To think the price of animals have gone up massive??

[Mummypig2020]

Yes I know, people should adopt, Don’t fund back yard breeders etc. And I’m no way buying a pet, but sometimes I like to have a mooch on pets4homes like I do on right move.

I can’t find one dog under 1k!! Labradors for £1.5k. Mixed breeds for a ridiculous amount.

Wtf? Do people really pay that much?

The cheapest dog in my area is a cocker spaniel for £1600.

Go to a rescue centre. You’ll be giving a home to an animal who desperately needs one

The breed we like are £3,500!!! They’re normally £1200-1500

In our area there seem to be a lot of older dogs for sale in the low hundreds but the most expensive puppy was £6500 for a bulldog it really looks like he's run into a wall at high speed poor thing

Funny you should mention this, our dog died over a year ago and we are only now beginning to start looking for another, I have some money saved but there's no way I am paying/can afford 2-3 grand for a puppy. We only have a yard so that prevents us adopting in a lot of places. The whole thing is really getting me down.

Dog ownership has gone through the roof since lockdown as everyone has fulfilled their dream of having a dog while they're not at work, so prices have gone up accordingly.
Rescues will be full once everyone's back at work properly and realises they can't cope with a stressed dog who chews the sofa while they're out . Prices set by disreputable breeders will plummet at around the same time.

i looked out of interest recently, considering getting a dog one day, they were all £2.5k+!

It's 35 quid minimum for a rabbit these days. Used to be able to get them for 10-20. Mind you I guess that's a good thing as so many go to people who have no idea the level of work involved with keeping them.

Noticed people were wanting crazy amounts for cats lately too though. Hundreds of pounds.

Think I'll buy a hamster xD ...or maybe just a plant lol.

It’s so sad. Would love to adopt but it scares me. I worry I would end up with a dog that doesn’t like us 😩 plus we have a 4 year old so most places won’t Let us. We aren’t getting a dog anyway lol

Well there'll be plenty going free to homes in a few months once people start going back to work or don't realise the commitment of that cute lockdown puppy.

With a 4 year old many (if not all) rescues will not let you adopt with young children. For their safety as no one really knows the history of a rescue. Which is absolutely correct

So buying will be your option, but now is not the right time. Any reputable breeder will have had a waiting list way before lockdown started.

Leaving the money makers who want £3k for a Labrador pup. Supply and demand. Lots of people now want puppies, the price goes up

Now is honestly the worst time to get one

Our rescue are predicting lots of dogs, just like feb/ March time when all the Christmas puppies arrive after people realise how much work a puppy is.
4 of my friends got puppies at the start of lockdown as they saw how good my dog is, two of them are already saying it's worse than a baby as they have damaged furniture etc I can see lots of dogs ending up in shelters. It's really sad and massively unfair for those dogs.

I’ve never understood why anyone would buy a puppy, there are hundreds of thousands of dogs that need homes.

It’s horribly sad that they sit there for often years with no loving home, and people go out every day spending thousands on puppies (often “cross breeds” which are actually mongrels 😂)

It’s the same in the horse world, people buying unseen then being amazed that the horse isn’t as expected. Bonkers.

My breed has at least tripled in price, usually more. I’m glad I’m not looking. It’s interesting to note that the French breed site is quoting the usual prices. If prices are still elevated when I look for my next 2, I will go to France.

This is MN, you are not supposed to buy a pet, or have a dog at all unless you don't work, have bottomless pockets and love the dog more than your children or partner.

I’ve never understood why anyone would buy a puppy, there are hundreds of thousands of dogs that need homes.

Some rescues have ridiculous standards.

I remember my dad being horrified I spent money buying not just a dog but a poodle. We're farmers so you always just got your Collie from someone local who had a litter that would give them away.

You should have seen his face when he found out the dog slept in the bed with me . He used to tell people I had a cat "because there's no way that passes for a dog" whilst hand feeding him sausages on the sofa and cooing .

I was thinking this lately, I also check to be nosey and the breed of dog we‘ve always had as a family are now over £2k! Never usually more than £200-400.
I think it’s a good idea for genuine breeders to do this to avoid people buying a cheap puppy to help lockdown boredom that they will eventually send to a shelter, but it’s just greedy.
Agree with the mongrel comment, all these expensive mixed breeds popping up over the years are ridiculous and it’s so cruel to the dogs, all just to line your own pocket with a yearly wage per litter.

People buy puppies because they want the cute puppy experience; because they believe - rightly or wrongly - that rescue dogs can be unpredictable because you often have no idea of their background; and because so many rescue centres won’t home a dog with anyone who doesn’t have a large garden, doesn’t have somebody at home full-time or has younger children - which rules out an awful lot of people who’d like a family dog.

And you know what, I kind of also take the view that the results of other people’s stupid or selfish behaviour isn’t my responsibility to solve. Yes, there are thousands of unwanted animals in rescue centres, but I don’t feel bad about not really wanting to pick up the pieces of somebody else’s poor choices and actions. I didn’t cause the animal to be abandoned, and if I want to be a responsible pet owner to a pet of my choice that I’ve selected and bought, that’s up to me.

It is horrific.
Fashionable mix-breed puppies on Gumtree here for £3.5k.
Ludicrous and is driving a whole cottage industry of puppies bred for profit

Unscrupulous 'greeders', dealers and puppy farmers are cashing in on the massive demand for puppies during lockdown. It's a mess - so many poorly bred puppies being sold for thousands of pounds, dogs and puppies being stolen and sold on for £££, scams left right and centre because people do no research and no due diligence and send hundreds of pounds for a 'deposit' to complete randoms from an internet ad who then promptly disappear etc. etc.

In my main breed (working type gundog), I have friends who are well known, very successful field trial competitors and breeders who have had photos of their dogs copied from their website and used in scam adverts for non-existent litters on Pets4Homes. I detest that website and all others like it. I own a FTCh (Field Trial Champion) bitch of my breed, her last litter of pups (both her and the sire Champions, top bloodlines throughout, all health tests in place, 2 year waiting list, pups very carefully reared in the home etc.) sold for £1200. Last year the average price for a reasonably well bred puppy of the breed was about £800. There are very poorly bred and poorly reared pups being advertised now for £2500+, it's insane. The situation is similar here in Canada, demand and prices have skyrocketed and I have seen some absolutely insane crosses being advertised for thousands of dollars - Pit Bull x Pyrenean Mountain Dog or Husky x Pug anyone?! I dread to think what is going to happen when normal life resumes and reality bites for all these people who have bought puppies on a whim. It's the dogs that will suffer in the end 😕

Insane. I have a French bulldog, but she was 350 dollars from a rescue group. I’m in the US, where I think rescues are more willing to work with families with small children. I also have a pug and a pug/terrier mix from rescues, again for a reasonable price.

I would only pay a high amount for a breed that is very rare. But I do much prefer to rescue dogs and have a bit of an addiction to browsing petfinder.com 😬

I had some random on Twitter chastise me for getting a “lockdown cat” after I tweeted a photo of our cat the other day! She’s six, and absolutely not a lockdown cat. So presumably that’s a thing too.

I have a lovely lurcher who is very rlderly. My younger dog will pine like mad when he goes but hates other dogs. A pup is our only option...if she'll accept one. Lurchers are usually around £250. I saw a litter of 7 advertised for £750 each!

Elderly sorry.

Definitely! It’s the same with horses at the moment, they’re listed at about double what they’re worth.

Quickly, on the note of why would anyone get a pup over a rescue, coming from someone with a lot of rescue experience... Sometimes the risk of behavioural problems is too much and a puppy is an ‘easier’ option.