Dog "breeders" (and I use that term loosely), what are your expenses and do you make a profit?

All amounts are approximate and this is not including medical emergencies. Prenatal care for the b*tch is about £200 ($300)which is food, scans, and extra worming. Then I like to get the cardboard whelping boxes rather than wood ones (for hygeine reasons) so that's another £75($110), and I refresh my whelping kit, say another £30($45). Then once whelped the dam gets extra food and supplements so through the next 8 weeks it will cost about £400 ($600) for all the food and worming, the puppy food costs another £200($300) for the puppy food for weaning a litter of 8. All the extra natural cleaning products for cleaning out the whelping room and area the puppies are in comes to about £50($75). We register the puppies which is about £70($100), they have dew claws removed another £80($120), worming £100($150), toys for their learning £30($45), puppy packs cost about £100($150), then the first vaccines are done which we get for £100($150). £1435 ($2150)all together. Each puppy is £700 ($1000)so approx £5600 ($8400)so we should make a profit of £4165 ($6250)but it doesn't ever work out as planned. Should we need a C-section or any emergency vet then it costs about £1000, or if a puppy dies you have to take it to the vet and I like to do a cremation and spread the ashes which does cost a lot. I'm sure I've forgotten some other stuff as you can't forsee what will happen, you need more than that amount of money to begin with, it's not easy money it's a 24/7 job and all the money goes back onto the dogs, including the ones that I take in from Boxer rescue. I have checked my books that I keep and it shows that I either make a loss or break even. Sometimes you can lose all of the puppies to fading puppy syndrome and then you don't make anything with huge outgoings. I wouldn't suggest anyone breed dogs if they are trying to make a profit, it just doesn't happen!

Add: I knew I forgot, vet check ups, insurance, the kennel girls pay, Professional grooming after the puppies are sold (for the long haired) and their time off work (gun dogs), Husband takes time off work unpaid, extra diesel for the car to go to the vet, fresh meat, showing for the year, and stud fees (if applicable). I've never cared about making a profit but now I think about it properly I actually end up with a loss if the litter is fewer than 8, which often happened with my Setters. Good question asked there.

I got my Miniature Pinscher after she had a litter with her previous owner. A litter of 5 pups I believe it was. One passed away, 4 left. Total expenses from the backyard breeder = 60 dollars. 15 dollars per pup for tail docking and dew claw removal. No other veterinary care was done. She was being found a new home because she weighed 5 pounds, and the owners parents were convinced she wasn't feeding my dog, nor the pups. One pup was sold for 500 dollars. The others were given away. So even so, she made 440 dollars on the litter.

Imagine if all 4 were sold. This is why backyard breeders and puppy mills are so keen on pups. Because if they're cute, they will sell for something, whether the puppy be a mix or not. When I was attempting to breed (which I changed my mind about after she didn't take the time I tried), I was doing it the right way. Perfect specimen of the breed, ideal temperament, genetic health all excellent, etc. I went for artificial insemination. The attempt was 100 dollars at my vet to collect semen. The male was uninterested. When he finally did deliver, she was inseminated.

Vaginal swab was done as well as progesterone. 3 relaxin tests at 30 dollars a piece. That's 190. She was not pregnant. Full vet visit to determine the problem as she was no longer eating. Vet visit, 25 dollars. She had an infection. Another 30 some odd dollars. That vet visit was 80 dollars in total. 270 dollars in a few weeks period, no pregnancy, and an infection. I was going the reputable route. Homes were lined up for pups, spay/neuter contracts, etc.

Had she been pregnant, they would have taken an x-ray later on. 60 dollars. Prenatal vitamins, regular checkups, puppy food, towels and a whelping box, heat lamp and puppy replacement formula just in case, etc. Then the pups get there. Lets say there could be 4-5. Dew claw removal, 5 dollars a piece. Tail docking, 10 dollars per pup. Health certificates for all pups. 500 dollars for the whole litter. Necessary shots, registering the litter, parvo vaccines every two weeks, time and energy put into a litter, more checkups for mom, weaning of puppies, puppy playpen, etc.

The cost of a litter would reach well over 2000 dollars via a reputable breeder. That doesn't include time off work and things of that nature for caring for the litter of pups, or a case where something goes wrong and mom needs a c-section, or puppies need urgent vet care, retained pup or placenta, water puppy, etc. Would it be worth it? For me, the experience of the litter and bettering the breed, yes. Profit wise? I would make 0 profit. A backyard breeder however, they would consider it worth it because of cutting corners, making an *** out of themselves, not caring for the welfare of mom or the pups, etc. Everyone reading this, spay and neuter.

Hiya good question!

I am an accredited breederof boxers in the UK. Yes you can make a profit and i have on my 2 very large litters of over 10 - but that was such hard work and it wasnt a hug profit BUT more often i either come off even or losing!

The costs incurred some people do not take into consideration for example health screening before any litters are even thought about!!!

The and ill use my last litter as an example

- £450 stud fees

- £100 travel expense's

- £3000 unpaid leave (8 weeks)

- £350 vets fees

- £100 puppy food

- £250 puppy bits ie vet check, micro chip, jabs etc

I ONLY had 4 pups (i kept 1 girl) 3 pups sold for £750 each = £2250

Total expense including money i lost from being off work £4250 - which gives a total loss of £2000.

I love breeding i have a passion to better the breed and find it so very rewarding to bring healthy pups into the world BUT i do wish people would stop doing it as a profit thing your pet should be the main priorty it takes alot of time to plan a litter properly!! There may have been extra costs but this is a rough guide

I do go to work to earn my money and i do not rely on my dogs to make me a profit!!!

I'm a Boxer breeder. I used to breed other breeds years ago but changed to Boxers because I love the breed. There are so many costs in breeding your dog that I do not make a profit such as a business might do. We show our dogs so there is that cost, we have various medical checks done on them before we breed, that costs. Pregnancy costs such as xrays and so forth are not expensive but are a cost. Then there is the cost of the puppies... dew claws, shots, check-ups, etc. Then once the puppies get to around 4 weeks, there is the cost of food (not a small amount either). This last time around our dog had 10 puppies so you'd think we would make lots of money but still, 10 puppies is a lot to care for. Perhaps we do more than the average breeder but most of our puppies are housebroken when they leave us at 8-12 weeks old. Also they are very well socialized because we have both "mom" and "dad" living here and they live in our home. Those are a list of litter costs. The other costs such as whelping beds, etc also add up to lots of money we spend. If our two dogs did not produce an even better dog, we would never breed them. This does not include with our female had any problems in brithing the puppies which she has not ever had. People think they will make lots of money with breeding, it is just not so. Poor quality breeders do not make as much per puppy as I do either and yet I am not rich in money because of what I do. I am rich in many other ways from it though such as producing great show dogs, teaching and training new owners, etc. Not to mention all the puppy licks I get!

The truth is that you don't make a lot of money from a litter of pups. I breed English Bulldogs (yes there's a difference) and after a year of showing, vet bills, and feeding I may break even. Often times I do not. Showing a dog runs around $300.00/weekend and my vet bill for the year is at $1,500 only 1/4 of the way through the year. With food in the mix for the year I spend about $10,000/yr sometimes much more. A litter of pups may sell for around that but I only have one litter per year if that. I do not breed for profit I breed because I love this breed.

I have a really good job that's how I make money.

As I've said before when answering this type of question, I tend not to keep track of my expenses - if it needs doing, it's done.

I breed one litter a year, if that, and any puppy money goes into a "dog account" - the same account that I use to feed, show, run, and vet my kennel. So I know that I don't make a profit.

It's worth it because I get to see the results of my work, and I get a new puppy to show and run...which is really all I wanted in the first place.

No profit we are lucky to break even. NO real breeder reputable makes money.

I don't know the exact figs. on the top of my head but for our bulldogs its more expensive because of AI/stud fee, shipping, prenatal care, whelping, c-section, and after natal care like shots and food and what not. The weims were a little less expensive but it was still expensive.

Don't make a profit but it has and still is darn worth it to see the pups excel in the right fields, be in in the working field or the show ring.

"Quacks like a rant,walks like a rant,looks like a rant...."

hhhmmmmmmmmmmm...thin disguise?

The last litter I did was w/my bitc-h & dog. I whelped them,docking & dews cost me nothing... I don't add up every nugget of feed I use.I have wormer on hand & only use .5 cc per,.....so,3 X 4 X $7+ for vacc., & 4 X $7 for rabies (don't usually do rabies vacc. that young but the deal was to good to pass up). Four pups eating their heads off.... don't want to know how much that is.

I make a litter to get a pup for *me* to go on with."Extra" pups help buy feed for the rest.

we used to breed hunting JRT's. (had american pit bull terriers for a while too)

the last litter of JRT's i ended upside down about $1500 (c-section due to a large, sideways pup, only 2 pups survived) . doesn't matter, just as long as everyone's healthy- i'll spare no expense for my dogs.

we no longer breed, because there's not many hunters around here anymore, so now i just rescue pit bull terriers from the shelters.

Thousands in costs - and how,does one factor 3 sleepless days, many sleep short WEEKS

PS did you know most whippet breeders consider a large litter BAD NEWS as good whippet homes are not found on every corner.