registering a pup with the kennel club

scotty1971

as far as i can see on the kennel club website it costs around £13 to register a pup with them,i was wondering therefore why can a breeder justify a charge of an extra between £200-£400 per pup more if they register them?

moomin5

I don't think the decent breeders do that, suspect its only the more unscrupulous and is probably just to make people think they are getting a deal after all they only want it as a pet so papers don't matter or to put people off asking for papers as perhaps the pups aren't actually eligible to be KC reg.

arlybarly

Because pups registered as pedigree by the kc have the hisstory of the parents as proof that they are a pure bred dog and you know you are buying a particular breed.

scotty1971

but £200 -£400 of a difference for the same pup?

arlybarly

People have exactly the same spec cars ect and the price varies, same with anything there is no fixed price.

krlyr

The extra £200-400 isn't for the KC papers.
A reputable breeder will charge more because they have spent money on buying a good b!tch to breed from, on finding the best stud they can (most decent breeders won't own both the mother and father of a litter) and the related stud fees. The cost of travelling to the stud dog (or covering the owner's travel costs), bearing in mind some breeders source stud dogs from outside the country to outcross to a different line of dogs, and that more than one visit may be needed before the litter is conceived.
They will pay for the health checks on the mother, they will pay for the decent diet to provide her with all the nutrients she needs, plus all the extra food to feed the puppies. Any health checks and scans for mum during the pregnancy, the equipment needed (whelping box etc).
The time off work for all of this - or the fact that the breeder cannot work fulltime because of it, so has to allow for a bit of "profit" in the asking price, to cover their time.
The buffer money needed because an emergency caesarian may be needed in the middle of the night and cost hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds.
Plus to KC register the dogs, they need to be a member, so they have ongoing membership costs as wel, not just a £13 fee per pup.
Outside of the litter itself, there's the costs of attending dog shows, the travel, the memberships, the entry fees - they want to ensure that they're breeding dogs that meet the breed standard so by entering shows they can get an idea of if their dog is a good example of the breed.
They also have to account for the fact that they cannot predict how many pups the mum will have. £600 a pup might have to cover the costs of breeding with 8 pups in a litter, or cover the same costs with just 4 pups in a litter. Breeders may keep a pup themselves, may have promised a pup to the owner of the stud dog, etc. so having to charge more for the puppies they are selling to cover their outgoings.

http://www.petforums.co.uk/dog-breeding/102597-cost-breeding.html makes for an interesting read (especially the one who actually made a loss of about £200 after breeding two litters!)

Those that charge £200-400 less than the going rate have likely skimped on the costs of the litter so can afford to drop their prices and still make a profit. Not health testing, no sourcing a good stud dog, not entering shows, not allowing for an emergency c-section, etc.
At the end of the day, a puppy can be with you for 14 years+ - so that £400 becomes a £30 a year, worth it for the peace of mind that the breeder has done all they can to breed the healthiest pups they can.

arlybarly

well said krlyr thats what i would have said if i could have been bothered lol

universalady_2

Excellent post Krlyr, Also to add, REPUTABLE breeders will also health screen their !!!!!es, and use health tested studs. These health tests can be anything from eye and heart tests to hip and elbow scoring, and some of these health tests need to be done annually. The costs of these can be quite high, esp if you have a breed, where the breed club encourages their members to have at least several up to date results

HOWEVER if you are looking for a lifelong companion, surely you would want to know that the breeder took the time, and made the effort to produce puppies that came from healthy parents? The chance then of the puppy having health problems, whether at the adolescent stage or later in life is less, than a BYB who couldn't give a toss if the stud/!!!!! had hereditary problems. To rectify these problems can cost hundreds if not thousands, not to mention any medication the dog could need for the rest of it's life

scotty1971

i am not disputing what you are saying,but i contacted a very reputable breeder the cost of the pup was £600 not kc reg and £850 kc reg,the pup had all apropriate health checks with evidence,had first jags both mother and father were kc reg and i could see both mother and father if i wanted,but why the £250 difference?

krlyr

I cannot speak for the breeder but my best guess would be that they had a few puppies that were "show quality" and some that were "pet quality" (i.e. didn't quite conform to breed standards so wouldn't do well in the show ring), I know some breeders will charge less for the latter. If they literally meant the same puppy, with or without papers, then I'm not sure - are they definately as reputable as you think?

Hintza

You are paying the extra for the bloodline which the breeder feels is valuable. You will then be able to breed the dog an will have all thpapers related to that bloodline which will in turn make the dog more valuable.

If you have no intention of breeding you just take the dog as a mutt ad save yourself a bit of money.

When I bought the Springer I had the choice of two litters I took the option with papers as the other litter had been unplanned an they were all being sold as is

Look at is as a potential saving.