$500 for a dog?!!!

bigbootyjudi · February 2013

S finally fell asleep. My God. I feel like my heart is broken.

Anyways, this chick on my FB is selling "pure" Beagle puppies...for $500 a piece.

I want to know...who spends $500 on a dog? That's almost an entire MONTH's worth of rent over here.

I'm a PW today, but this board is so friggin' slow on the weekends and I'll be at work in a few hours, so I gotta squeeze it all in!

Tell me how much you spent on your animals (to purchase them, we all know they're expensive as shizz to maintain).

I spent $20 - a $10 adoption fee for each cat during Animal Shelter Month.

mollyxcate · February 2013

Our golden was $500 my corgi was $950.. but everything is more expensive back in MA

AutumnLeaves2 · February 2013

That's actually not that bad for a dog, especially a pure bred. My mom spent 850 on her West Highland Terrier and my MIL spent 650 on her Yellow Lab. Cats are significantly less expensive than dogs. I spent 40 on each of mine.

mmdailey · February 2013

Both of my dogs were strays, so they were free. 500 bucks is not uncommon, though. When we were together, my husband wanted a french bulldog. Those suckers are 1200 dollars!
On the other hand, my friend runs a non profit animal rescue and they charge a 100 dollar adoption fee. That includes spay or neuter and chipping, though.

mindymaske · February 2013

We have 3 dogs.

Lady is a cavalier king charles spaniel we got at a pound (almost unheard of for that breed) $100 fee at pound

Bella is a mini schnauzer, we paid $200 from a breeder

Sophie, also a cavalier king charles, was on discount from the breeder for $450

sdlaura · February 2013

I believe in adopting dogs, but here even that costs $200+ because of the shots/spaying or neutering, or whatever.

We have two dogs - my older dog (a lab/border collie mix) is adopted. But DH grew up with a Scottish Terrier and gave me a Scottie as a surprise for Christmas while we were dating. We were living in VA at the time and DH found a reputable Scottie breeder in Oklahoma and had our puppy shipped to DC. His flight was delayed I'm not sure of the exact cost, but I'm sure the cost of him plus shipping was $500+. Now my dog is 11 years old and our Scottie is 7 years old.

I also feed my dogs high-quality food, which is expensive, but I think it makes for healthier dogs and therefore lower vet bills. Just like eating high-quality food makes me healthier too.

Jillwithani · February 2013

My parents are Westie breeders and they sell for about 700-1000 a pup. It's crazy but I can't say that I didn't benefit from it. And DS will always grow up around puppies.

On the other hand all my pets are adopted.

brandyleighxx · February 2013

For a purebred dog, you could spend anywhere from a few hundred to a couple grand.

I probably spent $50 to adopt my cat.

If I didn't work at animal hospital and get a discount, I wouldn't own an animal. I wouldn't be able to afford it if an emergency came up. I did my cat's full work up - vaccines, blood work, etc. right before DS was born and won't worry about it for a few years.

mystic_J · February 2013

I spent 500 a piece on my two pugs. They came with papers as well. Worth every penny!

Crossingfingers · February 2013

Ranger was $800. He is a papered Rottweiler, I think his pic is in my siggy. But we spent thousands in vet bills on our last rottie who died of cancer. Worth every penny IMO.

Tula214 · February 2013

I have no experience with dogs. Only cats.

I almost bought a kitten for 800 a few years ago. Pure bred Bengal kitten. I will have one someday.

The siamese cat I had when I was a teen was normally 350, but the breeders wife was selling all of them because they were getting divorced. I paid 50.

Luvofmylife3 · February 2013

Our back lab was 500. She is my first baby and worth every penny that we spent for her!!! She is amazing with our LO.

Megispreg · February 2013

That is not bad at all. We paid 250 just to adopt our boxer mix. We've shelled out thousands for her medical care. Dogs are expensive.

MandeeFoFandee · February 2013

animals are expensive in general, but I would never pay that much money just because it's a purebred animal. there are far too many animals out there that need forever homes and love from people. I'd rather spend that money on taking really good care of an animal who needs it, not because it has a special blood line or whatever.

stever · February 2013

I paid my cat's rescue organization $45 when I adopted her. It was mostly to pay for her shots and being spayed.

ks3pink · February 2013

My MIL sells English bulldogs for thousands. And her King Charles cavaliers are several hundred dollars. More than 500 I know. It's not unheard of....

AggieDaner · February 2013

Ambsies:
MandeeFoFandee:
there are far too many animals out there that need forever homes and love from people.
Shelter dogs are the way to go- I despise breeders.

YUP!

MandeeFoFandee · February 2013

Ambsies:
MandeeFoFandee:
there are far too many animals out there that need forever homes and love from people.
Shelter dogs are the way to go- I despise breeders.
I'll confess that I helped my parents get their dog, that happened to come from a breeder- so I feel like a huge hypocrite since I'm so anti-breeder. But to be fair, we did go to the shelter regularly and I looked on Petfinder almost everyday for months to find them a dog and I never found a pup that fit what they wanted. All of our dogs growing up were rescues.
For me *personally*, I'll never spend that amount on a dog when there are so many great dogs in shelters that need homes.

glad I'm not the only anti-breeder here! I can't stand that people make thousands of dollars per animal in that industry while thousands of animals are euthanized every single day because they aren't adopted.

Andreabks · February 2013

we were set to spend $500, but because he was one of the last puppies only spent $300 on our AKC paperd lab. he's such a good family dog we've never trained him, but his bloodline are champion water fowl dogs.

Ms. Lisi · February 2013

both of our Boston Terriers were $500 and that is on the lower end of the scale. I have seen them for upwards of $1500.

brandyleighxx · February 2013

I'm indifferent about adopting vs. buying from a breeder. Yes, there are a ton of dogs out there that need homes but - what do you do when you want a specific breeds because of their character traits? I don't want a dog anytime soon by any means but would love to own a doberman someday. They are gentle giants, loyal, and great protectors.... I'm not finding a doberman in a shelter. Maybe a doberman mix from a rescue breed... but then I'd risk adopting a dog that doesn't have all the dobie traits I love.

Also, you have no clue what shelter dogs have been through. With DS and 3 young stepchildren, I don't know if I'd risk bringing in a dog that could turn on them. I guess it'd have to be a brand new puppy from a stray or something so I could assure it wasn't abused or something else that could cause it to be aggressive.

sourapplemartini · February 2013

I think we paid $750 for our golden retriever. He's a pure bred with papers.

We just adopted our cats and they were $90.

Twizzle · February 2013

I paid 1200 for my purebred Rhodesian ridgeback. I think it was totally worth it. I researched breeds a lot and that breed had everything I wanted. I researched breeders a ton too. I liked that I really knew what I was getting. It was really important since I did not have a fenced yard at the time and I was single.

Reputable breeders will also breed for temperament and lower incidence of disease. No reputable breeder is in it for the money. I don't think they actually net much at all.

Puppy mills on the other hand are disgusting. I would never buy a dog from a pet store.

xxbabycakesxx · February 2013

I think my daxie mix was $200 and my pure bres boxer was $250.

AggieDaner · February 2013

I'm not saying anyone is a terrible person for buying from a breeder, FFS. But let's be honest: some of the reasons to do so are ridiculous.

A breed is not a temperament. Period. Every animal can throw a bad egg, even 10th gen show animals. Shelters do a LOT of background work before they adopt out, the idea that you're taking some huge risk on a possible basket case is unfounded. If you wanted a specific breed, whatever, I don't care. But it's silly to act like buying a purebred is paying for a guaranteed problem free animal, because there's no such thing.

austenfan919 · February 2013

I think DH paid somewhere around $1200 to $1500 for our purebred border terrier. This was well before I was in the picture. He says it is worth the expense upfront to know the bloodlines and avoid having health problems later (not guaranteed, of course, but lower chance).

But I know we would never buy from a puppy mill kind of operation. There is a puppy store in our mall where they keep the dogs in modified cribs and it makes me so sad every time we walk by.

Jessica Swanlake · February 2013

I paid 250 for our purebred Wheaten Terrier, who I got from rescue. I don't believe in getting dogs from breeder (to each his on, though) so I had to troll petfinder for 9 months and drive the five hours to Chicago to get her. It took a while to locate her since I wanted a specific breed (Wheatens are great with kids and good for people with allergies to dogs). The extra effort was totally worth it- Trixie is the sweetest dog ever.

kokokat · February 2013

I WISH I had paid $500 for my dog. She's a purebred german shepherd, and she was $1,000. She's the absolute best dog in the world, and I've never been sorry we spent the money. We wanted to be sure we were getting a puppy from a breeder who breeds responsibly, and cared about the quality of the dog. That's what you pay here if you want a nice result. I was just at the pet store today buying food for our animals, and they had a german shepherd puppy (no papers) for $1,400.

We also have three rescue cats, and each was $135. That included their first few months of vet care and spaying/neutering, and transportation to us (they're all siamese) so it was a bargain.

$500 would never cover rent in our neck of the woods. The cost of living in our area is insane. Between our mortgage, daycare for DS, and repaying my law school loans, we pay $3,500 a month in bills before power, cable, water, gas, food or any other expenses!

kokokat · February 2013

Ambsies:
MandeeFoFandee:
there are far too many animals out there that need forever homes and love from people.
Shelter dogs are the way to go

Normally, I agree that shelter pets are the way to go. All three of my cats are rescues. However, when we got our dog, DH had his heart set on a german shepherd, and we had just moved to a neighborhood with a ton of small kids. I was too nervous to go pick a shepherd out of a rescue, becuase no rescue can guarantee the dog's temperament. With all the young children around us, I couldn't risk getting a dog that I wasn't absolutely 100% confident had been bred properly. We did tons of research, and found a responsible breeder who guaranteed our dog for life, including her temperament. People are so irresponsible with breeding shepherds (and people tend to fear them), it's a shame. When bred properly, they're the most loyal, smart, wonderful dogs.

kokokat · February 2013

AggieDaner:
I'm not saying anyone is a terrible person for buying from a breeder, FFS. But let's be honest: some of the reasons to do so are ridiculous. A breed is not a temperament. Period. Every animal can throw a bad egg, even 10th gen show animals. Shelters do a LOT of background work before they adopt out, the idea that you're taking some huge risk on a possible basket case is unfounded. If you wanted a specific breed, whatever, I don't care. But it's silly to act like buying a purebred is paying for a guaranteed problem free animal, because there's no such thing.

I agree there's no absolute guarantee, but the chances are better, IMO. Also, the guaranteed termperament means that the breeder will take the dog back if anything ends up happening. Not that a shelter wouldn't do the same, but it meant a lot to DH and me that the breeder we bought from was confident and careful enough that she could make that promise. In our case, it worked out beautifully.

piphigirl · February 2013

I have a Siberian cat that cost 850. H is allergic and Siberians produce less of the allergen protein, so it was the only kind of cat I could have. Luckily, they are a great breed and he has an awesome cat. I wish I could have a cat without the expense, but that's life.

VeniVidiScripsi · February 2013

We have 4 Multipoos. Cadbury was $970, Oreo was $770, Cashew was $1150 and Coconut was $918. However, in those costs were shipping, as this breed is easier to find in the US and we lived in Alberta when we got them. They are hypoallergenic and don't shed which is perfect since we both have asthma and allergies. We love our fur babies!

ashleynicholee93 · February 2013

My fiance spent 500$ on our Australian Cattle Dog. Even though he's a little brat it was worth it. Our daughter loves him and he always sleeps beside her crib watching over her.

abbyful · February 2013

I have a mixed-breed shelter dog and 2 purebred papillons from reputable breeders. The mixed-breed cost $99, the papillons were $750 and $1,000.

It cost A LOT of money to breed responsibly. Here's a breakdown of potential costs: https://omalmalamutes.com/omal/littercost.htm

Whether an animal is free or thousands of dollars, the purchase price of the animal is the cheapest part.

Last year, treatment for our mixed-breed dog having a scratched eye was about $400 (antibiotic eye drops, several followup visits, etc.). Those are the REAL costs that add up: the food, veterinary care, flea/tick and heartworm preventative, boarding when you go on vacation, etc.

abbyful · February 2013

I would also like to add that reputable, responsible breeders are also pro-rescue.

I show one of my dogs in AKC conformation shows, so I know a lot of breeders.

If they don't have puppies available, or if they don't feel their breed in general or the personality of available puppies (for example, an "alpha personality" puppy when the potential buyer needs a more submissive dog, like if they already have an "alpha personality" dog in their home) is a good match for the potential buyer, they refer to a breed rescue or general rescue. Some breeders also foster rescue dogs.

Good breeders don't breed to have puppies to sell, they breed because they are furthering their hobby or personal needs: they want another dog for showing, performance (agility/obedience/etc) events, or working (herding/hunting/etc). Many times, the puppies are already spoken for BEFORE the breeding even takes place! A lot of times, you'll have to be on a waiting list to get a puppy from a reputable breeder.

Blaming REPUTABLE breeders for pet overpopulation is like blaming pharmacists for the drug problem. Pet overpopulation is a result of irresponsible breeders (backyard breeders & puppymills) and irresponsible pet owners.

---

Here are some statistics on the animals that end up in shelters:

- The majority of the surrendered dogs (47.7%) and cats (40.3%) were between 5 months and 3 years of age.

- The majority of dogs (37.1%) and cats (30.2) had been owned from 7 months to 1 year.

- Approximately half of the pets (42.8% of dogs; 50.8% of cats) surrendered were not neutered.

- Many of the pets relinquished (33% of dogs; 46.9% of cats) had not been to a veterinarian.

- Animals acquired from friends were relinquished in higher numbers (31.4% of dogs; 33.2% of cats) than from any other source.

- Most dogs (96%) had not received any obedience training.

MandeeFoFandee · February 2013

Ambsies:
Scout2005:

And of course that's true. We have a poodle-golden hybrid - yes, a dreaded Doodle, I know how people feel about them - because we both have serious allergies and because I was hoping to get a dog that didn't shed.
The allergy issue has been fine, which is awesome, esp. now that my kids are here and both have serious contact issues. Neither reacts to her saliva or oils, and it's a huge relief.
She sheds worse than any dog whose ever lived, ever. I could make five dogs out of the hair under the couch, I'm sure. So that particular trait didn't come through with her. It's always a gamble, rescue or otherwise.
You do have to realize though that the comments up thread were pretty condemning of people who got their dogs through breeders, and it was going to naturally put people's defenses up.
We're talking about members of our families, after all, and at least in the previous comments, there weren't a lot of ack. that it can be done responsibly. That's all.
My comment came across a bit harsh and I apologize for that. I totally understand having to get a special dog because of allergies.
I guess I should have been more specific- I despise backyard breeders that over-breed their dogs for a profit. Their dogs are just a paycheck for them, not a pet to love. I know that there are great breeders out there- the lady that my parents got their boxer from had a pretty intense adoption process.
When I wrote my comment earlier, I had just returned from the local shelter- I had gone to take pics of a dog that my bff is considering adopting. It was "foster day" and there were so many cute dogs there today

yeah, that's definitely what I meant too. for sure, there are reasons why going through a reputable breeder are necessary.

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