I have a question which I'm asking purely out of curiosity and it was triggered whilst reading a comment MarianneB :-) :-) made on another thread re a KC question and health status of a pup.

How do you establish what price you are going to charge for one of your pups? I'm not asking anyones prices, I'm just curious how you go about determining it.

I am nearing my first litter, I have set my price, and I have a breed where you can pick up a pup at the farm gate relatively cheaply (I'm NOT talking puppy farming when I say this) to very high figures for dogs that are really not my cup of tea (a breed with show and working strains - I'm definitely a working gal! :-)) - so with a huge price range.

As said, just asking for curiosity sake. I look forward to replies :-)

An interesting question. In theory you'd know how much it had cost to produce the litter and divide that by the number of puppies to sell, adding on a proportion for 'time and trouble'. Most pedigree puppies seem to cost from about £500, whereas crossbreeds (in this area anyway) are between £100 to £150.

You check with other breeders (in the same breed obviously) that take the same care, do the same health tests, have the same sort of qualifications of their dogs (show/working/whatever) and try keep to the same price. :) It's no good breeders having widely different prices for the same thing. Some breed club websites even mention the average going price.

In my breed nearly all puppies are bred by breed devotes belonging to the breed clubs and following their code of ethics re health testing long term commitment.

As the breed is also not off the peg it makes life easier that we mostly charge the same give or take £50 so that swapping potential owners among breeders that have puppies is simpler.

Generally you would know what to charge as puppy price and stud fee is the same.

I paid £300 for my ESS bitch 6 years ago, and I was selling my other bitches puppies (the girl ones) for £300 sixteen months ago.  (boys for £250) They had no KC papers, as mums mum was not KC but dad was.  But like they say, paperwork doesnt seem to mean much to some people.  When we bought our bitch 6 years ago, the people we bought her from said they would send us the paperwork, but never did.  All I wanted to no was what lines she came from!!!!

Knowing your breed Trailist a would also say the region you live in can very much have an affect on the price. I know I myself I would never expect to charge puppy owners the same as someone who lives futher south and do not think the price mentioned in the other thread(that prompted this thread) naturally indicates poorly bred in this breed.

in my breed we all charge roughly the same within say £100.......sadly what you get for this price varies hugely!!!! Many add microchipping afterwards and virtually noe health test :( :( I include everything in the price and yes I do test as well.

> Generally you would know what to charge as puppy price and stud fee is the same.

Do you think that this would depend on breed?

I have paid £200 - £250 stud fee, yet I've paid 4 times that for a puppy.

Puppy price is usually about double the price of the stud fee paid so £450 stud £800 puppy

Generally speaking in our breed the stud fee equals that of the puppy. Also virtually everyone in out breed sells the puppies for the same price.

Yes in numerically small breeds with a litter size of 6 average stud fee being equal to puppy price is quite usual, males don't get many studs in their lives.

> the girl ones) for £300 sixteen months ago.  (boys for £250)

I've noticed that it seems to be the 'dodgier' breeders (imo) that sell dogs and bitches for different prices. They all cost the same to produce and rear. The only reason I can think of for a price difference is if you are suggesting that bitches can make money :-(

> I've noticed that it seems to be the 'dodgier' breeders (imo) that sell dogs and bitches for different prices.

I do not consider myself a 'dodgier' breeder but have sold dog puppies at a lesser price than bitch puppies in an effort to encourage those wishing for a pet to buy a dog.   At one stage in our breed potential buyers did not want the boys only the girls - I presume for breeding and in the hope to make money (what a lot they have to learn).   Now it is about even, the sale of boys versus girls, so that this is reflected in the price, which is about the same as a stud fee.

We do all required health tests (hips and eyes under the BVA/KC Scheme) plus two extra tests that are not required by the KC and these are patellae examined under our Breed Society's Scheme and have just had our stock DNA tested for juvenile renal dysplasia, and we ask for a fair price for a puppy, which is not an inflated price.  And we ask for a fair stud fee and again not an inflated stud fee.

Would just add that with the stud fee we'll be paying to use a Sh Ch (soon, hopefully:)), I won't be charging quite as much, even though we'll be providing lots of "extras", I just don't feel comfortable charging that much for a puppy. And our dogs and bitches (speaking hopefully here) will definitely be the same price. I'm finding a very even spread between what sex puppy enquirers are asking for. that said, I would prefer more bitches purely because we want more to choose from (for us!).

My goodness, if I added up the amount of hours needed to rear a litter... pups would be a LOT more...lol! Ah, but if you had to pay back into that pot the endless moments of pure pleasure playing/watching those puppy's antics over the 8 weeks.... ahhh that's priceless!!!!:)

When you consider that some one should be with the dam from about a week before she is due till the pups go to new homes that is a total of approx 10 weeks when the breeder is unable to do much else certainly not do outside work. So ten weeks wages, drugs, food, vet bills, heating or cooling bills, equipment required, and then there is the registration and the stud fees to say nothing of the health testing of the breeding stock and in most cases the shows attended and I think pups are really cheap and would not be produced at all but for the breeders love of their breed and desire to try to improve it.

There are those who just let the bitch get on with it and give no care at all, sometimes they get away with it and many times they do not but they are not breeders they are puppy farmers.

Thanks for all your comments, they've made interesting reading. In terms of my own breed, I think satincollie's comments are very true.

Certainly in terms of my own costs for health testing, including DNA, registration fees to 2 registries & kennel name with the 2 registries, microchipping, purchase of my own stud dog (sired by my own boy who was sadly made infertile as a result of a KC type infection last year - he had already had the relevant health checks done) and all his subsequent tests, etc, feeding, etc, etc, then I'm obviously not going to be making any money at all. Oh, add onto that at least 9 weeks without work :-) (but that's also 9 weeks of no income :-( :-( ). I'm going to be a whole heap poorer for the experience :-(  But, I'll be making a difference, some of my pups will go on to save lives and as someone else has said ... all those weeks of puppy cuddles and play :-) :-)