Dog Breeding – it's where the money is!
Wow, we dog breeders sure do know how to rake in the big bucks! Why, take a look at the balance sheet for the last few months here at Chez Bullmarket.
We decided to breed Journey to my deceased male, Rebbie. That’s not really as gruesome as it sounds, since we have frozen semen on him. Sounds great, right? Just pop that bun in the oven, and start percolating some puppies! Not so fast, actually. Frozen semen breeding is pricey.
First, I had to pay off the remaining balance at the facility where the semen was stored. Then, I arranged to have it transferred to a new, closer facility, where I had to pay another full two years in advance for storage. Total cost with shipping, storage fees and container rental?
$1856.00
OK, that’s not so bad. After all, I don’t have any storage charges now for two years, and I still have almost forty straws of semen. Well, but ten of them are low count straws. And it takes at least four straws to do a breeding. Huh. I guess I don’t have as many usable breedings left as I thought. OK, still not so bad. I have more than enough for now, and I don’t have to pay a stud service for this breeding!
But I do have to pay for timing tests for Journey.
LH and progesterone daily, plus Draminskis and slides to check for cornification.
Grand total for nine days of testing? $1600.02
To be fair, I should also factor in the thirty minutes each way drive to the veterinarian’s office, plus the gas, plus the time off work. I’ll skip that cost, though. Let’s just call it a labour of love. Or stupidity. Whatever.
In the middle of this, J Dog’s mom, Sailor, decided to come into heat. Well, I really didn’t want to breed Sailor this summer, but this is likely her last heat for a while, and I planned to breed her one last time. Well, Sailor’s litter is different, too. I plan on keeping everything out of it – and I mean everything, unless they’re born with an extra eye. Or two. , so… ok fine. Let’s do it.
Coincidentally, my choice for Sailor’s last litter had also been Rebbie, and so:
LH and progesterone daily, plus Draminskis and slides to check for cornification.
Grand total for nine days of testing? $1600.02
Again.
And let’s not even talk about the gas or the driving. Oh well, it’s all worth it if we get some good puppies.
Speaking of puppies, since we can’t be sure until the ultrasounds if anyone’s pregnant, we supplement and change feeding just to be safe. That means fish oil caps and b vitamins and raspberry leaves and folic acid and prime chicken and turkey. Twice a day.
Fun.
Right, we’re at the 30 day mark – let’s do some ultrasounds! So, we’re back to the vet – and this time, we’re dealing with some pricey equipment. Two ultrasounds, at $340 a pop. And guess what? Journey – isn’t pregnant. She’s fat, thanks to all that chicken and turkey, but she’s not pregnant. Sailor? Probably. Maybe. We need to re-check at 50 days with an x-ray.
So, here we are, today, at day 50. X-ray day. Sailor is definitely pregnant – I don’t need an xray to prove that. I do, however, need one to try and determine how many puppies she has, because this is of vital importance in a c-section breed. In we go, then, to do an xray. A bargain, really, at just $140, and it shows us..
One puppy. Just one. One puppy that will still require a $2000 c-section, and follow up care for mom, and shots and registration and micro chipping and weaning and time off work to care for. One really, really expensive puppy. Which I’m keeping.
So, yeah. Dog breeding, it’s how I’m making my fortune. That, and the scratch and win tickets that will help me pay for all of this…
ps: just wanted to post this for all of the “you charge so much for your dogs that you must bathe in caviar” people…
Wow, brilliantly spelled out that it isn’t as proponents of the mandatory bill said, “all about the money.”
It doesn’t make any sense to most people but it doesn’t have to. It hopefully makes you giddy with happiness & its “all about the love”. Sad that some people will question the profit margin of your joy out of anything other then curiousity.
Well put. I tell this to people all the time. I don’t breed but people are always asking me if I’m going to. after all I could “make so much money”. Then I give them pretty much the litany that you just spelled out… only consider my dogs weigh 10x what your do!
By the way, we almost got a Frenchie.. maybe next time.
What’s really funny is that I, personally, don’t *expect* dog breeding to make money. I do it because I love it.
Some people love boats, or toy trains, or riding motorcycles. None of those people expect their hobbies which they love to make money – they are just things which they’re passionate about.
So, why should I expect any different from breeding?
Breaking even would be nice, I do have to admit. I’m over $7K in debt from this summer of fun…
It seems to me (as an owner but not a breeder) that if people object to the price of a puppy – the puppy is probably better off with someone else! If I’ve done the research, spent the time and taken the trouble to do my homework and find the right breed, the right breeder and the right puppy – the price is the least of my concerns. If I’m lucky enough to spend a couple of decades with that puppy, I can always do some cost-averaging!
Ah a couple of decades. .that would be nice.. we are lucky to get one decade with the giant breeds… but we treasure every minute!
Bravo, frogdogz! Good post. Came over here from Jans. 🙂 Wow, forty straws!
With close to twenty years in my breed (perpetually in the red) I’m all too familiar with expense and frustrations as well. Considerations in rare breeds, Anatolians in particular; dealing with working imports from a country with no registry – coping with the dynamics of domestic registration, while attempting to ensure healthy genetic diversity — these realms are generally beyond the immediate grasp of many. It has similarities to what could be a living Rubik’s Cube. And that’s before getting into the spendy lottery involved in the mechanics of health checks, testing programs, and actual pairings of dogs that don’t live at the same residence (nor sometimes the same country). :/
Complicated enough, but still, there are droves of AB 1634 supporters who have bought into the fallacy that the bill’s so-called “exemptions” ensure the survival of “reputable” programs.
I hope things go well for you and that your new pup has elements of the genetic best, built on your efforts and planning. (yeah, I know, doesn’t always happen that way… best laid plans and all that — but that’s genetics!). Best! 🙂
Singleton litters can produce some of the most amazing characters. Our first Frenchie litter was a single-pup litter. He has the most observant, curious personality. Delights in meeting new people, even more so than a regular Frenchie. People clue into it right away.
Here’s to wishing you a healthy pup with all the personality of a bigger litter. 🙂
Thanks, all 🙂
At this point, I’m just happy Sailor is pregnant. I really do take these sorts of things in stride now – Frenchie breeding will definately keep you humble. I was just feeling sort of cranky because I’d had one of those “You charge how much for you dogs? You’re kidding, right?” type phone calls.
Again.
Now, on a non related topic.. you breed Anatolians! We’ve been looking for an Anatolian! I want something safe, yet protective, around the Frenchies (no prey drive, no attack propensity) and I also want something that will be safe around my goat(s) (yes, I’m getting a goat. Or two. More later). As well, we’re planning on having some free range chickens next spring.
All of this means a livestock protection dog will be perfect for us, and we’d narrowed the list down to an Anatolian.
If you know anyone near Toronto, or even in this part of the country, please do drop me a line!
Carol
Hi Carol,
It’s true, there are people that get an Anatolian to watch out for their smaller pets. Several that breed JRTs started getting them as far back as the early 1990s. The Anatolian raised with the small dogs accepts them as their ‘flock’.
Just a detail. Can’t really say they are totally without prey drive since they do catch mice and squirrels to munch, and if not trained with poultry, will munch those too. Generally the drive is not initially a complete stalk and kill directed at all critters that move. Puppies (adolescent) of all livestock guardians can get into mischief if not given good guidelines. 🙂
But anyway, working with small dogs is not a problem. 🙂 I don’t know people in Toronto, but you can write breeders at http://anatoliandog.org/breeders.htm or from http://www.asdca.org and find a breeder you’d be happy to work with. 🙂
Email me from my blog and I can send more specific breed information and chat to you from ‘out of the box’ that this form gives.LOL
God, Please post more like this. I’ve seen SO many people back out from a good breeder because of price and end up with a cheap classifieds dog.
My family members are like this. I’ve told them about cost for CERFs and OFAs, plus supplies and vet care, but they are STILL convinced that higher quality breeders are making a fortune.
Keep posting!