Cost of puppy

[Durdledore]

Hi there,

We have been actively thinking about getting a dog for over two years now. We would love to get one now as the time feels right. We would like a puppy rather than an adult dog but we can’t afford the huge outlay of what we are finding online - £2000 ish even for a mixed breed.

Can anyone advise? We are looking at local rescues too of course.

Golden retrievers were a crossbreed

Yes, and a surprisingly recent one, really.

A stable 'breed' of cockapoo would probably make an ideal family dog, honestly. Our straight cocker is noticeably harder work than the couple of cockapoos in her training classes as she's that much less people-focused and more led astray by her nose. (But she's very beautiful, and brilliant at scent work.)

Our lives look very different to when most current pedigree breeds came into being, nothing wrong in breeding new types that will thrive in our crazy human world. Just make sure they are healthy and we don't make the same monstrosities we are dooming to a life of breathing difficulties, pain and reactivity we seem to be turning out now.

100%. There's nothing (imo) wrong with an ethically bred crossbreed - the issue is that the majority just don't fall into that category.

I'm currently house-sitting for a cockerpoo and honestly, he's the ideal family dog. He doesn't shed, he can be left alone quite happily, he's great with children and people of all ages, he's good with other dogs, he could live with cats. He's not destructive or aggressive and he doesn't need a ton of exercise.

I totally get why people see dogs like him and think "a cockerpoo would be perfect for us". But unfortunately there are other cockerpoos who are just the total opposite and at the moment, it's very much potluck whether you'll get A or B, sadly.

I am aware all breeds were "created" at some point but for a purpose not so people could come up with silly names and sell them at vastly increased prices.

Gundogs did not exist before guns were invented, but similar hunting dogs did which would drive game to be killed by other methods. Now they are recognised gundog breeds, but I would pretty much say they have changed how they looked before guns were invented, that may be a case of crossing them with other dogs to increase scenting ability, or make them smaller, taller, heavier, lighter weighted etc. This was done so they can work.

It’s not pot luck it’s breeding. A trainer friend has just bought a ‘designer’ cross. She’s come from health tested parents who were carefully selected to compliment each other. She has been socialised by the breeder and all pups are doing well. She has had the crosses from rescues and loves them but wanted a better chance of a stable dog this time.

I know a few designer crosses like this and all have been well bred. Unfortunately it’s not the norm.

I'm on quite a few FB doodle groups and I can honestly say I rarely see a post about behavioural issues etc, bar the general puppy chewing stuff/people. A few posts about pulling, but that's it really.

I've no doubt that plenty of these dogs were bought from less than desirable breeders (obviously as I've previously stated, I don't agree with this at all) but they seem to turn into pretty decent dogs.

I do think on the whole they make wonderful family dogs and it's such a shame they constantly get bashed for being designer dogs with silly names. They're so much more than that.

I am a dog lover as hopefully is clear from my posts. I am sure all of you who have doodles or poos or some other cross breed are happy with your dogs but I feel there are just under 225 breeds of dogs registered in the UK, surely one of them must be suitable for people rather than crossing breeds?

It's pot luck in the sense that there's currently no official way of testing or registering any of these poo/doodle mixes.

Yes, you can breed a litter of F1 cockerpoos from KC registered and tested parents, but as cockerpoos themselves aren't a recognised breed, there's no register that exists for them. So if you want to breed two cockerpoos together (and so on, to create a type) the waters start to become really murky.

The KC has its' faults, and I'm certainly not saying they're perfect, but at least with a KC registered litter, you can go online and see your dogs' parents and grandparents and lineage, and all their health tests etc. That doesn't exist for cockerpoos so it's a huge minefield and very much built on trust and "because I said so".

I mean, I guess it depends on how you define "decent dogs" lol.

I walk three of them on a regular basis and there's absolutely no consistency between them - both in terms of looks and temperament. One is, as I said above, pretty much the ideal dog, but the others both have behavioural and health issues and are pretty high maintenance in a lot of ways. All cockerpoos, all "the same mix" but you'd never know it to look at them in a line-up - and that's part of the problem.

I mean, what's even meant by cockerpoo? Are we talking about working cockers or show cockers? Mixed with what size of poodle? There's just so much inconsistency that it's not really possible to say that "cockerpoos are great pets" imo.

I have nothing against a well-bred cocker/poodle mix, but I'm yet to see what they offer that a poodle or a show cocker doesn't, it has to be said.

The rescue centre we've got both our dogs from has a litter just now - the adoption fee is about £200. They had a litter last month too. Keep your eye out, and if you are happy or able to travel then I'm sure you could get a puppy that way.

Cockapoos aren't a mix I'd go for myself either, as I think I said earlier. Oddly, as I realise they're probably the most common, they're not a mix I encounter much on my walks. There is one actually, which looks pretty much like a pure cocker and runs rings round the older lady who owns it, but it's only 6 months old. I did cringe a bit about her choice 🙈

Retriever/poodle mixes I have mainly on my groups and they all seem to be pretty much problem free dogs after the puppy stage. Size can be an issue ie a 'mini' ends up to be not so, but nobody seems to mind, bar one poster I remember a few years back who asked if they could sue the breeder for the extra costs involved with raising a larger dog... but that's FB for you 😂 It's also quite telling that many go on to have a second and more of those mixes.

In my area the smaller poodle crosses are most common, mixed with ckc, bichon, shih-tzu, Maltese. Some are yappy, but I think that's often common with mini poodles and those breeds, apart from the ckc anyway, but otherwise they're sweet, friendly little things.

My dog, GR/lab/poodle, is exactly as you describe the dog you're sitting for, as are the rest of her 8 littermates. They do vary a bit in coat type/colour among her litter but their temperaments are pretty similar, which is the main thing.

I was open to ANY breed or cross breed when I was researching dogs for over 2 years. I wanted to wait till my children were of a certain age so it afforded me the time to be choosy!

For me it's always temperament first and foremost. There are many stunning breeds I admire from afar but I know they wouldn't be right for my family. Health too was massively important, then looks.

My dream dog was a GR but with less shedding. The cancers that are prevalent in the breed also worried me. Poodles I like but can sometimes be stubborn and they are possibly too intelligent for me! However, I was fully aware I could end up with a dog that was more poodle or more GR, shed more than I'd like (although her sire has coat type DNA testing) and that crossing a GR doesn't mean the cancer risk disappears. I was fine with this as hadn't found any other breed that fitted better.

Perhaps I've been lucky or all the work I did checking out individual litters paid off as I really have ended up ticking all my boxes. She creates a lot of attention when we're out (not why I wanted a "designer" dog and actually it does get a bit tiresome!) with people telling me how beautiful and unique she is, so it certainly isn't that I've ended up with some frankenstein undesirable looking dog that was a pointless cross.

£2000 is the upper price I would pay but it depends on the breed type and breeder reputation. Good luck

I spend nearly £500 on my dog each month. Be really realistic about ongoing costs. That does include £230 on walkers and dog carers but these are essential if you work outside the home or ever go on holiday or away for the weekend without your dog (and don’t have family who can look after them). Insurance £70 a month (don’t bother with low value cover, you’ll hit the limits quickly), food, £40, routine wormers and tick treatments and annual health check -£25 per month.

You may well get a working dog for less than £1.5 k but …. Do you actually want a dog that needs a job?! Proper breeders will spend quite a lot on raising a litter properly, including on foregone income from other work, vet bills, imaging, routine health screening, KC registration fees etc.

My dog is insured and he’s insured well. Still costs me a fortune though as he’s on expensive diabetes meds and is over 8. I have to pay 20% contribution due to his age. Plus when you claim, the policy cost goes up a LOT, I was paying £42 per month last year, now I’m paying £88 per month. Plus, his diabetic food isn’t covered. Insurance doesn’t equal a cheap pet unfortunately.

I paid £850 for a miniature poodle. I went to Stoke to get her.

found her on pets4homes. I know that site is frowned upon here but it worked for us.

We sold our pedigree, KC, vet checked and insured puppies for £1300 and that was lower than the "going rate" I think you're looking at the average cost. However nearly four year's ago we brought exactly the same breed for £800. Just seems since COVID the prices have gone up massively.

But also factored in monthly costs, I spend a base rate of £200 a month but it can be more than that. Recently I've had to spend around £100 on vet checks and pain medication for a ligament damage.

Do consider a rescue - there are countless pups looking for a good home. Google the bred you want and they will have a proper rescue. A pup at aa couple of years older or more would make a lovely pet.

£2000 is the silly price people are paying for ‘designer dogs’ and doodles. It’s perfectly possible to get a well bred pedigree dog for less than that. What breed are you looking for? We’ve just paid £1400 for a KC registered poodle.

£2k is cracker but - I know three different people in the last couple of years who have got doodle puppies for under £800.

Not all deliberate crosses sell for silly money. There are over 15 pages of cockerpoo pups for sale now for less than £800 on Pets4homes for example. (OMG I hope they all get homes 😭)

That's nationwide of course - but if you want the right dog you go the distance to get him/her. My dog was a 2-3hr drive away from me. The people above went a distance to get theirs too.

That being said I completely agree re pedigree dogs who are often overlooked. Poodles are fantastic "teddy bear" type dogs, well suited to domestic environments if only people would give them a chance. They don't have to look like this 🐩 if you don't want to!

Exactly! The amount of people who think my poodle puppy is a cocker / cava poo is insane. People seem to think they are born with shaved faces.

I guess it depends on the area for prices but in my area doodles were selling for more than I paid for a pure KC reg poodle from health tested parents. We did travel just under 2 hours for her however but we are very rural so that’s normal for us.

Photo to show how poodles can also look. Yes that’s a cat tree and no she doesn’t care one bit that she’s not a cat.

I’ve just put a deposit down on a puppy who is costing £1800 but for that I have been thoroughly vetted by the breeder. Both parents have had every health test available, both have 5 generation KC pedigrees including a Crufts champion (not that I’m bothered). If anything happens I have to contact the breeder first and she will take the dog back. The Mum has only had 2 litters and this is her last one, the breeder had put a restriction on my girl that she cannot be bred from without her permission (not that I intend to breed from her. She will have had her 1st vaccinations, be microchipped and wormed.

Im happy with this breeder, I rejected about 10 before her including ones who never bothered getting health tests, told me I could come chose a pup that weekend, had no available pups from this litter but were planning litters in Oct and Jan (hopefully not from the same bitch). Hadn’t paid for KC reg as it was too much!!