So many puppies...

[Lipglosspukka]

I find the whole thing disgusting.

At least with horses, as much as I think some of the prices are still criminal, I can accept that it costs a lot to take a horse from foal to riding horse.

But dogs and even worse cats!? The gestation period is short, the litters are larger, a stud fee is minimal. Unless these puppies are from decent, fully health tested parents etc, then how on earth can it be justified?!

It's nothing short of exploitation. People see pound signs. It's so very sad.

The problem is that IMO, more people in society are selfish than not selfish.

The state our beaches have been left in over the last few days for example, it's disgusting. People just don't give a toss about anyone else. They care about themselves and don't care about the impact of their actions on man or beast so long as they get what they want.

 

[Leah3horses]

You're right. Treating animals as commodities is never ethical, and things have never been as bad in the backyard breeding of pets as they've been this past year or so . Humans are so irresponsible.

 

[Nudibranch]

I'm not sure breeders always help themselves. Someone was advertising a litter (the last I've seen of this particular breed for sale since Covid started tbf). They were registered, insured, appeared to be a family home with one bitch and the wording was good. The ad was shared on FB on the breed page and jumped all over because the breeder wasn't from their showing clique. Even the fact it was well written was used as a negative, with the poor seller accused of all sorts. "Doing their research" is apparently a bad thing!
This particular breed are healthier than many, make absolutely superb family dogs and have a lovely, trainable nature. Yet the in crowd breeders never promote this and are very reluctant to sell to anyone who wants a mere pet. How is that helping? They are pretty rare now, not so in the 50s and 60s. They are certainly a better option than many of the cross breeds and doodle things everywhere. It's very disappointing.
I have a bitch from top lines and was pushed to show her. I'd rather she lived a happy life, running round with her pack of kids, exploring the countryside and occasionally herding our ducks and chickens. I would genuinely love one litter, and I could have homes lined up before the pups were born but in all honesty I don't want to be shared and slagged off all over the internet so I probably won't. And so the breed declines even further...

 

[Widgeon]

There are still nice puppies out there for sensible prices - the in-laws brought home a collie puppy a few months ago, locally bred, working lines but the farmer felt that this particular dog would do equally well in an active pet home, which is what he will have. The bitch lives in the farmer's home with his family (including toddlers). I think the in-laws paid around £1K, which seemed reasonable to me for a dog with a nice temperament from two useful working parents. So they are there! It's not all hopeless.

 

[AdorableAlice]

There are still nice puppies out there for sensible prices - the in-laws brought home a collie puppy a few months ago, locally bred, working lines but the farmer felt that this particular dog would do equally well in an active pet home, which is what he will have. The bitch lives in the farmer's home with his family (including toddlers). I think the in-laws paid around £1K, which seemed reasonable to me for a dog with a nice temperament from two useful working parents. So they are there! It's not all hopeless.

The problem is very few people want traditionally bred dogs. They do want designer (whatever that means) dogs. The mongrels with ridiculous 'breed' names. I am involved in the legislation and in 3 years I have not seen a single litter of collie puppies. The vast majority of breeders specifically breed mongrels for big money. The only purebred dogs that readily spring to mind being bred currently in my area are Boxers but even they are being crossed with Rotti's now. A few Retrievers, French Bulldog, a couple of Lab breeders and Dachshunds.

I used to love my job but now find dealing with the dogs heart breaking. It really is the Bank of The Uterus. I just hope it stops soon.

 

[Michen]

There are still nice puppies out there for sensible prices - the in-laws brought home a collie puppy a few months ago, locally bred, working lines but the farmer felt that this particular dog would do equally well in an active pet home, which is what he will have. The bitch lives in the farmer's home with his family (including toddlers). I think the in-laws paid around £1K, which seemed reasonable to me for a dog with a nice temperament from two useful working parents. So they are there! It's not all hopeless.

Still seems expensive to me. I paid £600 for my KC registered springer bitch in May last year from working parents. That is a “normal” price. Obviously not now though!

 

[Goldenstar]

I paid 2k for Pearl and that was cheap in comparison to other litters I had seen advertised ( Pearl came through a recommendation from a friend of a friend )
I paid 1.2 k for Dram six years ago.

 

[gallopingby]

The breed rescues are still very quiet - apart from people wanting to "rescue" a dog! The thinking is that sadly dogs who would previously come into rescue are now being sold in the hope of recouping some of the initial outlay. The breed societies I am aware of, registered accredited, have set a recommended price for puppies , normally around about £1400 - £1600 for a fully registered vet checked puppy with appropriate help/advice if required. Some of these breeders will have waiting lists of people who may still not find themselves able to find their chosen breed for quite some time.

 

[Widgeon]

Still seems expensive to me. I paid £600 for my KC registered springer bitch in May last year from working parents. That is a “normal” price. Obviously not now though!

Our dog was also £600, albeit four years ago - also KC registered. There aren't many of his breed around so we waited about nine months for him, and his breeder raised her prices after his litter. TBH I think anything up to about £1.5K is "normal" - for the collie, he would have done a useful working job and one of his parents is a successful trials dog, so I'd have expected him to be more expensive than a dog bred to be a nice pet. It's the mongrel puppies going for £4K that really make me sad, and the fashionable Frenchies etc selling for even more than that. Without wanting to sound too patronising I can't get my head around who is daft enough to pay these prices without alarm bells going off.

 

[splashgirl45]

what has surprised me is that the poodle crosses are more expensive than a pure poodle, madness.!!...not all of these poo crosses are non shedders but if you buy a poodle you know it wont shed...

 

[Errin Paddywack]

My young collie is 4 this month. I bought her back in 2017 at 10 weeks. ISDS registered and from a good working/pet home. Good working lines. Most expensive dog I have ever bought at £375. Now I would be looking at £1k upward.