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Money Money Money!
Dog training and trialing isnt a cheap sport by any means and its definitely something you want to consider if thinking about training and trialing your dogs in any venue wither its AKC or IPO….its EXPENSIVE. And we have two dogs going through it. Below I will bust out our costs for our training and trials.
IPO Training Club Membership- $600 per year
United Schutzhund Club of America Membership- $150 per year
United States Boxer Association Membership- $65 per year
Greater Louisville Training Club Membership(AKC) – $30 per year
Bluegrass Boxer Club Membership (local AKC Breed Club)- $15 per year
AKC Obedience Classes- $65 per every 4 weeks per dog
AKC Rally Classes- $85 per every 6 weeks per dog
AKC Entry Fee for Obedience or Rally- anywhere from $25-$29 per entry
IPO Trial Entry Fee- Anywhere from $70-80 per entry depending on which title you are trialing for.
Now let that sink in. This doesn’t cover seminars, hotel and travel expenses because of course there are never any local trials to go to. Greater Louisville Training Club puts on a lot of AKC Obedience and AKC Rally trials so its always a blessing to not have to travel for them.
Equipment costs. You will definitely need certain equipment. Training Collars, Crates, crate pads, Leashes, Harnesses, Treats, Supplements, and lastly unexpected vet bills for injuries or sickness. Plus the regular heartworm and flea protection, food, and regular annual vet visits. This is so crazy isn’t it? who would spend so much on their dog?
Well we dont see it that way, Tia and Capone are our little athletes and this cost is pretty much the equivalent of having kids that are in sports activities. We don’t have kids. So technically they are our kids, except we can’t claim them on our taxes..although we should be able to, lol. I write this post just to remind people that the cost of dog sports is high. Not only does this sport take dedication but it also takes sacrifice. I may be eating off the $1 menu for a few days in order to save and go to trial or take a seminar. We try to save as much as possible and its been helpful having friends who’ve done this sport for years and have found ways to save money. Like rooming with someone at an out of town show that way you split you hotel costs and there’s other things as well.
So happy training and trialing if you choose to go down that route. I wouldn’t change a thing, I love the bond and relationship I have with my dogs. We have a lot of fun!
