What actually goes into the cost of a puppy from a reputable breeder?

Good Dog ^ | none given | Good Dog

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Depends on what you need.

If you want a pooch who will be happy to see you when you get home and play a little fetch a mutt is fine.

If you want a working dog that is quite a different thing.

We went for a pure bred from a good breeder because we need certain traits in our farm dogs and we also do not want certain things. Training can only take you so far.

If you have children you might want to avoid certain breeds. If you have other pets you might want to avoid certain breeds.

[Roos_Girl]

I’ve owned German Shorthaired Pointers for 25+ years. One bitch I got from a reputable breeder and we ended up showing her and having 1 litter of puppies. The national GSP club and AKC has a list of recommended genetic and other tests, and of course we did all of those to help prevent that disease or condition in the future of the breed. The shows, the traveling, the tests, the vet bills, the time I put in to research, enrichment for the puppies to help them through fear periods, temperment testing, etc, etc, etc. It was common practice to sell each puppy for the amount of the stud fee, which at the time was $1500. She had a litter of 8 puppies. I kept a male and female. I didn’t break even with the sale of the other 6. I don’t know of a reputable breeder that can make a profit selling puppies. Some people who wanted a puppy but thought the price was too high and wanted me to come down on it I wouldn’t sell to. The purchase price of a well-bred puppy, from a reputable breeder, is a drop in the bucket to what an owner will spend on a dog over its lifetime.

[FLT-bird]

Yes! They were the same way with me. They demanded to know who my vet was. I asked why the hell I would have a vet considering I didn’t have a dog. They demanded a home inspection. They insisted I pay the application fee, fill out a 5 page application yada yada yada. I tried 8 times over 6 months to adopt a lab puppy.

Finally I just said “screw it” and went on craigslist and bought a puppy from a farmer whose labs had a big litter when he only wanted a couple. That was 8 years ago. My Black Lab is a happy healthy boy. A year and a half I knew better than to even bother with the adoption agencies and I went on craigslist and bought another lab puppy from “backyard breeders” though this one is AKC registered. They are both fine. No hassle, just pay the money ($75 and $500) and be done with it.

[FLT-bird]

Our best dog ever was free. A co-worker of my wife was getting married—and his fiance told him no marriage unless he got rid of the dog. This was kinda a last minute thing—he was panicking—and so we took the two year old pure bred Springer Spaniel off his hands—and he got the Karen. We definitely got the better deal. Lol.

I wouldn't give up my dogs for anyone. I wouldn't give them up for any amount of money either. Its just not going to happen.

[Faith65]

Beautiful! Lots of really beautiful dogs at that rescue.

I’ve had pure bred pups but the last couple decades it’s rescues for our family.

My current rescue comes from a kill shelter down south and is 50% GS. She’s incredible! Total lovebug - and really very intelligent. Very blessed to have her!

[KC Burke]

Supply

Demand

[Dr. Franklin]

Don't understand paying up to $5,000 for a pure breed dog.

In general, I agree with you. However, if someone wants a dog for a specific purpose, such as for use on a farm herding or protecting sheep, or maybe for hunting, it may be wise to pay some money for a breed known to be good at that job. If I wanted a dog to protect a herd of sheep from wolves and coyotes, I wouldn't want a stray dog from the pound. We had a mutt and then picked up a stray that was a bird dog. The mutt barked at cars, and the bird dog barked at birds and chased them if they were in the yard. The mutt couldn't understand why the other dog was barking at nothing. The genes do matter for specific tasks.

[chrisinoc]

Shelters and rescues are different.

Shelters are government run and rely primarily on tax dollars and to fund their shelters. That’s why you get your dog for $80. When they go over budget, they kill the dogs.

Rescues are privately run and depend primarily on donations. Fees are higher because German shepherds are big dogs and more costly to maintain before adoption.

[Tallguy]

There is some debate if 2nd generation goldendoodles will retain the hypoallergenic coat. If not, the only way to get one is by continually mixing golden retrievers with standard poodles. Good for the poodles as they aren’t presently a popular breed, but goldens are a top-5 (3?) breed already.

[Buttons12]

Yes, $5k for a purebred pup is not unusual. But we have horse breeders in my clan and the prices for those babies are exponentially more insane.

[Buttons12]

I know a fellow who breeds Golden Doodles. They are indeed very intelligent critters. It’s the poodle in them, I’m told.

[HereInTheHeartland]

Doodles rule!!
I’m sitting next to two as I write this.
No shedding at all.
They do dig holes in the lawn

[Political Junkie Too]

We never learned how much Charlie Brown (or his parents) paid for Snoopy at the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm.

They paid $WAH-wah-WAH.wah-wah for Snoopy. Money well spent, if you ask me!

-PJ

[Tallguy]

“We got a pure breed puppy for a thousand bucks.

I guess the breeder prices it whatever they want given the breed...”

The fixed costs of raising a litter are spread across the average litter size for a given breed. Large breeds tend to have larger average litters. This keeps the price of a puppy reasonable. Small breeds? You might get 3 or 4 puppies where only 3 might live. The cost of prenatal care = price of 1 puppy. Cost to raise them until they get their 1st round of vaccines = cost of a second puppy. See where this is going?

Veterinary care used to be reasonably priced. But many people are buying health insurance for their animals to prevent a catastrophic bill for their pet.

I dont want to be critical of veterinarians, but they are the cost drivers for quality privately bred puppies.

[Organic Panic]

I have three purebread setter. All free from hunters and breeders. It is crazy people pay for dogs....

[Georgia Girl 2]

We don’t need a breeder. Our last two dogs, A pure bred Beagle and a purebred Chihuahua showed up abandoned on our street and saw the invisible sign in our yard that says “limp up this driveway to a life of luxury” Best two dogs we ever had. 😏

[boatbums]

I fell in love with Ragdoll cats after losing a non-breed stray that was family for 16 years. I got a flame point, blue-eyed Ragdoll beauty whom I adored and we had the joy of her presence for 16 1/2 years as well as a Birman male who loved us for 14 years. Now it's two 3 year old Ragdolls - a male cream/flamepoint and a female sealpoint. The boy is almost 16 pounds and the girl is about 12.

I love the Maine Coons as well as the Norwegian Forest Cats - the two largest breeds of domestic cats. My previous vet was also a breeder and she kept two gentle giants as office cats. They kept the visiting patients calm and a few were even kitty blood-donors. I hope you enjoy many, many years ahead of their love and companionship.

[Tijeras_Slim]

I had two dogs bought from breeders. Both Basenjis (those don’t just show up at shelters) but they were not “show quality” but smart great dogs. All my cats have been rescues. The latest wandered out of the woods ( why the coyotes didn’t get her is a mystery) about the size of a softball curled up. That was 17 years ago and she’s still going like gangbusters.

[ponygirl]

You’re kinda missing the point. Did you pay $2500 for that mixed breed dog? Why on earth? The best dog I’ve ever had was my Pug-Boxer mix and I got her for $100 from a lady down the street who had an accident when her dog got out. Unfortunately, my sweet boo inherited the Boxer cancer gene and only lived to ten.

[Irenic]

Seems it’s worth to the buyer. It’s what they want/value, for a price they’re willing to pay. No skin off my nose.

I don’t understand what some people pay for clothes, cars, sports. They understand it and it obviously means something to them.

There are many pure-bred dogs at animal control and in shelters (I don’t like some shelters because they gouge) I’ve had 4 Boxers from animal control—awesome pups. Boxers are my breed, something about them that just works for me and I’ve had many types of dogs. Now it’s Boxers.

Some people sneer but sometimes I would like to show them what my dear pups were when they joined our family. Purebreds have a right to be here just as much as a mutt. People have a right to spend stupidly if that’s what they like and desire and it doesn’t hurt their family.