So.... Should pups be cheap or expensive?

[galaxy]

Just interested to hear peoples thoughts....

I paid £650 for my KC reg, parents health tested pup. The cheapest you can find his breed is £400 for non-KC/health tested pups. Most expensive £850...

My personal feelings are that I don't think pups should be available for £100. They will be unplanned/ not health tested litters. And my thoughts would be that these breeders are just churning them out for a quick buck.

My theory would be that expensive pups come from better dogs and careful caring breeders who are genuinly trying to find good homes for their pups.

I also think cheap pups are more likely to be bought by people on a whim, who haven't planned or even thought about what it takes to look after or train a puppy and are more likely to end up in rescue shelters.

Just my thoughts. What are yours?

 

[Annette4]

I think pure bred dogs should be expensive. The way I look at it is that I'm paying to ensure my dog is healthy and bred well (ie: only healthy, none inbred dogs)

I hate to see expensive mongrels though. I have no problem with cross breeds what so ever but IMO these 'designer mongrels' are purely money making gimmicks and I cannot for the life of my understand what goes through the minds of those that buy them. I would have a cross breed, no problem with that but there is no way in hell I would pay the same as I would for a pedigree dog.

 

[Katikins]

Ditto. I think that health checked/well bred dogs should have the price tag they deserve. That way there is a lot of planning and preparation to put into things before you buy them.

Also, if you want a cross breed why not go to a rescue?!?? There are thousands of wonderful dogs crying out for a good home who cost a lot less than a pedigree pup but because of the home checks should also end up going to good home. I agree, theses designer crosses are insane, who pays 450 pounds (I have no pound sign on my dutch keyboard) for a jackapoo or similar!!

 

[MurphysMinder]

Ditto the above. It is crazy how people are prepared to pay more for a crossbreed than they would for a purebred of one of the breeds involved. I didn't pay for Evie but the rest of her litter sold for £650. Her dam is a BIS winner who was taken to Germany to be mated. Both parents had all health checks so that in my view is a very reasonable price. In the south I believe similarly bred pups can fetch £1000. There are GSD pups without papers in our local paper for £300 and more quite often, I know which I consider the better value!

 

[Ranyhyn]

I would question everything if a supposedly well bred, well brought up, well kept dog - could churn out pups and NOT have to charge a hefty wedge!! Vets bills, feeds, stud fees, injections, health tests, scans etc all cost money - where do people think this money comes from? Thin air?! (I wish!)
To be honest I treat a pedigree dog as an investment, yes of course you probably can get a cheap pup and it be FINE, however to protect my investment I choose to spend the right money to ensure I get the best I can possibly afford.

 

[ridebumble]

Yep.. costs money to look after and produce good KC reg pups .... but then I have seen lots of bad bred non health scored, unstandard colour pups going for more than pups from good breeders.

 

[Shutterbug]

We paid £800 for our Malamute and expected to have to part with a good chunk of money for a KC registered, well bred, healthy dog from a reputable breeder - I was amazed to see malamutes online for as little as £200. I get the feeling the cheaper bred dogs are from animals whose prodigy cannot be registered kc due to the breeders enorsements? But they just see £ signs and breed them anyway but cant ask the proper price because they are not KC registered - clearly no respect for the breed or the dogs IMO

 

[BBH]

I would always buy an expensive puppy from a recognised breeder. To get the pups on the ground properly isn't going to be cheap and I would expect a premium charge for this. I also want KC registration.

 

[FrodoBeutlin]

I think pedigree puppies should be expensive. I paid around £750 for both Peanuts (golden retriever) and Florimell (IG). If I were to get another golden retriever I know where I would go (a top breeder who is producing some incredible dogs, I did ask her five years ago but she had a long waiting list and I was just too impatient to wait and then fell in love with Peanuts who came from somewhere else)..anyway, this breeder's dogs are over £1000. And I would be happy to pay that amount of money because I would have no doubts about their quality.

However it never ceases to amaze me that people are prepared to pay a hell of a lot of money for unregistered crosses (in the UK and in Germany... I haven't come across crosses being sold for money in Italy at all, it just doesn't seem to happen).

 

[mon]

paid £220 for my well bred working strain border collie pup last year, father reserve welsh champ mother farmworking would have to have eyes tested and that included ISDS registration, dont require expensive vet checks if mother and father cant, wont work sheep then most wont be used for breeding working sheepdogs, natural selection, so if that breed cando it why cant others?

 

[Slinkyunicorn]

....and then fell in love with Peanuts who came from somewhere else)..

How could you not love Peanuts??

How much was she?? Peanuts??

Max was a £650 puppy, KC registered, health tested etc and father and grandfather were Field Trials champions - he still ended up in the rescue and cost me £160!!

He was a bargain...............just as well as he has cost me a fortune is all the bloody shoes he has eaten.......

 

[jasmine]

I own Isabel in partnership, but she would have cost me £800. In our breed the only health test is an eye test, BUT the kennel club only state that..."dogs used for breeding should be eye tested" so unscrupulous (sp) breders are breeding whether dogs are clear or not This loophole needs to be sorted, so this cant happen.

Isabel is tested and is clear, so the dog we put her to will have a clear eye test too.

 

[MurphysMinder]

There's the crux of the matter with the KC, they won't put restrictions on breeding as that would affect their income! An accredited breeder has to do health tests, but does not have to pass/have good scores in them , how crazy is that!

 

[zoeshiloh]

We have just paid £1200 for a labrador puppy - mum is an international FT champion, and dad is a FTCH. They come from a long line of champions and international champions. Both parents are fully tested for hips, elbows, eyes, optigen etc etc. Puppies will be tested before they leave the breeder, and any that are not up to breeding standard will have this endorsed on their KC certificates. It is a lot of money to spend on a lab, but we are buying from champions, and the health tests alone are costing the breeder nearly £300 per puppy. I'd rather pay more money and encourage responsible breeding that look for a cheaper puppy elsewhere.