Q: How much does the average dog breeder make?
I know that the numbers vary a lot due to how many dogs they have, how much they sell them for.
But if you are a dog breeder yourself, or you know someone...
How many dogs do you have? And how much do you make annually with your dogs?
Answers and Views:
Answer by Kim S
it depends on what dog it is and current fads, my mom used to sell Shih Zhu puppies for like 1500 dollars, she had pedigreed dogs. She really wasn't a professional breeder since she only had a few bitches and one stud, so you figure a litter of about 5 puppies you could make like 7500 dollars, her dogs pedigree stretched all the way back to China in the 1800s. if you are talking about Puppy Mills that's a whole different story and you should never get into that.
Photo Credit: Ferlinka Borzoi (Deb West)/Flickr CC
Answer by Kat W
Lots of "variables' in this question…BUT
The first litter that a breeder has? chances are that there is NO money made…because of the cost of :
1) purchasing the female
2)getting the needed "shots" and registration papers
3) the cost of any shows or other "titles" that the female may get
4)testing for health issues, that "vary" from each breed
5) The stud fees
6) the travel expense to get the female to the stud dog…quite possibly having to spend the night in hotels…waiting for the mating to happen.
7) the cost of the puppy food and care for the first 8-10 weeks of the pups life.
The above things are the "needed' items for the first litter…
this doesn't include ANY of the time the breeder spent socializing the pup in order to get that pup to be a "great companion" for the puppy buyers or the time that is spent cleaning up after the pups…lots of time and energy is spent on "good pups" for those first 8 weeks…not to mention the time spent in talking with the new "puppy owners" that might be interested in one of the pups…and it doesn't include any of the time that a good breeder spends "talking" with the puppy buyers AFTER the pup leaves the breeders home…the breeders "job" doesn't end at the sale of their pup…it continues in the form of advising and support, to the new family, for the entire life of that pup…
Now after the first litter? there MIGHT be a profit of some sort…
Answer by Verci
Anybody who says you don’t make money breeding is a liar! They will tell you that cause they don’t want the competition at the end of the story. You can make a decent living out of it depending on where you are located, what type of dog you breed, the number of female dogs you own, and of course, you need a lot of dedication and space to breed.
You do not have to spend extra money if you don’t want to but the first shots for the puppies and deworming are necessary as many people won’t buy a pup without the first shot. The extra costs come for sure but that’s only in an emergency situation such as C section, and pup formula if the dam isn’t producing enough milk for the pups.
There are certain risks as well no doubt where you will actually be in negative for example Your dam needs a C section( quite expensive) Delivers only 2 pups and one of them dies…. right there you just paid close to 1K or more for the C section and you got 1 pup left so if your lucky you can sell the pup for the cost of the C section and then you break even but then you deal with your own dog recovering from the surgery and often times when C section is performed dam needs to be spayed ( again extra cost) or in worse example pups die and so does you dam then not only you lost your pet you also lost your money on the surgery, pups, etc.
You see breeding is a risky business and you have to count on the worse happening and be ready for it.
If everything goes smooth you can make up to $3000 or more per litter…. ( twice a year) but if problems arise well money goes into drain …. note: C sections are often preformed on toy dogs such as Chihuahua, Shih Tzu, pugs, and other small breeds.
So, in the end, you see you can make some money but you can also lose a lot including your own pets.
Rumble Video: Breeder Was Going To Throw Out 'Defective' Mastiff Puppy Until This Happened
Answer by nicki
a breeder that has about 20 female dogs can make 200,000k per year, but do you know what it costs to run a facility. remember these are animals and not factories. people are so uneducated.
let s say I have 12 pups and sell them for 1000. that 12,000 grand.
split that between 12 months in a year. that's 1000 dollars per month, divide by 4 weeks, that's 250.00 per week.
approx 40 bucks per day.
now subtract food and vet bills and care for the animal. How much profit was actually made.
It's a hobby for people that have money just like horse racing.
if you have 3 females and none of them get pregnant, it's a 2800 cost per year even if the dog doesn't get sick.
The bottom line is you make more NOT even having a dog. LOL
I'm a german shepherd fan for 30 years.
unless you scooped poop, you don't know what you're talking about.
most dog breeders are retired or their spouse works, most people actually have real jobs.
the REAL money is actually in dog training, Schutzhund training, not Petsmart training.
Answer by intrepidmalinois
A good breeder is lucky to break even, for too many reasons to list. Their reason for breeding is not for profit, but to produce sound dogs who fit the breed standard as closely as possible, not just in structure but also to continue the instincts within the breed for which that particular breed was originally developed, to correct structural faults and health problems.
This is the reason, "good" breeders who place some of their puppies in "pet" homes require that the pup be spayed or neutered. This is not to say that the pup is not healthy, but it may not meet the strict conformation standards for breeding, which is the purpose of dog shows. These shows have qualified judges who know the standard of each breed they judge, the dogs are being judged for fitting the standard closely enough to be bred.
Backyard breeder and puppy mills, do not hold to these standards, conformation or health-wise. They attempt to capitalize on the expensive, time-consuming tedious efforts of "true" breeders, who breed solely for the love and improvement of the breed.
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Answer by Apacapacas
For a backyard breeder who gets into it just for the fun, there's almost no profit at all. All the income goes to taking care of the mother and her puppies. But if you want to get into breeding as a business, it's a life-long commitment, because it will take fifteen to twenty years just to see if your selective breeding program has really improved the breed's health, conformation, disposition, or whatever other traits you're looking to improve. If you're just in it for the money, it probably isn't worth it.
Answer by Kat
I know many collie breeders. Most of them only have one litter a year.
Before they breed their dogs they have to them tested at their vet. for STDs. (yes dogs have sexually transmitted diseases too) Which costs $.
Then they have to do progesterone testing, to see when the dog should be bred. (Which means more $ paid to the vet.)
Then they have to pay the Stud fee – Which is usually around $ 500, but sometimes up to $ 1,000.
Then they have the cost of checkups with the vet. to make sure their pregnant dog is healthy and the puppies are doing ok. And the cost of feeding the mom and puppies a high-quality dog food to ensure they are all getting proper nutrition.
Then once the puppies are born, they will have to go for eye checks, health checks, and first vaccinations….all of which comes out of the breeder's pocket.
All of this and then there is no guarantee how many puppies will be born if any. And none of this is considering the cost in the event of problems which require surgery, etc.
Finally, there is the cost of showing the b*tch and/or stud dog and earning their championship titles. (Reputable breeders wait until their dogs are finished champions before breeding them.)
Most reputable breeders break even on the cost of having a litter, while some may make a small profit. More often they lose money on the litter. The reputable breeders are not breeding to make money. They are breeding to produce their ideal of the breed standard. They have carefully thought out the planned litter, researched the parent's pedigrees and considered all the potential problems.
Most of them will have people on a waiting list for puppies, so they already know their puppies will have good homes. Breeding a litter should never be done without careful planning, as there are just too many dogs and puppies in shelters without homes.
It's the BYB breeders who have multiple litters and the puppy mills that actually make a profit.
Answer by Laynnie
I have males so for me it's a bit different.
If you are the owner of both the sire and dam and are looking into breeding for profit don't bother. There is a lot of time and money that goes into even 1 pregnancy, both animals need to be vet checked before breeding, momma needs various vet checks during preg, then at due date there may be complications or she may need a c-section, etc. after she needs at least 1-2 checks to make sure she is still ok and there is no lack of calcium, etc. then all of the puppies need to see the vet regularly before they are even given away. Depending on the breed you have docking of tails, dewclaw removal, worming vacs.
over all the profit depends on the pregnancy, the last litter we actually had we made no profit at all, the vet bills due to complications with momma were more than what we sold the babies for. But the babies went to good homes so it's worth it.
I have 2 males, only one is a sire the other is not breeding quality (but he just about died at birth so I kept him)
my family has the dames and there are 3 different ones.
Answer by DK
Anybody who is claiming that you can ONLY make very little next to no money is either really bad at accounting and finding ways to stay professional while keeping costs down… or just flat out does not know what they are doing.
Some people here have SOME knowledge on the subject but obviously are either talking to the wrong people or doing the wrong things. I've been successfully breeding now for 6 1/2 years making upwards of $60K a year. It took about a year to start making this extra bit of money but it was well worth it. Note: I do not 'show' these dogs even though they are AKC registered… they're strictly bred to be family pets.
Anybody saying different, is either A.) a breeder and doesn't want competition, B.) as mentioned before just really do not know what they are talking about or doing, or C.) Works for SPCA.
Anyone trying to get into this field should not be discouraged by all the negative comments on this site. It can be very rewarding… particularly if you love animals, a specific dog, and giving families a new family member they can cherish for years.
Answer by Panda
Dog breeders can make about 20-30 grand a year to only 5 grand. Depends on how lucky they are.
Know better? Give your own answer to this question!
nicki says
The comment has been moved into the body of the post.
Verci says
The comment has been moved into the body of the post.
Jess Q says
For Dog breeders, I would recommend
sophylakes says
LMAO,,, they do NOT MAKE MONEY
figure in cost of feeding
cost of vetting
cost of prebreeding DNA, genetic tests ( ofa, cerf, etc)
cost of puppy eye clearances
cost of puppy shots
cost of traveling every weekend to go to shows
cost of show entry money
cost of paperwork ,
etc
etc
etc
NOT A PROFITABLE VENTURE,, they do it to better the breed… not for money
valeriedanes says
Let's see. I start showing my bitch/dog from the time they're 6 months. Since I don't pay a handler I only have to worry about entry fees for each dog I enter, each day. I have to pay for gas to get me to the location, hotel accomodations, food, parking fees at the show site. Then there's the money I need to spend on gas to get back home.
We'll be generous and guesstimate that the dog finishes by the time it's two years old.
Entry fees are on average $ 25.00 for the class x 2 (weekend) = $ 50.00
Gas to fill the tank $ 75.00 each way, that's minimum.
And the hotel hell (Motel 6) is about $ 70.00 a night. If there's no Motel 6 you sometimes have to stay at a place where they charge you to have a dog in the room -another $ 25-$ 100 a night.
Well eat cheap -$ 20.00
Hmm, show collar and lead -$ 20.00 (cheap)
Bait ($ 5.00, give or take)
We show maybe two – three weekends a month and about 8 months out of the year.
You do the math.
Dog is finished, time to do health testing.
Hips – $ 350
Thyroid -$ 150
Cardio -$ 150-$ 350
CERF -$ 35
Fees to submit each to OFA/CERF – $ 76
Stud fee – $ 600 + (depends on dogs record, if he's had complete, good, health testing, been used frequently, if you get a live cover or have to pay for shipment, etc.)
Pre breeding tests for bitch -$ 65.00
Change of diet for bitch… oh gosh, that really depends on what your currently feed and her condition at time of breeding.
I'll guess my girl would have to give birth to about 25 puppies. Hmm, but that would increase my expenses because I would have to devote time and more money to caring for those extra babies.
Or I would have to have several litters a year. OH! But that would make me a backyard breeder or a puppy mill.
Oh no, that can't be true. BYB's and PM's don't show their dogs, not one. BYB's and PM's don't do any health testing. Not one.
And a reputable breeders doesn't typically breed several litters a year.
Robin says
so what do you do for a living then?
dogmom1971 says
a good breeder doesn't make much, if anything. you should never look at any pet with dollar signs in your eyes. between health checks, blood work, hip xrays (depending on the breed) and any other vet checks on top of vaccinations, quality food and breeding to another quality dog and paying the stud fees, there isn't much to be made. there are often delivery emergencies and they usually don't fall within regular vet business hours so you pay emergency fees. in my area an emergency fee is between $ 100-$ 150 just o have the pet seen. that includes no treatment, it is the price to be let in the door. a breed quality dog is not a dog you feel is perfect, but one that has been proven perfect compared to breed standards. showing has its own list of expenses that will also subtract from any breeding money. the people who make money breeding are not concerned with breeding quality, healthy pets, they are worried about how much they will make. and before you decide to breed spend some time at your local shelter to see how many pure bred dogs are housed there, and ask how many of those will be euthanized because there aren't homes for them all. i worked with a german shepherd rescue and several times a year they would be given full litters of pure bred pups, some papered, because the "breeder" couldn't find homes for them all. there is much more to consider than just the money you could make.
sml says
this isn't about MONEY; to do it right, you really lose money; to do it right; you don't leave them alone in a kennel but family raise them; you can lose your dog, you can lose puppies, you can have a pup with a problem and then there are vet bills , deworming, socialization , screening for good homes; in fact if you factor in time to clean up , train, pay attention, and food, vet, follow up care you lose money; I turned down over 30 people the two times that I did do it; I still keep in touch 5 years later, I turned down all kinds of weirdos; I have a policy to take them back at any time for any reason ; you get what you pay for , my dogs are PETS; breeders can't be breeding for long and not get rid of the dogs as they get older, etc ; how is it that you have dogs to breed and then get rid of them when they don't suit your purpose; even puppy mills can give you AKC registration papers; stay out of it if you think there is an income in it; there are enough bad breeders out there ; we don't need any more. Sell sell sell ; I have the daughter and a Mom ; and no I am not breeding the daughter, we did breed the Mom to keep a puppy for us ; they sleep together , the Mom still treats her daughter as a daughter and visa versus, the daughter still runs to her Mom for comfort ; and sleeps with her with her paw thrown over her Mom ; when they are separated the Mom always is concerned looking for her; our puppies now adults come back to visit and still remember where everything was , is ; it isn't about money !!!
lesbian therapist says
175 to 800 a pup
maz says
A good dog breeder actually looses money because they spend more on their dogs and pups than they make from the sale of pups with top quality food, health checks, necessary tests and keeping up to date health certificates for eyes or whatever else is recommended for the breed, if you show your dog you have to pay to enter shows, vet care, extra heating for the pups, etc.
Lona F says
I know when my mom got ur first dog it was from a breeder and he was sell them for 500.00$ and my mom new him from her school because they are teachers so he sold her for 150.00 to my mom and no one also as far as i know but the dogs he breed were just maltese but he does not do that know more…
Lizzie says
Why would you like to know? So you can be a BYB and add to the population of unhomed pups??
Kristi B says
The only thing a good breeder really gets out of it is the pleasure knowing they have maintained the breed standard and in some cases have bettered it.
This is how a backyard breeder contributes to the breed:
Every hour about 2,500 puppies and kittens are born in the United States.
A dog abandoned on the street has a life expectancy of about one (1) year, a cat slightly longer.
Each year, there are over 15 MILLION animals destroyed in pounds and shelters because there are no homes for them.
A male pet can easily father 750 offspring in his lifetime.
If a dog or cat has four (4) offspring every year (which is a very low number) and two (2) of them are female, and each of them also has four (4) offspring a year, two of them female – by the seventh (7th) year, the original mother will have four thousand three hundred and seventy-two (4,372) descendants.
Starseeker says
Too many variables here to say, but most dog breeders will tell you they don't do it for the money.
Rarer breeds sell for more. The more breeders there are with certain breeds, the cheaper they get.
Also, depends if the breeder registers their dogs with the kennel club etc. Some don't bother, but their dogs are still pure breeds so they sell them, but for less.
There are many many expenses, so some breeders make a loss even after selling puppies for a lot of money.
There are stud fees usually, and depending on the stud, they can run to hndreds or maybe even thousands in some cases.
There are vet's bills while the mother is pregnant.
vet's bills during the birth if things go wrong.
vet's bills to vaccinate and check the puppies for any known or unknown genetic disorders etc.
KC registering fees.
Food etc for the puppies while they are still with the breeder,
Advertising the puppies for sale
All of these and sometimes more are expenses that detract from any earnings.
*~AngelBear~* says
If they are a good breeder they make next to nothing once they pay for the vet bills, first checkup, shots, dewormer ect.
If they are a byb it depends on how much they overabuse thier dogs by breeding them and how many dogs they abuse by keeping them outside in all sorts of horrid weather.
If you're planning on breeding dogs for money, you're sick.
tiffseagles says
If they put their dogs through all the correct testing and use a stud with a good pedigree background, they make nearly nothing and very often lose money. This is the way it should be done. Anyone breeding to make money shouldn't be doing it.
Ruth K says
If your first (or almost first) concern is how much money you will be making, you shouldn't be breeding puppies. Money is not a good reason to be breeding. Read all of the other responses about the no profit in breeding and believe them.
walking lady says
The average dog breeder, real breeder, not backyard breeder, doesn't even break even. Breeding dogs isn't a money-making venture, breeders do it for the love of their dogs and for no other reason. Back yard breeders are a whole other thing – they can make money breeding because they don't do any health testing, they sell puppies much too young, a lot of them don't give 1st shots, don't do worming, don't feed good quality food, they certainly don't show or advertise, in short, the dogs aren't good quality nor are they well looked after.
Real breeders make $ 0 annually.
Sims says
My aunt raised Chows and she made OK money at it but she didn't put a lot into it… I know several people who do, and even do pure bread cats!
You will get out of it what you put into it, the quality of your dogs, the breed, if you network, sell them yourself, or through a broker or pet store… etc… you can make a living at it as many people do in my area but it is cruel to have those poor dogs pinned up and breed over and over…
Cathy P says
Actually, the average reputable dog breeder makes very little money. Most of the money is eaten up with providing quality care, vet care, and feeding for the dogs and litters.
Mutt ™ says
-$ 550.00 if they are a good breeder that produces healthy, tested, dogs.
Sometimes, they may break even.
heidi f says
YOU SHOULD NOT BREED TO MAKE MONEY!!!!!!
A REPUTABLE BREEDER BREEDS FOR CONFIRMATION AND QUALITY OF THE BREED
NOT FOR MONEY.
BREEDING DOGS IS NOT A CAREER!!!!!!
Feefee D says
Depends… im not a dog breeder but if you sell puppies that aren't registered than you can only sell them from free-350 and if they are registered than u can sell the pups for 450-550
Hope i helped
~Felicia~
hellosunshine_hb says
Good ones don't make much at all.
FUZZY-WUZZY WUZA NEW says
Make???
As in PROFIT???? You GOTTA be kidding!!!!!!!! Zippo!!!!!!
Showing and health clearances, vet care, stud fees, and good food are all EXPENSIVE!!!!
Do it RIGHT and you make nothing.
Puppymills/BYB's make money because they don't put NEARLY as much into the dogs!!!
**My last litter of 5…4 of whom were sold for $ 1,500 each made NO profit. Most of it all went right back out the door to the handler and show entries. The rest was to the vet and the food delivery.
Stacy says
If they do it correctly and ethically, they make nearly nothing breeding. The price of the puppies is made up for in showing the female until she becomes a champion, paying for stud fees from a champion male, doing health tests and screens on both dogs, paying for good prenatal care, paying for labor emergencies, paying for quality food, and paying for the puppies medical care for the first ten weeks of life.