How much would you pay for a puppy?

Question

Hi everyone

How much would you pay for a Boxer puppy. It must be about 6 months old!

Its all vaccinated and 'fixed'

My workmate is going to pay £500.00 for it from a dog breeder!

Is that too much?

oh, I stand corrected the puppy is only a month old!

Answer 1

I wouldn't pay anything for a puppy - I'd get one from a rescue centre. I can't see why anyone would pay so much when there are lots of dogs in need of homes.

Answer 2

If the breeder is selling your friend a puppy that will already be neutered before taking it home...first impressions would say that the puppy is coming from a good breeder. A responsible breeder will breed for a show quality dog. It is inevitable that a one or two puppies will not meet exact breed 'standard'. An ethical breeder will require that the 'pet quality' puppy will be spayed/neutered. This does not mean the dog is not a healthy dog just not a 'show quality' dog. A few things that your friend should ask from any breeder is:
Are they active in showing their dogs?
Are they active in the breed club?
Have the parents of this puppy had their hips/elbows certified against displaysia?
Do they offer a health guarantee for this puppy?
Will they take the puppy back if your friend cannot keep it? Even if it is 10 years old?

I have no issues with paying for a quality dog...breed and bloodlines have a lot to do with what I would pay for a purebred. Although if I was not interested in showing/breeding the dog, the first option is to check the local shelters. There are plenty of purebred rescues and purebreds even end up at the local humane organizations. My local Humane Society has a 'match-a-pet' program for people that want a specific breed of dog...40% of dogs at that shelter are purebred.

For the people who dont know why a good breeder would wait and sell the puppy at six months here is one of the most common...If a breeder has high hopes for a specific puppy to be a show quality dog, sometimes a conformation fault (could be something as minor as not enough color for a boxer or incorrect tail set) or a temperment fault ( a terrier that is shy for example) wouldnt manifest until the puppy is more mature. I am assuming the questioner doesnt have the exact info on this puppy being that it is being purchased by a workmate not them. If the puppy is only one month old, the breeder may not be sending the puppy home until it is 12 weeks old.

Answer 3

Some special circumstances warrant this, but most do not. Previous answers are all sufficient. But when I was younger I knew this woman who could go to these puppy mills every other week and simply ask and plead and beg the puppy mill owners to give her the dogs. Any dogs. Dogs who were old and couldn't breed anymore, or puppies that weren't sellable. She would take the pets and get them all the vet care they needed and adopt them out to families for a small fee which would in turn would pay for the vet bills of the next animal she obtained by begging the mills. What was most disturbing about these stories was the way that getting the dogs was a lot like riffling through someone else's trash bin. The millers would say things like " I don't know why you'd want that old thing" and " its no good anymore" as though they were objects. So some people even though they spend money to attempt to make lives better for these pups are also working against these mills at the same time. Someone has to work at each level of the chain to really close them down for good.

Answer 4

Currency Conversion:
500.00 GBP
United Kingdom Pounds = 1,236.20 AUD
Australia Dollars
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No, I wouldn't pay that much for a Boxer puppy. Although I did consider buying a Boxer puppy for £500 ($1,126 AUD) from a breeder. Instead, I decided to pay £283 ($700 AUD) for a Dalmatian puppy from a breeder.
If the puppy is from a reputable breeder who screens their dogs of hereditary diseases and makes sure there are no lines of hereditary diseases, cancer etc. in the pedigree AND your friend trusts that breeder, then no, it's not too much.
If the dog is FIXED (neutered/spayed), there is no way a vet can do that when the puppy is 1 month old (4 weeks). The minimum age a puppy can be sold at is 8 weeks old. No reputable breeder would even CONSIDER selling a puppy at 4 weeks of age.

Answer 5

It is a reasonable amount as long as the breeder is a reputable breeder. Meaning that both parents have been thoroughly checked for any health issues that could be passed on to the offspring before they mated them and that they have dewormed, gave initial vaccines and has a spay/neuter contract that the breeder makes your friend sign. Something to me sounds fishy though. You say the puppy is only a month old, vaccinated and "fixed". No good breeder will allow their puppies to be taken to their new homes until they are at least 10 weeks old. Even though vets will do pediatric altering for rescues(pups are at least 10 weeks old), the vet will have the average family wait until the dog is 6 months old before altering. 1 month old pups are too young to have their initial vaccines, vets will not give them until they are 6 to 8 weeks(1 1/2 to 2 months old).

Answer 6

Hi there, the price is about right. We have a boxer and paid about the same with pedigree . £ 500.00 is a small price to pay for the fun and companionship and loyalty that you only receive from this breed of dog.

Answer 7

how much is the going rate for a Boxer puppy you see advertised in the newspapers in your area? If you see them for considerably less, than ask yourself why pay so much. Also, this dog has been "fixed" at 6 months already???

Lastly, why is the person selling the dog at 6 months?

Answer 8

Thats an ok price but at a month old it's too young to go to him yet so he won't be able to take it for another month.

Also theres no way it can be fixed and vaccinated by 4 weeks old.

Answer 9

At a month old, the puppy can't be fully vaccinated and fixed. Vets don't fix puppies that young and where I am, they are still too young for all the vaccines at that age.

Answer 10

Nope! If you have done your homework properly and found a reputable breeder who ensures that the parents have had all the necessary health checks in their breed (in Boxers they must have a heart score of 0 or 1) then I feel that £500 is reasonable.

Answer 11

I agree with the answer about rescuing a pet. I too, however, have "rescued" a pet from a breeder by purchasing her! I feel that I've done her a favor and saved hundred of liters of puppies and her from being bred for money. I payed the price to have a pet and I don't regret it one bit!!