To wonder when (if) the price of puppies will go back down?

[EliseRainier]

We've been wanting to get a Springer pup for ages but have been waiting until we move to a bigger place, which we now are.

I've looked on the KC website and there aren't currently any litters in our area, but quite a lot on pets4homes but my god the price!! Like £2-3K when we were looking at less than £1K before lockdown.

AIBU to hope that the price goes back down once things go back to normal, people start going back to work etc or is this just how much dogs cost now?!

Rescue unfortunately isnt an option for us currently although I'd like to in future.

I'm not sure if they will to be honest. I was thinking about this the other day as if I was a responsible breeder not in it for the money etc and listed my puppies at say 800 - 1k, when everyone else was listing at 2k I'd probably be more likely to attract the wrong kind of owner. Then puppy farmers/inappropriate breeders will list at silly prices to make money and the price will just go up as they think well if someone is willing to pay 3k, they'll probably pay 3.5k. So I think it's going to turn into a vicious circle.

I bought my Springer last year for £800 and would love another dog to add to our family but puppy prices are ridiculous. Can't rehome as no one will approve me, despite being a vet and able to take my dogs to work with me 🤷🏻‍♀️ just waiting for one to turn up at work that the owners can't afford anymore or similar.

@lurkerbutijusthadtoshare

I'm not sure if they will to be honest. I was thinking about this the other day as if I was a responsible breeder not in it for the money etc and listed my puppies at say 800 - 1k, when everyone else was listing at 2k I'd probably be more likely to attract the wrong kind of owner. Then puppy farmers/inappropriate breeders will list at silly prices to make money and the price will just go up as they think well if someone is willing to pay 3k, they'll probably pay 3.5k. So I think it's going to turn into a vicious circle.

I bought my Springer last year for £800 and would love another dog to add to our family but puppy prices are ridiculous. Can't rehome as no one will approve me, despite being a vet and able to take my dogs to work with me 🤷🏻‍♀️ just waiting for one to turn up at work that the owners can't afford anymore or similar.

We had exactly this conversation yesterday. We reached the same conclusion as you.

Hope whatever you like, why would you be unreasonable?

But honestly, £2 or £3k for something that can live for 15 years and requires an awful lot of commitment doesn't seem extortionate to me.

The prevalence of animals being given away for free or cheap "to good homes" is part of the reason we have so many in rescues.

We're in the same boat OP, we've been planning on a getting a lab pup for years but wanted to wait until our DC were out of the baby stage. I've always kept an eye on the litters in the area and the price etc. Now we're finally ready and we can't because the prices are over double what they were

Shelters also not an option for us as they rarely allow you to adopt when you have young DC

I think that there’s a strong chance that there will be a lot of older puppies for sale if people have to go back to work and cannot look after them anymore. That’ll have a knock on effect for the breeders.

@VinylDetective we had someone at work last week who paid £4000 for a frenchie puppy that they bought at the side of the road 😖 turned out to be 4 weeks old and far too young to be without mum. Its such a shame dogs and naive owners are being taken advantage of like this.

I have several friends who would make wonderful dog owners, but the price of puppies is well beyond their means right now. ££££s for a puppy is ridiculous.

[quote lurkerbutijusthadtoshare]@VinylDetective we had someone at work last week who paid £4000 for a frenchie puppy that they bought at the side of the road 😖 turned out to be 4 weeks old and far too young to be without mum. Its such a shame dogs and naive owners are being taken advantage of like this.[/quote]
That’s absolutely heartbreaking. Four weeks? Poor, poor little bugger.

@howfarwevecome

I have several friends who would make wonderful dog owners, but the price of puppies is well beyond their means right now. ££££s for a puppy is ridiculous.

"££££s" for a living creature which has a lifespan of over a decade is ridiculous?

£2, 3, 4,000 is extortionate for a puppy; telling people they can't afford the dog if they can't pay that is just like telling people that if they can't afford private IVF, they can't afford children. Complete bollocks.

And it's no wonder dogs and puppies are getting stolen around here. An entire litter of puppies and the puppy mother was stolen locally a few weeks ago because they know they can get £2-3k for each puppy.

We got our lovely spaniel puppy last year for 450 as she is a farm dog litter, through someone we know, they wanted to replenish their lines for their next gun dog. They're planning other litters soon and have a waiting list of people they know personally, never advertise their pups for sale and never charge more than what they need to cover their costs. Can you put the feelers out to anyone who may know anyone in that kind of circle?

WTF do you all need pedigree puppies?
Rescue organisations will soon be inundated with young dogs that irresponsible owners did not think through properly, and then realise that:
They need time money and attention
Can't be taken into the office or left home alone all day
Prohibit getting a new rental property or aren't allowed by the landlord in the current one.
Don't match the furniture (until they've covered it in their hair 🐶)

Rescue centres may well be inundated soon. That won’t change their ridiculously stringent adoption criteria, so will be of little use to most people. Did you not see upthread that a vet’s been rejected by one @EveryDayIsADuvetDay?

@EveryDayIsADuvetDay people are charging 3-4k for a mongrel at the moment 🤷🏻‍♀️ Cockerxpoodles, cavalierxbichon etc. I saw a litter of a mix of 4 different dogs for 2.5k each the other day! With a fancy made up name. Nothing pedigree about them!

We’re in the same situation, we’ve been looking for a particular breed for 2 years and they occasionally came up in lockdown but at £3k+ it’s ridiculous and greedy. I understand on one hand it stops bad owners buying them as they aren’t willing to spend much so less likely to be in a shelter in a few months, but I think it will increase backyard breeders trying to earn their money back. If people stop buying them they will be forced to stop breeding or lower the price.

Not really pertinent to this thread but you know you get pop up ads on MN? I currently have one for puppies at £3,000 each on Gumtree

Poor puppies.

@VinylDetective I was rejected when I was a director of a national rescue centre - by the organisation I worked for. (and offered one by another rescue centre within a few weeks).
Charities don't all have the same criteria, even national organisations may have different criteria at different branches.
And if rescue centres are inundated and able to take all the dogs that need a home, people may rehome them by word of mouth, gumtree/whatever.

It's very sad, but there will be a glut of unwanted young dogs soon, and there will always be too many prospective owners that will only consider cute puppies.

*not able

Crazy. My parents lost their Springer last year, had him 13 years, they rehomed him from a family who didn't want him anymore and paid nothing AFAIK. My husband and I would like a dog at some point but several grand for a cross breed puppy is taking the piss.

I have looked into rescuing but we aren't eligible for lots of rescue centres for various reasons, I'm certainly not after just a cute puppy. We are specific on the breed as we know it well.

I totally get the logic that puppies should be expensive to prevent bad owners buying them on a whim etc, but they weren't exactly cheap before. It just encourages shit breeders who are only in it for the money.

@raspberryk that's a good idea, I live quite rurally so can certainly put the feelers out.

Go through the breed clubs, the proper breeders are far less likely to have hiked prices. In my breed the price hasn't changed from that source but the greedies are raking it in. The pets at homes ads are from money makers.
It's highly unlikely you will get a good pup straight away at the moment as the great breeders will have waiting lists and will be producing fewer pups just because of the logistics of being unable to meet up for matings or checking out new potential for puppy owners or access vet checks or allow visits to the litter.
Etc etc.

"££££s for a living creature which has a lifespan of over a decade is ridiculous?"

I think it is, yes. It's profiteering.

I second the recommendation to go through breed clubs. You can find Facebook groups, puppy list holders etc

We have recently bought a puppy and she cost no more than usual as we used a KC breeder that we'd made contact with through a breed club.

I think it is, yes. It's profiteering.
I agree. I know an extremely responsible breeder who averages about a litter a year of pedigree puppies out of health-tested working stock, proven in the field and in trials. One of her bitches had a litter in lockdown, and the breeder charged what she always charges, after a serious sifting of those who wanted a puppy.

WTF do you all need pedigree puppies?
Because with a pedigree puppy there is a degree of consistency with breed type - you have have a good idea of the eventual size of the dog, its coat type, some/many of the traits it is likely to express. It is true that pedigree dogs are more prone to various genetic disorders, but some crosses are very prone to them too, and you are likelier to find a breeder of pedigrees who has had the relevant testing done. I have nothing at all against crosses or mongrels - I own one - but there are a reasons why pedigree dogs exist.

And I meant to say to OP that it might be worth contacting breeders and the owners of stud dogs on Champdogs. Breeders will have plans for the next year or so, and most stud dog owners will know a fair few breeders.

Also some of the spaniel rescues foster their dogs in people's homes so have a much better idea of their temperaments and are therefore more willing to rehome with families.