Where our data comes from

Breed traits and standards

Size ranges, coat type, grooming load, exercise needs and typical temperament are taken from published breed-standard documentation and long-standing breed club descriptions, then normalised onto a single 1–5 scale so any two breeds can be compared like for like. Where sources disagree — and for several breeds they do, particularly on weight ranges — we use the wider range rather than picking a side.

Health and hereditary conditions

Condition profiles are organised around the disorders each breed is documented as predisposed to, drawing on veterinary teaching-hospital material, breed health surveys and orthopaedic and ophthalmologic screening registries. Prevalence language is deliberately cautious: population-level screening data is patchy for most breeds, so we describe conditions as more or less common rather than quoting a precision the underlying data cannot support.

Ownership costs

Cost pages combine purchase or adoption price, first-year veterinary care including vaccination and neutering, food quantities scaled to adult weight, grooming frequency by coat type, and insurance premiums. City figures are adjusted for local veterinary and service costs. These are planning estimates, not quotes — your actual costs depend on the individual dog, your vet and your insurer.

Search and behaviour data

Which questions get answered first is driven by what people actually search for, measured through Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools for this site. That shapes coverage priorities only; it never changes a rating or a health recommendation.

Ownership cost references (dataset 2026.09)

The national baselines behind our cost calculator. Every figure below is the number a named source published, not an estimate of ours. Where we could not find a published figure we say so and ask you for your own, because a plausible invented number is worse than a blank field.

• Purchase or adoption not published

  not verified - the AKC page discusses acquisition cost but publishes no purchase price or adoption fee figure, and no other primary source checked carries a national range. The calculator asks the reader for their own number instead of inventing one.

  American Kennel Club, Before You Get a Puppy, Consider the Cost · published 2021-05 · checked 2026-09-07 · confidence low

• Starting equipment $230 one-off

  Sum of the one-time supply lines in the ASPCA table: collar, leash and harnesses $60, microchipping $20, carrier $50, crate $60, grooming tools $40. Medical and training lines are separate metrics here so nothing is double counted. Bed and bowls are not itemised by the ASPCA, so the real figure is a little higher.

  ASPCA, Cutting Pet Care Costs (2021 cost table) · published 2021-01 · checked 2026-09-07 · confidence medium

• First-year veterinary work $600 one-off

  Veterinary work that happens once, not every year: initial medical costs $300 plus spay or neuter $300 in the ASPCA table. Routine annual care is a separate metric.

  ASPCA, Cutting Pet Care Costs (2021 cost table) · published 2021-01 · checked 2026-09-07 · confidence medium

• Training, first year $200 one-off

  The ASPCA 'training assets' line. A multi-week group obedience course is commonly quoted in the same region, but no primary source was verified for that, so this figure stands alone.

  ASPCA, Cutting Pet Care Costs (2021 cost table) · published 2021-01 · checked 2026-09-07 · confidence medium

• Emergency reserve not published

  not verified - the ASPCA table lists one-off dental work at $500 as an example of an unplanned cost but publishes no recommended reserve. Commonly repeated figures of $1,000 to $2,000 trace back to no primary source we could check, so this is left for the reader to set.

  ASPCA, Cutting Pet Care Costs (2021 cost table) · published 2021-01 · checked 2026-09-07 · confidence low

• Food $10 to $75 a month

  The AKC gives $120 to $900 per year; divided by twelve. The spread is mostly dog size and food grade, which is why the calculator scales this by the breed's own weight rather than treating every dog as average. The ASPCA's single-point $300 per year sits inside this range.

  American Kennel Club, How Much Will You Spend on Your Dog in Their Lifetime? · published 2026-06 · checked 2026-09-07 · confidence medium

• Pet insurance $43 a month

  $516 per year in the ASPCA table, divided by twelve. This is a 2021 figure and premiums have risen since; industry reporting of the NAPHIA State of the Industry survey puts a dog accident-and-illness policy nearer $70 a month, but the NAPHIA premium section was not reachable to verify directly. Treat 43 as a floor and override it with a real quote.

  ASPCA, Cutting Pet Care Costs (2021 cost table) · published 2021-01 · checked 2026-09-07 · confidence low

• Pet rent $35.65 a month

  US average monthly pet rent, $34.88 in small cities to $37.14 in large ones. Applies to renters only; set it to zero if you own. One-time pet fees average $315 and deposits a little over $300, neither of which is included here.

  RentCafe, Pet-friendly renting statistics · published 2025-01 · checked 2026-09-07 · confidence medium

• Routine veterinary care $700 to $1,500 a year

  Routine veterinary visits. The ASPCA's 2021 table is far lower at $225 routine plus $185 preventative medication, a gap of five years and of what each counts as routine. Following the site's stated policy, the wider and more recent range is used.

  American Kennel Club, How Much Will You Spend on Your Dog in Their Lifetime? · published 2026-06 · checked 2026-09-07 · confidence medium

• Grooming $25 to $1,400 a year

  The low end is a brush and doing it yourself; the high end is a professional groomer on a regular schedule. Coat type decides where a given breed lands, which is why the calculator weights this by the breed's grooming rating.

  American Kennel Club, How Much Will You Spend on Your Dog in Their Lifetime? · published 2026-06 · checked 2026-09-07 · confidence medium

• Boarding and daycare $175 a year

  The ASPCA gives kennel boarding at $25 per day. This figure assumes seven nights a year, which is a guess about your travel, not a published statistic. Anyone who boards regularly or uses daycare should override it.

  ASPCA, Cutting Pet Care Costs (2021 cost table) · published 2021-01 · checked 2026-09-07 · confidence low

• Toys and treats $35 to $250 a year

  Toys and treats. The ASPCA's 2021 table gives $37 for toys and $60 for treats, which lands inside this range.

  American Kennel Club, How Much Will You Spend on Your Dog in Their Lifetime? · published 2026-06 · checked 2026-09-07 · confidence medium