Breeding dogs? Is there really money to be made?

Question

I love dogs. I just got a new place with a few acres of land. I was wondering how the dog breeding business is? Do you really make some good money? I"m thinking of breeding boxers as they are my favorite dog. My parents breed yorkies and seem to make some good extra money. I was just wondering what other breeders have to say? The positives and negatives of breeding boxers? I'm planning to buy a 2 year old male and a 3 year old female both AKC registered. Any advice or stories would be great. Thanks and happy holidays

Just to add, I have grown up around dogs. Our family always had 2 or 3 dogs so I know how to take care of them and am aware of the shots and declaw they need after birth. I'm not sure why everyone makes this out to be the worst thing ever. The way I see it is, i'm giving people healthy pups that they add and treat like another family member. My parents, grandparents and aunt are all breeders and love all there dogs, they are treated like family which is how I plan to treat mine. It's not like i'm buying 30 dogs and running a dog factory i'm talking about 3 or 4 dogs to make a extra 15k-20k a year. And for all you that said get a job, I work 55 hours a week now so don't tell me how I need to work more etc.. But thanks for those of you who are giving helpful advice.

Answer 1

Reputable breeders are lucky if they break even by the time you pay the cash expenses running health checks, paying the stud fee, shipping, raising the pups and vet care for the mom and litter....that is assuming you don't have to have a c-section, etc. If you factor in the amount of time they spend raising the litter then you would have been further ahead dollar wise with you had gotten a part time job at your local fast food place.

Breeders have litters because they wish to improve there breed, not to get rich.

BTW if you are serious about this I would suggest trying to find a mentor who can educate to about the breed. Also buying a male isn't the wisest choice because odds are he isn't going to be the best match for your female.

Sounds to me like your parents are at best backyard breeders or you would have a better idea what is involved.

Answer 2

There is no money to be made in breeding unless you do it wrong. Seeing you are only thinking of the money here, I am going to assume you will do it wrong. I just don't understand how you can say you grew up around dogs and at the same time have no compassion and respect for them. Mind-boggling.
Breeding is a hobby-a very time-consuming one, so if you work 55 hours a week, you have no time already. Unless you want to do it wrong.
AKC registered doesn't really mean anything. Many puppymill dogs are AKC registered. Sounds like you would be better off finding another way to make your money instead of turning a dog into an ATM.
Is this what your parents taught you? I doubt it, if they are breeders. And if they are, why don't you know how much money is to be made? Can you not ask your family all these questions?

Answer 3

No. Reputable breeders barely break even after a litter. That's why the best breeders only have one or two litters by a single female. It is just so much work, that it's not worth it.

Backyard breeders make money because they don't properly care for their adult dogs or puppies. If you become a breeder this is the category you'll be in - you won't be a puppy miller, but you will be a backyard breeder.

Your dogs may be registered, but will they meet the breed standard. Will you show them and win them titles to show that they are of breed standard? They will both need to undergo a mirage of health screenings before you breed either, plus the female will need lots of prenatal visits to the vet, not to mention possible complications requiring emergency c-sections or death of the puppies or female. As well as aftercare for the female and all of the puppies - you'll need a good vet that is willing to visit you and deworm, remove dewclaws, vaccinate, etc. You'll also need to feed the mom a very high quality food all the time - both while pregnant and lactating. Also the puppies will need to be switched to a high quality puppy food while you continue to care for them until they are between 9 and 12 weeks old - puppies shouldn't be yanked from mom at 6 weeks when they can be weaned.

Then you'll want to make sure all of your puppies are going to good homes which means applications, home visits, personal references, meeting them multiple times to make sure they are going to properly care for the puppies. It also means offering health certifications on the puppies, so if one is sick or has some kind of genetic defect, you will be responsible for reimbursing the buyers and taking the puppy back.

Breeding is best left to professionals. Only 1 in 8 puppies will se their first birthday in a loving family - only 1 in 20 kittens. The rest will suffer neglect and abuse, will escape lonely backyard, will dodge cars and other animals, will end up in shelters where they will be put down not because they are aggressive or unadoptable but simply because there are too many of them. One in every four shelter dogs is a purebreed.

Don't contribute to the pet overpopulation crisis. Spay and neuter.

Answer 4

Do your parents breed yorkies, or are they back yard breeders that have two registered (or not registered), unproven dogs have pups and then sell them to people via the paper and such?

There is a thick, heavy line between a dedicated, responsible breeder and the muck that most 'breeders' are nowadays.

First thing's first. Are your dogs champion material? Is their health the PEAK of perfection? Your puppies produced must be the absolute BEST out of the gene pool of boxers! They're to make the breed BETTER! Always remember that.

Is their coloration perfect? What about their grandparents, their great grandparents and so on and so forth? What about genetic diseases?

How much do you know about your breed? If a new owner calls you six months from now and says they can no longer keep the puppy, can you afford to take the whole litter back and raise them from birth 'til death? That's what a responsible breeder does.

We don't make a profit. If anything, we usually go in debt. We give our dogs the best lives we can, and when puppies come, we spend countless hours making sure they're healthy, happy, and well taken care of for life-by us, or their new owners.

You also need a substantial amount for emergencies, and a lot of time. If mom doesn't produce milk, you could be raising 15 puppies from birth to 6 weeks on eye droppers and puppy formula, rubbing their bellies to make sure they can get rid of their waste and keeping up on their overall health. Mom might also have an artery in her uterus explode and kill her. She might also need a c-section (about $2500 in an emergency, or up, in your breed) to save her life... and you may still lose her, or the puppies, or both.

Then there's STD's, violent males, accidental breedings, finding RESPONSIBLE people who want the puppies, laying out your contract, showing the dogs after the puppies have left for their homes,etc. =) It's a life-long commitment you're making to these pups... not a financial gain circumstance.

Answer 5

breeding does NOT make money. There are so many expenses that go along with breeding. Its an expensive hobby. If you need extra money, get a job.


The only way to be sure you are providing healthy dogs is to put alot of money into your dogs. If you love the breed, then you want to do right by the breed. You want to be sure you are only using the best dogs possible for breeding. There are alot of poorly-bred purebreds out there as a result of people breeding anything that has papers.

You will need to show your dogs to proove that they fit their standard. I have seen some purebreds who do not resemble their breed at all because of people using parents who do not fit the standard.


You will need to do genetic health testing to be sure that your dogs are healthy. You should learn what genetic health problems are common for your breed so you know what you should test for. Here are the different tests:

CERF is the Canine Eye registry Foundation.. this is to check for eye disorders, including PRA, luxating lens and cataracts. This test should be done yearly from the time the dog is 2 years old.. eyes change alot as dogs mature.. if any eye problems arise, it can be determined too if the problem is genetic, or age-related.

BAER is a hearing test.

OFA is Orthopedic Foundation for Animals. This is to test for orthopedic problems, such as hip displasia and luxating patella. I think they also keep records in their database on other health issues like thyrouid problems, epilepsy and blood-clotting disorders.

PennHip is for hip displasia.. it is a little bit better test than the OFA, because they take x-rays at different angles and also measures the joint laxity.

Optigen is a general test.

You will also need to look over your male and female and decide if you really think that they are a good match. Do they have the same faults.. or do their faults compliment each other?

You will also need money saved for pre-natal care, and also incase there are problems during whelping. A cecarian alone can easily cost $1000-2000.. more if there are complications, or it needs to be done at the ER vet in the middle of the nite.

Your female can also only be bred once a year at most.. and even that may be a little too much. Many good breeders only breed a female every other year... and then retire her around the age of 6 or 7.. meaning they only get about 2 litters out of a female.

Answer 6

a reputable breeder does not breed for the money. they breed for the love of the dog, solely to improve the breed as a whole. they spare no expense. they do genetic tests to be sure there are no genetic health problems or behavior problems. they breed for a great temperment, perfect health, and optimum look. real reputable breeders either just break even, or end up losing money. so no, there is no money to be made in dog breeding. breeding is like a hobby. a hobby that takes up alot of your life. you have to find a regular income somewhere else. no i do not think you should start dog breeding.

Answer 7

I'm sorry all these people have attacked you on this question some of these people on here are so stupid! I don't believe you guys just do it to better the breed and to watch dogs mate you guys are obviously in it for profit just as this person is. I dont believe you guys will spend all of your money you earn from your jobs to do it I'm sorry but i don't think you breeders do it for the love of the breed it think is is a load of dog sh!t literally. These people are calling you a puppy mill or a backyard breeder you are not a byb at all you just want to make a little extra cash and your not a bad person or a puppy mill or a byb for doing so.First things first you just have to make sure that your Dogs are healthy and purebred and YOU MUST make sure the parents are healthy enough to breed if they are sick and are not healthy DO NOT BREED THEM because no one wants an unhealthy puppy and you don't want to get a bad rep for yourself and you must make sure they have their vaccines and you could even save some money and do them yourself if you wanted to it would save you $300 but you must know what your doing and where to vaccinate on their body because you don't want to hurt or even kill your puppy and you must make sure there are no air bubbles when you give a vaccine because that is very dangerous and you can deworm your puppies yourself too. You are not a byb or puppy mill just remember that some of these people on here don't even know what they are even talking about i have had experience with my friends mom who make a hell of a lot of money breeding so don't eat these peoples sh!t on here just make sure your puppies are healthy, purebred, ckc or akc registered, well socialized and you will sell them in no time but also keep in mind that most people don't give a f^ck about show quality most people don't even put their dogs in shows anyways so hopefully i helped even though this question is really old but i didn't sugar coat it and i know i will get thumbs down but IGAF have a good one :)

Answer 8

If you breed responsibly you do NOT make money...a breeder that is "making some good extra money" is NOT breeding repsonsibly.
There is more to breeding then simply choosing a breed you love and having them AKC registered.
You need to know as much as possible about the breed, it's history, genetics, health issues, breeding ethics, breed standard, etc. You should be come active in the breed club/kennel club. You should be come active in showing and/or competeing with your dogs..you need to thoroughly research the breeds bloodlines, you need to get genetic health testing on the dogs that you are considering for your breeding program..these are totally different then simple vet exams, you need to learn all you can about breeding, whelping & newborn care....having owned dogs for years is not sufficient knowledge for beginning breeding..you also should get a mentor one with years of expereince, showing, etc of your chosen breed.
If breeding breed responsibly...breed to add something back to the breed, breed to produce pups better then their parents don't just breed to produce puppies..

Answer 9

Specifically in reference to breeding boxers.

A girlfriend of mine's parents breed salgrey boxers and have been for years and years.

Their b*tch just had a litter earlier this year (her third and last) and needed an emergency c-section. Only one pup survived anyway. The pup had health problems, so they're not selling it. They spent 4000 on a litter that basically never existed. They also have two males (who they've never bred with the female). One was shown for 5 years and studded out twice, and the other is not stud quality (genetic defect) so they just have him as a family pet. After this last non-litter, they have decided to retire from breeding, but in talking to them they think they have probably lost about $3000 a year by having dogs to breed.

They run a kennel (one of the best in our area) in order to make money.

Answer 10

Reputable breeders do not make a fortune.. BUT they do make a GOOD NAME for themself...
Bad breeders make money but have bad reputations.

the difference between the two is one step - SHOWING...

A good breeder takes their dogs to shows to PROVE their worth as breeding animals - he/she will not breed any dog who has not proven to be an EXCELLENT example of the breed, worthy of passing on its genetics. AND checked by a vet to rule out any problems like hips or eyes...

this all takes time and money.. sure they sell the pups for more, and often have a waiting list from people wanting their pups... but do they get rich off it?? NO - they do it TO IMPROVE THE BREED... NOT to get rich!!!!

the dogs you are planning on buying - are their parents proven at shows?? if not then the chances of these dogs being high quality is lower...

if making money is your goal.. rather than breed improvement - you are getting into it for the wrong reason...
there is never a guarantee you will make money - either dog could be sterile.. or the female might require an expensive cesearian...

if you want to make money off dogs - the best thing would be for you to open a boarding kennel as you have space for that...