Cost of Dog Breeding

krazyk

I have a lot to research to do on how to breed dogs and what is takes. I have started by looking around the web for information and registered on the Kennel Club Academy, who have a huge about of resources.

There is a lot of information about how to breed, particularly from breeders on YouTube, and I'm in contact with my last dog's breeders too (ex Crufts winners and judges) who have been more than helpful to date. But I'm struggling to find details of the costs.

I'll be talking more to the breeders at some point but also doing my own research. The most useful page I've found so far is from 2012 but the breeder has posted a detailed list of all the costs:

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?529866-The-cost-of-breeding-raising-a-litter

Has anyone on here had experience with breeding dogs and can please detail the costs involved? I know it's different for each breed, the litter number and there are unforeseen costs due to complications but your own experience would be most useful.

From what I found so far, the cost of the use of the stud appears to be one of the highest amount but also any complications with the delivery, which are of course hard to predict.

I know it's very, very costly to breed (and a lot of hard work) but have been considering it for a very long time. I've had two Goldens (recently put my last one to sleep after he got cancer), both were from breeders, both were Pedigrees and feel this is the time to research this properly and give it a go if, afterwards, I feel confident I can do a very good job.

And if not I am at least going to get another Golden Retriever male as I can't stand being without a dog. :-)

hazyjo

There's a pet forum here: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=143 You'll prob have more luck on there.


Ta.


Jx

Caroline_a

Are you thinking of doing this to make money? I know several breeders of wonderful dogs, but they make little or any money out of it (because they do it properly!) and do it to further the breed rather than out of any monetary reasons.

The pet board people will give you a full breakdown of costs - I've never bred any of my dogs myself as I've never wanted the potential heartbreak if it all goes wrong, and my dogs have always been pets despite most of them having good bloodlines.

For a starter, you need to factor in costs for purchase of the original dog/dogs and the costs to bring them to maturity (2 years?), plus stud fees, vet fees, equipment for whelping, advertisement costs for puppies, registration fees, microchipping, first set of injections (my dogs have always had these from the breeder).... I could go on but as I said the good people of the pet board will bring more learned information.

thorsoak

In 50 years of dog ownership, I have bred around 10 litters - and I have only ever done so because I have wanted a puppy myself or one of my family has wanted a puppy. That's what good breeders do. Please do NOT go into breeding as a "paying hobby" - because if you do it properly, then it most certainly will not that.

Costs: Firstly, you have to factor in the costs of all the relevant health tests for your breed - hip and elbow scoring, which are undertaken after your dog has reached 12 months. This necessitates a general aneasthetic and x-rays at a specialist vet or vet school, or under sedation, again by a specialist vet - and you may well have to travel for this (I would travel to Cambridge Veterinary College from SE Essex). Then there are the costs of submitting the plates to the BVA for assessment. Only if the scores come within the ranges set for a golden retriever should you even consider breeding from your dog. As my last litter was 6 years ago, I cannot give you accurate costs - but you could check with your local vet.

Then there are the eye tests - goldies, like labs, are susceptible to PRA and hereditary cateracts. There is now DNA testing for PRA, but again these tests will be costly.

And that's before you start. Once you know that your girl has passed all these tests, then think - is she a good example of the breed? Obviously her temperament has to be excellent - but thee again I have never met a goldie with a dodgy temperament! Then a partner for her - finding the right dog can almost be as hard as finding Prince Charming - and in all probability, he won't even live in the same county, let alone the same town! My record is 380 miles away - which meant total mileage of over 1,000 miles (there and back, to leave her there for a week then there and back to pick her up!) That's quite a lot of petrol.
Stud fee is/was usually (in my breed) the price of a puppy plus boarding fee - and half the fee paid at the time of mating, the other half paid when the puppies are born.

So once the mating has happened you wait about 28+ days then you have her scanned (more costs) to find out just how many puppies she might be carrying. Now is the time to contact all the people on your puppy waiting list (you do have a puppy waiting list, don't you? If not, why are you breeding just now?) and let them know that you are hopefully, expecting the patter of tiny paws.

Now is the time to put in your holiday form at work: you (and your family) are going to have to work out a 24/7 rota for staying with mum once puppies are on the ground for about two weeks. And arrange your space for puppies- whelping box (either home-made or bought in) etc. More costs.

Most importantly - you do need to have a credit card, or cash enough to pay for an out of hours C-section which hopefully you will not need - but you do need to factor it into your costs.

Fosterdog

What are your reasons for actually wanting to breed?

I am very much pro rescue but not completely anti breeder like some in rescue are but there really should be a genuine reason for wanting to breed. With over 100,000 dogs each year in the UK found straying or abandoned, plus several more thousand signed over to rescues, sold privately or given free to good home I struggle to understand anyone's reasoning for wanting to add to that.

Almost every one of those dogs has started as all good intentions of having a lovely family pet for life but the number of puppies born each year far outweighs the number of good homes out there who genuinely do want a dog for life and won't just want rid as soon as it's no longer convenient.

If your dog and the stud you want to use pass all of the health tests and both mother and pups survive, how are you going to find good homes for potentially up to 10+ puppies, can you afford to offer lifelong support to them all? What if all ten new owners get in touch and want you to take the dogs back? Can you afford and do you have room for them all? Unless the answer is yes are you sure breeding is such a good idea?

What if every puppy is female and all go off to new homes where even a non breeding contract is ignored and all ten go on to have at least one litter each of another ten puppies, and they go on to have more. Your one dog having one litter in the space of 5 years could add to the dog population by several hundred, do you really thing every one of those dogs will live wonderful happy lives with good people? Because the chances are a good percentage of them will be sold, abandoned, be abused and mistreated, end up in puppy farms. Are you also prepared for the risk that you could lose your own dog either during labour or from birthing complications?

Unless your dog is an amazing example of the breed and will add something to the breeds future by being used for breeding I can't see any other reason that is good enough to outweigh all of the downsides of adding to the dog population.

Goldens and golden crosses already for sale http://www.preloved.co.uk/adverts/list/3359/dogs.html?keyword=golden+retriever
https://www.gumtree.com/pets/uk/golden+retriever

Most of those are new puppies looking for homes but there are a number between 4 months and 2 years already being given up or sold to new homes. It not as if this is a struggling breed that is dying out (field spaniel, clumber spaniel, otterhound) there are more than enough goldens already out there.

MallyGirl

and worth remembering that pet insurance usually excludes anything related to pregnancy.

thorsoak

One of the things that I didn't mention in my post was pooh. Lots and lots and lots of pooh!

Goldies have quite large litters - 9-12 is not that uncommon, and although they do make wonderful mums, they can struggle a bit with very large litters and you do have to have someone awake at every minute of the day and night, to ensure that mum doesn't squash a puppy when she flops down - there is nothing more heartbreaking than to find a perfect puppy dead in the whelping pen because mum is so busy looking after all the others that she hasn't realised that one is squashed behind her back :-( And you do have to make sure that the smallest puppy gets his/her fair share of the best teat.

Most mums are good at keeping puppies clean - after the pups are fed, each puppy is washed vigourously to encourage defecation - but some mums don't do this to every puppy - and then you have to do it - with warm water and cotton wool. However, once the puppies reach weaning age (about 3 weeks) mum is inclined to abdicate this part of motherhood - and this is when it gets mucky.

Puppies produce pooh - all the time - and at first they don't care where they pooh ....in their food bowls, on their littermates, everywhere. And of course, they walk through it, walk over each other, and lie in it! I think I stopped counting with a litter of 8 lab puppies when I'd washed them six times EACH in the course of a couple of hours! Could you do that?

Caroline_a

Thanks thorsoak, I've just had my (very late) lunch! :rotfl:

thorsoak

Caroline_a wrote: »

Thanks thorsoak, I've just had my (very late) lunch! :rotfl:

I always lost some weight when puppysitting .....somehow the smell of disinfectant stays in the nostrils for a long, long time!

krazyk

hazyjo,

Oops, I didn't see that forum. I posted here as this was where I found dog posts from a search. I'll ask over there and close this thread (if such a thing is possible).

krazyk

Caroline_a,

Ta, I'll ask in the pet forum.