The cost of puppies.

[setterguy]

Most ofyou know that I recently had a litter of puppies. I thought that some people might be interested in seeing what exactly goes into the handling of a litter, and the cost that goes along with it. Now I have been around dogs long enough to know that money shouldn't be the motivation to have puppies, not a lot of dog breeders driving BMWs. I just made a list of all my expenses related to the pregnancy Maybe its something to think about before you decide to have pups yourself.

1.) Hip certification = 30.00

a.) X-rays from Vet to send to OFA = 60.00

b.) Brucelosios test = 15.00

2.) Stud Fee = 400.00

a.) Gas back and forth from St. Cloud 3 times, approx 100.00.

3.) Pre-natal vitamins during pregnancy = 22.00

4.) X-ray during pregnancy to count pups = 115.00

5.) Building supplies for whelping box/heat lamp = 75.00

6.) Misc. items needed for delivery. (scale, sterile scissors ect.) = 30.00

7.) Euthanization of puppy that was born with deformities = 42.00

8.) Dew claw removal = 60.00

9.) Puppy food = 45.00

10.) 1st shots = 42.00 (this is doing them myself, at vet it would be 40 per puppy.)

11.) Advertising of litter = 75.00

12.) Litter enrollment = 22.00

13.) Fuel costs of delivering two pups = 60.00 (two families lived outstate, I met them both halfway)

Now this doesn't include the 40.00 that my wife claims our electric bill went up from running a heat lamp and heater 24/7 for a month.

This brings our grand total to 1093.00. Now the total that the pups will bring in is 1650.00, for a difference of 557.00. I have estiamted the amount of time that I have spent on this whole pregnancy, delivery, taking care of pups, talking to buyers ect at about 3 hours per day that they have been alive. They are 6 weeks old, so 42 days times 3 hours per day brings us to 126 hours (I would be willing to bet its more than that). Now take 557 dollars divided by 126 hours and I have made a whopping 4.42 per hour. Not exactly moving us to another tax bracket.

I want to make it very clear that I am not complaining, and I knew full well what to expect as far as compensation goes. That was never my motivation. I just wanted to put this out there for everyone to read so the next time that you see a dog for sale for 500 or more, you can think about this and understand why a good dog that has been taken care of is going to be so expensive, and converlsy what steps were skipped when you see pups for 200.00. I hope someone can take some of the info and put it to good use.

PS- As much work as the pups have been, I have really enjoyed myself. It is/was a great experience. Right away I said I wouldn't do it again, now I think I might have changed my mind. Seeing the look on the kids faces as I handed them thier new puppy made it all worth while....

[gspman]

Excellent post Setterguy! This will hopefully open some eyes as to the cost if you want to do it right. You can also add tail docking to the fees if you have bobtailed dogs. It is heart warming watching kids and their new pets. I thought I saw an ad in the Strib this weekend. Still have one left?

gspman

[setterguy]

They all have homes, I had over 15 calls for that one dog this weekend. He ended up going to a farm in western MN. I might have just made another pheasant hunting contact also, so you can subtract that from the cost of the puppies!!!

[kentuck_ike]

Setterguy--

I didn't see anything for researching, purchasing, or raising a female until the age of 2 when she would be ready to breed. This could easliy add another $1000.

I also had a litter by c-section last year that was around $600. I was also feeding the pups every hour (it took half an hour at each feeding) with a bottle and taking care of other motherly duties until mom was able to take over (about 2 days)That hourly rate is almost nothing now.

Like most breeders I enjoy the challenge of producing a better or at very least a very high quality pup. It is almost an obsession.

People thinking of breeding a litter need to know it aint all roses & profits.

Ike

[setterguy]

Ike - You're right on. And I also forgot to mention the inherent risk to the Dam, sometimes mothers are lost during delivery, due to bleeding or from an infection obtained from delivering pups. Also I forgot to mention that the pups are guaranteed against defect, which could cause additional expense in the future.

[LABS4ME]

And the expenses keep adding up.... I'm in the initial stages right now of my next litter and she doesn't get dropped off at the breeder till tomorrow, but I also will need to add to your list a Progesterone test (needed as this will be an artificial insemination)the artificial insemination itself and a preventitive deworming of my female. Chalk up another $250.00. I started doing the deworming of my females as it diminishes the chances of pups having worms to almost zero. This really helps the pups thrive. Then I do eye exams on the pups before they go home at $15.00/pup too. I figure an average litter has $1500-2000.00 in expenses before sales. I wouldn't want to figure out my hourly rate as it's probably as scary a ratio as I pay for a pound of Red Lake crappie! I had a litter of 5 pups a number of years ago, and between the one I gave my vet at cost and one for my buddy at cost, I made a grand total of $200.00, $100.00 of which went to my daughter for helping out with puppy chores. I agree with the others, if you're doing this to make money, you won't eat steak very often.

Good eye opening post Setterguy!

Good Luck!

Ken

[LABS4ME]

Another one to add in.... failed breedings! I've had two breeding fail, but yet there were considerable expenses to both of those. They'd need to be factored into a future breeding to average out costs... It's done for the love of a breed, not the love of a pocket book!

Good Luck!

Ken

[WalleyeWrangler]

Excellent Post. My lab is 16 weeks and when I got her I thought about breeding her. After much research I don't think that I am going to do that. I appreciate this information.

[wolfman-k]

Wow, what an eye-opener! I considered breeding my Goldens a few years back but the males health problems prevented that.

He went to the happy hunting ground last April but I'm waiting for a male fawn-phase lab to be born next month. I feel much better now spending the $600 for him after finding out how much goes into the breeding and raising pups for the begining of their lives. My female Golden is nine now, I sure hope she gets along with the new addition, and can help me train him to have fun and retrieve on water and field.

[Poutwhacker]

Great Post!!!! Shows why good lineage dogs cost what they do

and your backyard breeders can be so cheap. You get what you pay for and for a 10-12 (or more) year commitment why the initial cost of a dog is really the inexpensive part.

[Billjr]

reading all these posts I thought of the credit card -commercial that lists all the costs however here is my two cents worth- experience of raising a litter of puppies priceless -my children and loved it can't say that my wife was to happy with the timing (3rd child born two weeks before the litter arrived)