27–$55	$4,170–$7,610	$25,890–$42,260
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel	$1,500–$3,500	$35–$105	$4,020–$7,560	$24,040–$44,800
Bichon Frise	$1,500–$3,500	$35–$60	$4,620–$7,420	$31,240–$45,500
Pomeranian	$1,500–$4,000	$35–$60	$4,120–$7,420	$26,340–$42,220
Labrador Retriever	$800–$2,500	$39–$86	$4,120–$7,380	$24,980–$39,080
Morkie	$1,000–$3,000	$26–$60	$3,760–$7,070	$22,880–$39,550
Miniature Schnauzer	$1,000–$3,000	$35–$65	$3,720–$6,680	$23,920–$40,000
Australian Shepherd	$800–$2,500	$28–$55	$3,840–$6,660	$28,430–$42,500
Pit Bull	$500–$2,500	$41–$70	$3,390–$6,640	$17,340–$39,400
Border Collie	$800–$2,500	$27–$60	$3,720–$6,620	$25,990–$40,500
Shiba Inu	$1,500–$3,500	$35–$60	$3,820–$6,620	$23,260–$35,420
Staffordshire Bull Terrier	$1,200–$3,000	$30–$60	$3,680–$6,440	$22,220–$33,030
Basset Hound	$800–$2,500	$40–$80	$3,630–$6,410	$25,960–$41,550
Dachshund	$1,200–$3,000	$30–$60	$3,310–$6,070	$19,920–$34,120
Siberian Husky	$700–$2,000	$40–$70	$3,630–$5,990	$25,960–$37,060
Boston Terrier	$1,000–$2,500	$36–$60	$3,280–$5,670	$19,100–$28,110
Beagle	$800–$2,000	$35–$70	$3,170–$5,390	$18,200–$34,650
Chihuahua	$800–$2,500	$20–$45	$2,690–$5,190	$19,460–$29,040

How To Lower The Cost Of Owning A Dog

Most savings come from a few big decisions made early rather than from cutting small expenses later.

• Adopt instead of buying. Rover puts adoption fees at $30 to $455, compared with $775 to $4,750 for a breeder puppy. Shelters often include vaccines and spay or neuter surgery in the fee, and Rover says breeder buyers can pay up to $1,380 more for those services. Some shelters waive fees entirely for senior dogs and dogs that have waited a long time.
• Enroll in pet insurance while your dog is young. Insurance can’t cover pre-existing conditions, so a problem that shows up in the vet record before you enroll is excluded. Premiums also rise with age at most carriers. A 2022 Consumers’ Checkbook analysis found one carrier charging $34 a month for a mixed-breed puppy, $76 at age 8 and $144 at age 12.
• Adjust the policy, not just the provider. A higher deductible, a lower reimbursement rate or a lower annual limit all cut the premium. An accident-only plan averages $190 a year per NAPHIA, compared with $836 for accident-and-illness coverage.
• Pick a smaller or lower-maintenance breed. Small adult dogs cost roughly 63% less per year than large and giant adults, according to FOX coverage of Rover’s newest survey. Short-coated breeds also skip the $300 to $975 a year that high-maintenance coats can run in grooming. See the cheapest dog breeds for options.
• Keep up with dental care at home. Rover lists dental care for adult dogs at $430 to $600 a year. Ask your vet whether home brushing can stretch the time between professional cleanings.
• Watch the treat budget. Treats and chews alone range from $50 to $730 a year for adult dogs. The American Pet Products Association (APPA) reports that dog owners have already started trimming here, with average treat spending down 11% as owners became more value-focused.
• Build an emergency fund. Setting aside Rover’s recommended $790 to $2,990 keeps an unexpected vet bill from landing on a credit card.

US households spend about $158 billion a year on their pets, according to APPA, and APPA counts 71 million dog-owning households. Vet care takes 29% of the typical dog owner’s pet spending and food takes 27%, so those two categories are where planning pays off most.

Sources

• Rover: How Much Does a Dog Cost? (2025 Cost of Pet Parenthood)
• Rover 2026 Cost of Pet Parenthood press release
• FOX 5 NY: Here’s how much it costs to own a dog or cat in 2026
• Rover: What Is the Cost of Raising a Puppy?
• Synchrony study: lifetime cost of pet ownership
• ASPCA: Cutting Pet Care Costs (2021 update table)
• NAPHIA State of the Industry 2026 Highlights (PDF)
• Consumers’ Checkbook: Many Pet Insurance Premiums Skyrocket as Pets Get Old
• APPA: Industry Trends and Stats
• APPA: America’s Dog Owners Are Becoming Smarter Spenders

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