How much does it cost to keep a dog in Colombia per month?

How much does it cost to keep a dog per month in Colombia?

There is no official figure, and the ones in circulation measure different things. The most recent run from an average of COP 164,000 a month per household to a range of COP 200,000 to COP 700,000. All of them come from surveys or from companies in the sector as reported by the press, so they are useful as a rough sense of scale, not as a budget. All amounts are in Colombian pesos (COP).

Three caveats for reading them properly. They are figures per household or per pet in general, not for a dog of your dog’s size. They include cats, which cost less. And they change with inflation: in May 2022 a veterinarian consulted by Agronegocios estimated between COP 282,500 and COP 334,400 a month for a small-breed dog.

What expenses does a dog have?

Some are paid every month, others every year and others only once, and it is easy to forget the last two when doing the math. Food is the most constant. The veterinarian and the groomer come in seasons. And emergencies, which have no date, upset any budget. This is the list:

What makes a dog cost more or less?

Above all, weight. Almost nothing about a dog has a fixed price: food is eaten by the kilogram, and parasite preventives, medications and anesthesia are calculated by what the dog weighs. After that come the coat, which decides how much grooming it needs, the city where you live and how much time the dog spends alone.

• Size. A 40 kg (88 lb) dog eats several times what a 4 kg (9 lb) dog does, and its treatments cost in proportion. The extreme case is in the guide to the cost of owning a Bernese Mountain Dog.
• Coat. A continuously growing coat, like that of the Maltese or of a Poodle cross, needs regular trimming for life. A short coat needs almost none. We go into detail in coat care by coat type.
• City. Veterinary and daycare services do not cost the same in a departmental capital as in a small municipality.
• Your routine. If you work away from home all day or travel often, the dog walker, daycare or boarding can become the largest item.
• Age. A senior dog needs more checkups and, often, permanent treatments.

How much does a puppy’s first year cost?

More than any of the years that follow, because the one-time expenses all come together. Besides food and checkups, the first year brings the full vaccination schedule, puppy dewormings, spaying or neutering if you decide on it with your veterinarian, the microchip and all the accessories, which a large puppy soon outgrows.

The published figures are few and indicative:

• First-year vaccines. Between COP 100,000 and COP 300,000 for the puppy package, according to a survey of pet supply outlets published by Agronegocios in April 2026.
• Spaying or neutering. Between COP 250,000 and COP 500,000, according to Portafolio’s sponsored content from September 2025.
• Basic accessories. Between COP 200,000 and COP 400,000, according to that same publication.

These are third-party ranges, with no city or size attached: a quote from your veterinary clinic is worth more than any of them. Which vaccines they are and when they are given is in puppy vaccines and deworming in Colombia, and what is worth knowing before surgery is in spaying or neutering your dog: when and why.

On top of that comes what is paid for the puppy, which is a separate subject: we cover it in how much a purebred dog costs in Colombia.

Is pet insurance or a health plan for dogs worth it?

It is worth having settled in advance how you are going to pay for an emergency, whether with a plan or with your own savings. An illness or an accident is the expense that most upsets the accounts, because it arrives without warning and cannot be postponed. Which approach suits you depends on your dog and on what each plan covers.

As a price reference, Agronegocios reported in April 2026 that Colsubsidio’s prepaid veterinary plans for pets were between COP 81,800 and COP 96,600 a month, and Sura’s policies between COP 38,300 and COP 46,500. We did not check what each one covers. Portafolio’s sponsored content spoke in 2025 of emergency consultations at COP 100,000 to COP 200,000 and emergency surgeries from COP 2 million.

How do you work out your own monthly budget?

With five inquiries you can make this week in your city, instead of relying on a national average. The method is simple: find out the real price of each item for a dog of the adult weight yours will reach, convert everything to months and add a margin for the unexpected.

1. Food. Look on the package for the daily portion for the adult weight, multiply it by 30 and then by the price per kilogram.
2. Parasite preventives. Ask at your veterinary clinic for the price of the presentation for the dog’s weight and how often it is given. Spread the cost by month.
3. Routine veterinary care. Add up the yearly checkup and the booster vaccines, and divide by twelve.
4. Coat. If the dog needs grooming, ask the rate for its size and how many weeks apart the sessions are.
5. Your absence. Work out how many days a month you will need a dog walker or daycare, and how many a year boarding or a sitter.

To the total, add the health plan or the emergency fund. That is your number.

Where should you not cut costs?

On what prevents: vaccines, parasite preventives, suitable food and the yearly checkup. They are the most tempting items to trim, because the dog seems fine without them, and the ones that cost the most when they are missing. The specific schedule for each is set by your veterinarian according to the dog and the area where you live.

You can save on almost everything else. Bathing and brushing the dog at home, getting food in large bags if you keep it well, and choosing sturdy accessories over showy ones are decisions that lower the bill without the dog noticing.

If the number does not work for you once you have added it up, it is better to know now: a dog lives more than ten years, and the budget has to stretch to all of them.