Are Rottweiler expensive only by their breed?

Question

I want to get a rotty and I've found that they are expensive, very expensive. I want to know if they are expensive because of their breed, color, size, origin, or difficulty to train or difficulty to train to be nice.

Answer 1

Quality dogs are expensive to buy because the breeder has to pay for a stud fee, health exams, x-rays and OFA certification for hip dysplasia and tests for canine VD. Rotties are usually easy whelpers, but sometimes they have to be delivered by an expensive c-section. The pups then need food and shots and wormings and lots of care for eight weeks. One of my breeder friends once calculated that she made less than $1.85 per hour after expenses!

All dogs cost money to take care of. A good pup can easily cost $1000 or more. Puppy shots are another $200, then $100 a year. Annual Heartworm test and preventative medication $100. Professional trainer $600 and up. Going on vacation? Boarding kennel $40/day. Spaying? $250. If you can't afford to pay for a good dog, maybe you can't afford to maintain one either?

Dogs are terrific companions but they require training and discipline and exercise. A dog the size of a Rottweiler needs early and consistent obedience training or they can become a menace to your family and neighbors. Rottweilers live 10 - 12 years. Paying $1200 for a pup means that the dog cost you less than $100 a year - is that really too much??? If you can't afford a dog, get an alarm system - it doesn't have to be walked or trained.

Find a good breeder by going to www.akc.org or talking to people at dog shows. You can also find info about the breed clubs on the akc site - they probably have a rescue group where you can get an older dog for less money. The best breeders will be members of their breed club, promoting healthy dogs with great temperaments. They should ask you a bunch of questions to make sure their puppy will be getting a good home. If all a "breeder" seems to care about is whether your check will clear, you can be sure he won't care a week later when the pup is dying from distemper or parvo and you want your money back.

Whatever you do, DON'T go to a pet shop, a flea market or buy one sight-unseen off the Internet!!!! You'll pay top dollar for what is usually a poor quality puppy mill dog. And you'll be supporting one of the cruelest industries in the country. The breeding animals are often kept in deplorable conditions - spending their entire lives in small wire-bottomed cages. They probably haven't been vaccinated against contagious diseases or tested for any health or temperament problems or genetic diseases - that costs money and cuts into their profits. A female is often bred every time she comes into heat. When her poor little body can't take it any more, she is often clubbed in the head and tossed into a dumpster or an open ditch. Most puppy mills ship their pups to pet stores at wholesale prices and many pups die before they even get there.

These so-called "breeders" have now figured out that they can use the internet to ship a dog directly to the customer and thus make more money by cutting out the middleman. If you buy a dog from out of state, good luck getting your money back if there's something wrong with the pup. These people count on you becoming instantly attached to the poor little guy and being willing to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars at the vet to treat whatever is wrong with him.

Answer 2

Generally, a puppy is priced according to how much money and work the breeder has put into their breeding program in order to produce the puppy.

For example, I have a free-whelping female Boston Terrier. That means that she, unlike many others, does not need C-sections. So, I can keep my prices much lower since I do not have to offset the couple of thousand dollars the C-section might cost. I also own my own male, so I do not have to pay for stud service unless I want to add in a particular trait to my lines.

But, my English Bulldog, besides needing a C-section, also needs to be artificially inseminated (and stud-service), extra vet visits before and during pregnancy, and a special home-cooked, no-salt diet while she's pregnant. The puppies often have a high mortality rate, on top of small litters to begin with. So, when the puppies are finally ready to go, I have to try to at least "break even" with the cost of the mating, pregnancy, birth, and vet care for the puppies before they go to their new homes. Needless to say, the Bulldog puppies go for much more than the Boston puppies.

So, considering that Rotties can have complications during pregnancy as well, I would suppose that figures into the cost of the puppies as well. The more the puppies cost, the more the breeder is putting into the care of the litter. At least, that's how it should work. There are some out there that are going for pure profit, and it will be up to you to make sure that all of this care has been put into your puppy before you take it home.

Find out what is required care for Rotties during and after pregnancy, and what is required for the puppies while in their care. Ask the breeder if they have done all of this, and don't be shy about it. The more questions you ask, the better. And a good breeder will be happy to sit and answer as many questions as you can toss at them, and ask you a lot of questions about yourself and your home as well. A good breeder always want to know that their puppies are going to good homes.

Get a puppy with a health guarantee, too. Most responsible breeders offer them, and it will protect you if something genetic goes wrong with your puppy in the first couple of years of its life.

Good luck to you!

Answer 3

Make sure you buy from a breeder that you know or has been recommended. I had a rottie for 13 years and I have a 1 year old. They are amazing, loving dogs if you raise them right. They are not difficult to train, but with any dog you need to be consistent and give lots of praise. If they are cheap, I would worry about the breeder and the dog.

Answer 4

Rottys are just as easy to train as any other dog.They do vary in price by breed.If you get a Pure Bred then make sure you get papers too.

Answer 5

It depends on where you go,,what kind of Rottie you want..show quality is always expensive..wherever you go make sure you see the parents to see their disposition..A rottie is big task cuz they have such a bad rep..but they make great dogs.. i have owned 5 of them ....

Answer 6

i had 1 it wasn't expensive then he died he got really sick we went 2 a pet store came home he was deadon the porch i was 5 or 6 yrs old!