In Defense of Affordable Breeders

Pricing pups. Let's just go ahead and talk about it. There's a common rhetoric going around that you get what you pay for. And unfortunately that isn't always true. There are good breeders who are affordable; there are crummy ones who are high. Puppy parents, you don't always have to pay a fortune for a well bred dog . Breeders, being less expensive doesn't make someone a back yard breeder so please stop saying that. On the topic of pricing your pups, I see a lot of people discussing being judged for charging too much. I want to talk about the other end of that, which is the general tendency in the “DogBook” world to judge people for charging less. I see multiple memes/posts getting shared implying anyone under a certain price point is automatically a BYB, has low quality dogs, etc and I find this a little frustrating. Generally, I see this number quoted as “below 2000-3000” being questionable. There is no right or wrong answer as to how YOU price something YOU have for sell and for those who might be prone to spreading this rumor, here are a few things that can affect price point even among dogs who are equally health tested and titled. I’m a newer breeder, but I’ve been involved in the showing/sport/dog world for about 20yrs now, helped multiple friends and mentors,etc and this is my opinion as a somewhat fresh set of eyes that isn’t maybe as jaded as someone whose been entrenched fully in breeder culture for many years. Does that mean I lack experience on some things? Absolutely. But this is my viewpoint as I’ve seen it and how I feel about it at this point in my journey. I have friends and mentors with very well established programs who are in the same price range as me and agree with these general concepts. Breed: A breed that needs C-sections and produces 1-2 pups is always going to be more expensive than a free whelping breed that produces 8-12 pups naturally. Some breeds in general just run less. In MAS, the range for reputable breeders seem to be anywhere between 1k and 3k. You see people over that, but that’s the average range. Occasionally, you’ll see them under that for mismarks, dogs that didn’t sell by a certain age, dogs with a degree of deafness (happens even in reputable programs for our breed) etc. Again, we’re talking ONLY about people who title (either front end or back end or both) and health test fully (OFA, CHIC, etc). We’re comparing apples to apples as much as possible. BYBs in this breed are as low as 300 on unregistered dogs. In my breed, I know nationally ranked kennels with Westminster winners who sell pups on limited reg for 1500. As a newbie breeder who doesn’t have THAT level of accomplishment, I wouldn’t feel comfortable charging as much as one of the top kennels in the country. My pets are being sold on limited for 1000 which is inline with the pricing model of several of my mentors. My breeding prospects are 1500, which again, is in line with what I’ve personally paid for breeding prospects from titled, health tested parents. Location: Cost of living, cost of health testing, etc are a HUGE factor in price. I live in rural Texas. I can do all health testing suggested by OFA/CHIC PLUS some extra testing and stay under $600 per dog. I know people in other areas who pay more than that for hips alone. It makes sense that I’m not charging as much as someone who lives in New York and pays $1000 for OFAs. All my expenses are cheaper. I pay $45 for a ultrasound, $75 for an xray. A scheduled C section is 600. An emergency c section, 1200. I can do a FULL SET of shots on a puppy for $160 (that’s 4 vet visits including shots, heartworm and flea meds). I can spay a dog for $150. You get where I’m going with this. Everything I buy is cheaper. My gas is cheaper,, my electric is cheaper, my training fees are cheaper for the classes I take with my dogs, etc. Personal value system: Some people strongly believe in “being paid for their time”, some don’t. Some believe a pup should reflect the cost spent on titling the parent dogs, some don’t. My PERSONAL opinion is that I show/trial for fun, for myself, and I’d do it even if I wasn’t breeding. I don’t expect my puppy buyers to “pay me to play” or finance my hobby. I just don’t. I also firmly believe in being as affordable as I can be while still costing enough to avoid people making impulse purchases. I WANT to sway people from BYBs and you can’t do that if you’re too high. My *personal* belief system is I don’t feel comfortable charging over a certain amount for a family pet. Personal finances of the breeder: some people are doing this for a living, some as a hobby, some have other income and can afford to take a loss. As stated above, I’m a small breeder aiming for 1, maybe 2 litters a year. I’m not trying to pay my bills with this. I also am in a position where I have no mortgage, no expensive car payments, no children to put through college. I have an established financial safety net. I’m comfortable. I can AFFORD to charge less and still do this. I don’t HAVE to make back everything I put into it. This is my hobby. It’s like any other hobby for me and I’m paying money for an experience I enjoy. I’ve showed horses for 25yrs. I have never, ever made back even 1% of the money I put into showing horses. I think I’ve made under $500 total cash on showing horses in my entire life. My lifetime expenses are WELL into 6 figures. I never get the money back. I pay for my ability to do something I have fun doing. Please stop assuming any less expensive dog is automatically a bad breeder and spreading this info to buyers. It’s very hurtful, especially to smaller programs that aren’t necessarily trying to recoup their investment to begin with but just want to place healthy, well bred pups affordably in happy homes and pull people away from BYBs by being competitively priced. When you tell people generically that you can’t buy a well-bred dog with parents that are titled and health tested for under 2000, this simply isn’t true across the board. It may be true in a specific breed, but it’s not a general statement. Did you know that Puppy Culture founder Jane Messineo Lindquist doesn’t charge *anything* for her puppies? Nothing. Nada. They’re free to who she wants to have them. Now obviously she is wealthy enough that this is an option for her and it isn’t for everyone but what I found very interesting was her statement in a vlog that she *tried* selling her puppies at a high price point once in an effort to attract a certain caliber of buyer and she found that it backfired. The people she attracted very much saw the puppy as their possession and were not interested in treating her as a partner. Now, the dogs she sends out go to people who treat her like family. People are not inherently disreputable/unethical/poor breeders because they’re affordable. STOP SAYING THIS TO PEOPLE AND SPREADING THIS ON FACEBOOK. Also, breeders need to stop talking out of both sides of their mouths. You cannot say that we need to breed for the love of the dogs and the breed and not for money, complain about "greeders" and then turn around and get offended when someone has reasonable prices. I have actually had this happen where people complain that I'm not charging enough. I charge as much as I'm comfortable with charging. If other people REALLY didn't care about the money, they wouldn't be so threatened when people offer well bred dogs at reasonable fees. The truth is they don't want other responsible breeders under-cutting their market. They don't mind is backyard breeders are cheaper. They can always argue they're offering a superior product. When someone is offering just as a good a product but cheaper, now it's a threat. I will not be bullied into raising my prices above what I consider ethical just because other people are trying to make more money and are upset that I'm under-cutting them!