Cost of mongrels is staggering.

bouicca21

My neighbour has one of these designer dogs. No research, found on the net and bought that morning.

It doesn't know it's meant to be a lap dog and is protective of its territory, yapping incessantly at anyone passing by, which as most of the garden is communal is quite often. Their response to the yapping is either to shout or pick it up. So clearly no research about training either. I am so tempted to present them with a clicker ...

PlymouthMaid

My cross Springer-Collie (Sprocker, gah) boy came from a rescue place and was £100. He is a beautiful dog and I dont care at all that he is not Pedigree. I would not have paid silly money though for a mongrel, My last boy was a Pedigree working Cocker and was £450 ten years ago. He was worth every penny and sadly died young, the insurance money actually paid for Sprocker.

krlyr

The high costs of buying a purebred from a reputable breeder covers many things - from the more obvious KC registration and health tests, to the costs of sourcing a good stud, researching lines, taking time to socialise pups, a good diet and veterinary care for the mum, and so on.

Of course, there are lots of puppies - purebred and 'designer crosses' - that are bred indiscriminately and churned out cheaply with profit in mind. The trend of all these 'oodles' and so on has led to an increase of backyard breeders and puppyfarms charging ridiculous amounts for what are essentially mongrels, as you say.

People need to be educated on the importance of vetting breeders before they buy. The onus is not just on the breeders to do it the right way, but on the potential owners to not support the wrong way. It's all about supply and demand - all the time there's people willing to buy the first £80 pup they find, there's going to be bad breeders taking advantage.

teddysmum

And , sadly, every puppy farm animal bought out of pity, is replaced by another, because it's lucrative.

HappyMJ

teddysmum wrote: »

And , sadly, every puppy farm animal bought out of pity, is replaced by another, because it's lucrative.

At £700 a puppy, maybe 4 valuable puppies per litter, around 6 months between litters and very little cost to feed the dog and several females there is plenty of money in doing this.

Own a puppy farm with a few dogs and maybe 20-25 females and you've got yourself quite a lucrative income of around £100,000 with very little effort. You're only selling 4 puppies a week for that level of income.

Person_one

Shrike wrote: »

When I was a lad (back in the '70s) most dogs you saw were mongrels. Not sure how it came about that dog owners only seem to want either a 'breed' or some fancy cross-breed. And yet the inbreeding in them means they are far more fragile than a heinz 57.

Accidental litters were far more common when dogs were left to roam and neutering was less popular. Most people who breed their dogs do so deliberately now, usually for financial gain.

I don't think for a second that crossbreeds are in any way less valuable to their owners but I doubt very much that these 'breeders' are going about things responsibly, with health testing and thoughts of the future gene pool etc. It's to make a few grand quickly and easily in most cases. That's the problem, not the daft names.

harrys_nan

I'm sorry, but anyone who breeds dogs is in it for the money. Why else would they do it? As you have all pointed out, there are plenty of dogs in rescue centres. We do not need any more dogs being bred. Also, what about the defects that are being bred into pedigree dogs, down to people trying to get the perfect dog and failing in some cases.
Unless you have a wolf, you have a cross breed.
I have always had a rescue, but my current dog will probably be my last one due to my age so I wanted, this time a dog I wanted not one that was available in a centre.
Yes I have a cockapoo and he is a brilliant little dog, I didn't pay boat loads of money for him but he was MY choice, not yours.
Have I criticised your choice?

sheramber

Someone calling them a 'responsible dog owner' has advertised locally last night for a stud dog for his purebred !!!!! who started her season 10 days ago.

He is so responsible that he has not researched and arranged for a suitable stud dog. He is just looking for the nearest available dog of the same breed.

Sadly, he is typical of this area. I ewant another one just like the one I have so I'll breed a litter. The chances of getting one just like him/her are rare.

codemonkey

Ugh I came across this the other day. Met a guy with a Staffie and went to say hi (can't resist a Staffie cuddle) and he told me he'd just used him as a stud dog because he had some blue in him and his belief that all girl dogs should have a litter. I love staffies but the local rescues are stuffed full of them so the area does not need an unother litter because someone is hoping to get a blue puppy that they can sell for loads.

There do need to be some breeders otherwise there'd be no dogs, but I think it needs to be heavily regulated to get rid of the puppy farms and people should consider rescuing if they can - my boy is a rescue and he's fabulous.

By modern cross breed naming convention DA dog is a cockador. I think I'll keep calling him a spaniel cross.

teddysmum

harrys_nan wrote: »

I'm sorry, but anyone who breeds dogs is in it for the money. Why else would they do it? As you have all pointed out, there are plenty of dogs in rescue centres. We do not need any more dogs being bred. Also, what about the defects that are being bred into pedigree dogs, down to people trying to get the perfect dog and failing in some cases.

Some people breed because of their love of the breed.


I used to be a member of a breed forum (I don't breed), where one member, a respected show judge , illustrated what her dogs had cost her over a year and there was certainly no profit; in fact, loss. (Good breeding doesn't just involve paying for stud and collecting the puppy money. There is quality food and accommodation, regular vet checks and treatments, testing for specific inherited defects, taking back, possibly sick, animals whose owners can no longer care for them....)


She doesn't only have her show dogs, but also some who were not suitable and has spent large amounts on these dog's welfare. Her dogs who have had a couple of litters or acted as studs are not discarded, but kept as much loved pets.


She is not a one-off and some breeders have actively lobbied to make the Kennel Club see some of the tricks tried by puppy farmers, besides actively trying to eradicate, by health testing and careful choice of stock, defects proliferated by irresponsible money grabbers.