Why does my dog cost so much?
Our very first time shopping for a family dog, we were stunned at the range of prices. Some were simply through the roof, and needless to say, I was not very impressed. Many were at faraway farms and the dogs were kept in less than ideal conditions and it was very apparent that many of these dogs were sold for cash crop only. A few places appeared to be outright puppy mills.
There were also a handful home breeders who were charging a moderately higher price for the same type of dog. The slight increase in cost yielded a marked increase in the apparent quality of the dog–yes they were the same breed of dog, but you could tell the dogs that were raised in a home were loved and cared for on a daily basis in a way that dogs raised in the shed or in kennel housing could not be–and to me that difference was worth it.
What exactly goes in to bringing a very loved puppy into this world? It was only after preparing to breed that we realize the enormous expense of actually raising a well socialized and healthy puppy suitable for family life. Not every item on this list needs to be purchased for every litter of puppies, but I would say the cost for subsequent litters is typically only 20 to 30% less then an initial litter. Little things always creep up here and there, and no litter is the same.
As you can see from the graphics below, it's very costly to operate on a small scale. To make a profit, a breeder must produce on a large scale, which we do not do.
There were also a handful home breeders who were charging a moderately higher price for the same type of dog. The slight increase in cost yielded a marked increase in the apparent quality of the dog–yes they were the same breed of dog, but you could tell the dogs that were raised in a home were loved and cared for on a daily basis in a way that dogs raised in the shed or in kennel housing could not be–and to me that difference was worth it.
What exactly goes in to bringing a very loved puppy into this world? It was only after preparing to breed that we realize the enormous expense of actually raising a well socialized and healthy puppy suitable for family life. Not every item on this list needs to be purchased for every litter of puppies, but I would say the cost for subsequent litters is typically only 20 to 30% less then an initial litter. Little things always creep up here and there, and no litter is the same.
As you can see from the graphics below, it's very costly to operate on a small scale. To make a profit, a breeder must produce on a large scale, which we do not do.
Time spent preparing for and arranging a pregnancy is often 200 hours or more.
During the pregnancy, we incur initial advertising cost, as well as the cost and time it takes to prepare a website, contracts, photography, and the time spent on the phone and responding to e-mails for those who are interested in being on a puppy waiting list. Easily 150 hours of time.
Now it is time for the puppies to arrive!
The week of puppy's birth, the owner will will often dedicate 40 to 60 additional hours to intensive care of the mother and the puppies, including weighing, feeding, cleaning, etc. A narrative description follows our charts.
During the pregnancy, we incur initial advertising cost, as well as the cost and time it takes to prepare a website, contracts, photography, and the time spent on the phone and responding to e-mails for those who are interested in being on a puppy waiting list. Easily 150 hours of time.
Now it is time for the puppies to arrive!
The week of puppy's birth, the owner will will often dedicate 40 to 60 additional hours to intensive care of the mother and the puppies, including weighing, feeding, cleaning, etc. A narrative description follows our charts.
Costs of raising a new litter
Explanations of listed items:
There will be lost days of work if puppies arrive midweek
Whelping supplies including washable whelping pads, disposable whelping pads, lots of Lysol wipes and spray, and of course air freshener. Whelping is a bit of a stinky business.
Medical supplies, including hemostats, syringes, feeding tubes, surgical gloves and lubricant, thermometer, digital scale weighing in fractional units in both kilograms and pounds, calcium and energy supplements for the dam, milk replacement formula at the ready (in case the mother cannot readily feed the puppies in case of medical emergency), heating pads and bottles, a heat lamp, pH balanced baby soap, special puppy collars… you get the picture. If you want to see more of the equipment that goes into a typical whelping kit, please see these links. Not every single whelping will require duplicate purchases of this material, but much of this material is disposable.
Assuming all goes well during the birth, the 1st week is spent monitoring the litter quite closely in between catching up on all the sleep lost during whelping, which often happens during the night. No one in their right mind could sleep through whelping due to the worry alone: for more on the risky business that is whelping, please visit this page to read about it.
If all does not go well it means a trip to the emergency veterinarian for a C-section or to help rescue fading puppies. The cost of this can be in the thousands of dollars, not including follow-up care, and I will not include this in the cost estimate. Cross your fingers!
Having puppies in the house requires strict adherence to medical and developmental schedules, and requires military-like discipline to keep everything in working order.
If all are healthy, after the 1st week, we began to take photos and make paid advertisement placement on the Internet if we do not already have a full reservation list. Advertising can easily cost $200-$300 after the birth, and more if older puppies have an extended stay at our home.
Ongoing costs include purchase of puppy food to feed to the dam so she may sustain lactation, 3 extra laundry loads a day to keep whelping pads clean and sanitized, extra heating or cooling costs because the area in which the puppies are kept must be maintained at 85° (and that would make the rest of the home uncomfortable).
Major time commitments include the waiting bathing and feeding of puppies, as well as preliminary grooming and nail clipping. This may not sound like a big deal, but for a litter of 8 dogs, it takes a dedicated team of at least 2 people more than 4 hours to perform all of the above tasks on a weekly basis or more often.
For example, their nails often get trimmed every other day or every 3rd day. A simple nail trimming may take 10 to 20 min. per puppy, and by the end of their 8 week stay with us, puppies will have had their nails trimmed 28 times–8 puppies each with 4 paws, each with 4 little nails on the paw times 28 trimmings is 3,584 tiny little nails that we will have clipped for the litter before it goes home. It might seem that we were over grooming them, however, much like newborn humans, their little nails are razor-sharp and often make nursing uncomfortable for the mama. A mama who won't nurse makes for starving little puppies!
Clean puppies also need to be healthy puppies! Medical services for puppies include dew claw removal, tail docking, the initial set of puppy vaccinations, and worming treatment 3 times. Our puppies are also micro chipped, and include prepaid registration. We prepare a puppy pack of a variety of items, including extra food, a collar and leash, and various other assorted items.
Major time commitments during the later phase of puppyhood include extensive socialization and a beginning in basic behavioral and potty training. Most breeders do not leave the house on a regular basis for about 2 months (having a social life while having a litter of puppies is mutually exclusive).
There's much more to write, but even getting this far has me exhausted!
There will be lost days of work if puppies arrive midweek
Whelping supplies including washable whelping pads, disposable whelping pads, lots of Lysol wipes and spray, and of course air freshener. Whelping is a bit of a stinky business.
Medical supplies, including hemostats, syringes, feeding tubes, surgical gloves and lubricant, thermometer, digital scale weighing in fractional units in both kilograms and pounds, calcium and energy supplements for the dam, milk replacement formula at the ready (in case the mother cannot readily feed the puppies in case of medical emergency), heating pads and bottles, a heat lamp, pH balanced baby soap, special puppy collars… you get the picture. If you want to see more of the equipment that goes into a typical whelping kit, please see these links. Not every single whelping will require duplicate purchases of this material, but much of this material is disposable.
Assuming all goes well during the birth, the 1st week is spent monitoring the litter quite closely in between catching up on all the sleep lost during whelping, which often happens during the night. No one in their right mind could sleep through whelping due to the worry alone: for more on the risky business that is whelping, please visit this page to read about it.
If all does not go well it means a trip to the emergency veterinarian for a C-section or to help rescue fading puppies. The cost of this can be in the thousands of dollars, not including follow-up care, and I will not include this in the cost estimate. Cross your fingers!
Having puppies in the house requires strict adherence to medical and developmental schedules, and requires military-like discipline to keep everything in working order.
If all are healthy, after the 1st week, we began to take photos and make paid advertisement placement on the Internet if we do not already have a full reservation list. Advertising can easily cost $200-$300 after the birth, and more if older puppies have an extended stay at our home.
Ongoing costs include purchase of puppy food to feed to the dam so she may sustain lactation, 3 extra laundry loads a day to keep whelping pads clean and sanitized, extra heating or cooling costs because the area in which the puppies are kept must be maintained at 85° (and that would make the rest of the home uncomfortable).
Major time commitments include the waiting bathing and feeding of puppies, as well as preliminary grooming and nail clipping. This may not sound like a big deal, but for a litter of 8 dogs, it takes a dedicated team of at least 2 people more than 4 hours to perform all of the above tasks on a weekly basis or more often.
For example, their nails often get trimmed every other day or every 3rd day. A simple nail trimming may take 10 to 20 min. per puppy, and by the end of their 8 week stay with us, puppies will have had their nails trimmed 28 times–8 puppies each with 4 paws, each with 4 little nails on the paw times 28 trimmings is 3,584 tiny little nails that we will have clipped for the litter before it goes home. It might seem that we were over grooming them, however, much like newborn humans, their little nails are razor-sharp and often make nursing uncomfortable for the mama. A mama who won't nurse makes for starving little puppies!
Clean puppies also need to be healthy puppies! Medical services for puppies include dew claw removal, tail docking, the initial set of puppy vaccinations, and worming treatment 3 times. Our puppies are also micro chipped, and include prepaid registration. We prepare a puppy pack of a variety of items, including extra food, a collar and leash, and various other assorted items.
Major time commitments during the later phase of puppyhood include extensive socialization and a beginning in basic behavioral and potty training. Most breeders do not leave the house on a regular basis for about 2 months (having a social life while having a litter of puppies is mutually exclusive).
There's much more to write, but even getting this far has me exhausted!