Dog ownership costs - City versus country

One point that is hammered home to dog owners and would-be dog owners regardless of where they live is that the financial cost of keeping a dog tends to be high, and a range of different things can vary in cost considerably depending on a whole host of variables.

Owning a larger dog tends to cost more all round, with pet insurance, food, beds and accessories all rising as your dog grows, and veterinary care from routine things like flea treatment to the cost for surgery will all be higher for bigger dogs too.

Where you live in the country can also make a dramatic difference too when it comes to the costs of various things, and generally, the cost of living when it comes to dogs will be lower in the North than the South, due to the general economy-but whether you live in a city or a rural area can also affect certain costs as well, and we will look into some of these within this article. Read on to learn more.

Veterinary care

The cost of veterinary treatment for the same procedure can vary hugely depending on where in the country you live. A dental scale and polish can sometimes be under £100 in rural or less costly areas, where exactly the same procedure in London is priced at £500-£600 in some clinics.

The cost of running a city clinic is considerably more than running a rural one, when you factor in the cost of premises, wages and other overheads, and this will of course be reflected in the price that you pay for the services that your dog needs!

Insurance rates

The cost of your dog insurance policy will depend on a great many things, such as the breed, age and size of your dog, their previous health background, and much more. But not all of the elements that are used to calculate your policy pertain directly to your dog either, and your postcode, which indicates the area that you live in, can affect the cost as well!

One of the things that insurance companies use to calculate their policy costs are general statistics on the cost of veterinary care in different areas, and in areas where the cost of veterinary care is higher will lead to higher policy costs as well! Additionally, the crime rate of your area and the type of area you live in will affect your policy too, and all of this generally means that insurance for city dogs costs more than their rural counterparts.

Grooming

Dog groomers tend to be concentrated in more urban areas, where there are likely to be a high number of toy dogs and companion dog breeds, and less so working breeds and dogs that don’t really need clipping or grooming! While the cost of providing such services in terms of premises and staffing will be higher in the city than in other areas, grooming is often cheaper in cities than outside of them, due to a combination of competition from other groomers, and a more readily available client base.

If a rural grooming salon does not have as many customers as an urban one, the cost per service will have to rise accordingly to reflect this!

Dog sitting, walking and kennelling

Dog sitting services, dog walking and kennelling are all things that are widely available in most large cities, as there is a large available market of potential customers for them. In rural areas, there may well be a range of boarding kennels, but finding a dog walker or sitter can be more challenging!

This means that a night in a boarding kennel will cost less in rural areas, but getting a dog walker or sitter that covers your area will likely cost more!

Travel

Getting your dog from A to B tends to cost more in rural areas, as in cities, everything that you need will be right there on your doorstep, or a short hop by foot or on public transport. However, outside of the cities, few people live within walking distance of their vet, and many people cannot visit friends or pet stores without firing up the car either! Taxi costs can be highly variable if you need help carrying your dog, but generally, transportation and travel cost more for rural dog owners than city dwellers.

Accessories

Collars, leads, bowls, toys and beds are generally more widely offered for sale in urban areas than rural ones, where dog owners may have to make quite a trip to find a pet shop! This means that usually, accessories and other non-consumables for your dog will be more costly if buying from a shop in the country-but as many dog owners order and buy most of what they need online these days, this is one area where it is possible to even up the cost by buying on the internet!