For an extensive and fun-loving family, a Chesapeake Bay Retriever should be a strong contender for your home. This bright and affectionate breed is fit to be regal but is its price tag just as grand?
A Chesapeake Bay Retriever puppy is usually around $800 to $1,500. The price heavily depends on the dog’s sex, age, pedigree, and quality. The breeder’s reputation and location also play a prominent role, with the cost soaring past $2,500 for high-quality breeds.
Now, just like with other similar breeds, the cost of a Chessie quickly adds up to you as you consider things like grooming, caring, and supply runs. Before you begin your search for your forever friend, you’ll need to be prepared for other additional or unexpected costs.
How Much Is A Chesapeake Bay Retriever?
Even though the price of Chesapeake Bay Retrievers typically sits around the $800 to $1,500 mark, you can still get a Chessie for as low as $500. You must be more conscientious with the cheaper dogs and do your due diligence in vetting the breeder.
When purchasing a Chesapeake Bay Retriever puppy that sits around $500 to $1,300, you’ll want to check that the puppy’s parents have undergone a rigorous health screening. This is where experienced and reputable breeders will have a leg up, as they generally give this information upfront without you having to ask.
Of course, even the Chessie pups claimed to be premium breeds require investigation because chance-takers will want to sell you a $2,500 dog that should be $1,000. However, suppose you know that the cost of maintaining your new Chessie will only go up from the point of purchase. If that’s your wallet’s situation, you might want to consider adoption.
Chesapeake Bay Retrievers aren’t the easiest dogs to care for because of their stubborn nature and resistance to being trained. This dog is also spunky and requires much attention for play and exercise.
Because of their need for attentive owners, they often need a new home. This is why adoption is usually the suggested route for new owners for many reasons: affordability. Rescue Chessies only fetch around $200 to $300.
Cost Of Owning A Chesapeake Bay Retriever
Although it’s not so romantic to talk about the cost of welcoming a new pup into your home, it’s essential to be familiar with all these hidden costs to care for your Chessie properly.
Unfortunately, many excited potential Chessie parents overlook this step and end up not giving their pups the love and care they need, which can be traumatizing for the dogs.
Being meticulous with choosing your Chesapeake Bay Retriever puppy from the start will set you on the road towards reasonable monthly costs. A healthy Chesapeake Bay Retriever will help keep costs low as you can curb many other things by needing your dog’s needs. Still, you should budget between $150 to $375 for monthly expenses.
Suppose you were unlucky and became the angelic owner of a Chesapeake Bay Retriever that needs more love and care than others. In that case, you’ll also need to budget between $110 to $320 per month for health costs.
Chesapeake Bay Retrievers are sizeable dogs which makes sense that they’d be vulnerable to hip dysplasia. Still, they are also susceptible to gastric torsion, thyroid, and eye issues.
Getting your Chesapeake Bay Retriever on pet insurance will probably be cheaper, even though you might be slapped with a higher premium because of the mentioned health susceptibilities.
As pet insurance can sometimes be a hefty sum, shop around but expect to pay anywhere from $40 to $100 each month. This might sound like a lot, but this will save you so much money and grief in the long run if your Chessie comes down with the sniffles or some severe health emergency.
Furthermore, on health costs, a healthy Chesapeake Bay Retriever will save you a ton of money as you’ll mostly need to pay for your run-of-the-mill vet visitation and pills for heartworms.
These standard costs shouldn’t be too high that it arouses worries. Unfortunately, if your Chesapeake Bay Retriever is on the sickly side, the medication and vet costs will vary widely.
Depending on the health conditions, you’ll need to budget anywhere from as little as $5 to $100 per month. The more health challenges your dog is, the more dollars you’ll need to set aside.
A healthy Chesapeake Bay Retriever will want to be outside and active; with that, energy expenditure follows an appetite. Your feeding bill will run you between $60 to $100 each month. You’ll want to create a daily feeding schedule of between two and three meals.
Try to have at least two meals to avoid the bloat these dogs are now predisposed towards. The number of feeding times you’ll need for your new pet will also depend on the amount of activity it gets, its age, and its sex.
The rest of the costs shouldn’t be anywhere near what’s already covered. Still, they also require explicit stating, as anything that sneaks up on you could be startling. If you are familiar with dog grooming, you should be able to save yourself around $5 to $20 every month.
Chessies aren’t particularly demanding when it comes to their grooming. Their coat requires regular brushing, especially around Springtime when they do a lot of their undercoat shedding.
Toothbrushing and nail trimming is the only other regular grooming you’ll need to watch out for, as your Chessie will only need bathing now and again.
Again, these dogs require a lot of physical and mental stimulation. You’ll need to take them out to parks, which might require a fee. You’ll also need to spend a couple of dollars initially to get a supply of some sturdy dog toys or rather an affordable monthly toy box subscription.
A Chessie will give you plenty of joy and warmth, so make sure to budget and save accordingly to give just a little back to it. Don’t be too out off by the seemingly endless digging into your pockets because you’ll surely not regret getting this dog if you do proper research and play your cards right.
You should expect to spend a minimum of $150 to $375 monthly to give your new Chesapeake Bay Retriever.
Conclusion
Don’t protest the quick-wrap-up too much as most of the costs you might end up shouldering from bringing this beautiful dog into your home can be overwhelming for some. It’s best to address just the costs in a single article not to get too distracted.
Owning a Chesapeake Bay Retriever can be incredibly rewarding if you have the funds and invest in things like early dog training. However, as long as you aren’t a new dog owner, you can also own your own Chessie if you know how to play the system.
Like adopting, using free or cheap park access, doing most of your grooming, shopping around for pet insurance, doing your dog training, and bookmarking the most affordable veterinary clinics in your area.
