The cost of breeding

I get about 10 inquires a week from people looking for puppies, I enjoy talking to each and everyone of them. But when it comes down to it, most of them are looking for that cute $500 puppy. All puppies are cute, come on. What is not so cute are the vet bills later in life and anyone who has owned this breed knows what I am talking about. The most common question I get is, why do your puppies cost so much? Quite frankly I think it is cheaper for me to keep them, than place them. The time and money that I spend on each puppy is out of this world. Those who know me or own one of the few pugs I have breed, know what they got. A beautiful, healthy pug, that is true to the standard.

Back in 2007 I wrote the below post on a public pug message board when someone asked about why puppies from reputable breeders cost so much more. Enjoy....

Reputable breeding starts with having the best of the best. That is a long expensive process in itself. A reputable breeder always shows their stock in conformation (or has a handler do it) to prove that they are worthy of breeding. What makes a pug worthy of breeding? There are 3 pieces to the pie: Conformation (the way a pug looks), Soundness (health), and Temperament. Conformation and Temperament are assessed in the show ring and Soundness is assessed by a qualified vet and knowing the pedigrees. If a pug (or any dog) does not have all 3 pieces to the pie they should not be considered good breeding candidates and should be placed in pet homes.
We love pugs for the way they look and the way they act. We are drawn to their funny little stubby bodies and silly personalities. What if a breeder kept breeding pugs that are long, lanky and are aggressive? This is a distortion of the breed and eventually with main stream breeding practices our breed will change. Reputable breeders spend countless hours and thousands of dollars to maintain and better the breed. Which means, that they are truly breeding for the standard set forth by the PDCA and not for their pocket books. Kitchen breeders, BYB, and Millers are breeding to breed. Some do love the breed and “think” they are doing buyers a favor, when in fact they are not. Some breed to pay their bills, others breed because it is their source of income. Breeding must have a purpose when it comes to purebreds.

So lets talk money. Before even having a litter lets talk about what it takes to prepare a dog for breeding.

Good stock cost $! If you are a Reputable Breeder you probably did not go out and buy a show potential dog but if you did you are looking at $2500-3500 for a dog and $3000-5000 for a bitch PUPPY!!! Once you have the puppy (bought or bred) you spend the next 2 years training, showing, and putting it through health certifications. The training will be the least expensive for the cost, but the most time consuming. Est. about $500 (give or take). Showing….this is the part that hurts. Some breeders spend more than others, in 2005 and 2006 I spent just over $15,000 showing and specialing ONE DOG!!! He was an amazing show dog and I would do it again in heartbeat. I have heard breeders say it takes about $2000-3000 to get a Championship (dogs usually require less time and money than bitches). When the dog is about 18 months it is important to start the health screenings, some screenings can’t be done until over 2 years old. I certify the eyes at 18 or so months and then following I will have the hips, elbows, and patella’s x-rayed and reviewed by my orthopedic specialist. They can also be sent off to OFA as well for review. I spend about $1500-$1800 on health certifications for EACH dog that will be bred. I never breed a dog before it is 2 years old and I never breed without screening first.

Ohh goodie so far we have spent $10,000 and we have not even bred a litter yet! So now onto the actually breeding part.

When breeding usually you own the bitch and you probably don’t own the dog so there are “extra” fees included. This is a estimate on what it would cost if you used a stud:

Stud Fee: $800
Progesterone Testing: $360 (Average is 6 X$60 each)
Shipping Costs of Sperm: $300
AI (if fresh chilled): $150 If frozen it has to be a surgical implant ($300)
Subtotal and no puppies yet: $1310-$1460

Ultrasound at 28-32 days post breeding: $125
YIPPEE we are expecting 2-4 puppies, total cost so far $1435-1585

Option #1 The day has come….and you decided to have your bitch go natural:
Cost of natural whelp….Free but you lose 2 of the 3 puppies.

Total cost of breeding and 1 barely alive puppy… $1500 +/-, you decide to keep it because it is all you have for the next show season and you pray it turns out.

Option #2 The day has come and you decided to have a c-section:
C-section: $700 (it is planned and not an emergency)

You get 3 healthy puppies.

Some of the costs no matter if natural Whelp or C-Section:
Dew claws: $20 per puppy
2 vet visits (between newborn and 8 weeks because you worry something is wrong) $200
1st set of shots at 7 weeks: $45-60 per puppy
2nd set of shots at 10 weeks: $45-60 per puppy
Microchipping: $35 per puppy
Food, supplies, etc. $250

You decide at 10 weeks you are keeping 2 puppies from this litter and you have a PET home for one of them. You must have health certificates issued and contract signed). You get $1200 for the puppy! Ohh goody this litter only cost me $3000!!! What a profit! Ohh but that does not include ALL the money spent on showing and health screenings of the parents!

There is no money to be made in breeding and if you are making money you are doing something very wrong!

I thought it would be fair to include the costs that BYB face so that you can do a side by side:

2 dogs breed, no history of where they came from, no health screening, but heck they will make cute pets: FREE

Wait 63 days later, bitch has has no prenatal care: FREE

Bitch naturally whelps while owner is at work or stuck in a crate in a cold stroage shed (that is if it is a good miller): FREE

4 Puppies of the 8 live: FREE

Self Vaccinate at 6 weeks old ($3-5 per puppy if usuing vanguard 5): $20 total

Option #1: Ad in newspaper: $45 (the biggest expense yet)...but these are AKC puppies!!!!

An uneducated person opens the sunday paper and see's an ad and shows up at the so called "breeders house" and pays $500 for a puppy that is hardly 7 weeks old, but gosh darn it, it is so cute! Breeder makes $2000 on 4 puppies and they spent $65! Now that is better than the stock market!

Option #2: Miller sells puppies to a broker for $300 each (Miller makes $1200). Broker then sells puppies to a puppy store for $500 each (Broker makes profit of $800). Then some uneducated buyer walks into the store and buys an $1800 puppy that looks more like a rat terrier than a pug. Pet store comes out ahead at a profit of $5200 on FOUR puppies! Heck that is better than a reputable breeder!

Of course I will add that there is going to be a "gray" area here. There are some kitchen breeders who are trying to do it right, they just don't have the back ground or knowledge of how or what is right. The end result is that the breed still suffers from it as the new owners who bought from a great breeder then goes and breeds their cute "pets" instead of getting them spayed or neutered and this vicious cycle never ends!!!

Questions and comments always encouraged!