How much should a puppy cost?

[pinkpip100]

Hi, we have been thinking about getting a puppy for a long time but finally decided to go for it so I have been researching online. Breeds we have been considering are miniature labradoodles, cockapoo/cavapoo, miniature schnauzer and a few others. At the moment, everywhere I look they are around £2000-3000! This is a lot more than I was expecting. Are these 'normal' prices or is there a lockdown puppy boom that has pushed prices so high? I'm just trying to get a handle on whether this is reasonable- if so we need to save for a lot longer! Also any comments or recommendations on breeds would be much appreciated.

The prices have gone up massively because greedy individuals are trying to profit from the current situation. It’s very much supply and demand. I wouldn’t buy a puppy for 2-3k.

Its a lockdown boom so many of those puppies will be available at a rescue centre in next few months. Many popular crossbreeds are sold for more than its pedigree breeds and its more difficult to find the good breeders that do all the genetic health testing etc without the KC framework and breed clubs.

There’ll be loads of furlough puppies available soon. Hang fire.

Thanks for your replies - just a couple of questions then... roughly how much would a 'normal' puppy price be? And is there a pedigree breed that would meet our requirements: small to medium sized, very good with children (4 dcs, youngest is 6 and has additional needs, possibly more like having a toddler around from the dog's point of view!), low shedding, won't terrify our 2 cats, easy going and not too hard to train? I seem to be going round in circles with which breed is right for us. I would like to find a good breeder and happy to go on to their list and wait as long as necessary - but I really want to get the breed 'right'.

I'll be fostering a 'lockdown puppy' who no longer fits in their life from this week.

You'll have this dog for the next 15 years, so wait till next year when prices have settled down and you have plenty of time to find a decent breeder

Go to the nearest shelter and rescue a dog if you want one so badly.

I can 99% guarantee the dog you buy will be from a puppy farm.

And also, consider how you're going to look after the dog when life goes back to normal, you return to work, you want to go on holiday etc.

I have a rescue lurcher - she is the sweetest temperament you could ever find. Wonderful dog. Would never buy from a puppy farm/breeder when there are so many great dogs out there waiting for a home

The price of puppies is a function of supply & demand.

Puppies are a very scarce commodity at the moment, with demand for ‘fashionable’ breeds & crosses greatly exceeding supply, therefore breeders can charge what the market will bear. Business is business.

If people are stupid enough to pay £3k for a puppy, rather than pay a nominal sum to re-home a dog, more fool them...

Thanks again for replies. @FlubberWorm
I will definitely look at a Brittany - an hours walking each day isn't a problem at all.
@00100001 I have to confess to being very wary of getting a rescue dog because I feel that with 4 children (and especially one with additional needs) we really need a puppy who is used to us from very early on. Our cats are rescue cats and they were very very nervous at first, and even now steer well clear of our youngest dd, not because she would ever hurt them but because she can be quite loud!
We aren't 'desperate' and it's definitely not a lockdown thing, we have been talking about it for a year or more, but just felt that dd2 was too little before now.

Poodle crossbreeds are hated on MN, so bare that in mind with your responses!

We got a cockapoo 3 years ago and we paid £950 for her. Both parents were health tested. There is a cockapoo club of GB that will tell you the various health tests needed depending on which mix of parents are used. I imagine there are similar sites for other poodle crossbreeds, or pure breeds.

Puppy prices have skyrocketed because ‘everyone is at home more now’. We really struggled to find a breeder with available puppies, we had been planning to get a second dog at this point long before coronavirus kicked off. Those that have put their prices up due to the current situation would be the bottom of my list for breeders. They clearly don’t care where their puppies are going. Unfortunately, people are desperate to have a dog at this moment and willing to pay those prices.

I wouldn’t pay more than £500 unless I wanted a pure bred kennel club registered dog that I could show or breed from to breed standard.

Like a PP said, give it a bit of time and there will be puppies everywhere where people are giving them up “because they work and don’t have time”

I think 1200 - 1500.- would be a fair amount for a well bread puppy. That includes all health tests for dam and sire as well as looking after their welfare. All the puppy raising with household noises, lots of handling, early toilettraining, ... extensive puppy packs with food and paperwork (incl. Sales Contract, how to care for puppy,...) and ongoing support if needed.

This is to name a few key aspects of buying a puppy that so often is not included in the price.

We collected our mini labradoodle in December and paid £700 for her. She categorically wasn’t from a puppy farm, we live in a rural community and she came from a nearby farm (arable not puppy!) where we know the owners of the poodle mum and grandma. I wouldn’t pay more than that region.

Puppies are also available in rescue centres, not just adult dogs. They will be health checked , flea'd and wormed, vaccinated if old enough and you will be giving an unwanted dog a loving home.

Just because you buy a pedigree dog that is "supposed" to have a certain personality doesn't mean the pup you get actually will.

I understand wanting a puppy around children, but consider a rescue too. Also, Staffordshire bull terriers are great family dogs. They are small/medium sized and font need too much exercising.

We were planning on getting our second before lockdown started. Now I am planning on refining one of the poor dogs that will in curable end up being rehomed after this is over.

RSPCA rehoming centres charge around £200 I think for a puppy

FlubberWorm snap!
OP when I last bought a puppy, it was £550 but that's some years ago now.
I wouldn't ever pay thousands though - I really don't think that's proportional, and more sign of a puppy mill churning out 'designer' cross breeds for a fast buck.

I was being cynical about puppy prices shooting up and presuming it was due to greed, but then I wondered if actually breeders are deliberately doing it to price out those who are only buying a puppy on a whim? To protect them?

My working cocker spaniel was bargain at £350, not kc registered. She was 16weeks, someone got her at 8 weeks and decided 8 weeks later puppies are to hard work. That was 8 years ago and she is so faithful.

Take time but you may find some puppies come up that people are getting rid of because they didn't realise the work. I n normal times would suggest going to local dog show (fun one) or agricultural show and ask owners their experience, dog owners are friendly bunch and love to talk about their dogs

Our purebred Cocker was £850 just before lockdown (a litter we had waited for and we paid a deposit for him, wasn't a knee jerk purchase!)

We paid £750 for our Labrador 4 years ago. I noticed that you mentioned one of your DC having additional needs, OP - so I thought I’d just mention our dog. DS1 has complex special needs and our Labrador girl is absolutely brilliant with him. He can be in full-on autistic meltdown and she’ll go into his room and lie down with him and help the meltdown to reduce in record time. She’s amazing. She’s also made lockdown pass much more easily - having a great big smelly lump to cuddle whenever any of us is feeling fed up is a godsend!