How much does a Boston Terrier cost annually?


Are you thinking about buying a Boston Terrier and curious about how much you are going to be spending on a monthly and annual bases? You are doing the smart thing, thinking about costs before jumping into a big commitment.

I have owned Bella, my Boston Terrier, for over a decade. In this article, I outline all the items we have had to buy because of Bella. There are several one time things you’ll pay for, but in this article, I only want to cover the ongoing/ reoccurring costs we pay for Bella.

How much does a Boston Terrier cost annually? Boston Terrier Society.
Bella waiting for Sofia to drop some food.

Note: In this article, when monthly or annual costs are explained, it is to show you the numbers in a simple format. Most expenses related to your Boston will be paid in one time fees with no option of monthly payments.

How much does a Boston Terrier cost monthly and annually?

According to a survey of 50 Boston Terrier owners, a Boston will cost you approximately $84.76 per month or $1,017.22 per year.

Survey of 50 Boston Terrier Owners

Before I outline my costs for Bella, I wanted to show you a survey I recently conducted. In this survey, 50 Boston owners responded to the question…With your best assumption, how much money do you spend on your Boston annually? Include dog food, veterinary visits, toys, medicine, etc.

Answers to the survey in a pie chart:

The respondents had the option to click on the annual cost that best described them in $100 increments starting with $1 to $99 and maxing out at $1,500 plus. 

The average annual cost for a Boston Terrier, according to the survey was $1,017.22 or $84.76 per month.

The numbers were calculated by obtaining the average of the highest number in each $100 increment. Also, keep in mind the average cost could be a little lower than the actual average because the final dollar amount in the survey maxed out at $1,500 per year. Some of these Boston owners may spend well over the $1,500, but it is not captured in this survey.

Personal Choice

How much you spend on a Boston or any dog is a personal decision. Growing up, my grandparents had several dogs on their farm. And all my grandparents paid for was the dog food. I don’t ever recall the dogs going to the vet, or receiving medication, and especially no toys. So keep this in mind when owning your dog.

Check out the full results of the survey here, Boston Terrier Owner’s Survey.

List of standard things you will need to buy for a Boston Terrier:

FoodVaccinations
CrateBed
PillowLeash
Puppy PadsToys
Dental IssuesEmergencies
Dog TrainingRental Deposits
Flea MedicationsBlanket
CollarPet Sitter
Damage to othersHigher Rental Rates

The common things you’ll need to buy for your Boston Terrier are generally one time costs rather than ongoing. In this article, I only want to cover the ongoing costs I pay for so you can get a better understanding of the monthly responsibilities you’ll need to think about before you get a Boston.

Food costs for your Boston Terrier

Food is the number one cost people think about when it comes to getting their first dog. For Bella, we give her two heaping ½ cups of dog food per day. This amounts to about 1.25 cups per day. 

The type of dog food we get Bella is Blue Buffalo Salmon. We switched Bella to this brand of dog food years ago. We made the switch to help her with her hair loss and red rashes on her stomach. The veterinarian thought she had a sensitivity to grains.

A 24-pound bag of Blue Buffalo costs $49.99 or 54.76 with our local sales tax. Bella’s bag of dog food lasts about two months before we need to buy another bag.

Monthly food cost

$27.38

It will cost approximately $27 per month to feed your Boston Terrier.

Annual food cost

$328.56. 

It will cost approximately $329 per year to feed your Boston Terrier.

Looking for food options for your Boston Terrier? Check out my article on what Emily and I feed Bella. Click here to the article covering, What we feed Bella.

Veterinarian costs

There are several vaccinations you will have to get over your dog’s life. As well as regular annual checkups from your veterinarian. In this article, I want to cover the yearly costs of a routine visit to your vet once per year.

When we take Bella to the vet, the bill is usually the same from year to year as long as she is not due for any number of shots necessary for a dog.

Monthly cost

$10.00

The approximate monthly costs.

Annual cost

$120.00

The approximate cost for a yearly check-up with the vet with no significant issues is $120.00.

How much does a Boston Terrier cost annually? Boston Terrier Society.
Me applying Bella’s heartworm, flea, and tick medication.

Heartworm, Flea, and Tick Medication Costs

There are many heartworms, flea, and tick medications out there on the market. You may need to try a few to see what works best for your Boston. There are oral options, injections, and topical.

We use Revolution. Revolution is a topical medication we apply monthly to the back of Bella’s kneck. And Revolution covers all three scenarios heartworm, flea, and tick.

If you are looking to save some money today on medications check out my page with updated coupons covering a number of different items.

Monthly Cost

$16.33

Revolution is sold in a three-pack box. A three-pack will last you three months because you only need to apply one pack per month to the back of your dog’s neck. This cost would only occur four times per year with a cost of $49.00 every three months.

Annual Cost

$195.96

The approximate annual cost for Revolution is $196.00.

Bella’s Monthly & Annual Cost

After calculating only the ongoing costs for Bella, our total cost for her monthly is $53.71, equating to an annual price of $644.52. Remember this annual cost only captures food, heartworm/ flea/ tick medication, and vet visits.

What is not included in this cost are random treats and toys. I chose not to cover these costs because those costs are discretionary. However, the three costs I outlined are necessary.

Other Costs Worth Mentioning

Higher Rental Rates

If you live in an apartment, you will need to consider not only the pet deposit required by most landlords but also the monthly pet fee that is charged by landlords. For the first five years of owning Bella, we lived in an apartment that charged us $20.00 per month for Bella. This was an additional fee to our rent. This equated to an additional annual cost of $240.00 per year for owning a dog.

Be sure to keep this in mind before you get a dog. You will want to make sure your new puppy is a blessing to you, not a financial curse.

Puppy Pads

Whether your Boston is potty trained or not, you will need to have some puppy pads on hand for the cases where you leave home for a while. (Note: as of three weeks ago Emily and I stopped using puppy pads when we re-did our floors. Bella has only had one accident…this is why I did not include them in our annual cost for Bella).

If you are using one puppy pad per day, this could cost you $17.33 per month, equating to $208.00 per year. The puppy pads can be bought in bulk with 100 pads for about $56.99.

Check out the latest prices of puppy pads on Amazon by clicking here, Puppy Pad Prices.

Final thoughts…

The ongoing annual costs for a Boston depends on you as the owner. You can spend as little as you want or as much as you want. I believe Emily and I spend as little as possible on Bella, and this equated to $644.52 per year. The $644.52 number only includes costs for her annual vet visit, food, and heartworm medication. 

These three items are essential to a dog. So while some owners in the survey spent less than $600.00, I would recommend to you to expect to pay about $600.00 per year for your Boston.

Donnie Gardner

Donnie Gardner is the owner of the Boston Terrier Society. He has been raising Bella the Boston since 2010. He resides in Kansas with his wife, daughter, and Bella. His favorite activities are hanging out with family, traveling, running (but has bad knees), and reading non-fiction books.

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