What a dog costs each month in Bengaluru

Small means a dog like a Shih Tzu or a Pug, medium an adult Indie, and large a Labrador or a Golden Retriever.

Two lines in that table are choices, and one of them ends. So the same month can look like this:

Puppy set-up is the vaccination course, sterilisation and the first leash, bowls, bed and crate. It comes to about ₹15,400 in the first year, which is ₹1,280 a month, and it stops after that.

Three things move the total more than anything else:

• The food. On Royal Canin in place of Pedigree, a large dog's food goes from ₹1,750 to ₹7,140 a month, and the total to about ₹16,800.
• Daycare in place of a walker. Daycare on 22 working days starts at ₹11,000 a month against ₹3,466 for the walker, which adds about ₹7,500.
• A trainer. Eight sessions of home training at ₹12,000 add ₹1,000 a month if you spread them over the year.

The total leaves out the price of the dog and anything a vet finds that the emergency money doesn't cover. Food is priced at the adult amount from the start. A puppy eats less than that in its first months and catches up fast, so treat it as the upper end.

These are the first four lines of the table above, opened up. This is what a dog needs whether or not you pay anyone to help. Costs that come once a year are divided by 12.

Food, treats and medicines are bought online at one price, so this part of the bill is the same in Whitefield and Jayanagar. Vet fees are what changes by area. Of the ten Bengaluru vets on Practo's first page, eight charge ₹100 to ₹400 a visit, one charges nothing and one charges ₹1,000.

Boosters cost more at some clinics. Our vaccination guide found ₹1,200 to ₹1,800 for the combination dose and ₹400 to ₹700 for rabies at private clinics, which would make this line up to ₹210 a month. Rabies at a government hospital is ₹50 to ₹100, and our guide to affordable and government vets lists where to go.

Toys aren't in the monthly figure, because some dogs keep a toy for a year and some destroy one in a day.

To get your own total, take the basics table and swap the food line. A medium dog on Chappi is ₹2,340 a month, on Royal Canin ₹7,420. A large dog on Farmina N&D is ₹7,850.

Each figure is the brand's own daily amount for a dog of that weight, multiplied by 30 days and by the price of the pack. The small dog is priced on the smaller pack, so the food is finished within about two months of opening.

• A cheaper bag isn't always a cheaper month. A 20 kg bag of Drools Optimum is ₹2,635 against ₹3,144 for Drools Chicken & Egg, but its pack asks for 306 g a day for a 20 kg dog against 254 g. The two cost the same to feed.
• Dense foods need less. Farmina N&D asks for 150 to 270 g a day for a 20 kg dog, and we used the middle, 210 g. That is why it costs ₹4,640 a month to feed against ₹6,090 for Royal Canin at 270 g, although the two bags cost about the same per kilo.
• The same bag varies by store. The 12 kg bag of N&D was ₹8,831 at PetsWorld, ₹9,992 at Supertails and ₹10,242 at Heads Up For Tails. The 20 kg bag of Chappi was ₹2,542 at Supertails and ₹2,945 at Heads Up For Tails. Check two stores before you buy.
• Bigger packs sell out. Royal Canin's 15 kg bags were out of stock at every store, so the medium and large dogs are priced on the 14 kg bag. Check the price per kilo before you settle for a smaller pack.
• Pedigree PRO comes as a Small Breed and a Large Breed pack. The medium dog is priced on the Large Breed pack, whose feeding table starts at 10 kg.

Home-cooked food isn't priced here because it depends on the recipe. If you cook, get a balanced recipe from your vet first, then add up one week of ingredients and multiply by four.

Biscrok's label allows 2 to 7 biscuits a day for a small dog, 7 to 15 for a medium one and 15 to 25 for a large one, and says that is about a tenth of the dog's energy for the day. We priced biscuits at a tenth of the daily food by weight, which is the most a dog should get. Give fewer and the line shrinks.

Dentastix comes in a monthly pack of 42 sticks for small dogs (₹816) and 28 sticks for medium (₹680) and large dogs (₹910). The seven-stick weekly packs cost more per stick. It is optional, so it isn't in the basics.

A jar of 40 Drools Absolute calcium bones is ₹414.

Each figure is the cost spread over a month. What you pay at the counter is ₹1,650 to ₹1,805 for one Bravecto tablet, ₹2,091 to ₹2,364 for a pack of three NexGard, and ₹271 for a 20 kg dog's dose of Drontal Plus. Prices are Supertails' on 12 October 2026.

A spot-on is the cheapest tick protection, but it washes off and doesn't suit every dog, so ask your vet before you switch. Tick fever peaks from July to October, and our tick fever guide explains what a missed month can lead to.

Sploot's walking plans run Monday to Saturday, so Sunday's walk is yours. Paying for three months at once brings the 20-minute plan down to ₹10,052, which is ₹3,351 a month. A single trial walk of 40 minutes is ₹199.

A short-coated dog such as an Indie or a Labrador needs a professional bath about every six weeks, or none at all if you wash them at home. A Shih Tzu or any dog whose coat keeps growing needs the bath and haircut every four to six weeks, so budget ₹2,000 a month for it. Salons price by size: our grooming cost guide found a full groom from ₹1,000 for a small dog, ₹2,000 for a medium one and ₹3,000 for a large one.

A walker and daycare don't buy the same thing. ₹3,466 gets your dog 20 minutes outdoors a day. ₹11,000 gets someone watching them for the whole of your working day. Our guide to daycare, a sitter or staying home alone helps you decide which one your dog needs.

When you travel, Premium Pet charges ₹650 a night for standard boarding and ₹850 for premium. Dog Nation charges by size: ₹849 small, ₹949 medium and ₹1,099 large. One week away a year is ₹4,550 to ₹7,690, which is ₹380 to ₹640 a month if you save for it. Our boarding cost guide lists the extras that get added to the nightly rate.

We list walkers and sitters, boarding and daycare and groomers in Bengaluru, with their numbers.

Bengaluru's civic bodies have discussed new pet-dog licensing rules, but as of 13 October 2026 we could not find a notified rule or an official application route in the Greater Bengaluru Authority or corporation records. News reports describe a draft with yearly registration and lower fees for Indian and mixed-breed dogs, but a draft is not a rule you can apply under.

Do not pay anyone who offers to register your dog under the reported draft. Confirm the current position with your local corporation first. Two things are still worth doing now:

The low end is the vaccine course, a ₹500 NGO sterilisation and the plainest kit, with no trainer. The high end is a private clinic, the better kit and the eight-session course. The sterilisation figures are national ones, so ask your own vet for a written estimate that includes the blood tests and medicines.

An adult dog from a shelter often comes vaccinated and sterilised already, which removes the two largest lines. Your dog's first year has the month-by-month plan.

A monthly budget does not cover a hospital stay. One emergency with three nights in hospital can cost more than eight months of a medium dog's basics.

HDFC ERGO's guide to Indian vet bills gives these ranges: ₹1,000 to ₹2,500 for an emergency consultation, ₹800 to ₹1,500 for a blood count, ₹1,200 to ₹4,000 for an X-ray or ultrasound, ₹1,500 to ₹5,000 for each night in hospital, and ₹5,000 to ₹50,000 or more for surgery. A consultation, both tests and three nights at the top of those ranges is ₹23,000.

Putting ₹2,000 a month aside gets you to ₹25,000 in about a year. Until then, know which card or account you would use at midnight, and which of the 24-hour vets in Bengaluru is nearest.

Insurance helps with the largest bills but doesn't replace the fund. Surgery-only cover of ₹10,000 starts at ₹169 a year for a small one-year-old dog with Bajaj General and ₹200 a year with HDFC ERGO. Policies leave out vaccinations, routine check-ups and, at most insurers, anything the dog already had. Our pet insurance page sets out what each insurer publishes.

If the number is too high, cut paid help before you cut health. Walking the dog yourself saves ₹3,466 a month and washing a short-coated dog at home saves ₹1,010. Moving a medium dog from Pedigree to Chappi saves about ₹270, and a cheaper dewormer about ₹60 if your vet agrees to it. Don't save money by skipping tick prevention or a booster.