PRICING
Before even thinking about what a puppy will cost you.. consider here what the puppy will cost the breeder. That is the basis where their price will come from. Note each type of breeder where their cost priorities are. Keep in mind this is an estimation.
REPUTABLE BREEDER - COSTS TO RAISE A LITTER
$2,500-3,500 Cost of Bitch for Potential Breeding (purchase, ear crop, shipping/travel)
$2,400/2yr General Care (general care, feeding, vet)
$1,000 Training/Classes/Club Fees
$500-800 Equipment/Supplies (collars/leashes, harness, training tools, coats, crates, grooming supplies
$1,000-5,000 Showing/Titling (to prove form and temperament for breeding, includes entry fees, handling, grooming, travel, hotel, food)
$95 VWD Test
$175 OFA Hips Test
$50 if added to Hips OFA Elbows Test
$200-400, + $100 Holter OFA Cardio Test *annual
$100 OFA Thyroid Test *annual
$35-50 CERF Test *annual
$51-75 PDK4 (DCM Gene) Test
$50 donation DINGS Test
$0-85 DNA Color Test
$500-1,000+ Breeder Continuing Education (going to Nationals, seminars, books, breed magazine, etc)
$100-500+ Professional Photography/Ads of the dog (to show accurate good photos of the dog and what it has accomplished, to thank judges/mentors, advertise and campaign)
$0-1,500 Website & Book Keeping costs (if they have a website or keep any records)
$2,000-3,000 far more if own stud is used due to acquiring, raising, titling, and health testing own stud dog Stud Fee
$0-1,000 Breeding Fees (travel, hormone tests, artificial insemination, etc)
$125 Ultrasound Pregnancy Confirmation
$150-300 Whelping Box
$100 Whelping Supplies
$50-100 Pregnancy Wellness Exam(s)
$125 X-ray For Puppy Count
$200-500 Puppy Supplies (blankets, heaters, bottles, cleaning, toys, collars, daily laundry)
$0-3,000 Possible Emergency C Section or Vet assistance
$350 Puppy Wellness Exam and Tail Dock/Dew Claw Removal at 3-5 days Old
$125-300 (at home vs at vet) Deworming the Dam and Puppies at 4, 6, 8, Weeks Old
$125-500 Vaccines for Puppies 6, 8, 12, and 16 Weeks Old (however long breeder has puppies, 8 week minimum)
$255 Vet Follow Up Visits/Wellness Exam for Puppies
$500 Puppy Food
$35/puppy Puppy Kits for Owners & Registration (care information and instruction, health records, registration papers, etc)
$3,600-4,800 based on 8 puppies Ear Cropping Fee & Associated Costs (pre surgery bloodwork and consultation, cropping, post op medications, post op care and supplies, travel)
TOTAL COST TO REPUTABLE BREEDER = $16,841-32,215 (avgeraged to $24,528)
8 PUPPIES * $3000 PRICE PER PUPPY = $24,000 - $24,528 COST = -$528
The reputable breeder invests the absolute best into their litter, the best sire/dam and proven quality by titling and all the available health tests. The litter receives the best care, not to mention all the breeder's time (missing time at work, cut to income while raising litter). They spend the most time and effort screening potential buyers and then supporting them with their questions and follow up for the rest of the puppies' lives. You are likely to get a healthy, well rounded puppy that fits your needs and all the support you could imagine from this kind of breeder. You can expect to pay between $2500-3500 for a quality bred puppy by a reputable breeder.
BACKYARD BREEDER BYB - NOT RECOMMENDED
$800-1500 Cost of Bitch for Potential Breeding (purchase, ear crop, shipping/travel)
$1200/2yr General Care (general care, feeding, vet)
$50 Training/Classes/Club Fees
$100 Equipment/Supplies (collars/leashes, harness, training tools, coats, crates, grooming supplies
$0 Showing/Titling (to prove form and temperament for breeding, includes entry fees, handling, grooming, travel, hotel, food)
$0-95 VWD Test
$0 OFA Hips Test
$0 OFA Elbows Test
$0 OFA Cardio Test *annual
$0 OFA Thyroid Test *annual
$0 CERF Test *annual
$0 PDK4 (DCM Gene) Test
$0 DINGS Test
$0 DNA Color Test
$0 Breeder Continuing Education (going to Nationals, seminars, books, breed magazine, etc)
$0 Professional Photography/Ads of the dog (to show accurate good photos of the dog and what it has accomplished, to thank judges/mentors, advertise and campaign)
$0-1,000 Website & Book Keeping costs (if they have a website or keep any records)
$0-1,000 Stud Fee
$0 Breeding Fees (travel, hormone tests, artificial insemination, etc)
$0 Ultrasound Pregnancy Confirmation
$150 Whelping Box
$100 Whelping Supplies
$0 Pregnancy Wellness Exam(s)
$0-125 X-ray For Puppy Count
$200 Puppy Supplies (blankets, heaters, bottles, cleaning, toys, collars, daily laundry)
$0-3,000 Possible Emergency C Section or Vet assistance
$0-350 Puppy Wellness Exam and Tail Dock/Dew Claw Removal at 3-5 days Old
$0-300 Deworming the Dam and Puppies at 4, 6, 8, Weeks Old
$0-500 Vaccines for Puppies 6, 8, 12, and 16 Weeks Old (however long breeder has puppies, 8 week minimum)
$0-255 Vet Follow Up Visits/Wellness Exam for Puppies
$250 Puppy Food
$35/puppy Puppy Kits for Owners & Registration (care information and instruction, health records, registration papers, etc)
$0 not provided Ear Cropping Fee & Associated Costs (pre surgery bloodwork and consultation, cropping, post op medications, post op care and supplies, travel)
TOTAL COST TO BYB = $3,30-10,455 (avgeraged to $6,793)
8 PUPPIES * $1500 PRICE PER PUPPY = $12,000 - $6,793 COST = $5,207 "PROFIT"
Basically the BYB invests the bare minimums into their litter. They are usually well intentioned but it is not a good standard of quality. It is not wise to support this type of breeder, you're likely to have health and temperament issues from lack of testing/qualifying the breeding dogs and lack of support because the breeder is not very well educated on the breed. I've heard of many BYB's seeing them charge anywhere from $1200 to even $6,000 for a puppy, I am estimating the average cost from a BYB to be $1,500 give/take.
PUPPY MILL - NOT RECOMMENDED EVER
$0-who knows Cost of Bitch for Potential Breeding (purchase, ear crop, shipping/travel)
$100 General Care (general care, feeding, vet)
$0 Training/Classes/Club Fees
$0 Equipment/Supplies (collars/leashes, harness, training tools, coats, crates, grooming supplies
$0 Showing/Titling (to prove form and temperament for breeding, includes entry fees, handling, grooming, travel, hotel, food)
$0 VWD Test
$0 OFA Hips Test
$0 OFA Elbows Test
$0 OFA Cardio Test *annual
$0 OFA Thyroid Test *annual
$0 CERF Test *annual
$0 PDK4 (DCM Gene) Test
$0 DINGS Test
$0 DNA Color Test
$0 Breeder Continuing Education (going to Nationals, seminars, books, breed magazine, etc)
$0 Professional Photography/Ads of the dog (to show accurate good photos of the dog and what it has accomplished, to thank judges/mentors, advertise and campaign)
$0-1,000 Website & Book Keeping costs (if they have a website or keep any records)
$0 Stud Fee
$0 Breeding Fees (travel, hormone tests, artificial insemination, etc)
$0 Ultrasound Pregnancy Confirmation
$0 Whelping Box
$0 Whelping Supplies
$0 Pregnancy Wellness Exam(s)
$0 X-ray For Puppy Count
$0 Puppy Supplies (blankets, heaters, bottles, cleaning, toys, collars, daily laundry)
$0 Possible Emergency C Section or Vet assistance
$0 Puppy Wellness Exam and Tail Dock/Dew Claw Removal at 3-5 days Old
$0 Deworming the Dam and Puppies at 4, 6, 8, Weeks Old
$0 Vaccines for Puppies 6, 8, 12, and 16 Weeks Old (however long breeder has puppies, 8 week minimum)
$0 Vet Follow Up Visits/Wellness Exam for Puppies
$0 Puppy Food
$0 Puppy Kits for Owners & Registration (care information and instruction, health records, registration papers, etc)
$0 Ear Cropping Fee & Associated Costs (pre surgery bloodwork and consultation, cropping, post op medications, post op care and supplies, travel)
TOTAL COST TO PUPPY MILL = $100-1,000 (avgeraged to $550)
8 PUPPIES * $800 PRICE PER PUPPY= $6,400 - $550 COST = $5,850 "PROFIT"
Basically the puppy mill does not invest anything into their litter besides keeping them alive enough to pump out puppies. It's a horrifying practice that they profit from. Please do not support them. I'm not very familiar with any specific puppy mills so this is a broad estimation but it is safe to say they don't invest much and they ask around $800 give/take.
Time
Remember that those totals do not account for the time the breeders put into preparing for, raising, placing, and supporting the puppy buyers. A reputable breeder sleeps by the puppies 24/7 for many weeks, even bottle feeding, and then almost all hours of the day playing, socializing, and cleaning after the pups. They put a great deal of time and effort into formally evaluating the puppies and working with each potential buyer which puppy is best fit for them. And then after the puppies are placed there is considerable time teaching ear posting, following up on ears and training, and staying in touch for the whole life of each puppy - even staying committed to taking any puppy back at any time for any reason. Also think about the many years of dedicated research and experience and mentoring that the breeder has/continues to go through relating to the breed. Time is really a priceless component to what the breeder invests in their litter and what you are paying for with your puppy.
disclaimer
Every breeder will have different costs based on where they live, what they choose to spend on, how many puppies are born, economy, etc. I followed a thread on an online Doberman forum showing that well bred puppies in 2005 were around $1,500 so you can see inflation effects our costs. There will also be some controversy on the list of costs because some breeders may or may not count cost of raising dam or titling her as a cost to be applied toward having a litter. It is not a way to "reimburse the breeder" but in my opinion they wouldn't have the litter if they didn't invest those costs so I count them. There are breeders that may charge lower or higher than my estimations. That is their prerogative. I am merely making a broad estimate where the different types of breeders invest their costs and what you can expect to pay for their puppy.