Breeder Costs?????
 

As a consumer and a yorkie lover I was just curious about what it costs a breeder from the time they decide to breed a female (the vet check) until the puppies leave the breeder at 12 weeks to adequately care for the mother and the babies. A cost if everything went perfectly and a cost if everything went wrong would giv us a nice range. Please include the breeder's time at at least minimum wage.

costs
 

You have to back up...the cost of the breed quality female is the first money spent. So you are in the red from day one to the tune of anywhere from $1500 to $3000.
Cost of raising a female to breeding age includes shots, worming, vet checks, food and grooming expenses. Varies, I would say $500
Supplies you need depend on how easy you want it to be on yourself..and comfortable for the mom/pups
3x3 pen..$200...
whelping box, heating, therometer, bedding, clamps etc...$100 maybe

Vet check before breeding is not much...depends on the area. No more then $40 to $75
Stud fee..depends on the area of the country and a pet or show/breeder...I find pet breeders charge more in Florida, then show breeders, but lets be fair and say $500
Cost of feeding a pregnant bitch is not much..we all feed our pets well.

Vet costs depend...xray or sonagram before whelping...$50/$100
Free whelped litter.. $0 vet costs.
After whelping check/oxy shot..$50/$75
Tails/declaws..some vets charge as much as $125 per pup...average is $25/$35
8 week pup check and shot/worm..$50/$100 per pup
12 week...same
Food for 12 weeks...varies
AKC PAPERS...$25 and $2 per pup

As to the breeders time..it is 24 hrs a day like a mom. I may be asleep, but if someone cries I am up. I can not walk out the door and leave for the day without a "sitter"...my husband, the kennel boy as I used to call him.

Now if all goes wrong..add about $2000 to the total above...but that varies from area to area.
I cut alot of these expenses out by doing the tails and shots,my own studs, as most breeders. IMO that is the main reason breeders get them out the door at 6 and 7 weeks...vet cost for shots are very high for some breeders...the other is all the work from 8 to 12 weeks.

Average per litter costs are:

Stud Fee (If You do not own male): $500-1000
X-ray:$75
C- Section (If needed): $250-$600.00
Tales and Dew Claws: $10-$50.00 per puppy
Worming and first Shots: $30-$200.00
Akc Registration: $15 up depending amount of pups
Formula if mom dies or has Eclampsia $4.00 per carton
Mom dies in labor $ price to replace female.
Time vested if feeding orphanded pups Priceless
This is just a ball park figure! Breeding is not always a money making venure.

costs
 

AKC fee is $25/$2per pup ...$15 for adult

It is the c-section fees that are different from area to area. I was reading section cost on USABREEDERS...many midwest breeders, only pay $60 to $80 in many areas..and no extra for a ER section. Most were $100..they couldn't understand how east/west coast breeders survived..many do not.
In MD my vet charged me no more the $400...but a few breeder friends had to use the ER clinic..the fee to come in the door for a section starts at $1400 and none left less then $1800/2000

Good question...!!
 

I've been breeding for 5 years. Breeding ain't cheap! I don't even factore in my time that I spend which is all my free time. I do it because I love it. My prices are higher than they average. The people that buy my puppies are not concerned with price, they are more concerned with health beauty and that is something I can stand behind with pride.
Sorry I guess I wasn't much help either!

Hugs,
Irene

consider the self imposed house confinement 3-5 days before whelping date and 7 days after birth (except for vet visit) The 24-7 vigalance. Pacing the floor, wearing the floors out, pulling your hair out, the 27 thousand cups of coffee, putting tooth picks in your lids to stay awake, (self torture:)) napping on the floor with the mom, 24-48 hours of non sleep the day of whelping. Heat on up to 85 degree 24-7 first 4 weeks.

Eclampsia non emergency is $400 emergency $800 then extensive feeding and vigalance over the mom for the next three weeks.

feeding babies every 2 hours if it happens sleeping in chair or floor again 24-7 vigalance. After three weeks every 4 hours till about 5 weeks yippie finally you get to sleep back in your bed with an alarm!

then the pee pad training, behavorial training, socializing 6 - 12 weeks.

All the toys and bones to keep them from chewing the furniture or the pee pads.

the puppy packs
fav blanket
fav toy
bones
treats
quality food
pee pads
cd with all pup pictures
AKC papers
pedigree of the dam/sire

not including...

"god forbid a death" of a pup during birth or after!
special care pups hypoglycemia


we all could go on and on!

costs
 

Kimberly..you just reminded me...Going Home puppy stuff...I do get blankets and teddies at thrift stores..but I give a new carrier, starter grooming supplies..food for a week, totally forgot this expense.
My friend, Ruthie bought a 6 month odl female once, as she was walking out the door the breeder reached uo and took the bow out of the dog hair...my friend walked way with nothing but the dog in her arms.

OMG!!! She actually took the bow out of the pups hair?! Now THAT takes the cake.

And I might add to this the time spend on the phone trying to answer questions and giving advice on how to properly take care of their new pups; for weeks on end;
Some people even think I make money from my little darlings; no wonder I'm bald!!!

Jerry

I wanted to add this...and I am glad to see so many breeders contribute...

we do all these things because we are fanciers of the breed we will protect our adults and our babies with our lives from gestation to leaving the nest and give every new mom or dad the best healthest happiest baby we can possibly raise its our life long commitment, dedication...our puppies are our love, our life and our ego....they are treated as children not 4 legged creatures that are dispensed at 4-6 weeks of age.

for that what we do is priceless!

Thank you!
 

I started this thread because I was getting so frustrated with non-breeders (pet owners) who complain about the price of puppies, but then I read even some of the breeders were complaining about it and saying "you shouldn't pay $600 for a dog that's not a purebred", etc. I would think these costs are about the same whether the breeder is breeding purebreds or mutts.

I just feel that breeders would be more willing to do what is in the puppies' and the mothers' best interests if they did not have to worry about whether they would be fairly compensated by the "forever family" of that animal. I think we need to be more realistic about the costs involved or else we are no better than the puppymillers and pet stores who only care about the money and not about the health of the dog and his mother and siblings.

For me, it is far more important to make sure I get my babies from a breeder who gave them the very best start in life and provided them with the "best" because that is what I would want. IMO and from what I have read here, $200 puppies (mutt or purebreed) cannot have been properly cared for unless the breeder is wealthy and just raising puppies for purely altruistic reasons.

I know the joy and love I will recieve from that dog for 15 years or so and I feel that is priceless, and when you divide the initial cost of the puppy over that many years, he ends up being very cheap even if you paid $3000. If my math is right, it's less than $2 per day!!

Do you agree with this?

Actually, you are a lot of help! I totally agree.. so what do you consider your knowledge and animal are worth per hour? I think it's only fair to include the realistic fuigure in the equation. I merely said "at least minimum wage" because I knew that some breeders don't include their time at all when they figure the costs of what it takes for them to do what they do.

I didn't know it costs so much to breed! Wow, I just love this forum. lol
I bought Fred for $400.00. My breeder seemed like a real, sweet woman and said she did it as a hobby for her love of dogs and plus she is retired. Fred is in tip-top shape, no health problems or anything. No Nutrical needed. She sent me home with a month's worth of food and his favorite blanket that smells like his mom. Her females went for $500.00. Her reason for her pups being so cheap is because she only wants to charge the price that she, personally, would want to pay for a puppy without her losing any money.
Do you think that sounds right? $400.00 is pretty cheap now that I see all these breeding costs!!
I wonder how people afford to see their pups off for $200.00?!

I had a breeder once estimate that she really doesn't break even unless she sells a puppy for a $1000. I think some breeders sell the "high demand" puppies (female tinies w/babydoll faces) at a premium price and then let their puppies with "faults" go for less and break even or make a small profit that way. Some turn their lesser quality puppies over to a broker or a "friend" to sell.

Jade's breeder told me once that she always make sure that she have $1,000.00 to 1,500.00 in her breeder's account before planning a new litter .

costs
 

Jerry hit on an important point...you are buying a relationship with a good breeder. A reputable breeder can not sell and forget...we read posts about breeders who do not respond to calls or emails...if the pup is sick, that is your problem..God forbid it dies..your money is gone with your pet.

A good breeder charges alot because the buyer gets alot...if you have a genetic problem in the first year, they fix it on their dollar.

Yorkierose , you are absolutely right . A good relationship with a reputable breeder is priceless .

I agree with everything stated here.

I haven't added up all the expenses because I might see that I am in the "red".

I know if I charged $400 for each pup I would be losing money to the point I couldn't continue to breed.

When I am planning a litter , I always make sure that I have enough money to be able to pay if the bitch needs C-section or else . Later if everything is ok ,
I use this money for the food , microchip , and cares of the pups .
The love and cares for the moms and pups are priceless

[QUOTE=SoCalyorkiLvr]I started this thread because I was getting so frustrated with non-breeders (pet owners) who complain about the price of puppies, but then I read even some of the breeders were complaining about it and saying "you shouldn't pay $600 for a dog that's not a purebred", etc. I would think these costs are about the same whether the breeder is breeding purebreds or mutts.

I agree with everything you have stated....raising a litter, a healthy one and parents is costly regardless. I never really put thought into understanding why a breeder asks for what some may consider a high amount...but after reading up on breeding I now understand. I wont get into the debate again about breeding crossbreeds or purebreeds but IMO either should be set at a price the breeder feels fine with. Those that find it too high can move on to the next...It all goes with the care they have provided for them, high quality food being fed and health guarantees they are given the buyer. Not to mention it is nice to walk out the door with a little starter package instead of just your puppy.

:aimeeyork I just love hearing how everyone puts their babies first! That is the most important thing to me. I don't breed but I do have tremdous respect to those of you who do, I know that it is not the easiest job in the world if you really care about your babies. I guess to me, if I was breeding, if I made a profit, that would be wonderful, but it would mean so much more to me if I had wonderful healthy puppies with no problems or emergencies. That would be the best profit I could have...Theresa & The Boys

hi i agree with what you say we have just had 2 boys and a girl everything went well first time we for us pups are brill finding it hard to part with them

Kevkat congrats on your new litter, it's never easy giving them up but the joy of knowing your placing them in a wonderful forever home seems to comfort us, most new mom and dads will send you pictures often if you ask them to.

Since there a lot more regualr posting breeders on here now than when I originally posted this I wanted to bump this up and get some more updated responses.

Breeding
 

Before I ever breed a litter I make sure that I have a nice little nest egg held back.. Just an emergency s-cetion in my area is between $700.00-$800.00.. I do my own vaccinations, except for rabies.. My puppies are vet checked 2-3 times before they ever leave my home.. I also do a complete blood work-up to make sure everything is working properly and we do a liver profile..

So, what would you say is your break even cost on the average puppy you raise to 12 weeks?

Kim,

I can honestly say that I have NEVER set down and wrote it out on paper.. I think that I would have a heart attack if I did and my husband would let me move to the gargage, infact he would probably pack my bags.. :eek: I do not have a set price for my puppies, the prices vary with the quality of each particular puppy..

Sorry I am no help.. I do know that I spent enough last year to put my son through one year of college..

Melanie

Melanie~

That is a great help. I know your expenses are high and I just want the good reputable breeders to get paid for their time and effort. It concerns me when everyone wants to get a "deal". This is a living being we are talking about and a breeder who has put her/his blood, sweat, and tears into these babies and to ask them to lower the price or to complain that a puppy is more than $500 is a shame imo. :(

Kim,

The sad part of it is some yorkies are NOT even worth $500.00 to be honest! I just know that I make sure I have around $1,500.00-$1,800.00 put aside everytime I decide to breed a litter.. I always tell my husband if something is going to happen it will happen to me, lol! I think people need to also realize the money for a puppy does not go just into the expenses for that litter, it also helps to take care for our adult dogs which is NOT cheap either.. My dogs are regular vet checked and they have dentals done every year which runs me around $171.00 per dog.. I also have bloodwork performed on all my adults each year which is also NOT cheap..

I always look at it like this, they always say if you thought of how much money you were going to spend on each child you had you would not have any! I believe it is the same with breeding, if you are breeding with healthy quality dogs and make sure you do right by your dogs and their off springs.. The only time I add up my expenses is at tax time..

Melanie