Disgusted with people increasing price of animals

[MagentaRocks]

I have been looking all over the internet for the availability of rescue dogs. We don't plan on getting one just yet but I always like to research ahead. I astounded at what people are charging for puppies. Up to £4,000. These are the same breeds that last year were less than half that, or even a quarter of that price.

I haven't been able to find many rescue dogs though. I have looked on local dogs home, preloved and a number of selling sites. I have only seen one on a selling site that was a realistic price with what seemed to be a genuine reason for rehoming.

Does anyone have any ideas on other sites I can look at? Would want to rehome a dig probably up to about 5 years old.

I dont know where these rescues are where it is possible to get a youngish dog. I have been looking for ages but can't find any rescue dog that is not a staffy/staffy cross and can be rehomed to a home with visiting young children. I feel very sorry for all these staffys and crosses wanting homes but I just don't want a staffy or a big dog. I also don't want a dog that has problems with other dogs and small children.

@ChavvySexPond

Selling animals is disgusting. Go through a rescue.

You don't have to take the poor broken down creatures who were used by breeders as kitten and puppy making machines but you don't have to give your money to animal abusers either.

get your cute kitten and puppy through a rescue

Or take in one of the recently rejected ones who are still young.

Abusing female cats and dogs for profit is wrong and should be shunned.

I agree. I judge people who don’t have rescue pets.

@ChavvySexPond

Selling animals is disgusting. Go through a rescue.

You don't have to take the poor broken down creatures who were used by breeders as kitten and puppy making machines but you don't have to give your money to animal abusers either.

get your cute kitten and puppy through a rescue

Or take in one of the recently rejected ones who are still young.

Abusing female cats and dogs for profit is wrong and should be shunned.

Agree with this. Buying from breeders perpetuates this unpleasant trade. It is cruel and the regulations are toothless. It is especially indefensible when there are homeless adult cats and dogs.

If we get another dog it will be an older one, not a pup, so we are waiting in the hope of finding post-lockdown rescues. It's hard because we need one that can live with cats. I looked at one of the national rescue sites the other day - 73 dogs came up initially - 'yay' I thought. I filtered to 'can live with cats' and that was reduced to 3 dogs, all already reserved. .

The issue of the cost of puppies is not as black and white as this thread suggests

(Discounting the issue of rescue verses puppy, as a different issue).

Currently cocker spaniel puppies are £2500-£3000. Last year they were £800-£1000.

If a good, reputable breeder puts a litter of pups up for sale at a more appropriate £1000, one of two things happen in the current market:
(1) the low price (in comparison to 100% of other litters) indicates something is wrong with the pups or the breeder. Simply by virtue of being cheap, low quality is assumed.

Or (and I have seen this happen with a breeder local to me just this week...)

(2) Unscrupulous breeders are buying up "cheap" puppies from decent breeders who don't want to overcharge, then immediately selling on the pup at double the price, passing it off as part of a litter they need.

So in fact, a decent breeder who has a litter for sale needs to increase their prices because if this.

It will come down to supply and demand. Not many litters currently avaliable. When more are, prices will come down.

@ChavvySexPond

Selling animals is disgusting. Go through a rescue.

You don't have to take the poor broken down creatures who were used by breeders as kitten and puppy making machines but you don't have to give your money to animal abusers either.

get your cute kitten and puppy through a rescue

Or take in one of the recently rejected ones who are still young.

Abusing female cats and dogs for profit is wrong and should be shunned.

I did say in my op I was looking at rescue dogs. It was during my search that I saw all the expensive puppies for sale. I am reasearching everywhere at the moment to get an idea of what is out there and where the best place to get a rescue dog is.

I don’t see how it’s “disgusting” or “cruel” to charge a lot for a puppy - if anything you’re more likely to I get a committed pet owner that way. It’s supply and demand.

If people were able to get rescue dogs easily prices would not be so high. As you say tho op, it can often be difficult or even impossible to get a rescue dog.

@Anna713

I dont know where these rescues are where it is possible to get a youngish dog. I have been looking for ages but can't find any rescue dog that is not a staffy/staffy cross and can be rehomed to a home with visiting young children. I feel very sorry for all these staffys and crosses wanting homes but I just don't want a staffy or a big dog. I also don't want a dog that has problems with other dogs and small children.

Agree with this, most of the rescue ones I have seen, and there are very few are staff type dogs. On the local dogs home sites almost all the dogs on there are already reserved. The ones that aren’t have a long list of where they can’t go.

@CayrolBaaaskin

I don’t see how it’s “disgusting” or “cruel” to charge a lot for a puppy - if anything you’re more likely to I get a committed pet owner that way. It’s supply and demand.

If people were able to get rescue dogs easily prices would not be so high. As you say tho op, it can often be difficult or even impossible to get a rescue dog.

Because people are using animals as money making schemes and are doubling or tripling the price they were less than 12 months ago,

There’s nothing cruel about getting a dog from a dog breeder (or from someone who has bred their pet) in the absence of any welfare issues with that seller. It’s nigh on impossible to get a rescue cat or dog with children. My family was refused so we bought a lovely pup. We are good owners and look after her well and she was bred with good welfare standards.

@MagentaRocks - dog breeders are always making money of of breeding dogs. Same as horse breeders and cow breeders and so on. That’s not cruel. People are not going to breed animals for altruistic reasons and Aif no one bred Domestic animals there would be no more. If there’s no welfare issues, I can’t see why you would have an issue.

It’s nigh on impossible to get a rescue cat or dog with children.

It seems to be very difficult to find rescue dogs that are cat friendly, but oddly the reverse isn't the case - I've always found it easy to get dog-friendly rescue cats. You'd think the numbers would be equal, as all the rescue cats must have lived with dogs at some point.

Why is breeding dogs for profit morally any worse than breeding pigs or cows for profit.

A lot of the pups people I know have bought have come from farms ( proper farms, not specifically puppy farms) where the farmer breeds dogs as a sideline for extra cash. Farmers are not sentimental about animals, the pups are just more livestock.

Why is breeding dogs for profit morally any worse than breeding pigs or cows for profit.

I don't think it is inherently wrong. The wrong arises when the breeding is done without regard to the health of the animal. I doubt farmers would breed from stock that had hereditary problems, yet 'backyard' breeders breed without health-testing their dogs for conditions such as mitral valve disease, eye problems, hip dysplacia etc.

It's also wrong when dogs are handed over to buyers with no more thought than buying a loaf of bread in the supermarket. Each pup is a little life whose happiness and comfort is totally dependent on the person buying it - it shouldn't be treated as a commodity. A responsible breeder will make efforts to check you can meet the dog's needs and ask that the dog be returned to them (not sold on) if you can't.

All that is without even considering the worse horror that is puppy farming.

We gout our rescue dogs from here - for the cost of jabs and transport only. You will be home checked as they care about their dogs and sign a full contract.
www.bidtosaveastray.com/

Horse prices are through the roof as well, the market for horses has gone crackers so not just dogs. No idea why!

Because people are using animals as money making schemes and are doubling or tripling the price they were less than 12 months ago,

This is literally how capitalist economies work though. Demand is high so the price will rise. Morality doesn't come into it. It's a bit like the people who admonish holiday firms for charging "more" in the school holidays.

What on earth is a goldendoodle!

The bizarre thing on mn is that there is so much horror at breeding dogs for money yet I would bet 99% of the disapprovers eat meat. Also the weird sneering at poodle crosses. Like there’s something inherently better in a “pedigree” than a dog cross bred in more recent times for certain characteristics. I doubt there’s any genuine concern for animal welfare from any of them.

@CayrolBaaaskin

The bizarre thing on mn is that there is so much horror at breeding dogs for money yet I would bet 99% of the disapprovers eat meat. Also the weird sneering at poodle crosses. Like there’s something inherently better in a “pedigree” than a dog cross bred in more recent times for certain characteristics. I doubt there’s any genuine concern for animal welfare from any of them.

It’s my thread and I don’t eat meat and haven’t done for over 30 years. I don’t have an issue with cross breeds. Just the exploitation and people selling litter and after litter with no thought for the animal.

It is quite astonishing the price increase.
Back to kittens, years ago they were 'free to a good home' These days as another poster said they want hundreds just for an ordinary moggie. The world has gone mad.

@MagentaRocks but this is the first you mentioned “exploitation” and people “selling litter after litter with no thought for the animal”. You can ere complaining about the high price. No doubt because like many people (including me) once you realize that if you can’t get a rescue dog with kids, you will be buying a pup. I think you need to be honest with yourself.

I am a lifelong vegetarian and while I have an issue with intensive farming and poor animal welfare practices in farming, I have no issues with people buying and selling animals in itself.

@crimsonlake - it’s actually because we have much better animal welfare standards now than we used to. People used to not bother spaying their cats so there were lots of kittens available. We never paid for kittens when I was young.

Now in the uk people generally get their cats spayed so kittens are much rarer and worth money as a result. So it’s indicative of improving welfare standards.

Paid £450 for a pedigree Shih Tzu 10 years ago, similar for another three years ago. Now it's £2,500 and this is a reputable small-scale breeder. Unscrupulous sellers are likely charging more. (North West).

I used to work at a well known rescue. It’s worth registering with any rescue centres you are open to as a suitable dog may come in and never be advertised as it can be rehomed instantly.

We never advertised young pups either for the exact same reason and whilst many we staff types, we regularly had other breeds too but they would go to homes already registered, home checked if needed and ready to go.