How much would you pay for a puppy?

We are currently looking for a new puppy so we went to the Animal Welfare League to find one that had been abandoned and I was shocked to find that they were $420.00. A bit more than I was expecting to pay. On the website it advertised puppies from $275.00 but there was nothing there in that price range and even older dogs were $300+. We called into our local Pets Paradise store and found that their puppies were $795.00.

Knowing that I'm also going to be up for the cost of vaccinations, food, kennel, registration etc these prices are way more than I'm willing to pay which of course has upset some of the family.

Are these prices what puppies normally sell for these days? We previously had a rottweiler that we paid $150.00 for but that was 10 years ago.

We paid around $500 for each of ours. Both were from a reputable pet shop.

1 had 2 lots of immunisations the other only 1 lot.

They are expensive to get organised with with desexing, microchipping and immunisations.

We bought our purebred rhodeshian ridgeback five years ago for $500 so I was shocked when we went looking for a new dog only to find the "backyard breeders" charging this much! We got our pups from the paper and paid $250 for the both of them. Both had been vet checked and had one lot of vaccinations. Having siad that we have spent nearly $1000 in the past 5mths on the 2 of them with vax, desexing, micro chipping registration and two accidents/surgeries

One of my dogs was $550 and the other....wait for it.....$1200 (we knew we were being ripped off but I couldnt leave him). We couldnt even purchase him that day as it was above the limit of what we could take out on DP's card (yes clever me got him to pay).

We did end up getting half the money back as he was very sick the first week we got him home and ended up in a vet hospital on deaths door as he and his entire litter got parvo virus. They paid all the expenses and even gave us food for a year, new bedding, toys, etc.

ETA- they came wormed, had 1st vaccination and microchipped

I paid $150 for my Koolie but within a couple of days I realised this puppy was completely deaf which a trip to the vet confirmed. Even after only a couple of days I couldn't bear to give her back (I know what would happen to her) so I asked for half my money back. So all in all, she cost me $75. She turned 13 last week and you could ask for a sweeter, intelligent more devoted pet. She is unfailingly patient with 18month DD and I couldn't imagine my life without her. As I type her head is across my foot under the desk. Best investment I ever made!

I don't know what I would pay for a pet, but I would give priority to disposition over perfect features that tend to attract higher prices.

I think the cost of breeding animals has risen hence there is a rise in the purchase price of puppies. We paid $500 13years ago for our family Cavalier from a registered breeder. Nowadays you're looking at at least $1000 if not alittle more for a pup from a registered breeder. Seems like a lot BUT when you look at what goes into the genetic line of your puppy, it all adds up. When we got our dog, we were buying a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel that a) looked like x, y and z (not so important for a pet), b) had a good temperment, c) had rigourous genetic testing in the bloodline to try and eradicate any faults and we knew that he was bred from a healthy, even tempered, good looking mum and dad. He is the best dog we could have asked for. That is not to say that you HAVE to have a purebred because you do not BUT it is important to buy a puppy from the right place (i.e. registered breeders or registered shelters NOT backyard breeders or pet shops).

Pet Shops and Backyard Breeders may sell their animals for slightly less (although I think pet shops are well overpriced) but the puppies and their ancestors have not had the testing to clear them nor have they had the carefully planned mating that means you get what you pay for, a certain breed of dog. Buying from pet shops or backyard breeders may get you a cheaper purchase price but you will most likely run into bigger vet bills in the long run. Not that animals from a shelter or registered breeder don't get sick but the shelter/breeder are there for support.

If you buy from the shelter, the puppy may already be desexed. I know they do this with kittens, it is included in the purchase price. It is a big investment but well worth it for the unconditional love you get. Maybe wait for a bit longer and save some more in the pet kitty so you can be prepared for all the "puppy" costs?

if you get dogs from you local pound/shelter etc, they come vaxed, flea/parasite protected, checked and sterilised already.
If they dont, go to a shelter that does.

We paid $280 for ours, and $180 for the cat.

The bottom line is that I wouldn't buy a pet from a pet shop or a breeder, unless I was after something very specific I couldn't get at a shelter...and that would only be a pure bred Alsation.(And I couldnt afford it, so I couldnt get one lol)

I paid $400 for my Purebred Rottweiler without papers about 10 years ago. I could have paid more to get the papers but I only wanted her for a pet.

Shalou, why does it upset your family that you don't want to fork out thousands for a puppy?

Do you really want to get a new puppy when bubs is coming along so soon? (yay!) I'll never forget the joys of stumbling about for the 3am feed and stepping barefoot into a new puppy turd......

hahahaa love ur post Lulu!

Well done on going to the animal league.

Dogs/Puppies from rescue organisations are usually priced according to the care they need when rescued. Some have significant vet bills as they are nursed back to health, then yes, there's desexing, microchipping, vaccinations, worming & feeding.

My bitzer from a rescue organisation was $180 and my pedigree labrador was $1000.

I wouldn't buy from a pet store unless it's something like "pets at home" who stock dogs/cats/puppies/kittens from the Lort Smith Animal Home. There are so many abandoned animals out there - if you want a specific breed, then look for that breed "rescue" group. You can get an older animal (usually toilet trained etc) for the fraction of a cost, and know that you're saving an animal from death.

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We paid around $500 for each of ours. Both were from a reputable pet shop.

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Just wondering what is a 'reputable' pet shop. I am not picking, I thought that all pet shops got their animals from puppy mill type places and discredited all of them. Happy to be proved wrong if there are good ones out there.

:redface: I'm trying to convince DF to let us get a British Bulldog, for $2500, think I am almost there...
We paid $600 for one of our cats from the pet store, he's worth every cent.

OOhh, I love those bulldogs sooo much. Crufts has insisted they get bred without so many face and leg problems now. The only reason I don't have one yet is the worry about their faces.

Have you looked at an Australian Bulldog? WOW they are amazing but alot bigger than the british. I think they have only recently been recognised as a new breed. My friend has 2...I love them sooo much!

I should post a photo...

Normally puppies from the RSCPA are more pricey but that cost usually includes worming, vaccinations and desexing fees. Maybe it's the same with these pups.

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Just wondering what is a 'reputable' pet shop. I am not picking, I thought that all pet shops got their animals from puppy mill type places and discredited all of them. Happy to be proved wrong if there are good ones out there.

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Yep, this is true, many petshop puppies come from puppy mills and 'dodgy breeders'. I'd steer clear of pet shops all together.

We paid $750 for a pure bred Aussie Terrier. We did not pay for the papers, so we cannot show him or breed him. Which is a good thing, as he is a complete nutbag and even though there are Grand Champions in his line, he is big for the breed.

Thanks for all the replies, I never expected prices for puppies to be so high.

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Shalou, why does it upset your family that you don't want to fork out thousands for a puppy?

Do you really want to get a new puppy when bubs is coming along so soon? (yay!) I'll never forget the joys of stumbling about for the 3am feed and stepping barefoot into a new puppy turd......

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It upsets my family because DD's 14 & 3 had their hearts set on bringing home a puppy after they looked at the AWL website that said they were $275 so when I found that they were well over that price and wasn't willing to pay more than $300 it caused lots of dramas - hence stopping in at the pet store.

Having a new pup and a baby doesn't worry me too much, the kids and hubby will do most of the work and we don't plan on having our new puppy in the house living areas while the kids aren't around to supervise. No late night surprises for me. Did you let your puppy run around the house at night? We have always kept ours outside at night or in the laundry.

We bought a purebred Jack Russell from a local pet shop (we wanted a pup from a shelter or something but they just don't have anything except the council pound within a few hours' drive, and the council really only holds pets until their owners come to pick them up, strays and litters of pups/kittens etc they put down within 24 hours), and she cost us $500.
It was funny because we'd looked at them earlier on in the day and gone home to discuss whether we were up to the challenge/costs of having a puppy (cats are cheap, desex 'em and feed 'em and just keep 'em indoors to save on vet bills like immunisation etc), and when we went back there was another girl cuddling one and carting it around, obviously intent on taking it home... all went well until her boyfriend got off his phone and asked the staff how much they were - his poor girlfriend was ordered to 'put the bloody thing back!' and they left empty-handed :(
Note: Our local pet shops will take any old thing - if you bring in a box of your mutt's pups and say, 'I dunno who the dad is, hell I don't even know what breed my dog is' they will still take the pups and just flog them off for $50 a pop... they do have purebred pups and kittens come in, some with papers, some not, but there just aren't any 'reputable breeders' locally that have breeds suitable for small children and cats (which we needed because obviously we have a toddler and another on the way, and three cats we would never consider getting rid of)... It would have been nice to have the option of rescuing a dog from a shelter, but again, there are none locally that sell animals as pets, and I personally worry about an abused or neglected animal being around kids and other pets - an ex boyfriend of mine had a dog he rescued from a shelter and it was a complete a-hole. XB was the only person who could go near it, it would nip at me whenever I touched XB or slept in his bed because the dog got jealous, and I could never relax around the damn thing. So I wouldn't want to go and rescue an animal from a shelter, only to have to take it back there because it's bitten my daughter or mauled my cat, kwim?

Our pup (Turbo) came with her first round of immunisations, worming and a vet check completed (and the papers to confirm), and included in the price tag was a free vet visit for us so we could take her and get her checked out at our leisure solely for peace of mind. For us, $500 is a pretty ridiculous price and we are constantly complaining that 'this stupid mutt cost us half a k!!' when she's into mischief or harrassing our cats, but we love her to bits and we would have spent that money on some useless junk anyway :D

She's not desexed, and when we purchased her the owner of the pet store took our details and wrote them in a 'breeding book' they have that keeps records of which puppy from what litter went home with whom so that in future, if another dog owner is looking to breed, they can contact other owners on the register and discuss breeding. The way they're doing it prevents things like inbreeding and ensures that the dog they intend to breed theirs with is the breed the owner says it is, kwim? We still haven't decided whether we want to breed Turbo in future, probably not as it's a costly exercise and there are already plenty of puppies in the world that need homes, but until we decide for sure we're holding off on desexing her.

I figure that yes, they're expensive, but a lot of costs are spread out over time, kwim?? Like, yeah, you might pay $800 for the breed of your choice, but that usually includes their first round of immunisation and worming etc, and then other costs come later on, so it's not like you're paying out thousands of dollars in one hit... desexing (if they don't already come desexed) can usually wait a few weeks or months as long as the dog is being supervised (we keep Turbo indoors at night and if we go out, more to prevent her being stolen than to stop some dog jumping the fence and getting her in the family way), kennel fees etc pop up when you're planning on going away but you already know when that will be so you just put a few extra bucks in the holiday kitty to cover boarding, food obviously is a big cost but whether you pay $100 or $1000 to purchase the dog, you're still going to have to feed it, so it's irrelevant to me anyway...