To think the rise in dog prices is doing more harm than good?

[Godimabitch]

So dogs and puppies have shot up in price, most people on the internet know this, ours was 350 when we got her 6 years ago, you'd be paying 2k now and she's not a rare or particularly popular breed.

At first I thought, well great, people will have to think more before buying one.

But, having less income doesn't make you a worse dog owner. It's essentially priced lower earners out of the market. Yes, you can adopt, but not everyone can, for various reasons.

But, dog theft has shot up in my area, people having their dogs nicked off them while walking, being attacked for their dogs. It's really a serious issue, there's always been theft but not at this level. Surely it's down to 1) they're worth more. 2) people are more eager to buy a cheaper dog because they're so expensive. And 3) people may not be aware of the price of dogs now, if you offered me one of my breed for 400 I'd think, yeah reasonable price, whereas that's like offering a dog for 50 quid back when I last bought one. Which would have triggered alarm bells.

And, there's still loads of puppies being bred, and probably from shittier people and dogs because it's worth so much money, it still costs the same amount to produce a litter, but they're worth more. And they're more likely to go to breeders than families because they produce more money and less families can afford them.

Dog theft is a huge issue in my area too at the moment and the price increases have definitely contributed

Pisses me right off when I read on here about randoms wanting to breed from their dogs - the only reason for it is money even though they argue it's not. What else would it be?

Dog thefts definitely seems to be on the increase in my area, and the thiefs are being a lot more brazen, targetting people during the day etc.

I think it's a shame so many rescues have such stringent criteria as it leads to people feeling like they have no choice to get a puppy, which is more often than not from a dogdy background.

I think there needs to be a massive clamp down on animal welfare in general. I thought all dogs had to be microchipped now so surely stolen/lost dogs wont stay that way for long. I have noticed a lot of slightly older puppy's being sold now people are back at work and it pisses me off any animal is for life not just because your bored.

@Iwantacookie

I think there needs to be a massive clamp down on animal welfare in general. I thought all dogs had to be microchipped now so surely stolen/lost dogs wont stay that way for long. I have noticed a lot of slightly older puppy's being sold now people are back at work and it pisses me off any animal is for life not just because your bored.

They gouge the chips out of their necks once they have stolen them

According to dogs lost 350 dogs were stolen last year , whilst this is still a lot its not the epidemic that fb will lead us to believe, especially as some of these dogs were just lost, and many are stolen at once (ie litter of pups)

Op yanbu.

We've just bought a puppy. His grandmother was litter mate to our old dog who we lost suddenly back in August. When we bought our old dog he was £750 and people thought we were mad then, but it's a particularly good quality breeder. Similar puppies from bybs were £300-400 on preloved. 10 years later we paid £1400 from the same breeder, but similar puppies are going for £2500 on Preloved. Breeder explained that she has had to put her prices up to stop people buying her dogs, keeping them for a week and then selling them on for profit.

It's a crazy fucking world.

I think it’s made things worse but for different reason. Dog thefts. So many dogs in our area being stolen and it’s to then sell on at these inflated prices.

Some price increase is to be expected. But not to this level. I say “some” price increase. I bought my dog 12 years ago. He was £750. Subsequent to this, the breeder has won various awards and I’m on a waiting list (will be 18 months at least) until I’ll have a puppy from this breeder. Her prices have gone up prior to covid due to her line being more valuable with the awards. Then there’s added costs. My next puppy will be 1200 and she told me when I joined the waiting list. Parents are also dna tested for genetic issues (as were heir grandparents), they’re vaccinated and chipped, KC registered, insured and will have had a puppy groom for this price. I’m not happy but I’m ok with that.

No way I’d pay much more than that and id be wondering about a breeder selling at those inflated prices without something making those puppies spectacular.

YANBU. It's actually near on impossible adopting a dog at the moment. There's hardly any on Battersea etc, either theyre being snapped up, there's no strays etc (doubt it), they're being culled or being fostered.

There definitely needs to be more regulation around animal breeding. I hope there's not a massive influx of pets to the sanctuaries once this is all over.

We are about to get our first puppy, found a breeder last May whose prices have gone up from £1800 to £2000. The breed we want are going for £3.5k upwards on other sites since the pandemic!

I’m in 2 minds, I think the price is definitely driving puppy thefts but at the same time there are so many people buying puppies on a whim because they’re bored at home. Unfortunately if prices were £350 or I would worry they were going to people who could not afford them. As you know dogs are expensive with insurance, vet bills, toys and I don’t think having a higher upfront cost is a bad thing if it means they are going to homes who can afford to care for them. I come across people with dogs at work where they can’t afford food or heating for themselves so how can they afford to keep 3 dogs, I’ve had to call the RSPCA for their welfare previously because they’ve been kept in horrible condition. Same with cats.

Yeah,a lot of dog theft going on. Thieves cut the microchips out of the poor things necks.

Pedigree cats being stolen too.

Awful.

Lots of dogs are being stolen as bait dogs too and microchips are useless imo. Owning a pet needs to be regulated, breeding any kind of animal needs to be regulated, dog theft needs to incur massive fines, many more police on the streets to stop thefts in the first place. All this needs funding so it won't be happening any time soon.

@Iwantacookie

I think there needs to be a massive clamp down on animal welfare in general. I thought all dogs had to be microchipped now so surely stolen/lost dogs wont stay that way for long. I have noticed a lot of slightly older puppy's being sold now people are back at work and it pisses me off any animal is for life not just because your bored.

The chip's only good if the dog is found again and brought somewhere to be scanned.

The reports of dogs being stolen is worrying. There was a case near us recently, and another which sounds like it was an attempt. The second was a dog the same breed as ours, a Lab. I don't remember feeling wary when walking my dog before, I do now.

Lots of decent owners are being priced out of the market, while any eejit with enough cash can come along and put down a crazy amount for a dog. The shelters will be overrun before too long.

YANBU

It's causing a massive surge in people who have no place breeding their dogs breeding them. They are not health tested, and often the puppies are not raised correctly. And then you add people buying puppies on impulse, not considering the 10+ year commitment that they are.
The rescue centres will be inundated with dogs in the years to come, but as long as there's demand people will keep breeding.

Oh and add to that the increase in dog thefts because of the value of them increasing. I'm on edge if I come across a dodgy looking character on walks now.

YANBU

The huge hike in prices just seems to be encouraging irresponsible breeding as well as thefts.

We bought our dog 2 years ago and she was £750. They’re priced at £2-2.5k now

Before she was spayed, I had so many people ask me if I want to breed her with their dogs - absolutely not! At £2k per puppy, I can see why people do it to be honest.

Not being able to afford huge amounts to buy a dog, doesn’t mean people can’t afford to look after them. I couldn’t afford £2.5k to buy one, but I can certainly afford insurance/food/training classes/vet/etc.

Not being able to afford huge amounts to buy a dog, doesn’t mean people can’t afford to look after them. I couldn’t afford £2.5k to buy one, but I can certainly afford insurance/food/training classes/vet/etc.

I 100% agree with this.

I think it's a good thing - higher prices will make people think twice. Paying thousands for a dog sounds ridiculous on the face of it, but if it means that people have to save up for a few years to get a dog then that's a good thing - better someone have to wait a while than get a dog and regret it.

Once lockdowns end prices will probably come down again, and there will be lots of unwanted dogs to be picked up from rescue centres at knockdown prices.

@AaronPurr

Not being able to afford huge amounts to buy a dog, doesn’t mean people can’t afford to look after them. I couldn’t afford £2.5k to buy one, but I can certainly afford insurance/food/training classes/vet/etc.

I 100% agree with this.

I get this, but with puppy prices the way they are is it a bad thing is potential owners have to save up? That’s what we’re doing. Putting the money insurance, vet bills and food will cost away monthly to cover the initial cost of the puppy.

I think it’s awful, I agree it is causing a surge in people breeding and often, not breeding well.

I agree that it is also pricing out lower earners who may be perfectly good dog owners.

And actually, I don’t think people will ‘wait a few years’ or ‘think about it more carefully’ they’ll just find a very cheap puppy on gumtree/Facebook/prelobed whatever.
The going rate may be £2,000+ but there are cheap puppies out there too if you look hard enough but unlikely to be ‘well bred’.
But then a lot of the expensive ones aren’t well bred either.

I think it’s disgusting all round.
It’s sent thefts rocketing.
It’s causing to people to breed badly
It’s stopping a huge percentage of perfectly good owners from having a dog

Dog breeders usually argue that they are not in it for the money, and that they only just cover their costs with the prices they charge in pre-covid times. So how can they justify charging so much now?

If the price of dogs was reasonable then there would not be an incentive for people to steal puppies to sell on.

Breeders are to blame for this.

And sorry I don't buy the well if we sell to a person for less than 3.5k then they will sell the dog on for a profit line of argument. It is the artificially high prices that leads to dogs being seen as an expensive commodity in the first place.

Most breeders don't really care where their dogs go to, if they did they wouldn't be pricing most dog lovers out of the market.

Dog theft is rife in my area. There are constant posts on local facebook groups warning people to be careful. It's happening in broad daylight. Makes me feel scared to walk my dog alone.

And sorry I don't buy the well if we sell to a person for less than 3.5k then they will sell the dog on for a profit line of argument. It is the artificially high prices that leads to dogs being seen as an expensive commodity in the first place
I disagree.
In the first lockdown I definately saw single puppies only 9 or 10 weeks being sold on for thousands.

Dog theft is huge in our area as well like many other areas at the moment. We barely go a day without a missing dog appearing on the local pages. Our council even issued a how to keep your dog safe campaign not too many weeks ago.

We have a pedigree dog ourselves who is very pretty and very friendly so does attract the attention. She is also one of the ‘wanted breeds’ that you don’t see everywhere now. We got her 7 years ago and paid £450 for her prices now start from £2500 to £4000! Ridiculous amounts that has made dog napping cases increase.

We are very observant during dog walks at the moment to make sure we are not being followed.