Prices for dogs - Page 2

5000 show and working titled female
1200 shipping
  350 complete health check upon arrival
   65 dm test
 150 cardiac test
 150 eye test
 210 thyroid test
7125........to decide if bitch is worth getting AKC paperwork, assuming the dog is healthy....
  65 AKC DNA test
100 AKC registration
7290 .......now lets go from here........

2600 food for a year (3 litters would be 2 years @ 1300 per year)
1500 toys supplements
  700 2 health checks (year 2 and 3)
3000 stud fees for 3 litters
1000 travel/hotel for breedings
1000 progesterone testing (don't want to miss timing and miss litter)
  475 3 brucellosis tests and vaginal tests
  600 3 mri's for uppies
  600 3 x rays for puppies
18765 and puppies no puppies yet.

  300 special puppy foods
  100 puppy toys
  100 puppy absorbents (to keep puppies cleaner)
  600 puppy vaccinations
20765 expenses for a for 3 litters

This doesn't add any stuff like
sickness
heartworm treatment
intestinal stuff like coccidia and giardia and worms
injures... high drive dogs tend to get into stuff
death of bitch..bloat, cancer, etc.
death of a puppy - being squashed, failure to thrive, etc.
training fees, shows and trials
gas and tolls for all of the above.


ASSUMING 8 PUPS A LITTER.......which is a very generous average litter size,
average is more like 6 puppies.



Others, check over the list and add what I've overlooked.























 

So, what about the people who do almost everything the same but don't breed?
 some people have dogs for the sheer enjoyment of having them, 
we don't expect them to "pay" for themselves (and our bills). 
Our feed, vet, training, trial and show expenses are the same, as are tolls etc.

I am of the belief some dog people are of the train of thought that they need to be 
reimbursed for every little thing for their 'hobby'. Curious, and this is directly
to Sitasmom and everyone else who has bred an untitled bitch or male, 
do you reduce the prices on your puppies or give them away if you have nothing
"in" to the dog other than raising it? I bet not  Do you also pay people to take
your used up breeding dogs and give them a retirement home? I bet you sold those
dogs too. Shouldn't you pay for the dog in retirement? I mean hey, someone else
is taking that "expense" on now right? 

We paid just over $2K to get our last puppy here, including purchase price. We have spent 
more sending him back over to be titled. Being forced to vacate our home due to Hurricane 
Sandy for several months, it was not fair to let a talented young dog with loads of potenial
sit and do nothing, so we sent him back to be titled, (first time in our lives in dogsport!),
due to my increased workload and the better half's would not allow for extra time to train
the youngster. So, when he returns this fall, he will be IPO3 and koered, and we'll have
spent a fairly good chunk of change to get that done, but? He'll still be a pet first and 
foremost. He won't be expected to "pay us back". Just some food for thought.

To be clear, I have no issue with breeders charging for puppies, but to try and swing
this line of crap that you have thousands into this litter is a bit much. There are several thousand
people in this world that raise, train, feed, title and vet their dogs and never look to get a cent 
back out of them? We even keep them when their sport careers are over, or? We find the 
perfect retirement home for them at no charge to the new owner. That's how us silly
hobbyists generally do it in our experience 

 

It obviously totally business for those that try to justify the extreme prices by accounting for every dime they put into their dogs.
If others have to pay for 'your' training expenses, I mean c'mon...
I thought you go for training because it is fun, and something you enjoy doing with your dog.
Unbelievable vet expenses. If you are breeding healthy dogs, the vet charges you $100 tops, for a health certificate, for the entire litter.
Why so many feel the need to X-ray or C-scan to start adding upp the profits is a personal choice.
Like I said, it is done so you know how many puppies you can take early deposits on.
Vaccines are like $5 each, the wormers are not all that expensive either.
My pups get started at 4 weeks on good food also. Lots of raw and cooked beef,chicken and turkey.
Wouldn't you be feeding your adult dogs anyway, IF you weren't breeding them?
That's right, some would not have them IF they were not breeding them.
I GIVE puppies for Police work.
There is NO amount of money that can compensate me, WHEN I get updates from the police how GREAT, MY DOG is doing.
If someone has a handicapped child, I. Will greatly discount,or freebie a pup.
I do it, because I LOVE IT....
It truly is MY PLEASURE, to raise a litter of puppies...
I do not the expense of a new kennel, with drainage and lighting. My pups, as are my dogs, in the house.
Their expense is my expense.
I myself have spent 'good money' on the dogs I have.
I do not need to recoup that, at the expense of my dogs.
It is NOT all about business for me, but all about doing what I love.
Samuel- IF you want a great dog for rel work,PM me, If you got a real job, and real work, I'll hook you up...

OP:
Though I don't have a kennel, I understand the cost of expensive pups.  If breeders do it right, there's a lot of time and money which needs to go into the facility feeding, etc.  Also, Malis aren't low cost by any means. I paid $2500 for my pup.  I sunk another $3500 in a trainer only to have the trainer almost kill my dog (another story entirely). As a Malinois owner, I don't want these dogs to become cost effective. If the prices are high, then hopefully, better buyers will get the puppies and not ruin the breed's name.  If you put a lot of money into a puppy, you will hopefully treat it better. I saved for almost a year to be able to afford my pup and it's trainer.  Lost all my money to the trainer when he hurt the dog, didn't want to go to court. Anyway, I'm off topic. But, from a buyer's perspective, I don't mind paying the higher costs from a good breeder because I know I will get a quality puppy. If I wanted a cheaper dog, I would have picked another breed. Also, there are some great rescues out there for people who might want one of these breeds, but can't afford a puppy price.  Owning any dog is expensive if you think about all the money for quality food, vet bills, etc. I just dropped $140 on shots yesterday and that was a cheap vet bill! lol My free hound rescue mix cost me over $500 for her first bill because she was in such bad shape. Anyway, any dog is expensive really and the initial puppy price will just be a drop in the bucket over the dog's life time.

Just the same old bull**** - just one more person with that "you owe me mentality"....

In this world - we all put a value on "what it is worth".......whether it is how much a person charges for cutting somebody's grass, how much a person is worth in helping somebody train, or a puppy and its value -   we put a price on our value of that service/item........  

Whether one breeder makes a profit or the next doesn't - what business is it of a "puppy buyer" to ask or even say - you should sell your dogs for less because you "might be" making a profit..... 

Yogie

Supply and demand.

There is no shortage of GSD breeders in the US or the world in general. If a buyer thinks the price of the dog is too high, they can move on and look for another dog that is less expensive.The breeder has the right to ask whatever he or she wants for a dog and the buyer has the right to pass. The cost of breeding an individual litter has nothing to do with the final price of the dog, it's about the production history behind the lines and the breeder.  One should expect to pay less from a breeder without a production record and/or who doesn't offer a written guarantee. Buying from a breeder who has walked the walked with their dogs and who offer a written guarantee is going to cost more. It depends on what the buyer wants.

Most longtime breeders  I know are only too happy to help out a friend or someone with excellent references with a reduced price or even a free dog. But none are going to hand over such a dog to a stranger.Why would they?

Workingdogz and Blitzen,
Agreed!

The decision of free, or price totally belongs to the breeder. It's rather insulting when a stranger thinks you are charging to much and offers chicken feed for a dog.
I will make the offer, IF there is good reason for it...I have paid good money for some of the dogs I bought, because I feel they are worth it.Never would I request a discount from the breeder.I want the best.
But to try to justify a high price because you want to be compensated for every one, or the time you put into your dog....that. totally makes your dog a business only.
If I wanted compensation for the time I put into my dogs, Oprah wouldn't even be able to afford one.
You should be doing it, because you enjoy it. And I will always, dplate to police

If the prices are high, then hopefully, better buyers will get the puppies and not ruin the breed's name.  If you put a lot of money into a puppy, you will hopefully treat it better.

This statement is the driving force to a topsy-turvey pricing scheme, where the least experienced dog owner is judged by a breeder as competent because of the price they will bear. It is just all wrong because reality drives the point home when the breeder's profits soar so easily at the same time they allow standards to get pushed aside, because the uninformed buyer pretty much accepts what the breeder, the "professional" in this transaction tells them. 

It is afterwards when the unsuspecting buyer tries to enter the "educated" world of dog sport, shows, trials or whatever, that they begin to realize what they thought was purchased as quality for their top dollar, and was touted as being based on pedigree and accomplishment histories, just don't match up.