What do breeders do with unwanted puppies?

[magicgenie]

Yikes, did someone post that Yorkies are overpriced? I've never heard of a breeder having an "unwanted" one to give away either. I can only speak for myself, but I know how much time, effort and money go into my breeding, and I think my pricing is very reasonable. I keep my puppies as long as I need to in order to send them home to a situation I like. I've been poor and I don't like it, and I'm sorry for anyone who's struggling with money, but I can't send a puppy home with someone I feel would have a hard time affording a vet bill. I'm in a very expensive part of the country and it doesn't take much to run up a vet bill upward of $1000.

[BamaFan121s]

Originally Posted by Sunnie

I tend to think that a lot of the reputable breeders do not breed until they know they will have homes for them.

That, IMO would be the ideal situation and what I have done in the past. Of course, I don't have frequent litters, but I have been fortunate enough to have interested parties before breeding that were willing to wait. I'm not sure I would breed if that weren't the case, but I can't really say for sure. I'd be afraid that I'd end up keeping them all...which would be just fine with me.

[BamaFan121s]

Originally Posted by Ladyhawk

If you donate to a charity for an auction you can't screen the new owners and you won't know where your baby has gone. It's my responsibility to place my babies personally. I always give my retired gals away to special homes. I've also sold pups that I've held for show but that just didn't turn out for a very low price if I feel that the home is perfect for the dog. The expenses of raising these pups properly is very high and very work intensive. Even at $1000. per pup with a 3 pup litter you're definitely not going to get rich. If you show the money will go back into show expenses and into bettering your line. Doing right by this breed is definitely expensive but the quality of yorkies 100 years from now is dependent upon what we do today.

Very good point. I can't think of many <good> breeders who would just 'donate' one of their dogs without any concern regarding the home it would end up in. Then again, I would think that most <good> breeders probably have no problem finding homes for theirs or no issue keeping them until they do.