Searchbreed
Report · Updated August 2026

The First-Year Cost of Owning a Dog, by Breed (2026)

We estimated the practical first-year cost of routine care for all 92 breeds in our database. It ranges from about $1,900 to $4,100 — and a giant breed's first year runs roughly double a toy's.

Average first year

$2,889

Most expensive

$4,100

Least expensive

$1,913

Size spread

2.1×

Across all 92 breeds in our database, the practical first-year cost of routine care averages $2,889. The Great Pyrenees tops the list at about $4,100, while the Italian Greyhound is the most affordable at roughly $1,913 — a 2.1× gap driven mostly by size.

Year one is the expensive one: it runs about $852 more than a typical ongoing year ($2,889 vs $2,037), because of one-time setup — crate, bed, initial vet work, and gear.

By size

Bigger dog, bigger first year

toy
$2,073
small
$2,317
medium
$2,793
large
$3,380
giant
$3,992
10 most expensive
  1. 1Great Pyrenees$4,100
  2. 2Newfoundland$4,100
  3. 3Tibetan Mastiff$4,100
  4. 4Leonberger$4,100
  5. 5Irish Wolfhound$3,975
  6. 6Cane Corso$3,963
  7. 7Great Dane$3,863
  8. 8English Mastiff$3,863
  9. 9Anatolian Shepherd$3,863
  10. 10Golden Retriever$3,500
10 most affordable
  1. 1Italian Greyhound$1,913
  2. 2Chihuahua$1,913
  3. 3Brussels Griffon$2,025
  4. 4Papillon$2,025
  5. 5Cavalier King Charles Spaniel$2,025
  6. 6Maltipoo$2,150
  7. 7Toy Poodle$2,150
  8. 8Maltese$2,150
  9. 9Shih Tzu$2,150
  10. 10Boston Terrier$2,150
Full data

All 92 breeds, ranked

#BreedSizeFirst-year range
1Great Pyreneesgiant$2,200-$6,000
2Newfoundlandgiant$2,200-$6,000
3Tibetan Mastiffgiant$2,200-$6,000
4Leonbergergiant$2,200-$6,000
5Irish Wolfhoundgiant$2,200-$5,750
6Cane Corsogiant$2,175-$5,750
7Great Danegiant$2,175-$5,550
8English Mastiffgiant$2,175-$5,550
9Anatolian Shepherdgiant$2,175-$5,550
10Golden Retrieverlarge$1,800-$5,200
11Poodle (Standard)large$1,800-$5,200
12Goldendoodlelarge$1,800-$5,200
13Labradoodlelarge$1,800-$5,200
14Alaskan Malamutelarge$1,800-$5,200
15Irish Setterlarge$1,800-$5,200
16Airedale Terrierlarge$1,800-$5,200
17Sheepadoodlelarge$1,800-$5,200
18English Setterlarge$1,800-$5,200
19Akitalarge$1,800-$5,000
20Bernese Mountain Doglarge$1,800-$5,000
21Bernedoodlelarge$1,800-$5,000
22Old English Sheepdoglarge$1,800-$5,000
23Labrador Retrieverlarge$1,800-$4,950
24German Shepherdlarge$1,800-$4,950
25Belgian Malinoislarge$1,800-$4,950
26Flat-Coated Retrieverlarge$1,800-$4,950
27Chesapeake Bay Retrieverlarge$1,800-$4,950
28Rottweilerlarge$1,800-$4,750
29Bloodhoundlarge$1,800-$4,750
30Rhodesian Ridgebacklarge$1,775-$4,750
31Doberman Pinscherlarge$1,775-$4,750
32Weimaranerlarge$1,775-$4,750
33Boxerlarge$1,775-$4,750
34Catahoula Leopard Doglarge$1,775-$4,750
35German Shorthaired Pointerlarge$1,775-$4,750
36Plott Houndlarge$1,775-$4,750
37American Foxhoundlarge$1,775-$4,750
38Australian Shepherdmedium$1,475-$4,375
39Siberian Huskymedium$1,475-$4,375
40Samoyedmedium$1,475-$4,375
41Portuguese Water Dogmedium$1,475-$4,375
42Soft Coated Wheaten Terriermedium$1,475-$4,375
43Aussiedoodlemedium$1,475-$4,375
44Norwegian Elkhoundmedium$1,475-$4,375
45Chow Chowmedium$1,475-$4,175
46Lagotto Romagnolomedium$1,475-$4,175
47Border Colliemedium$1,475-$4,125
48English Springer Spanielmedium$1,475-$4,125
49Brittanymedium$1,475-$4,125
50Dalmatianmedium$1,475-$4,125
51Bulldog (English)medium$1,475-$3,925
52Chinese Shar-Peimedium$1,475-$3,925
53Basset Houndmedium$1,475-$3,925
54Vizslamedium$1,450-$3,925
55Australian Cattle Dogmedium$1,450-$3,925
56American Pit Bull Terriermedium$1,450-$3,925
57Bull Terriermedium$1,450-$3,925
58Staffordshire Bull Terriermedium$1,450-$3,925
59Whippetmedium$1,450-$3,725
60Shetland Sheepdogsmall$1,200-$3,775
61Pomskysmall$1,200-$3,775
62Shiba Inusmall$1,200-$3,575
63Cocker Spanielsmall$1,200-$3,575
64Miniature Schnauzersmall$1,200-$3,575
65Bichon Frisesmall$1,200-$3,575
66West Highland White Terriersmall$1,200-$3,575
67Scottish Terriersmall$1,200-$3,575
68Miniature Poodlesmall$1,200-$3,575
69Cockapoosmall$1,200-$3,575
70Cavapoosmall$1,200-$3,575
71Pembroke Welsh Corgismall$1,200-$3,325
72Pugsmall$1,200-$3,325
73Cairn Terriersmall$1,200-$3,325
74Cardigan Welsh Corgismall$1,200-$3,325
75Beaglesmall$1,175-$3,325
76Jack Russell Terriersmall$1,175-$3,325
77Basenjismall$1,175-$3,325
78Rat Terriersmall$1,175-$3,325
79French Bulldogsmall$1,175-$3,125
80Havanesetoy$1,050-$3,250
81Dachshundsmall$1,175-$3,125
82Yorkshire Terriertoy$1,050-$3,250
83Boston Terriersmall$1,175-$3,125
84Shih Tzutoy$1,050-$3,250
85Maltesetoy$1,050-$3,250
86Toy Poodletoy$1,050-$3,250
87Maltipootoy$1,050-$3,250
88Cavalier King Charles Spanieltoy$1,050-$3,000
89Papillontoy$1,050-$3,000
90Brussels Griffontoy$1,050-$3,000
91Chihuahuatoy$1,025-$2,800
92Italian Greyhoundtoy$1,025-$2,800
Methodology

Figures are practical planning ranges for a dog's first year of routine care, estimated per breed from size and grooming needs. Each breed's total sums food, first-year gear and setup, routine vet care and preventatives, grooming, training, and other one-time costs (microchip, license, spay/neuter). "First-year" figures in this report use the midpoint of each range; the full table shows the range.

Totals deliberately exclude emergencies, condition-specific treatment, premium fresh-food-only diets, boarding or day care, optional supplements, insurance, and purchase or adoption fees. A breed's health-risk list is not treated as a set of guaranteed bills.

Ranges are benchmarked against the Rover 2026 Cost of Dog Parenthood report and the Synchrony 2025 Lifetime of Care study. Updated August 2026.

Cite or reuse this data

This data is free to cite with attribution to Searchbreed. Journalists and site owners are welcome to link to this report or embed a per-breed cost card:

<iframe src="https://searchbreed.com/embed/cost/great-pyrenees"
        width="440" height="440" style="border:0;max-width:100%"
        loading="lazy" title="Dog first-year cost — Searchbreed"></iframe>
<p style="font:12px sans-serif">First-year cost data by
  <a href="https://searchbreed.com/reports/first-year-dog-cost">Searchbreed</a>.</p>

Working on a story and want a custom cut (by size, grooming needs, or a specific set of breeds)? Reach us at hello@searchbreed.com.

See the full cost breakdown for your breed

Every Searchbreed breed guide includes a first-year and ongoing cost estimate, plus health, feeding, and care.

Browse all breeds →