How much does it cost to get a dog cremated

Dog cremation costs vary depending on where in the UK you live and the prices at the crematorium you decide to use you use.

Factors that affect the cost of dog cremation

The type of cremation: individual or communal.

Communal cremation is far less expensive than individual. This is when a dog's body is cremated along with the bodies of other dogs. The ashes are then usually scattered in a memorial garden. You might be allowed to keep some, but there's no guarantee that your dog's ashes will be in the bit you get to keep. Communal cremation usually costs in the range of £50 to £80.

Individual cremation is the more expensive option but it does mean your dog will be cremated individually and you'd be able to keep its ashes. Individual cremation usually starts at around £100.

The size of your pet. For most crematoria the price goes up with the size of a dog. For example, one crematorium that we looked at offered an individual cremation for small dogs (less than 15kg) for £165. But for extra large dogs the price went up to £276.

The postcode of the crematoria. Cremation is likely to be more expensive in big cities like London.

Additional services offered by the crematoria can also affect your price. For example, most crematoria will return the remains of your pet in a standard container but if you want a special urn, those will have to be paid for separately.

Pet urn prices can vary but most crematoria offer urns for around £50 to £200.

Restingpets.co.uk even offer paw prints - clay impressions of your pet's paws.

Pet insurance can help with the costs of cremation or burial. See what pet insurance for dogs costs and find out how the best dog insurance policies compare for 'saying goodbye' cover.

How dog cremation works

The crematorium will collect the body from the veterinary surgery or your home, depending on where it is. Some will let you bring the body in yourself if you prefer. This depends on the crematorium and the arrangements you make with it.

A lot of crematoria have rooms for the owners to say their final farewell before cremation. Some even have bereavement counsellors on site.

The body is then transported to the crematorium and cremated via your chosen method - individual or communal.

Crematoria do not allow owners to be in the room during cremation but some might allow you to watch the body in the crematorium over CCTV or invite you in after you've collected the ashes to see how they work.

The ashes can then be collected in person or delivered to you address. This can take up to two weeks.

Some crematoria will let you choose from a range of urns, scatter boxes and containers they have. You might also be able to request a standard container and order an urn from somewhere else separately.

If you have recently lost a pet or are facing the difficult choice of putting one down, you can contact the Blue Cross pet bereavement line if you need someone to talk to.