April's Chihuahuas

We stumbled across this partial list of earnings vs. expenses; including vet fees, experienced by a breeder and shared in answer to a curious buyer. It's worth reading. If anyone is able to find the name of the original author, please share it with me so I can give him/her proper credit on my webpage.

We even thought of a few more expenses not included on the list.

The following question & answer was copied at: http://answers.yahoo.com.*

*Grammar, punctuation, sentence structure and spelling edited for read-ability (is that even a real word?!?).

 

Question:

If a breeder does not breed for profit...then why are purebred puppies so expensive? I would think that the breeder could sell their puppies for the cost of initial care and nothing more, IF, they truly were not in it for the money. What is the $500- $1,500+ for if not profit?

 

Answer:

A responsible breeder's goal is to produce; high-quality, healthy pups, with sound physical structure and sound temperament, that meet or exceed the breed standard.

Right now I have a bitch that has had two litters (all she'll have in her lifetime). She has had a total of ten pups. Her current litter is four weeks old.

Only five pups will be sold at $1,800 each-

• Two were kept by me
• Two went to the Stud Dog owner (one per litter)
• One will be placed as a Service Dog

My Total Earnings for five pups at $1,800 = $9,000 (IF all five are adopted).

 

Now, Let's Subtract Expenses

Health clearances- 

• Hips/Elbows- $350
• Eyes- $64 (two CERF exams but some breeds may cost more depending on annual CERF requirements)
• Cardiac- $30
• Thyroid- $30

Getting to/from the Stud Dog-

• Four nights hotel- $350
• Gas- $680

Veterinary expenses related to pregnancy-

• Pre-pregnancy checkups- $100
• X-rays- $180
• Treatment for pyometra (successfully)- $650
• Antibiotics- $240 (following treatment of pyo- in order to sustain pregnancy)
• Emergency vet for stuck puppy (one litter)- $540
• Emergency C-section (one litter)- $1,100

Veterinary expenses related to pups (all ten puppies require the following)-

• Dewclaws- $7/paw x 4 x 10 = $280
• Worming- $70
• Well-puppy check-up- $30/pup x 10 = $300
• Shots- $13/pup x 10 = $130 (discounted because my vet likes me)

Food-

• Increased intake for Dam- $240 over the course of her pregnancy and raising two litters of pups ($120/litter)
• Food for pups for twelve weeks- $300

Supplies-

• Whelping Box- $100
• Ex-pens- $140
• Blankets- $40
• Towels- $40
• Potty pads- $60
• Toys- $50 (Ok, I went a little over-board but it is a necessary part of puppy socialization)

Increased utilities-

• Heat- $100 (need to keep the puppies warm, even in the summer)
• Lights- $50 (heat lamps were on 24/7 to ensure the pups kept warm) 
• Laundry- $150 (washed all the blankets and towels, over and over as needed, to keep the whelping area clean)

Incidentals-

• Gas to/from vet- $50
• Registration application fees- $180
• Advertising- $75
• DNA for Dam- $45
• Two days missed work (one litter)- $28/hr x 16 hr = $448
• Three weeks missed work (one litter in need of hand feeding every 1 to 2 hours (24/7) while bitch recovers from C-section)- $3,000

 

So, What is My Profit?

Ah-- we're at -$1,532 (yep, that's a negative) and I haven't accounted for the price of the bitch, the price of maintaining the bitch, the cost of fencing, etc and then there is the price of showing the bitch.

 

The List Goes On and On and On...

None of this includes gas and incidentals for the other two attempts with the Stud Dog that DIDN'T succeed in getting her pregnant.

At present I own one bitch of breeding age... and she's just had her last litter.

FWIW- the price of my pups has absolutely NOTHING to do with what it costs me to raise/produce them. It is the median-price, nationally, for dogs of similar bloodlines.

 

Making Money (or Losing it) is Incidental

Sure- I once made a whole 19 cents an hour on a litter- but it didn't include my time-off from work or the time contributed by my husband, children and friends.

IF my bitch's daughter manages to have a litter without any issues...I may actually break even on a litter, since I didn't "pay" for her--- unless, of course, you count the money I lost on her mother's litters, the cost of raising her, her health clearances etc, etc, etc.

 

Is There a Chance I Could Make Money?

Yes, there are some breeders who make money-- but it's a 365 day a year job. (The dogs need to be fed, exercised, trained, groomed, shown, etc).

I have a friend who, in 2006, made 64K selling pups. By the time she got done doing her expenses, including paying state sales tax, etc, she CLEARED 14K for a job that was 365 days a year (NO time-off, NOT even holidays). 

Frankly, I don't want to work that hard!

-Author Unknown