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.

I would have loved a rescue dog but got turned down because I have children. So I bought a puppy from a breeder. She is much loved and cared for but I would have preferred to help a dog in need. But many rescue centres have ridiculous standards

Now's the time to research and find a really good breeder that health tests and breeds well tempered dogs and get on their waiting list even if that's 1-2 years away.
Get your name down now rather than buying a pup on a whim 🙂 gives you something to look forward to as well!

@Bunnymumy

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 over £100 from a reputable breeder here! £35 would only just cover the cost of their first vaccinations.

High prices are a double-edged sword though. They might discourage people from buying a pet on a whim, and they are necessary to cover the costs of breeding and raising healthy, happy animals but high prices encourage disreputable breeders.

I've already seen several dogs advertised on Facebook looking for a home always with the same story "no fault of their own, we don't have the time to give them the attention they need now we're back at work"

what did people think was going to happen when furlough/ lockdown ended??

Just had a look after reading this an omg!
Bought my labrador 8 years ago, working lines, from a KC assured breeder who were also vets and she was only £550 now the going rate seems to be 6 times that!

I would choose a breed then look on the breed club and contact people. The decent breeders will still have the same criteria as usual i.e. finding decent homes for their puppies, rather than trying to make a quick buck.

Generally, it is the trendy breeds that will have more unscrupulous breeders just trying to make money.

It’s absolutely insane that people are spending thousands on overbred, flat faced dogs that can’t be insured, will get cancer and breathing problems and have a life expectancy of five or six years. There’s something about the idea of fashionable pet breeds that makes me really uncomfortable.

Why would you even consider buying an animal? That's disgusting. They're living creatures.

@HarrietSchulenberg

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.

This. Making profit from breeding is abhorrent.

In China, thanks to the virus, some people are just throwing their pets out of high rise buildings 😡

Recently they have introduced a one pet policy.

For expats wanting to get their dogs and other pets home, some countries are not allowing transportation. So folk are abandoning their animals or trying to get them re-homed. The cost of flying a pet home can be as much as £10,000. It was around 2k before Covid.

It's a very sad situation ☹️

I sometimes look on the selling sites when I’m bored and even run of the mill moggies are going for £500+ I even saw one saying rare markings but it was clearly just a tabby cat.

We’re sort of in a similar situation to you OP, we have a 6 year old. We also have a super pampered and loved Labrador, she’s 9 this year. We do everything we can to give her a good life and we have a dog sitter when we are at work. Unfortunately, this makes it difficult for us to rescue.

We did see an ad for a rescue dog from Hungary. We really felt we were in a good position and the dog advertised was supposedly living with a foster family whose lifestyle was similar to ours. We messaged the rescue. They were a bit peculiar - no website or ‘official’ contact details. They absolutely bombarded us with messages. They criticised us for going on a family day out instead of answering their messages! When we asked how the money we were going to give them was spent and why the rescue didn’t have its own bank account they became extremely aggressive and accused us of being abusive dog owners. When we looked into them they were a scam.

We’d love another dog but in reality £3k for a puppy just isn’t feasible right now. We’re really wary of using a rescue again. One of the dog breeders we got in contact with said the price increase is nothing to do with lockdown but it’s because of the introduction of something called Lucy’s Law, which has altered the selling rules for puppies.

Why would people not rescue? Well we were put off by 2 friends who recently adopted but had to return as they had such bad behaviour problems.

We are one of the people who recently paid a small fortune for a puppy. Despite what some of you say it is the best time. We've wanted a dog for years, but both of us were out of the house a lot. But we are both going to be 100% based from home permanently now. Plus dc (both teenagers) are here all summer to help settle him in really well. I don't think there will ever be another time like this. Yes it grated to pay over the odds, but supply and demand I guess

Why would people not rescue?

Snapshot of Dogs Trust this morning. 459 dogs available. Filter to 'can live with cats' - 459 reduced to 12 dogs of which 9 are already reserved. Of the three available, the nearest is about 200 miles from where I live and 'would benefit' from living with another dog.

For context, we are an adult-only household, experienced dog owners (our previous dog passed away recently) with someone home all day (in normal times, not just during Coronavirus) and a garden.

Introducing a pup to cats is no problem if it's handled correctly, but if the rescues are correct that's obviously not the case with the average adult dog.

In any case, if we get another dog it will be after the Corona madness has died down.

I paid £1150 for a golden retriever and that was actually pretty reasonable. Worth every penny. Lovely, reliable temperament. Exactly as expected for her breed. If you have a particular temperament in mind it’s not unreasonable to buy a particular breed.

@PileofToss

2 reasons

1. Many rescue centres refuse to even consider you if you have kids under 10, work part time etc

1. A puppy you can train from scratch

I tried all the rescues within 50 miles and they said no because my dd has asd. We got a puppy from a sheep farmer, trained him as an assistance dog ourselves.

The concept of a ‘breed’ and paying more for one is so incredibly fucked up when you think about it.

Depends.

I have a few breeds I would feasibly have.

I also have some no, not under any circumstances at all.

And I am not being facetious here; it is easier to adopt a child than a dog in some scenarios.

Yup same with horses. Experienced home here and I want a nice all round cob. I have a fairly generous budget but I expect something reasonably well put together for it and no issues. I won't buy unseen and want a full vetting. I've just given up until spring next year

I do understand why rescues are strict about criteria as they don't want the dog coming back to them and being even more damaged. But as a pp said, in a way when you take on a rescue you are often paying the price for someone else's carelessness, with a dog that hasn't been properly trained and socialised. Of course some dogs have been brought up lovingly and well, and are being rehomed due to a genuine change in circumstances, but those are probably the dogs that are OK with cats and children or as 'only dogs' and are therefore snapped up.

Our neighbour has made 14K this month with her 7 pug puppies.

My friend was talking about this yesterday. She lost her two elderly dogs during lockdown and has been looking for a new Poodle cross. Can't find anything for less than £3k. Rescue centres seem to have stopped rehoming for the time being, will that have a knock on effect on prices?

3K for a poor man's race horse is ridiculous!

Rescue centres seem to have stopped rehoming for the time being

Some are still rehoming but the process is more complicated to comply with social distancing. I imagine the whole supply-and-demand factor is contributing to the present situation.