How much it will cost approximately to have a dog in Poland?

Hello guys,

I'm planning to adopt a dog and wondering how much I will have to spend as I've never had one before.
As I consider now, it will include food, snack, toy, vets, etc.

If you have any idea or advice, pleeeeease let me know.

Thanks!
Erika

Great idea Erika. Depends on the size and breed of the dog? Obviously if it is a larger breed it eats more. ..... And as you know some breeds are more expensive than others in terms of vets' bills. Thinking of the bulldog for example here, or the retriever , with his hip displacement potential.

Other breeds, such as the perfectly awful miniature Yorkshire, probably cost a lot in terms of "le coiffure."
My lab costs an estimated (after 30 months) average of 500 zl a month.

Oh I was thinking of Yorkshire.. Is this breed expensive to keep? I want a small dog like Maltese, Shih Tzu, Pomeranian..
And 500 zl is a bit more expensive than I thought. :(

I don't know anything about small dogs, and yes, if any of those lapdogs suit your lifestyle then they are fantastic. The Pomeranian would be the most expensive wouldn't he, because he is the largest, but his coat doesn't need the same care as the others I would have thought.

There are plenty of Pomeranians that need rescuing. No idea why - great dogs. The others are very fashionable (the Maltese terrier in number one for dog thieves for example).

None of them will eat more than 200 zl a month, but their diets are particular, whereas bigger dogs can eat things that would kill a person in pretty short order:)

Erika you should think about the temperament/personality of the breed too. That's an important factor that people often don't consider. How will this breed of dog fit in with your lifestyle? How much exercise and mental stimulation do they need, do they like being around children etc. Maltese terriers in my experience are true lap dogs in that they need only moderate exercise and are happy to be indoors but they can be rather irritable and snappy especially around children, they don't like vigorous play or rough handling. Yorkies on the other hand are great little characters, quite feisty and adventurous and they can walk you off your feet! They're very energetic and half an hour after a walk they can be whining to go out again so be warned.

If you're in an apartment bear in mind that you will have to be prepared to take the dog out to the loo at any hour of the day or night. It's not uncommon to look out the window at three or four in the morning in Warsaw and see some unfortunate dog owner taking Rover out for a tinkle. Also are you going to be at work for long hours? If so that's not really fair on the dog.

Finally are you permanently settled in Poland? Because it's really not fair on a dog to give him a home and then move on a couple of years from now, maybe not being able to take him with you and end up putting him through the stress of being re-homed.


When I had a Yorkie many years ago I used to just trim him myself with a scissors.He looked like a little bottle brush when he was freshly coiffured! His coat grew back very nicely and looked just shaggy and natural. I had his nails clipped professionally though.

Thank you for your opinion!
I'm an active person so would like to take a dog out as many as I can so Yorkie sounds good for me.

But do people here always take dogs out for a pee? Cause in my country, South Korea, people mostly live in an apartment so they have a particular pad and train a dog only to pee there.

And the only problem is as you mentioned I'm living alone so it worries me a lot.. :(

Depends on the breed how often, but....yes.

That's the advantage of large dogs..... they can hold it for much longer. 12-15 hours for a lab. Though I would never do that of course. Small dogs can be trained as you suggest, but that's not a popular idea in Europe.

Why not take the dog to work with you? Or why not a cat, or a Mynah bird?:)

I would say that if you plan to come out to the sticks (countryside) to walk your dog please be careful, there are many dogs on the loose and some of them would fall under the category dangerous dog elsewhere in Europe, the last thing you want is to be caught in a fight between your dog and a wild dog.

It is legal to buy pepper spray in Poland to protect yourself and your dog from harm, I suggest you get a tin for when out in the country, oh and read the instructions before you go out so you know how to use it if needs be.

Oh to add if you are a visitor to Poland do not take the spray home with you it is illegal in allot of other /eu countries.

I have a miniature Yorkshire - it cost 600 PLN - he is quite inexpensive to keep (doesn't eat a lot) - I don't know if it's only mine one but he often needs to go for a walk like every 3 to 4 hours - but maybe you can train one to pee and poo on a pad you were talking about - I think such pads are available in Polish pet shops

My experience stems from helping fellow cat breeders with their dogs for show (mostly Yorkie, Silky, Lhas Apso, Shi Tzu and Schipperke) and rescue retraining (excluding my own mini daschunds, pekingnese, Pom and min pins). That said:

Toy dogs in general are notoriously hard to house train and stubborn to train, especially terriers. Toy terriers in general are notorious for being allowed a dominant position that they later signal to larger dogs at their peril (Dashies, Skippers and MinPins come out of the box being scrappy with other strange dogs) How critical is the speed that they stop piddling on floor? How long would they be alone , not just now, but in predictable future?

I presume you have the dog already allowed in contract? Being a puppy and dog types that are prone to accidents; it is important to kennel train.

How old or new is the flat you live in? Will neighbors complain if it's howling disturbs them . And it WILL cry.

Yorkies and other bearded breeds need to be constantly face cleaned to keep ugly stains and unpleasant odor down. You will have to learn to keep it in a puppy cut at least to prevent coat mishaps. But in appearance a yorkie in puppy cut looks no more than a poodle mix.

Toy poodles do have one advantage of trainability that even a novice handler can get a satisfactory result from. Both yorkies and poodles trigger fewer allergy responses.

Since you do not speak local language you will have to make your dog a model citizen. "I'll keep it in the house" can always have that ONE day. Also you need to pick your local vet. Have the animal microchipped.

I am not Polish, and do not yet live there so others will have to advise you on what the culture expects of your dog, and your treatment of said dog. Be very careful and get a friendly healthy adult to train or a really really reputable breeder because health problems can sink the enjoyment of your companion.

Showlines, at least American showlines, can be very high strung. My small peel is thru my fiance and family have 4 shepherds and 3 yorkies indoor (one shepherd was euthaniszed after removing 2 yorkies despite being contained). The dark one (a heavily colored Yorkie girl) was a dog that cost 1200, and has had three vet trips to date racking about 2k. Not sure what her dietary expense is. His personal shepherd has been expensive because he required intestinal surgery and had an infection. They young dog is on special diet. The rest are feed mix of chicken ground and dry food.

I am putting a lot into this response not to dissuade you, but because I want you to succeed. I have dealt with too many discarded failures and I couldn't save them all

Exactly. Walking the dog is a pleasure. And it's the old cliche, but the dog walks you. It might be 11 pm but we are now going to the giant underpass to play football. He's like Ronaldo, without the cheating....

OP: You're really busy at the office right? Depending on your status, you could take the dog with you.

But:

You said you want to "adopt" a dog? Do you mean, as I suspect, you want to get a dog from the dog home?

If you want to rescue a dog, and don't have the time for it, that is a bad choice in my opinion. A rescued dog needs extra care and attention (call it love if you will). You would agree that a lot of them (like we would be) are totally freaked by what has happened to them. I couldn't spare the time to help a potentially maladjusted dog, and that's why I have a relatively expensive pedigree (that I know will behave in a certain way) and I crate trained him in the American way, so like a young teenager, he never misses me, and totally ignores me when I return:).

I really wasn't joking when I suggested a cat or a bird. I would love to have an African parrot, and all that stops me is that it would of course outlive me, which again would be unfair to the animal.

Priority: In your choice you MUST be fair to the animal as Atch suggests. Good luck, and this wasn't intended to be a lecture. If you want a mutt, go for it! Our rescued friends need our help, and that might require time and dedication (equalling cost)


Crate training and ignoring the wee beastie solves that - but you know that. Of course, the OP would have to choose a puppy though:)))


Very excitable dogs, as Gumishu might testify. My dozy dog just came round the hall and sat at the entrance to the bedroom looking at me, which tells me he wants to go out for some reason. That's after only 5 hours sleep. Your canine pal can take over your life OP !:)

Jesus?
Really?
That's disgusting

imo go adopt a dog from a shelter