> I often see puppies from certain kennels in every class.  They must be churning them out on a conveyor belt

At Crufts I had 13 pups (3 my own) that I had bred in a lot of classes (I was chuffed and proud) and some of their offspring in others, surely that is what a breeder aims for to get their stock into the ring or field?  they were between 14 months and 10 years of age, and I breed a litter a year on average.

Reputable breeders who breed more often have several family members involved so have the manpower, some are lucky enough to have independent means, or businesses that revolve around dogs like boarding kennels grooming etc.

To be honest reared properly you would need a lot of litters to make a living at breeding dogs.  These bigger breeders also have bigger bills for the dogs they own and show etc.

The puppy farmer makes money because they cut corners giving the most minimal care and do not invest anything into the breeding animals just exploit them.

A livable income I would imagine most people would consider to be what £30,000 a year.  For a commercially minded breeder doing things properly the amount made per litter is likely to be less than half the sale price, some of the that an accountant would also offset off costs etc re-investment etc.

I honestly don't beleive anyone in dogs with a decent reputation producing quality dogs can possibly make a living from breeding their dogs, if they make any living from it it is only partial and the main income is from related activities as mentioned above.

As long as they are within the law and paying their taxes, take full responsibility for the dogs they produce, and are careful to whom they sell (many top breeders can afford to be very fussy with a demand for theri pups), then good luck to them, too impersoanl for me, but nothing acxtually wrong with it.

Most breeders prefer to keep their activities at purely the hobby level where they are below the tax mans radar, in the same way as casual car booters, collectors etc.

Say a bred with 6 pup average with a net profit per puppy in a litter of £250 (after all costs and hidden costs etc that could be offset from tax), would need in excess of 20 litters a year.

I also found Both of my Girls breeders on epupz one pug and one Mini Bull terrier,
Id consider using the site again if i was ever looking,
I know that one of our breeders had to remove her litter from the site as she was receiving calls from overseas offering a fortune to send all the Pups over so she could sell them on,

I guess this is just a risk with every advertisement with your number on though,

I found an ad for Polo's litter on Epupz and the Puppy register on the KC Website. Polo's breeder is also on Champdogs.  I checked Polo's breeder by finding out how she had done in the showring, and checking out her lines. (and obv. asking about breed spec. tests)She was also recommended by some very helpful people also known in the breed. I think its okay to advertise on Epupz, not all 'browsers' are bad and you might be able to educate people even if you have no pups/wouldn't want them to have one. Its so sa to see all the ill looking puppy farmed dogs though :-( and the crossbreeds :-( sorry OT