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Originally Posted by Britster  I don't really like when the "Well Yorkies are different... they're like humans" comes up. Because any person with a particular breed is going to say that. Lots of people treat their dogs like royalty and sleep in our beds or wear clothes and treated like kids, especially in today's world. Go check out any other breed specific forum... lots and lots of devoted owners always wanting the best for their dogs whether they be Mastiffs, Labs and Chihuahua's.
Not to mention, there are probably a lot more breeds that are known as heartache breeds for a reason... Mastiffs and other giant breeds come with a lot of health issues. And yes Yorkies nowdays tend to have more because of BYB's, etc, but usually tend to be long lived and cost a lot less in terms of vet care, upkeep, etc. Everything is soooo much more expensive when you have a giant breed (anesthesia, food, flea/tick meds, heartworm meds, collars are more expensive, crates, etc etc)... I'm just saying that a healthy Yorkie, needing just regular vet care and checkups throughout their life, definitely won't cost more than an English Mastiff.
And I do think that should come up when deciding to get a dog. I certainly couldn't afford a dog like a Mastiff right now. But that doesn't mean if some huge emergency came up where Jackson needed something done ... that I couldn't afford it. Just that the general care of a large breed is going to be more than a small dog. And I wouldn't purposely put myself out there with a breed that I know off the bat is going to cost more. Even if in the long run my little dog may cost me more unexpectedly ... if that makes sense... |
Large breed breeders in some way have an easier time with future owners in terms of "cost". For example one of the first questions you get is "how much food does your dog eat a day? When they hear 3lbs or more. They get the drift on how much food is going to cost. Meds are definitely more, especially ones that go by weight. Everything else costs more too. Collars, some leads, crates, beds,etc. Also training has to be factored in. Good future owners of large breeds would never think not "to train" their dogs. Quite simply they are too big to fool around with. You need to train early and a lot. And that means for many, obedience classes.
My public is getting much more educated it seems. They will ask about HD and ED prevalence in the breed and in my own lines. FHO surgery is both expensive and not that successful for my breed.
We spend a whole lot on our dogs, and yes some breeds can suffer from thyroid problems, cancer, pra, but not usually liver shunt. We just spend in different areas.