The Cost of Puppies is outrageous

[Ann Renders]

My 5 year old grandaughter is devastated because her mother had to euthanase there 12 year old dog who was very ill. She asked her mother for a puppy but because the prices are in the thousands of dollars her mother cannot afford one. It's just heartbreaking and I think it is just disgusting & greedy...it would have a loving family & good home, it's a pity people care more about the money than the wellbeing of their puppy. Just because people have a lot of money  doesnt mean it will go to a loving home..

[Rebanne]

Ever looked into all the costs of breeding a litter? Costs a lot if you do everything properly. Plenty of dogs looking for homes in pounds, animal shelters, rescues. Have a look there. 

[The Spotted Devil]

I guess it depends on how you define disgusting and greedy. If you mean:

• I spend thousands of dollars on vet bills, reproductive health and general health testing
• I feed the best quality food, joint supplements and probiotics that I can find
• I invest my time and skills into having fit, athletic dogs who love to train and compete in dog sports
• I spend hours researching the background of dogs I want to use in my breeding program, talking to my mentors and educating myself
• I pretty much live, eat and sleep next to the whelping box for the first 3-4 weeks 
• I spend my time ensuring mum has 4 meals a day, mum and pups have antibiotics twice daily, pups are weighed daily and wormed fortnightly and everything is spotlessly clean. I may need to toilet pups if Mum is struggling. Oh and I'm looking down the barrel at trimming 180 nails this week.
• I take time off work or I squeeze it in at 11pm at night when Mum and pups are settled
• I have cleaned up every bodily fluid in existence, from poo and wee to placenta vomit, not to mention having to deal with puppies who die during whelping
• I respond politely to the dozens and dozens of emails from potential puppy buyers every week, knowing that some are just tyre kickers, some have sent an email to 20 different breeders and some shouldn't own a goldfish. I spend hours finding the right homes for my pups and would take them back with no questions asked.
• I give lifetime support to every single pup I breed, have them for holidays when I can and ensure ongoing education for their owners

Then yes, I concur, and am happy to be labelled as such.

 

Oh and then there's my darling Em, who developed mammary cancer, after giving me 2 beautiful litters. $15,000K worth of chemotherapy gave me 3 more quality years with her before she relapsed and I had to let her go.

 

Breeding is expensive. I probably break even on actual costs but certainly fail to charge adequately for my time and expertise. 

[Ann Renders]

I do understand if you want a breeding dog however not everyone wants to breed as as REBANNE  said why don't we look at animal rescue, pounds & rescue........we have & the prices are still very high nearly 100% are $1000 or more.........dont get me wrong we don't expect to pay nothing for the pup but I suppose she'll just have to save up....thankyou fir your replues

[Ann Renders]

I apologise for not editing my reply....kept hitting the wrong button  so I just noticed spelling on a couple of the words.....

[The Spotted Devil]

1 minute ago, Ann Renders said:

I do understand if you want a breeding dog however not everyone wants to breed as as REBANNE  said why don't we look at animal rescue, pounds & rescue........we have & the prices are still very high nearly 100% are $1000 or more.........dont get me wrong we don't expect to pay nothing for the pup but I suppose she'll just have to save up....thankyou fir your replues

 

I think you missed my point. It costs me thousands of dollars and hours to breed a litter - whether it goes as a family pet, therapy dog or conservation dog. 

[Loving my Oldies]

10 minutes ago, The Spotted Devil said:

 

I think you missed my point. It costs me thousands of dollars and hours to breed a litter - whether it goes as a family pet, therapy dog or conservation dog. 

TSD, earlier this year, I helped rescue a little dog running around the next suburb.  She did her time in the pound and then came to me.  After a week or so, I took her to the vet to be desexed only for him to discover she was already pregnant  - we all thought at first she was swollen from a pregnancy.  The vet thought she had a couple of weeks to go, but we were off by a day and she gave birth to four gorgeous puppies in my lounge room.  
 

She and the pups were taken over to the rescuer’s house where she’d set up the maternity suite and over the next 9-10 weeks those pups and mum were given the best care and introduction to the world you could wish for.  AND the rescuer lives in a two storied  house, the mum wouldn’t stay with her pups but wanted to be downstairs with her humans. So she would be up and down the stairs all day. I used to go over to give the rescuer a break and after a few hours I would go home exhausted from looking after the pups, ensuring the mum stayed with them, making sure they were properly “latched on “, etc etc.    And this was an uncomplicated birth with only four healthy robust puppies.  I can’t begin to imagine looking those litters of 10 and more and then coping with puppies with health issues or mum having difficulties. 

How would you measure that time, love, physical exertion in terms of dollars?  Impossible.  
 

It seems to me that the OP probably posted in frustration and might, after careful consideration, tone down her assessment of “disgusting & greedy” …… I would hope so. 
 

 

 

[moosmum]

1 hour ago, Ann Renders said:

My 5 year old grandaughter is devastated because her mother had to euthanase there 12 year old dog who was very ill. She asked her mother for a puppy but because the prices are in the thousands of dollars her mother cannot afford one. It's just heartbreaking and I think it is just disgusting & greedy...it would have a loving family & good home, it's a pity people care more about the money than the wellbeing of their puppy. Just because people have a lot of money  doesnt mean it will go to a loving home..

 

I understand your frustration, and agree its wrong that the cost of ownership is now so ridiculously high. 

But-

Maybe you should have a look at the legislation and codes of practice people are required to meet these days to keep, breed, or even rescue.

No difference between commercial breeders or hobby breeders makes it very expensive and time consuming with ongoing commitment and liability to buyers for the lifetime of dogs sold. The costs of setting up such an establishment can be in the 10s of thousands even before the 1st dog sets foot in it!

 

Blame lies squarely on legislators and those who blindly sign petitions to 'ban or eliminate' this or that (rather than improving) with out looking into the consequences. Breeders are up against a wall and thats reflected in the prices.

[The Spotted Devil]

@Loving my Oldies that's a far cry from what would have been that girl's fate had she not ended up you and your friend! Whelping under the house, inadequate food and health treatments would be my guess. 

Edited September 21, 2021 by The Spotted Devil

[Loving my Oldies]

@The Spotted Devil, 100% right.  The girl we rescued and the girl we rehomed were chalk and cheese physically.  Emotionally?  Well she suffers severe separation anxiety, must know where her humans are all the time, but is the best snuggler in the entire world  .

 

@moosmum, it isn’t entirely the legislators’ fault, although they could wipe out puppy farms immediately if they weren’t so weak and, in some cases, involved.   

 

 

[sandgrubber]

Costs have gotten inflated.  Start from health breeding stock (free whelping, large litters, good maternal instincts, ancestors know to be healthy), do cost benefit on testing (eg, skip annual eye exams unless there's a reason to expect serious eye problems, do genetictesting, it's cheap and doesn't need to be repeated) use a local stud (prog testing unnecessary), don't bother with super premium food, and you're looking at hundreds, not thousands of dollars per puppy....presuming you don't pay yourself minimum wage for looking after the little time wasters and don't add in the costs of purchasing and raising the mum.

Unfortunately people who follow such a strategy get castigated as backyard breeders.  OK, so what if most of the pups are 'pet quality'.   kids want pets.

[mackiemad]

It's also just market forces. There is a lot of demand for puppies and kittens, especially since the pandemic hit, so why not charge appropriately? 

 

If you want a cut price piece of clothing go to the salvos. Want a cut price pet? Go to a shelter. Want an well fitting new item if clothing? Go to a store and buy new off the rack. Want a 'clean slate' puppy in a breed or type you desire? Go to a breeder/backyard breeder. Want a designer item of clothing for an event? Go to a small independent or large scale designer to get the right cut, material and creative vision. Want a sporting dog, show dog or a designer crossbreed that everybody has? Go to a sporting dog breeder, show dog breeder or a 'legitimate' puppy farm churning out the desirable crosses. 

 

If you want a car you have to pay for it. If you want a handbag you have to pay for it. If you want a dog you have to pay for it. Why shouldn't the ppl putting in the effort and selling a product price the product in the way they see fit? After all, you don't have to buy the pup you can't afford. Dogs are considered property by law, so why don't we apply the same value structures to them? Why do we have to defend the price? Why shouldn't the breeders be able to make some money off the effort of breeding and raising a litter? Is it that the breeder doesn't deserve to be paid for the time, effort and expertise, or is it that we can't see the product as a saleable item given we want it to become part of the family? If so, do people also whinge that IVF clinics etc are greedy?

 

All genuine questions because this topic comes up a lot and I genuinely don't understand why people can't see that animals cost money and that a person who put time into breeding should be able to make a profit off their effort. People should hold value too and part of the purchase price is a value payment of the person who has done the first 8-12 weeks of work with a pup (not to mention the work beforehand with mum and/or dad). Especially since nobody has to buy from a breeder, they have the option of going to a shelter to pay less money and still have a dog that will be part of the family. 

Edited September 21, 2021 by mackiemad

[Odin-Genie]

I think the OP’s frustration is based on the Covid prices for puppies. I’m on a Golden Retriever forum. They were commenting that usually a GR puppy is between $1,500 to $2,500. Now, because of the demand, some breeders are charging $5,000 to $8,000. While everyone has a right to charge what they want, if one triples the price to benefit from an increased demand, and then say it’s not about the money, that does seem contradictory.

[Papillon Kisses]

4 hours ago, Ann Renders said:

I do understand if you want a breeding dog however not everyone wants to breed as as REBANNE  said why don't we look at animal rescue, pounds & rescue........we have & the prices are still very high nearly 100% are $1000 or more.........dont get me wrong we don't expect to pay nothing for the pup but I suppose she'll just have to save up....thankyou fir your replues

Hi Ann,

 

I’m sorry to hear of your granddaughter’s loss. 

 

Regarding the price of rescue dogs, we have to consider also the amount of money that goes into putting these dogs into a position to be rehomed. Most need to be desexed before sale; small dogs in particular often need considerable dental work after years of neglect – which is not to say that larger dogs don’t have health problems too, that’s just an example that comes to mind as a small dog person; then there are the more everyday things like worming, flea/tick treatments, food and bedding; and no doubt more that I can’t think of.
 

These things don’t cost what they used to, which is why rescue dogs don’t cost what they used to either. I think often we see current prices and forget that the cost of everything has increased dramatically from 12 years ago when we last bought a dog, regardless of the source.

[_PL_]

Also, there are re-sellers of cheaper dogs/puppies. 

They've always been around. It's just that there's more incentive now. $$$  

[The Spotted Devil]

10 minutes ago, Odin-Genie said:

I think the OP’s frustration is based on the Covid prices for puppies. I’m on a Golden Retriever forum. They were commenting that usually a GR puppy is between $1,500 to $2,500. Now, because of the demand, some breeders are charging $5,000 to $8,000. While everyone has a right to charge what they want, if one triples the price to benefit from an increased demand, and then say it’s not about the money, that does seem contradictory.

Totally understand but the COVID situation is impacting the price and scarcity of a lot of things. As per @mackiemad’s post above I have absolutely zero legal rights once my pup has gone to its new owner because it’s considered property. Supply and demand is a reality. It’s like the vets that are accused of being selfish and greedy for charging for their time, expertise and expenses when owners can’t afford their bills. Of course we love our dogs but it doesn’t mean we should struggle to break even or drive ourselves into the ground. 
 

That said I’m not charging exorbitant amounts for my pups but that’s the least of the hoops my puppy people have to jump through.

 

Kids can absolutely benefit from having pets in their lives but they don’t NEED a puppy as opposed to an older dog. There are plenty of well deserving kittens and cats looking for a new home too. 

[The Spotted Devil]

Apologies if I come across a little passionate about this - I’ve had very little rest since last Thursday after my girl’s Caesarean section so this is very front of mind. 
 

My Dalmatian is close to 15 years old now. I was without a dog for 2 years whilst I waited for the right puppy from the right breeder at the right time. I was studying at University and saved up so I could travel interstate to meet the breeder and afford the asking price and associated costs. 

Edited September 21, 2021 by The Spotted Devil

[Purdie]

5 hours ago, Ann Renders said:

My 5 year old grandaughter is devastated because her mother had to euthanase there 12 year old dog who was very ill. She asked her mother for a puppy but because the prices are in the thousands of dollars her mother cannot afford one. It's just heartbreaking and I think it is just disgusting & greedy...it would have a loving family & good home, it's a pity people care more about the money than the wellbeing of their puppy. Just because people have a lot of money  doesnt mean it will go to a loving home..

Don't give up hope yet.

You may need to look at a small dog rather than a puppy.

https://www.petrescue.com.au/listings/search/dogs?interstate=true&page=1&per_page=24&size[]=10&state_id[]=3

 

 

 

[Loving my Oldies]

6 minutes ago, The Spotted Devil said:

Apologies if I come across a little passionate about this - I’ve had very little rest since last Thursday after my girl’s Caesarean section so this is very front of mind. 

The last thing you should be doing is apologising.  

 

I was going to go on about COVID and market forces, too, but Troy’s servers might have run out of space.  

[_PL_]

11 minutes ago, The Spotted Devil said:

Apologies if I come across a little passionate about this - I’ve had very little rest since last Thursday after my girl’s Caesarean section so this is very front of mind. 

No way! You've explained so well! 

Our adoption fees cover a fraction of outgoing expenses.
And the litters whelped in care, may as well throw your cheque book out the window.