There are plenty of ways to spend money on a dog.
For some Austin owners, that means $90 bags of kibble, supplements and pet insurance. For others, it means hundreds of dollars a month on specialized training, four daily medications or flights so the dogs never have to be boarded. And then there are the expenses that aren’t exactly necessities: new couch cushions, a trip to New York for a photorealistic tattoo of a furry best friend.
Americans spent $158 billion on their pets in 2025, up 3.7% from the year before, according to the American Pet Products Association. The group expects that figure to reach $165 billion this year. Dog ownership is growing, too: About 71 million U.S. households, or 53%, owned a dog last year, up from 51% in 2024.
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The cost of keeping those dogs has also climbed. Pet services, including veterinary care, were 5.1% more expensive in June than a year earlier, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Rover estimates caring for a dog in 2026 costs roughly $1,930 to $5,305 a year, although age, breed and medical needs can push the total much higher.
Another 2025 study estimated that caring for a dog over a 15-year lifespan now costs between about $22,000 and $61,000 — nearly 12% more than its estimate three years earlier. Nearly eight in 10 pet owners underestimated the lifetime cost, the study found.
But averages only go so far. We asked five Austin dog owners to break down what they actually spend.
Michelle Blam, $3,600 per year for one dog
Michelle Blam poses with Kitty, her pit bull mix, in Austin. Blam spent about $1,483 caring for Kitty from March through July, including food, medication, dogsitting and veterinary care.
Courtesy of Michelle Blam
When Michelle Blam, 37, first considered getting a dog in 2020, money was one of the reasons she decided to foster instead. A rescue organization would cover the food and medical bills, letting her have a dog around without taking on the full financial commitment.
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Then she met Kitty, a pit bull mix brought from Texas to Chicago. She lasted about two weeks as a foster parent before adopting her.
Now back in her hometown of Austin after about a decade in Chicago, Blam’s records show she spent $1,483.11 on Kitty from March through July, or about $297 a month. Monthly costs ranged from $157.72 in March to $403 in June.
Michelle Blam poses with Kitty, her pit bull mix, in Austin. Blam spent about $1,483 caring for Kitty from March through July, including food, medication, dogsitting and veterinary care.
Courtesy of Michelle Blam
Food was the steadiest expense. Blam, now living in Holly in East Austin, spent about $620 over the five months, feeding Kitty high-end kibble mixed with freeze-dried or frozen raw food. Medication and supplements — including joint supplements, flea and tick prevention, heartworm medication and trazodone for thunderstorms — added about $364.
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Other costs depended on the month. Blam spent $260 on dog sitting during the five-month period, including $185 in July, and a June vet visit cost $219. Smaller purchases, such as wipes, poop bags and toothpaste, added another $20.
Kitty is supposedly nearly 15 years old, though Blam suspects she is younger. So far, she has largely avoided the major health problems that can make an older dog significantly more expensive. Blam doesn’t carry pet insurance or pay for daycare, and her parents can often watch Kitty when she travels.
The bigger bills have arrived sporadically. Kitty has had her teeth cleaned twice, at about $1,200 each time. And after Kitty developed an anxious habit of digging into the couch, Blam spent about $500 replacing cushions and another $100 covering them.
Still, compared with other dog owners she knows, Blam considers Kitty relatively cheap.
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“I feel like I probably spend a lot less than other dog owners,” she said.
Lola Budimir, $5,000 per year for one dog — before vet visits
Lola Budimir poses with Toad, her 4-year-old English bulldog, in Austin. Budimir spends hundreds of dollars a month on food, supplements, pet insurance and other care for Toad.
Courtesy of Lola Budimir
Lola Budimir’s 4-year-old English bulldog, Toad, has expensive tastes.
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A typical month includes about $110 for pet insurance, $95 for food, $60 for treats and $150 for supplements. Vet visits, which generally happen about every other month, add another $350 to $800 when they occur.
Toad has allergies, so Budimir prioritizes natural products and feeds him a $90 bag of Acana freshwater fish kibble. His supplements, often disguised as treats, are for his hips and joints.
His health also makes insurance particularly valuable. Budimir said her plan reimburses as much as 90% of covered costs, which has softened the blow from Toad’s relatively frequent medical emergencies.
Budimir, a 24-year-old tattoo artist who lives in Hyde Park, said she knew before adopting Toad that a dog could be expensive. Her family warned her about it, but she didn’t care.
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“He’s really cute, and that’s my son,” she recalled thinking.
Given unlimited funds, she said she would buy him the best of everything and even build him his own house.
“As long as the dog is happy,” she said, “people can spend however much money they want.”
Marianna Nannetti, $13,000 per year for two dogs
Marianna Nannetti and her partner, Ana Jansen, pose with Apollo, their 5-month-old puppy, in Austin. The couple spends money on insurance, food and training for Apollo during his first year.
Courtesy of Marianna Nannetti
At 5 months old, Apollo is already expensive.
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Marianna Nannetti, 26, and her partner live in Pflugerville with their 6-year-old golden retriever, Kodak, and two cats, and recently got the new puppy. Between the two dogs, Nannetti calculated they are currently spending about $1,082 a month — nearly $13,000 a year if those expenses continued at the same pace.
Some of that is temporary. Apollo is still going through vaccinations and follow-up care, and he is enrolled in a six-week training program.
Marianna Nannetti and her partner, Ana Jansen, pose with Kodak, their 6-year-old golden retriever, in Austin. Kodak takes medication and supplements for health issues and receives specialized training for anxiety and mobility problems.
Courtesy of Marianna Nannetti
Kodak has anxiety and mobility problems and gets about $100 in medication and supplements each month. He also gets a $100 monthly bath and is undergoing specialized training at $150 a class, which the couple has been trying to schedule every other week.
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Together, food for the two dogs costs about $130 a month. Nannetti said Apollo’s current insurance runs about $250, while Kodak’s costs $70.
Training, grooming, insurance and health care make up most of the more than $1,000 they are currently spending each month.
Suzie Chase, about $7,100 in first-year costs for two dogs
Bella, an 8-year-old labradoodle, and Teddy, a 3-year-old goldendoodle, are owned by Austin Pets Alive! employee Suzie Chase. Chase purchased Bella as a puppy and later adopted Teddy from Austin Pets Alive!.
Courtesy of Suzie Chase
Suzie Chase has had two very different experiences with her two pups.
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Chase, who works with Austin Pets Alive!, spent about $5,396 during the first year after she got her labradoodle, Bella. Years later, she got another dog, a goldendoodle named Teddy who cost $1,732 in his first year.
Bella’s expenses started with the $1,200 purchase price and quickly multiplied. Chase, who lives in The Grove in Central Austin, spent about $875 on a veterinary clinic plan, $469 on food, $353 on heartworm, flea and tick preventatives and $240 on puppy training. Boarding cost another $540.
Then came the pile of smaller purchases that accompany a new puppy: three collars, four leashes, three crates, crate pads, bowls, brushes, toothbrushes, toys, training treats, puppy pads, cleaning supplies, a stroller and a car seat. An emergency vet visit added another $300.
And Chase said her tally probably still understates what Bella actually cost. As a puppy, Bella damaged shoes and required enough cleanup that Chase had a room in her house professionally deep cleaned — expenses she did not include in the total.
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Teddy’s first year looked very different. His adoption fee was $25, and before Chase took him home, Austin Pets Alive! had already had him examined by veterinarians, microchipped, vaccinated and neutered and provided preventatives. His first visit to a private veterinary clinic was also waived because he had been adopted from a shelter.
Chase also did not have to rebuy many of the supplies she already owned for Bella. Teddy’s largest first-year costs included $650 for boarding, $280 for food and $264 for heartworm, flea and tick prevention.
Housing added an expense Bella did not have during her first year. Chase lived in a house when she got Bella but was living in an apartment by the time she adopted Teddy, adding a $200 pet deposit and $240 in pet rent to Teddy’s first-year total.
Even after adopting a dog rather than buying a puppy, Chase said she was surprised by how quickly Teddy’s costs accumulated. Preventative medicine and boarding, in particular, were expenses she had not fully anticipated.
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An Nguyen, over $8,700 this year so far for two dogs
An Nguyen, his wife Marty, and their two dogs, Lucy and Stine.
An Nguyen, 41, doesn’t have a budget for his two 12-year-old pups, a shih tzu named Stine and a Havenese named Lucy.
The Austin attorney and his wife, Marty, got their dogs during their final year of law school, and Nguyen said his approach to their expenses has remained largely unchanged as the bills have grown.
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“They cost what they cost,” he said.
The pair, who reside in Shady Hollow in Southwest Austin, don’t have children and don’t plan to. Their pets, he said, are their main expense. They have never boarded the dogs, instead preferring to travel with them on repeated trips to New York, California and Florida.
Nguyen initially estimated during his interview that the couple had spent about $5,000 on veterinary visits this year. A review of the actual bills afterward put the total much higher: As of early August, they had spent $8,735.32 on care and grooming, including a single $1,018.54 visit.
That does not include tips for the groomer, food or roughly $25 a month in treats.
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Lucy recently began eating prescription food and takes four medications each day. The couple does not have pet insurance. And when it comes to grooming, convenience isn’t the priority: Nguyen said they drive about 30 minutes each way to a groomer they trust, passing plenty of closer options.
Then there are the costs that don’t show up in a vet ledger.
For Nguyen’s birthday, Marty surprised him with a trip to New York to visit an artist who specializes in photorealistic dog portraits. Nguyen flew there and got his first tattoo: his beloved Stine, permanently inked on his arm.
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An Nguyen flew to New York City to get a tattoo of his dog, Stine.
Courtesy of An Nguyen
For a couple whose dogs fly with them, eat prescription food and have generated nearly $9,000 in medical and grooming bills before the year is over, Nguyen still doesn’t consider their lifestyle particularly unusual.
“I just don’t think that what we do is unique,” he said.