I haven't altered all of my pet puppies, just the ones who are old enough. I wont put a 12 week old puppy through that.. maybe a larger male, not a female. But the difference is, I don't sell most of my puppies at 12 weeks.. Since I am breeding for myself, I want to hold on to them until I am sure they are not going to be what I want for show before I let them go.. this may mean six months, this may mean a year. At six months plus .. Yes, they're "fixed" before leaving me... my hard work and the hard work of those who came before me that make up my lines deserves to be protected. There are sooooooooo many "CKC" registered puppies who have been bred from AKC limited reg. parents.. I'm not taking chances. The rest are on spay/neuter contracts.. papers with-held until proof of spay/neuter.
What you quoted as average prices are my average prices as well.. typically I start males at $600-$1000 and females $800-$1200+. I have more larger males than anything it seems.. lol I can count the female puppies I've placed in pet homes on one hand. I have let older (6 mos plus) larger males go for much less than $600 for the right home.. it's not about the money to me.. yes I'd like to break even (ha!) but for me, it's about finding the right match in the perfect pet home.
Unfortunately in my area, my prices are considered "steep".. but what you GET in return far outweighs the $350 newspaper special... unfortunately a lot of people who inquire with me aren't intelligent enough to realize that. That's okay, gives me lots of opportunities to edcuate..that is when I'm not left completely speechless.. LOL
I think my favorite was when I was trying to explain that there was no such thing as a Teacup.. the girl said "Oh yes there Is, I have proof there is.. I own one!".. yeah, that was another speechless moment for me.. I think I finally replied with 'well allrighty then!".. lol
Becki
Quote:
Originally Posted by Breyli  You ALTER your dogs before they go home? My gosh, I wished more breeders did this. I didn't know they could be spayed and neutered so young though. I guess as long as it was safe to do so, I know I would rather have an already altered puppy instead of having to go through the anxious process later.
As for average price, good luck on that one. You can find yorkies at many different prices. I've seen some for $6k (which I find to be way too high, even if they are cute) and some for a few hundred. Quality does not necessarily go up with price (or necessarily go down with price), but it seems like most reputable breeders advertise between 6-900 for male and 8-1200 for female with some higher and some lower. I got Breyli for an extremely reasonable price and couldn't be happier. I do think that the "average" price will likely drop in the near future since many people just cannot afford that anymore on top of caring for a dog (see the reduction of sale of pet shop puppies with the down turn of the economy and the rise of owners turning dogs into shelters since they can't afford the care the dog needs). |