This is how those who take any dog or puppy to be used as a bait for dog fights have a chance to do it. I used to not understand why people were charging £200/£300 - £1000 for mutts, or accidental litter puppies.
the fact that the litter is accidental doesn’t mean that you should give the puppies away for free. Whatever amount the person who’s selling the puppies would charge - it prevents evil people from getting free/ cheap dogs/ puppies/ cats/ kittens.
Also, another thing is (whether planned or accidental litter) - the owner pays for many extra things to ensure the Dam and the puppies are healthy, etc.
I’m not even talking about the making a profit - when my dog had a litter of 2 puppies, I had to charge £300 per puppy to simply break even. So, should the person who wants a dog/ puppy not cover these costs? Usually the price of a puppy include the high quality feed for pregnant/ nursing Dam, vet fees, ultrasounds fees, any transportation fees, whelping box, wet bedding, blankets, puppy pads, puppy food, also depending on the price you’re paying it could be first dose of vaccine or both (or none if you’re paying cheaper price)…
However, the price for a puppy shouldn’t be less than £200 - £300 in the very least (!!!) because it prevents from evil people taking the puppy for some wicked and nefarious purposes. Also from people impulsively taking a puppy and then abandoning/ dropping at the shelter/ returning the puppy to you, etc…
Also, any responsible person who had a litter of puppies - planned OR accidental, should have a 7 days return policy for whatever reason (took to the vet and vet found something - so you want to return, had some unexpected changes in circumstances, or simply changed your mind) and within the 7 days you’d get a full refund. However an ACTUAL RESPONSIBLE BREEDER OR PERSON WITH THE PUPPIES will accept a puppy or dog (even if years later) either for some % of the price paid, or if the buyer’s circumstances changed and they simply need to rehome the dog - their first contact shouldn’t be reselling or giving away the dog on some sell/buy websites, but rather contact the person they purchased the puppy from. Having a litter of puppies is a responsibility for the whole life of that dog, and person who bred the puppies (planned or accidental) should be prepared for the responsibility that comes with it.
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If I had a litter of accidental puppies, since I know my friend isn’t taking a puppy for nefarious purposes - I’d only ask for my friend to cover the costs of what it cost me to bring up the puppies, divided by the number of puppies. So, I’d not charge to profit^ from my friends or family members.
(Cover the costs of bringing the puppies PLUS^ add some % of the sum to the final price of a puppy to ensure the dog actually goes into a good home where the buyers are able to support it financially)
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When I had a planned litter of 2 puppies, the first puppy was actually returned to me within a week due to the person having an allergic response and having asthma attacks.
That person was my sister and she isn’t usually allergic to dogs (not our childhood dog, nor her own dog of different breed, nor 2 of my dogs, but strangely - she was to one or both of the puppies my 2 dogs made. since we live in different cities and it was a 2 month puppy we thought it might be a good idea to find a home for the puppy in her city to spare the puppy travelling back to my city. And there was a person whom my sister knew, she was a mum of one of the boys her son was friends with. And she was really interested, and she asked how much I wanted for the puppy. Just to break even price was £300 per puppy, she said it was too much, so eventually I dropped the price to £150 all in the name of wellbeing of the puppy and sparing puppy the trip back (if anyone ever traveled with a young puppy they know how hard it is for them, because of the puppies’ underdeveloped inner ear, their balance isn’t as good as a fully grown/ developed dog) they become car sick and keep throwing up for the duration of the drive.
The mum acquaintance said that £150 is still too much, so my sister asked her if she’d be able to pay £100. She said that £100 WAS ALSO TOO EXPENSIVE. At which point I was like - WTF?! How is £100 for a puppy expensive? What kind of responsible parent are you going to be if you can’t afford to pay £100 for a dog? At this point all I could think of was if she is unable to afford £100 for a puppy, what if sometime down the road she’d have to make a decision of the dog having a lifesaving surgery for £500/ £900/ £3000 or put the dog to sleep for £50… is she going to go for the cheapest option?
‼️⚠️❗️AND THIS IS WHY
YOU MOST DEFINITELY MUST CHARGE
FOR BOTH — PLANNED
OR UNPLANNED PUPPIES ‼️‼️‼️
P.S.: also - the amount of people who responded to my ad and sent me messages asking/ begging/ demanding a free puppy, or asking to lower the price to almost free and also displayed all the signs and red flags of wanting/needing a puppy / dog for wicked and nefarious purposes… it was really scary to imagine my beautiful, kind, pure souls puppies to end up in the hands of those evil people.
Breeding puppies is a HUGE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE DURATION OF LIFE OF THOSE PUPPIES/ DOGS, it is up to the breeder to make sure those babies do NOT end up in the hands of evil people. And hence the person with the puppies will charge whatever they charge and do whatever checks they feel like necessary for the peace of their mind.
‼️⚠️TO ANYONE WHO IS CONSIDERING BREEDING PUPPIES ⚠️‼️ 👇👇👇
Prior to actually having those puppies you don’t have that super over-cautious humongous responsibility feeling, because prior to actually having those real puppies in your home (rather than hypothetical puppies and hypothesising how it’s possible to sell the puppies and make a huge profit)… that huge heavy feeling of humongous responsibility comes after the puppies are there in your house (providing the person is sane, responsible, and compassionate, I guess).
👉 You know how people say you won’t actually understand the feeling and responsibility until you actually have your own child / children? It’s pretty much like that (since I have had both child and puppies, I know what I’m talking about)
PLEASE THINK REALLY HARD BEFORE YOU DECIDE TO HAVE PUPPIES, and take into consideration that there is a plethora of material things that the Dam and the puppies will need to be brought up right and to avoid risks or puppies being born weak or sick, or Dam dying during whelping or after whelping.
For example:
Do you have the means to take the puppy/ puppies back if they don’t sell or are returned to you? What if the puppies are born with a health condition? Some breeds of dogs are more prone to not being able to whelp the puppies naturally in which case you’d have to have a c-section scheduled for your dog (£££). C-section comes with its own complications - until the Dam recovers you’d need to monitor her and the puppies (as the hormones that develop with natural whelping do not develop straight away with c-section, it can take days of weeks) and unfortunately there’s a risk that the Dam won’t see the noise making fluff balls as her cubs, but rather as prey and can cannibalise her own puppies.
Also, there’s a possibility of no milk - can you afford to 1. buy the amount of puppy colostrum (milk) and 2. be with the puppies pretty much 24/7 to feed them and rear them?
That brings me to the next point - newborn puppies don’t know how to pee or poo by themselves. I don’t mean the potty training. I mean - unlike newborn human babies who can pee and poo as soon as they feel the need, the newborn puppies CANNOT. Usually the Dam stimulates the puppies by licking their private parts - which then makes the puppies to pee and poo (if the puppies are nursed with Dam’s own milk, the urine and the poo aren’t smelly. However if you’re bottle feeding the puppies that pee/poo will be much smellier and nastier. Like to the point where the Dam may actually refuse to “clean up” the puppies’ mess. So, all that would be left on to you. So, if for example the Dam is refusing the puppies you need to stimulate puppies so they’d pee/poo - you’d need to imitate the warm tongue of the Dam by wetting a soft piece of cloth/ towel in warm water and cleaning their tiny behinds.
Also, obviously if the Dam refused the puppies - you’d need to bottle feed each puppy every 2 hours. And then stimulate them with imitating the rearing.
And, the last thing is - newborn puppies CANNOT regulate their own body temperature and can freeze to death without the mother being next to them, which means you’d need a large enough heating pad of good quality with adjustable temperature. And in case it’s not clear from all of that information - you’d very much need to be off work for this kind of commitment.
Seriously, if you’re thinking about breeding your dog - research all possible “dog pregnancy complications”, “dog whelping complications”, “full list of things needed for pregnant dog”, “full list of things needed for newborn puppies in case a dam dies” … then look up the prices and do some maths…