Demand for purebred puppy

[TEMPESTBLUE]

Hi breeders,

Has anyone experienced a downturn in demand for purebred puppies? I have been a breeder for over 20 years and I find myself with a litter of pups that I haven't been able to sell. I normally have a waitlist, but moved from Victoria to Tasmania in 2021 and wasn't able to provide puppies to those on the waitlist and unfortunately they have gone elsewhere. I don't know if it's the move to Tassie, if it's an economic issue, or if there is no more demand for purebred puppies?

Your experience and feedback is appreciated.

[Dogsfevr]

I think in general puppy sales has hit a low also factoring that puppies coming into the  new year can always be harder to sell with the start of the year being one of many $$$$.
We never had puppies over this period (granted we never had issues selling either) 
Renting issues with Pets & general uncertainty for many people .
I also think for some breeding fade colours only the world is realizing to a degree it can come with vet bills & are being smarter shoppers

[DogsAndTheMob]

I’m not a breeder but I know breeders who have had unexpected difficulties placing puppies and I’ve noticed an big increase in dog sports people using social media to help breeder friends to find homes for their puppies.

 

It’s not just an Australian trend. A North American breed forum I follow has switched from advising people to expect a two-year wait for a puppy of their very popular breed to saying “The puppy market is crashing and buyers now you have better options more readily available - Be picky”.

[Luvapoo]

The puppy market is simply saturated.  Rescues are overflowing at record numbers.

I read somewhere that one million more people became dog owners during covid. 

The Covid prices made many decide to be breeders and now the pendulum has shifted.

So you are not alone,  I am reading the same sentiments on breeder groups I am part of

[coneye]

Only have a laymans answer , but i think its mainly the price followed by  lack of quality ,  over the last couple of years i've  looked at getting  another dog  and i will ALWAYS go  pedigree ,  not saying there better dogs , just that  i know what i want  , temprement and looks , and more likely to get it out of a pedigree , however when looking , i looked at so many dogs which were bad examples of there breed and  ridiculous with the price i walked away , plus has someone else said ,  vet prices now ,  then   housing which allows dogs harder and harder to find ,   , its probably a dozen combined issues has opposed to one or two ,, but i'm sure price and quality are big ones , people come up with  big dollars too buy the latest designer dog , but people who want  certaiun pedigree  breeds are more picky on what they want ,

[Princess Fru Fru]

Unfortunately your prefix gives away your breed and I was able to track you down through Dogzonline.  Unfortunately you breed staffords, which are one of the most saturated breeds on the market alongside breeds such as golden retrievers, cavaliers, labradors and frenchies.

 

Having had a quick look at the puppy listings, there are currently 43 stafford litters listed, 390 ads on Gumtree selling "staffy pups" and 68 ads (Gumtree) selling "staffords".

 

This means you're not only having to deal with the cost of living crisis where people are becoming far more frugal with their spending, but you're also competing with hundreds to thousands of other stafford puppies on the market.  You'll need to work harder than other rarer breeds to promote why people should buy your puppies rather than Joe Blow's two doors down, and that's not an easy task when buyers have so many litter options available.

 

I also feel that people are moving away from staffies/amstaffs as family pets because of the negative stigma they generate from the media.  Oodles have become the popular and "safe" choice now for the every day household.