How much was a puppy pre-lockdown? Will the inflated prices ever reverse?

[thelastallosaurus]

I am wondering what people paid before March 2020 for a labrador puppy?

I'm looking to buy a black labrador from strong working lines and am being quoted prices about £2500+. I was under the impression that even champion line pups didn't sell for more than £1000 or so? I bought a springer puppy 15 years ago for £350!

Do you think the prices will ever go down? Should I wait (am keen to not be dogless for too long). While breeders could drop their prices again I am wondering if they will now all stick at something above £1000 as 'everyone elses charges that now,' so even if the demand drops the average price of a puppy remains inflated due to a lack of competition from other breeders. Responsible ones arguably should drop prices back to pre pandemic as the high prices would encourage those who want to profit rather than create stable dogs surely?

Also I keep reading that the UK has had a puppy supply shortage for some time hence the years long waiting lists, is this true or nonsense? I was hoping to get a decent pick of the litter as I intend to work my dog. Again surely the popularity of certain breeds waxes and wanes and it can't possibly be the case that before covid people were snapping up pug's say because it is the only dog left on the shelf and/or buying in from Romania?

Finally if anybody knows of any working lab breeders with some champion blood in them that I could go on the waiting list for that aren't charging pandemic prices that would be also helpful as there do not seem to be any locally to me (but maybe the high price is normal and reasonable? I don't know!)

It's all about greed and it's obvious that some on here wouldn't think twice about paying 2 grand for a mongrel breeders are laughing at you!

@GreekOddess
How its meant to work, is that when you're paying a reasonable about from a trusted breeder, you're paying for the knowledge, experience, in my case 30 year history of ensuring the lineage of the breed was only of the highest standards and all known health issues had been bred out, with strict control ensuring none were accidentally allowed back in. also paying for lifetime support from the breeder if you need any advice, and that they would always be the first to take the dog back if you ever need help or no longer look after it.

Good article on this from the BBC last month. I think they will drop a bit but not got back to pre pandemic prices.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-54115646

How its meant to work, is that when you're paying a reasonable about from a trusted breeder, you're paying for the knowledge, experience, in my case 30 year history of ensuring the lineage of the breed was only of the highest standards and all known health issues had been bred out, with strict control ensuring none were accidentally allowed back in. also paying for lifetime support from the breeder if you need any advice, and that they would always be the first to take the dog back if you ever need help or no longer look after it.

Totally agree this is what a proper, decent breeder represents, could cry at the people falling for the £2k cavapooshitlabradoodle line.

Cocker spaniel, paid £950 2 years ago and the same breeder is now asking £1500. I guess like with anything to supply and demand. If you let them go too cheap the breeder is also in danger of attracting buyers who might use them for breeding or sell them on at a profit as well.

I’ve only ever paid between £150 and £300 for working dogs (collie, kelpie etc) and paid £350 for my cocker x poodle back in 2013.
Prices have gone a bit mad. I wouldn’t mind so much if prices increased a little and it was down to associated costs of more rigorous health testing etc, and certainly there’s times I’ve thought that an actual life being purchased for £50/£100 is far too little, but sadly the massively inflated costs now are just down to greed.

Prices were nuts last year, my puppy cost me over £1500. Infact all puppies for sale either mixed breeds were in the region of £900 and £3000 back then so i can only imagine it now

Why not get a rescue dog? I have had 5 collie rescues, rejected working dogs from farms, in my life but the last one developed a congenital disease that slowly over two years deprived him of quality of life and I was heartbroken to have to make the decision to euthanise him at 13. Of course for farmers a health problem that occurs after their working life ends isn’t as much of an issue.

I couldn’t cope with the heartbreak of watching my dog go blind and lose the use of his back legs again. So I sought out a breeder who used fully health tested parents and was not breeding show lines, actually crossing show and working lines, and travelled across the country after I came up on her waiting list. My first pedigree, a gorgeous tri, he was £700 three years ago, roughly twice the price of an unregistered collie.

I have to say that the Kennel Club puppy programme the breeder followed really showed in his underlying confidence, and he is much chunkier and less prone to muscular problems than collies off a Yorkshire farm (who tend to be big dogs) . I did think I would get the best of both worlds but he is a driven diva so perhaps not.

I find the current market petrifying, there are so many puppies about with owners who clearly don’t have a clue, and tragic stories of dogs bought without seeing the parents who are broken from the start.

Either rescue and be prepared for the potential challenges (and rewards) or do your homework and find the right breeder who is committed to breeding healthy happy dogs.

Currently in my area there’s a 14 week old GSD, a 11 month old Frenchie and an 8 month old husky, all lockdown dogs that are up for sale.

They won’t give them to a rescue to be properly rehomed, because they all want their money back. Awful people.

Honestly I would wait until next year. It's a really bad time to be buying puppies. Many vets are closing, many unable to provide routine healthcare. Wales are back to emergencies only, awaiting rcvs advice for Scotland since the new tier system came in to see what we are allowed to do.
Our practice is currently receiving around 50 new client requests a week, none of whom we can take on as we're too busy with existing clients due to extended appointments to allow for extra cleaning, phone chats with clients after examinations etc. Nurses are having to hold every patient as clients not allowed in consulting room so very little time for ops. Practices having to close regularly due to test and trace.
All other local practices are the same, not enough staff or hours in the day and refusing new patients.
Something to think about.

A family friend has recently adopted a fabulous black working lab from the Guide Dogs. She's a delightful dog, but wasn't quite suitable as an assistance dog. She's the perfect family pet and they didn't have to line the pockets of a greedy breeder to get her.

OP we are in exactly the same situation. We lost our lovely black lab last November and I started looking at adverts for pups in February, prices were £900-1200 (London). Lockdown happened and prices are now consistently £2500-3000. Most of them aren't health checked. I don't mind a non-KC dog but I don't want an animal that will have constant pain in its joints. I've contacted a local breeder and will wait until she has a pup available as she has not hiked her prices and has a lot of integrity about where her pups go.

If you look under each breed on Champdogs, across the bottom of the breed pages they have a list of the average price for that breed from 2000 to 2019.

The page for Labs is here, with the average price for a Lab last year being £938. Not sure how accurate it is. It will be very interesting to see what the average for 2020 for each breed is listed as.

Let things from Brexit settle and you may find prices drop - if there are going to be food shortages for human there will be shortages for animals too.

My cousin got s lovely 2 year old black lab male in March from Labrador rescue.
Was about £200 donation fee

My sister has just got a gorgeous Westie puppy. She paid £3000 😱

Sorry, meant to say that was from a reputable breeder and all health checks and vacs done. She visited the puppy several times and met the mum.

My champion line working lab puppy (A1 health tests and lots of FTCh through the generations, inc his father) was £1200 in December 2019.

I don’t think the breeder has changed her prices. She doesn't sell via gumtree or FB. She has waiting lists going into 2023.

Sadly, these price increases are only going to make the problem of dog theft even worse than it already is.

Please don't buy puppies like this when there are so many rescue dogs.

Prelockdown
£1200 for our standard goldendoodle
£75 for our rescue mongrel

I paid £750 for my show cocker from a breeder 5 years ago. I met the mum and visited him several times. Maybe borderline backyard breeder but not a puppy farm. The breeder were farmers and quite fussy about where the puppies went.

I was turned down by the local rescues.

My boy lives a pampered life!

@pineapplepalmtree

our breeder hasnt put prices up at all, but she isn't breeding to try and make money and is one if the good ones. I'd stay away from any who did whack prices up now as they're clearly in it for the wrong reasons.

I'm not sure that's right either. I read an account by a breeder the other day who has put her prices up to stop people buying them cheap & selling them to the highest bidder.

I don't know what the answer us, but it's all a very sad state of affairs. 🐶 😢

@MJMG2015
if its a good breeder, they will have been in contact with the buyers for maybe 6 months plus, having had them on the waiting list for the planned litter. met them multiple times etc and be confident in the home they're going to, so the price shouldn't be an issue.

Someone on a Facebook group I'm on was selling Cockapoos but not advertising the price. It was all "I'll inbox you hun"

A few messages down someone finally said "I asked the price, it's £2,400. For a mongrel"

The seller started getting really shitty then and saying they were pedigree etc etc. However they were being evasive when asked for any kind of proof of pedigree or parentage.

It's just wrong.