Why French bulldog's puppies are expensive?
This article was created with the idea of explaining the PRICE... THE HOW AND WHY ..!
YOU NEED TRUE INFORMATION AND CLARITY.
These are the words and experiences of those who raise dogs in a serious way. You will read the next lines with the truth and transparency of what is reality.
"A thousand euros? But that's a theft! It's a puppy, it's not golden!"
Who has never heard this phrase (or never said/thought it in person) throw the first stone?
When it comes to quality puppies, this kind amount shouldn't horrify anyone (in fact, a thousand euros are still a rather a modest price to pay, for the most difficult races to breed, the prices are even higher ).
A robbery? Speculation? "Profit on the life of poor littles puppies", the animal rights activists, often are bitter enemies of serious breeders (who instead would be the first and most effective activists to the problem stray dogs)?
The fact is, that normal people don't know what you actually "pay" for a puppy, nor what the real costs a breeder has to bear.
Here you will find a first list of the factors that contribute to the puppy's price. So you can get an idea of how a "real" breeder works.
1 - You pay for the selection. Testing the character of the reproducers and most important of all their health, or making x-rays for the control of dysplasia and other checkups (such as eye exams) to ascertain that they are free of hereditary diseases, this is a cost.
Making expositions (perhaps all over the world) to submit your reproducers to expert judgment has a (high) cost.
2 - You pay a part of the "refound" for the expenses actually incurred to breed a DOC litter, which include:
a) medical expenses to keep the broodmare under control during the pregnancy, having a possible cesarean intervention if the childbirth doesn't occur naturally, a second checkup will be done on the broodmare and puppies few days after the birth;
b) expenses for high-quality weaning feed for puppies, expenses for the next specific puppy food (always high quality), expenses related to vaccinations, deworm, tattoos. These maintenance costs are borne by the breeder up to two and a half / three months, because the good breeder, who wants to give you a DOC puppy, will hardly give it up before this date: First of all, the puppy up to this age still needs "Psychological" of living with a mother and siblings -the mother will learn it the basics of socialization, that will help us to avoid any problems of character in the future, and last but not least some defects are absolutely not found in a younger puppy. \
c) expenses related to the registration of puppies in the herd books.
3 - You pay for the beauty ( it would be more correct to say the "promise" of beauty) of the puppy. A serious breeder will never sell you at full price a puppy with imperfect teeth, or that bears badly the tail: but producing it, raising it and keeping it, its is an expense as much as the others.
So the expense that you will incur for the DOC puppy also includes (in part) the "breeding risks" consisting of imperfect puppies that a serious breeder can't or won't sell.
But he could usually gives it in foster care free of charge or with a strong discount.
Here are the reasons why the serious, conscientious breeder who makes the selection and gives certain guarantees will NEVER ask the same prices as those who produce 'random" puppies.
Forget about those who buy and sell dogs with a very low price, such as the puppies that come from the "kennel" of the poorest areas in Europe and out of Europe, they will count each euro ...one by one !!!\
let's take an example,I have three dogs in breeding age: usually, a breeder has more than three dogs, because the puppies (which don't bring any economic advantage ) and especially the "old ones", that no longer reproduce. What do you want to do with it?
Throw them in the middle of a road? I don't really think about it, because I'm a breeder who loves his dogs.
So I keep them, and they eat just like the others (and they cost me more than the others in veterinary expenses because old ones always have health issues).
Anyway, to simplify things let's say that I only have three breeding dogs, and let's talk about money:
1 - the dogs didn't rain from the sky: I bought them. The price of an adult dog starts from 1500 euros and can reach the stars.
If I bought them puppies I would have paid them around 1000 euros each, but I would also have to keep them for at least two years, and the expense would be more or less the same,
2 - I am not certainly using a dog for breeding if I don't make the slabs for dysplasia and control of other genetic diseases before.
The controls may vary from race to race, but let's say that the average is about two checkups per year (hip and elbow dysplasia, or dysplasia and eye diseases, or dysplasia and eco doppler). We talk about a minimum of 500 euros per dog.
3 - Dogs do eat, right? Let's say that I use a 35-40 euro packet food? (not true, what I use actually costs 50, but let's say I am a less fixed breeder and I use a cheaper one). A fifteen-pound sack, with three dogs, lasts for twenty days. They make around 700 euros a year.
4 - Will my three dogs have at least one health problem per year ( only one!)? Three veterinary visits, even with a doctor who works almost with basic prices, we talk about 150 euros per year.
5 - We do want to make any vaccines? The price is about 75 euros every year.
6 - Do we prevent heartworm checks? And do we want to put the collar to prevent phlebotome bites against leishmaniasis? Collars are about 45 euros each, anti-filaria prevention is around 60 euros (per year).
7 - if my breed is tested for work, to register the dog in the Working class (the only one in which I will be able to have the CAC) I must take a CAL at least. If I want to do an Italian or a social championship, for several races, I need at least one working paten (in other countries I need even three). Generally, the first patent costs around 2000 euros (obviously per dog).
8 - My dogs are my friends, not "objects" to use for work. So let's think about (since I buy them) games, camp beds, coats (if the breed needs it), bones, games, etc. I cant quantify because there are a plenty of possibilities and variations, but these things represent a cost.
Am i a really a cynical breeder, and I don't even buy a toy for my dogs?
Well, at least do we want to give them two bowls each or do you think you throw food and water on the ground?
A stainless steel bowl costs around 15-20 euros depending on the size. Multiply by six. Are plastic ones cheaper? Of course, but every two months I have to buy all of them again because the dogs have gnawed them ... so forget about it.
We are ready to mate dogs. My dogs, if they are only three, will obviously be three females: what would I do with a male on such a small farm? Then:
9 - Do we want to do a FEMALE smear test, to know when is the right day in way to avoid any failure? it costs 50 euros
10 - Don' think about the trip because I can be lucky enough to find the perfect male at a short distance from home ... but more often (and in certain breeds, it is normal) I have to go and look for it abroad. I can miss even a day, sometimes two.
11 - I have to pay for the ride: a prestigious and famous male has a price to ride on my lucky girl. We talk about a Minimum 1500 euros.
12 - Is my dog pregnant? Ultrasound, minimum 80 euros.
13 - how many puppies will she have? I need to know it in way to get an idea of the reservations. Radiography, 80 euros.
14 - A female, since the second month of pregnancy, can't eat the same than the others. At least in this period (and for another two months of lactation), I switch to a food of 60-70 euros per bag: and then we add supplements, vitamins, calcium etc.
15 - At the moment of delivery: are you sure, to let your dog doing everything alone? Not me. the Presence of the vet, minimum of 50 euros.
For some races, cesarean intervention is the norm, in others it is not, but it can always happen that something goes wrong and that you have to fix it.
If it happens, at least 200 euros (always with our vet who works with basic cost, huh?)
16 - WOOOOOW, 5 puppies are born! Now you have to:
a) deworm them at least three times: about 50 euros
b) vaccinate them, 25 euros per five puppies
c) issuing a passport and special vaccinations (in the case of provenance eu), cca 100 euros
d) microchipped, 250 euros
Do to the postpartum condition, this new mummy will need more oxytocin and will need a supplement for her diet( even more than when she was pregnant because breastfeeding "consumes" it much more).
17 - Around 30-35 days I will have to start helping the mother, giving the puppies milk powder, then the first homogenized, then the weaning food. A can of powdered milk (ONE feed) costs around 20 euros.
Do you know how many times these puppies will eat before being delivered to the new owners? Don't make me count, I feel bad.
18 -Summertime is coming? Ouch, there will be fleas and ticks. Protection for everyone, including mom: about 150 euros for each summer month.
19 - The mother ,in the meantime has been dewormed and has continued to eat high protein and highly expensive food and has taken all her good supplements), has a problem: her milk don't stop, so in that moment i need the Galastop which costs 23 euros per 15 ml (I have to give one ml per 10 kg of dog weight per day: think how cool it could be, if I breed Great Danes or Neapolitan mastiffs).
20 - In the meantime the puppies are weaned and eat like grasshoppers (puppy feed, the most expensive in the world, super protiec: but do we want them to grow well, yes or no?). Do I already have the queue at the door of waiting customers? Well, I will only have to keep them for two months (if I deliver them earlier I would NOT be a serious breeder).
I don' have any waiting customers? well, it can happen that one or more puppies remain in the kennel for up to four, five months ... or maybe for a lifetime, because it is not written anywhere that I find someone willing to adopt an already old dog.
Let's say that, this is what happens if everything goes in a GOOOOOOD WAAAAAAYYY.
But we have to be realistic, a lot things that i didn't describe, can go wrong.
Example of a very crooked thing: the puppies all die. It can happen, you know? Just a viral infection against which it is almost impossible to defend yourself.
In conclusion ... what do think now?, A thousand euros for a puppy, is it that expensive? THINK TWICE
