25/06/2024
“Why do you charge so much for your puppies?”
This is a question quality breeders are used to hearing. I’ve heard some variation of it a few times recently. For the purposes of answering this question, I went back several years to look at the last 10 litters we’ve produced, which included 48 live puppies (3 of which we kept). The average cost was about $2000.
“Wow,” you must be thinking, “45 x $2000! That’s an easy $90K. Maybe I want to start breeding dogs.” Let me fill in the story, starting with some the expenses associated with these puppies:
Buying a prospective female to breed $4500
Feeding and shots first 2 years $1200.
X-rays for certified hips $1500.
Genetic test $150+.
• 28 progesterone tests
• 13 x-rays
• 1 ultrasound
• 2 emergency visits to the vet
• 1 entire litter lost to Canine Herpes virus
• 2 necropsies on dead puppies
• 5 titer tests from the Ohio Dept. of Agriculture for CHV
• 5 stud fees
• 26 artificial insemination kits
• 144 puppy dewormings (Pyrantel)
• 48 preventative treatments for coccidia (Marquis)
• 288 doses of Fenbendazole for deworming and giardia prevention
• 48 rounds of first shots (distemper, adenovirus, parvo, parainfluenza)
• 48 microchips
• 576 (approx.) doses of probiotics
• 48 AKC registrations and puppy packets
• 84 heartworm preventative doses for adults
• Dozens of genetic tests on the adults
• OFA certifications on hips, elbows, eyes, and hearts
• Vaccinations, dewormings, and pro-biotics for adults
• Dogfood for adults and puppies
• Misc. kennel supplies: e.g., shampoo, heating pads, whelping supplies, chew toys, dog bowls, training supplies, squeegees, disinfectants, etc.
• Hundreds if not thousands of miles on our vehicles for trips to the vet
I’m not even counting the expenses to keep the kennels heated in winter and air conditioned in the summer. I’m sure I’m missing a lot of other expenses (like our website- just thought of that). Based on what’s listed above and some quick math, our estimated costs for these expenses come in well over $30K. It’s not unheard of for us to actually lose money on a litter that we’ve spent countless hours with for 8 weeks. Other breeders have experienced this as well. This is our labor of love for the Bernese breed. It comes with the territory, so we aren’t complaining. Based on the profit we claimed on our most recent tax return (2023) divided by the estimated number of hours we spent that year—are you ready for this?—we made a little over $5 an hour. (To be honest, we had an unusually high number of expenses in 2023, so it doesn’t quite represent the norm.)
“Why do we charge so much?” I really don’t mind the question, but it’s one that is hard to adequately answer over the phone in a sentence or two. The short answer is that you get what you pay for. Quality breeders do not cut corners. And that’s a big part of the reason why a quality Bernese Mountian dog costs $2000-3500 here in the Midwest (and substantially more on the coasts).
