And you know, your only talking about 1 litter, 1 time.
And the folks who have 8 or more females they breed? I know how much it cost to keep 2 in heart worm meds, flea meds, vet bills, and other needs of yorkies. It all adds up fast.
Breeders put a lot of "time and throught" into this. They don't just thow 2 dogs in a room and have puppies later. They look for good qualities, do testing, remove some dogs from their breeding program. I feel their time and knowledge, is worth a lot to me.
My last puppy has never been sick. She'd been vet checked, dew claws removed, tail docked, had fist set of shots, and wormed. I can't imagine the bill for her and all her littermates! And she came with a guarantee, a tube of Neutra-Cal, and enough food to last 2 weeks! Did your freind have all this done for her whole litter?
I didn't mind paying what I paid for her at all! I know the lady I got her from takes very good care of all her dogs. When they can no longer breed, she has them spayed, and keeps them. I can't imagine buying food alone for the dogs she had! Much less the vet bills for shots, heart worm meds, and flea meds! And thats just for well dogs. Many things can happen when whelping litters, especially if have more than just "one" like your friend had.
I don't think you've done all your homework, just listing to ONE person that had ONE litter. Spending your life breeding dogs for the betterment of the breed is a whole different ball game than having one litter and quitting.
Sometimes a bargain, isn't a bargain. Look in the sick section. Many folks lately, got a new baby, only to find out they are sick, and need a lot of medical care.
And no, I do not breed, never have and probably never will. But I have a high respect for breeders. Especially since I've seen 3 on this board here lately, loose the female right after the babies are born. They have to bottle feed these pups every 2 hours, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You think they want 300 bucks for each puppy after going through all that?? I think not! |