Breeding Your Dog: Does it Make Any Cents?

For anyone who may balk at the price of good pups nowadays, or who may think to himself, 揂t those prices I should become a breeder!?let me assure you that breeding does not make millionaires. There are a lot of bad reasons people breed their dogs, but there are only a few good ones. If you don抰 meet all three of the following conditions and you still want to breed your dog, take a long, hard look at the situation in our crowded shelters across the country before you decide to contribute to the problem.

Good reasons to breed your dog:

1. You have in your possession a five generation pedigree (at least) for your dog that contains numerous champions in conformation, obedience, and/or fieldwork. There is no evidence of in-breeding, and you have a stud in mind with a complimentary pedigree.

2. Your dog is in excellent condition and closely fits the AKC standards for the breed.

3. You possess an abundance of time, patience, and indeed, passion for dogs in general, and your breed in particular. What抯 more, you are in a financial position to cover the expenses that invariably incur with breeding dogs (see below for details).

If you抮e a dog-lover looking for a way to make a few extra bucks, do yourself a favor and open up a kennel or a high-end poodle salon. Don抰 imagine that raising pups will bring in the bucks, for the reality is the very opposite. But in case you抮e still seeing dollar signs?

This article should give you an idea of the cost involved in breeding a dog.

To begin with, there are the initial costs, like purchasing the mother. If you remember condition #1 (above), you know that you抮e going to need to be picky if you want to breed her. Plan on approximately $800. You抣l then need to have a series of tests run to make sure she meets condition #2. These tests include hip X-rays to rule out hip dysplaia, eye tests to check for cataracts, and tests for thyroid disease, in addition to any other tests recommended for the breed. These tests will cost you at least $300. Of course, you don抰 have to do these tests, but it you don抰, you have no way of guaranteeing the genetic health of your pups, which serious buyers will be expecting. Then, of course there are the dog supplies you抣l need for the first year before your gal is ready to breed (food, toys, vitamins梱ou抮e going to want to keep her healthy), but you had already planned on those, right? Tack on another $1,000.

So now we get to the fees at the time of breeding. Expect at least $400 for the stud fee, although it抯 more if you insist on a champion-quality stud. There may be travel and boarding expenses, but we抣l give you a break and pretend that dream-guy lives down the block. Once your gal is pregnant she抣l need routine vet exams to check for infections that might affect the health of the pups. If anything goes wrong you may have to pay for ultrasounds or an emergency C-section. Oh yeah, pregnant dogs eat more, and need more vitamins匴e抮e talking $500 or more, even for a healthy pregnancy.

You抣l need some special equipment for the big day: whelping box, heat pads and lamps, thermometer, scissors, towels, baby scales, tweezers, hemostats, baby suction bulb, bottles and/or tubes for feeding (just in case mom gets an infection or can抰 feed her pups), milk replacement formula, and nail clippers. But you probably have most of this stuff lying around, right? So we抣l be modest and say $100. Whew! The pups arrive and all is well. Now the money starts rolling in, right?

Wrong! You抳e only just begun. To keep those pups in tip-top shape you抣l need puppy wormer (given at 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks), diarrhea medication, wellness check-ups with the vet, vaccinations and eye certifications, extra puppy food and vitamins, and advertisement fees! Plan on $300 minimum for each pup, plus $100 to take them off your hands. Oh, and you抣l need time off work to care for mother and pups. But you had ample time, right (condition #3)?

Wow! All those expenses add up fast! For a litter of four you抣l be dishing out at least $4,400. Even if you sell your pups for $800 (that抯 average for a well-bred puppy), you抮e out $1,200. While some of these expenses are one-time, can you expect to make money down the road? After seven litters, you might. But then again, consider that annual maintenance of the mother will cost you $1,000, and you shouldn抰 breed her at intervals more frequent than two years. Maybe it抯 understandable why 75% of breeders do not attempt to breed again. The verdict is in卛f you抮e thinking of breeding for the money, you should know right now, breeding definitely does not make cents!