How much would you pay for a puppy?

[Mrswhale]

We have been thinking about getting a puppy to train to be an assistance dog for my autistic son for a few years now. Last may we went to see a litter of lab puppies with no intention of buying one but to just view at the time. When we got to what we thought was a lovely old ladies bungalow with this accidental litter of puppies we was led around the back of the house into a barn which was full of breeds of puppies. We ended up giving her £600 there and then and taking a golden labrador puppy on the spot because he was a terrified nervous wreck. The puppy has been an absolute nightmare and has destroyed my house. He flinches and cries when anyone tries to approach him (strangers) still and he initially spent 6 months under the dining table too scared to come out when he first came to us. Weve had him a year next month though and the dog and my son are the best of friends its lovely seeing the change in the pair of them. I wouldnt ever get another dog again though the destruction hes caused and the problems weve had with him have put me off another puppy for life.xx

 

[Jennyie]

Six litters in six years? That’s shocking. Poor girl. What a terrible breeder. Was she KC registered?

If you haven’t watched Pedigree Dogs Exposed, then I urge you to watch it. It came out in 2008 and is still available to watch, somewhere on the internet. One breeder of Cavalier King Charles spaniels continually used a stud who had been diagnosed with syromengelia which is a brain disorder and causes fitting in the dog. It was a real eye opener to me. It does not mean however that all breeders are bad though.

That film meant that the BBC stopped broadcasting Crufts and it was taken on by Channel 4 instead.

It was a terrible revelation wasn’t it?
Our rescue now lives in complete luxury, has a few trust issues but nothing we can’t cope with.
I don’t know much about the breeder, she came through a friend who had taken her away for some ‘respite’

 

[Dexy]

Depends on where the dog was from. If it was from a ‘responsible’ breeder that I had researched and whose dogs I met, (not someone jumping on the designer dog bandwagon) and from health tested parents - then circa £1000.

This. I wanted a German Shepherd as I know the breed. My last one lived to 14 years. No rescue would give me a dog because my child was under 7. Found a reputable breeder who had had shepherds for 18 years, got to meet the mum and dad, plus both maternal grandparents. All hip scored and haemophilia tested, came with insurance and my pup was vet checked twice ( and vaccinated ) before I collected her. I did a 9 hour round trip to get her.
My dog has since had issues with a trapped nerve and all the vets have gushed over her xrays that she has fabulous hips!
We paid just under £800 for her.

 

[toffeejelly]

We had the same problem rescuing as we have young kids we paid £600 for our cockapoo (he’s a F1b), he’s now 15 months old and absolutely perfect

Awwww I love this! They are just gorgeous

 

[Devondoll]

A friend paid £1500 for their dog and its trashed their house, chewed everything in site (not that the price is relevant to that lol) and it has health problems. We paid £50 for our family dog (long time ago) he died last year of old age and he was amazing. We rehomed previous to this, and the dog bit part of my brothers lip off in a totally unprovoked attack. Unfortunately that was enough for me to say no to a rescue with young kids. X

 

[BettyCrocker]

£300

Would personally never buy a pedigree- only ever mixed breeds and usually rescues.

 

[toffeejelly]

I get the rescue ( of course that’s a given ) but why a mixed breed? Often these mixed breed, made up designer breeds are bred by backyard breeders who have no clue what they are doing!
And mixed breed does not guarantee good health. Yes some have hybrid vigour but not always. If two breeds with issues are bred you have two lots of breed problems mixing. God knows what you are getting.

My work colleague got a little mongrel terrier rescue. It was found to have hip displacia and it’s cost her thousands in treatment - an operation/medication/hydrotherapy. Thankfully she had insurance. I have a pedigree German shepherd known for getting hip displacia. Mine recently had xrays for a trapped nerve and all the vets said her hips were the best.

I think wherever you get a puppy from make sure it’s reputable. There are good and bad breeders. Good and bad rescues. And always get insurance no matter what.



This is what winds me up to. My boss is in his 70’s, super lazy and never walk their dogs because they have land. The dogs are fat and bored.
I only have a small yard but live opposite large parks and countryside. My dog goes out every day without fail. We often take her the beach, dog fest, camping lol
It really upset me when the rescues turned me down because I had a child and worked part time. I work three days a week. My argument was I have to to pay vet bills ? I also said I would get a dog walker on the days I was in work but that wasn’t good enough.
I get they are strict for a reason but I feel you should be assessed on an individual basis rather than just a blanket no because you work etc.

Completely agree with this!

 

[fireflies]

We had the same problem rescuing as we have young kids we paid £600 for our cockapoo (he’s a F1b), he’s now 15 months old and absolutely perfect

We are the same too it became impossible with young child of under 10.
All said suit retired couple or house with teenagers they clearly don't realise what a nightmare teenagers are with moo swings and slamming doors and tears or maybe that's just mine.

So our only route is puppy and to train well be safest option with small children.
I do worry in currently economic climate that rescues are being far to prescriptive.
As we have the finances, large enclosed garden, house of our own, lovely parks nearby and I work part time alternate shifts and the teenager actually wants to walk the puppy eventually.

Most puppies I see go between 500 to 1500 depending on breed when we do our research.

 

[Sp20191]

Awwww I love this! They are just gorgeous

He certainly is! As a small puppy he was a nightmare but from about 7 months old he’s been an absolute dream! He’s amazing with the kids, and so clever (sometimes too clever!)

 

[Sp20191]

Thanks for all the replies.

I tried to rehome so many dogs but unfortunately was getting nowhere. A lot of the rescue centres don't like the fact I work full time, even though my Dad will have the dog during the week so it won't be on it's own. I live in a flat but I have a garden out the back. They also wanted a lot of the dogs to be rehomed with another dog so the dog can teach them the ropes, so I wasn't having much luck.

Decided to go with a puppy. He's costing me a lot more than I would have liked to have paid but the breeder is the top 10 breeders in the UK for a Cavapoo so just went with my gut. Can't wait to get him home

We had the same problem rescuing as we have young kids we paid £600 for our cockapoo (he’s a F1b), he’s now 15 months old and absolutely perfect

 

[Mycuppatea]

My last dog (sweet mini apricot poodle boy) cost me £500 ten years ago. His breeder now charges £1000 for a pup which is reasonable - my mother in law has poodles too and her last two puppies cost £1800 and £2000. I honestly feel that I'd find it hard to spend more than £500 but our circumstances have changed and I don't think we'll have another dog as we can't afford to care for a dog as well as we used to and prefer to do.

 

[muncher]

About 13 years ago I rehomed a puppy that was advertised online, the lady wanted £400, I negotiated £200. He was a lhasa apso cross shih tzu. I felt £400 was ridiculous, she couldnt manage him in a top floor flat and was looking to rehome asap. I wanted to show commitment but felt £400 was a lot. Dont know if that helps, but think that is the maximum I would pay.

 

[abitfairytale]

We paid £365 for our rescue pup, that paid for her vaccs, neutering, to be chipped, pet passport and transportation from Greece.
She's been with us 4 months now, and had settled well into the family. She can be reactive towards other dogs but this has greatly improved in the time since she arrived though

 

[Ambrosie]

I got my Yorkie from a breeder, I wanted a breed that I knew well. Do feel bad that I didn't rescue one, I was just impatient to get one. She is as mad as a brush, her personality is perfect for me. She was £500. Worth every penny. If I got another dog though, I would go to a rescue place

 

[toffeejelly]

Thanks for all the replies.

I tried to rehome so many dogs but unfortunately was getting nowhere. A lot of the rescue centres don't like the fact I work full time, even though my Dad will have the dog during the week so it won't be on it's own. I live in a flat but I have a garden out the back. They also wanted a lot of the dogs to be rehomed with another dog so the dog can teach them the ropes, so I wasn't having much luck.

Decided to go with a puppy. He's costing me a lot more than I would have liked to have paid but the breeder is the top 10 breeders in the UK for a Cavapoo so just went with my gut. Can't wait to get him home

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

we paid £950 for our cocker spaniel x poodle. Breeder did a house check before we even went to see the puppies, shown all medical testing for both parents, viewed mum with pups.

No rescues would rehome with us because we have kids. Our dog is 3 now and the best money I ever spent. His temperament is second to none.

 

[toffeejelly]

Curious

 

[Itsallaboutmememe]

My daughter bought hers from a breeder for £250 (was meant to be £350 but he’s the runt of his litter and they just wanted rid)
turned out they just breed from theirs for the money-the parent dogs have an awful life
never walked,no toys etc
i reported them to the rspca but they didn’t want to know
my son paid £180 for his from a charity
he had to pay a lot to have him ‘done’ and chipped

both dogs are amazing and have so much love to give

 

[GossipMongoose]

Depends on how well bred they are, my field/working type lab was £1200. Well bred litters cost a lot to produce. He is from a top working stud (with £££ stud fees to match), both parents have immaculate health test results (health tests cost a lot and some have to be repeated annually), both have excellent temperaments and the match was selected to produce the best, most balanced litter both in terms of personality and conformation. Then I spent a year ish looking for the right breeder and then waited for the right litter. It isn’t a guarantee of lifelong vigour or good behaviour, of course, but it helps to filter out avoidable problems.

We have been thinking about getting a puppy to train to be an assistance dog for my autistic son for a few years now. Last may we went to see a litter of lab puppies with no intention of buying one but to just view at the time. When we got to what we thought was a lovely old ladies bungalow with this accidental litter of puppies we was led around the back of the house into a barn which was full of breeds of puppies. We ended up giving her £600 there and then and taking a golden labrador puppy on the spot because he was a terrified nervous wreck. The puppy has been an absolute nightmare and has destroyed my house. He flinches and cries when anyone tries to approach him (strangers) still and he initially spent 6 months under the dining table too scared to come out when he first came to us. Weve had him a year next month though and the dog and my son are the best of friends its lovely seeing the change in the pair of them. I wouldnt ever get another dog again though the destruction hes caused and the problems weve had with him have put me off another puppy for life.xx

MrsWhale, that’s absolutely awful. Puppies do come with an element of destruction, especially mouthy retriever breeds but lab pups should be outgoing and confident. Bastard puppy farmers. Did you report them to the RSPCA?

 

[101d]

We paid £1250 for our puppy. All puppies need love