The price of puppies

[Got99ProblemsBut]

Or dogs in general at the moment?

I can totally see how/why it’s spiked due to lockdown, but it’s still feels incredibly ridiculous. Do you think it will lower again after the pandemic?

I would love to adopt but already have a dog, cats, and children under 10 so there’s never any lovely rescue dogs suitable for us as they tend to need quieter homes Although I still keep an eye out!

I’m just browsing and waiting, thinking that some people might not be able to handle their lockdown dogs and those might need a forever home. Or they’ll hit the awkward 6m-1yr stage that people tend to change their minds at

Just to add I’m not getting a “lockdown puppy/dog” because I have new found free time or anything as I was home 24/7 before all this started, just want a companion for my dog and have a very dog-loving/focused family

YABU - The price of dogs today is appropriate

YANBU - Thousands of pounds for a dog that cost £350 before lockdown is a huge increase

YANBU. We had always planned to get a puppy next year. The breed we want is £1000-2000 more expensive than before lockdown! It's so frustrating.

We’re having our new puppy come to live with us tomorrow. £350, and utterly gorgeous. Barking Mad Dog Rescue. We have two children and other dogs too. We can’t wait!

I know what you mean, our wonderful dog died in April and I keep looking for a puppy but the prices are ridiculous, we are saving for a car so a dog will have to wait by the looks of it .

What kind of puppy was only £350 before lockdown , aside from a rescue I’ve not seen a puppy that cheap for ages .

It’s shit but supply and demand and all that.

Bide your time OP. once this shitshow has settled down and people accept they actually have to go into work everyday the market will be flooded with poorly bred, poorly trained, poorly socialise adolescent dogs for “free to a good home”. The prices of decently bred pups will come back down and stabilise.

What kind of puppy was only £350 before lockdown , aside from a rescue I’ve not seen a puppy that cheap for ages

Good ol’ mixed breeds although certainly when I was looking back then a lot of dogs were still expensive. Or ones like British/French bulldogs were way in the thousands still

But now there are adverts for common mixed breeds, say a Spaniel mixed with something that was maybe about £500-600 going for 2-3k

Twotoesmo That’s amazing congrats!

Depends on circumstances. We have a lockdown puppy (£900, not a fashionable breed, rural Aberdeenshire farm). We’ve previously owned a dog (rescue, adopted when our circumstances were more dog-friendly). DH worked from home 60% of the time pre-lockdown, and I used to wfh 20% of the time. DM isn’t far away, doesn’t work and loves dogs. The only thing stopping us from getting a puppy before lockdown was the actual puppy days - basically the first year when you can’t leave them for long. DH would have been home a lot anyway, but we didn’t think it was fair to a tiny puppy.

Now, neither of us will be back in the office until Feb/March at the earliest, by which time puppy will be 7/8 months. Even then, it is highly likely that DH will barely go in, and I’m likely to be in the office no more than 2 days a week. If that. DM will help out if needed, and so would DSis or our neighbour.

I don’t know how typical we are, but not everyone getting a puppy will be doing it with no thought for the future!

It’s mental isn’t it! We got our jack russel pup 18 months ago for £250 and now they’re like £1000+ on the websites I’ve looked at anyway!

We paid £850 for our collie puppy in May. She’s worth every penny, but I was shocked at how expensive puppies are now. Many were far more than her!

Our old much loved collie, who we sadly lost the previous May cost £120 ( both farm collies). Though that was more than 15 years ago and I suppose times change.

My dog breed was £300 before lockdown. Now about 1.5k - 3k. I want another but can't afford it and will not pay that for a poor man's race horse.

I'd be hoping for an actual race horse at that price.

YANBU, I'm baffled by the price of pedigree puppies. But they are worth what people are willing to pay I suppose.

I've thought about this a lot recently (we got a pup a week ago) and actually I think maybe puppies SHOULD be expensive. They will be with us for 10 years plus and be part of the family, and it being an expensive choice discourages morons from getting one on a whim.

That being said it's an industry that needs better regulating. There should be good money in it for proper, licenced breeders who aren't churning out litter after litter and then discarded.

**discarding the bitches

I tend to agree with @DotTheCaddy
It's very expensive to feed and care for dogs properly, and people should be more aware of that up front, and be able to afford it before they commit to getting one.

People selling at the moment are generally backyard breeders looking to make a quick buck from their pets or commercial breeders AKA puppy farmers.
Many decent breeders aren’t breeding as they can’t do necessary specialist tests, homecheck potential owners etc.

It is a real shame for dedicated, committed dog owners like yourself, but I think as PP said it could be the case that puppies previously weren't expensive enough and there should be a barrier to ownership.

It's disgraceful but people are paying it. We are going to see the return of puppy farms in every village at this rate.

I think prices previously were too cheap but now they’re nuts. I’d be happier with something in between. We picked up our cocker spaniel pup early August and paid £2k for him. He’s a kc reg pedigree from award winning parents with the best temperament ever. Worth every penny. He would have been £1500 pre lock down and the timing was ideal for us plus we know the breeder and have done for 15 years.

It makes me sad, because it's yet another thing 'only' for the rich.

Dogs are fabulous companions, and we've always had one. Now only the wealthy can afford to buy a dog and pay the vets bills. They've become another luxury item that many ordinary families can't afford.

I feel your pain.

I’m trying to buy a pony and looking at about £6k for a pony that would have been under £2k this time last year 😕
Madness, but we’ve never needed the dogs and horses more.

Got our dog nearly a year ago. She was £1800 and that felt like a lot. Now her breed are going for £3000.

If we had known the pandemic was round the corner We might have waited. Its been really tough training her. Not being able to socialise her with other pups and puppy training classes being cancelled.

I definitely thought maybe it’s a good thing they’re more expensive to help make sure people could afford them.. but I do think it’s too extreme.

There’s definitely pound signs flashing in backyard breeders eyes 😩

Pedigrees from registered breeders going for thousands made sense and I believe all dogs are worth that much

But because any kind of mix is now worth so much, everyone’s going to “give it a go” potentially

Such a tough one!