Cgb628 wrote in post #15234705
$450 total is fair considering they'll make $10-25k off them.
That's actually not accurate, not when you're talking about well-bred dogs. While it's true that well-bred pups go for anywhere between $1,000-$3,000 depending on the breed and prospects for show/working, have you any idea how much time, sweat, blood and tears - and money - good breeders put into their dogs?
Even if you have only 1 b*tch, you're out at least $1,000-$3,000 to start.
Food, supplies and training those first 2 years you're raising the dog before you can get adult assessments on health. Taking time off work and spending money to enter shows and working competitions ain't cheap.
Getting your dog screened for congenital disease ain't cheap, especially depending upon the breed. Some breeds are fairly healthy and only require scans for hips, elbows, and eyes. Some require hearing, heart, thyroid, and particular diseases such as Wobbler's, Legg-Calve-Perthes, von Willebrand's, etc. etc. These are not $25 health checks, we're talking hundreds and hundreds of dollars.
Stud fee and possibly paying for the stud's kennel fees.
Extra veterinary care and food while your b*tch is pregnant.
Having an additional $3,000 sitting around in case something goes wrong during whelping - emergency C-sections are generally $1,800-$2,500+, depending on your area.
Veterinary care post-partum and the litter has to been seen too.
A lot of breeders take time off work the first few weeks the pups are born - or they pay someone to watch them.
Extra vet visits, food, supplies and utilities (heat and washing tons of blankets and floors!) while the pups are growing.
Assuming that everything has gone right A-Z (and keep in mind sometimes a pup is the stud fee and most breeders will keep at least 1, if not 2 pups to show/work/add to their breeding program), most breeder estimates (again depending on breed and location) per litter are anywhere between $1,500 - $4,000. Anything goes wrong - well, the sky's the limit. A lot of breeders break even; in fact I can count on both hands the number of breeders I personally know who make any kind of profit that's considered worthwhile.
I love dogs - and I feel it necessary to correct misinformation if I can. I don't mean to offend, this is simply an important subject to me.
