How much do bassets cost?
The best lie my wife ever told me was that bassets only cost £12 a month... This meant it wasn't too big a financial decision when making the leap to get a pair of bassets. The reality is that it is actually a little more than this initial figure. In this post I'll try break down the reality of how much it costs for us to look after our three hounds. This post doesn't include any cost for actually buying or adopting a new hound.
Day to day living costs
For us, these costs come to about £90 per month, per basset, and include insurance, food and some treats:
Insurance: For us this works out at ~£14 each, with Animal Friends. This started at £12 seven year ago, so it's not gone up that much over the time we've had them. Samson is slightly more expensive than Delilah, but has had some special attention for a twitch he has along his spine. Of course bassets with any existing conditions may have an increased premium added. This can take insurance up above £25 - £30 per month in some cases;
Food: We feed our hounds twice a day, once in the morning and again in the evening. Both meals are a combination of dry kibble and a shared can of wet food. We also regularly add coconut oil watered down and poured over their meal. This works out at approximately £180 per month, or £60 per basset. The size of the basset does make a difference - Delilah for example eats about 15% less than Samson and Sonny.
Treats: Along with picking up our own shopping, we pick up snacks and treats for the hounds. This probably works out at about £12 - £15 per hound, per month. This includes things like Duck Fillet Jerky (from Pets at Home), Pedigree Dentastix and 'human food' such as pork pies, miniature sausages and scotch eggs.
Initial costs
Deciding to get a dog is more than the monthly costs, there are also things you will need get to keep your basset(s) safe and happy. This is based on a healthy hound, not a puppy (which will have some additional costs), include such things as:
- Dog bowls - for food and water
- Bedding - this can include a crate and a soft cushion
- Collar and lead(s) - we have used both retractable and fixed length leads at different times, depending on the age and walking style of the hound. We also tend to favour the half choker style collar with a tag (including our mobile number, postal code and our surname)
- Door gate - depending on how your house is set up, and your own situation, you may want to pick up a child/ pet gate to limit their access between rooms
- Hygiene - a shampoo and a good fur brush will go a long way to helping to care for your hounds. You should also pick up some baby wet wipes to clean their ears, eyes and so forth
- Fun - make sure you also put aside a small budget to pick up some toys to keep your hounds entertained. This could be anything from a simple tennis ball to more expensive intelligence games
Here is a quick example basket built using Vets for Pets, coming to ~£225:
Other costs
There are likely to be other costs, such as vet visits and regular worm/ flea treatments (approximately 3 or 4 times a year). Setting aside £30 per vet visit is a good basic estimate, however any additional treatment and related medication will increase this cost. Sonny, for example, takes medicine twice a day which costs about £20 a month, with a blood check coming in at a further £20 per check.
If you plan on having someone look after your pets whilst you're on holiday, the costs can range from ~£15 for a boarding kennel or ~£25 to be cared for in someone's home, per night, per hound.
Hopefully this is a useful list, but feel free to let us know if we missed out anything or if you have any other experiences.
