Part 1

Guest columnist Molly Nye is an experienced Bloodhound breeder in Charlotte, NC, where she and her husband Michael are active in regional and national Bloodhound organizations and participate in conformation, obedience, rally, tracking, and mantrailing activities.

Responses to Breeder’s Asking Price

Responsible breeders get this or similar responses to their asking price. Let’s look at why ethical and responsible breeders never make money on their litters, dream to break even, and why pet puppies should cost the same as show puppies.

Breaking Down the Money

Let’s start at the beginning. A breeder buys a quality bitch from another ethical and responsible breeder ($1500). It will be at least two years before she can be bred. To socialize the puppy in obedience and handling classes is going to cost money, at minimum one six-week puppy obedience session ($85) and two eight-week handling class sessions, over two years ($180). The breeder will house her and feed her a quality diet, perhaps with supplements, for two years ($1500), provide routine vet care, assuming no injury or illness ($300), flea, tick, heartworm prevention ($300). I and many other Bloodhound breeders choose to do a prophylactic gastropexy in hopes of preventing gastric torsion ($400). The breeder will then show the bitch to her championship–if owner-handled, about $2500 with travel expenses and entry fees. If other titles are desired, add extra cost for travel, training, and a pet sitter for your other animals. These are bare bones estimates. Where are we now? $6,765. If a professional handler is employed, add that expense.

Health Clearances Cost Too

Responsible breeders do health clearances on breeding animals at around two years of age. This can be a worrisome time, as if health clearances aren’t passed, you’re at least $6765 in the hole, not to mention the emotional drain of loving this puppy and the disappointed hopes and dreams.

At a minimum, in Bloodhounds, health certifications should be done on the heart, preferably with Doppler echocardiogram ($185-$400), hips and elbows ($400 together), and DNA test for Degenerative Myelopathy ($65). If you choose to test thyroid, that is $185, and an eye examination by a CERF ophthalmologist is $75-$200, totaling $1,250 for certifications. Now we’re at $8,015. I’m scaring myself as I write this article!

If we are lucky enough that this bitch passes clearances and we deem her appropriate for our breeding program, countless hours are spent researching what stud
dog to use, pedigrees, and health clearances of other dogs in those pedigrees. A stud dog is chosen with a stud fee arranged ($1500). We’re ready to go–let’s do this!

Pre-pregnancy Costs

Our bitch comes in season, and we do progesterone testing to find the optimal day to breed. We’ve had a pre-pregnancy consultation with our repro vet ($120), brucellosis test ($60), and sometimes pre-breeding bloodwork ($80). In the course of her season, about four progesterone tests are pulled to confirm when ovulation happened ($86 each – totally probably $344). We’ve traveled to the sire ($175), very graciously accepting the invite of his owners to stay with them for the breeding. We’ve brought artificial insemination supplies in case the job can’t get done naturally ($30), plus semen extender in case there isn’t enough volume collected from the sire ($50), additional cost if a vet is needed. The job is done–now the seemingly endless wait begins. At this point, we have
spent $10,374 and haven’t confirmed a pregnancy!

Part 2

Now the Wait

Having done the breeding, at 28-32 days post confirmed ovulation, we have the repro vet perform an ultrasound on our precious girl hoping to find babies. After all, we have anxious folks on our waiting list as hopeful as we are that this breeding took! $90 later, pregnancy is confirmed! Thank goodness, and now we start working on a whelping box and assembling supplies.

Whelping Supplies

Homemade whelping boxes are more a labor of love than a huge expense, but the materials cost around $75 to build one with pig rails to protect the puppies. We need bedding (ask for donations or stock up at thrift stores and yard sales ($20), a heat lamp ($20), thermometers to be sure the whelping box is warm enough ($20), and other whelping/rearing supplies: puppy collars, scale, lactated ringer’s, probiotics, goat’s milk or formula, antibiotics, feeding tubes, bottles, paper towels, baby wipes, etc., etc. ($250).

$10,929 Before Puppies Arrive

Around 59 days post ovulation, we do a full term gestation x-ray ($80) to count the puppies. A count of 8! Wonderful news! In case you’ve lost track, we are at a
minimum of about $10,929 before puppies have arrived.

I take off two weeks unpaid vacation from work to safeguard the mother and puppies ( $1200). Assuming all goes well with whelping, no C-section is required, and all puppies live, we have eight bundles of joy to raise for the next eight weeks. First up, vet check for mom and puppies, including dew claw removal ($300). As the weeks go by, we pay for an ad in a breed club publication ($20), extra food and goodies to keep mom eating and producing milk ($150), worming puppies ($25), rice cereal/more formula for weaning ($50). We beg countless newspapers from friends, neighbors, and co-workers, do countless loads of laundry (adding to the power bill), spend countless sleepless hours watching over the litter, countless hours on phone and email with prospective owners, countless hours temperament testing and socializing puppies (add gas money), new puppy collars ($20), more food ($200), vaccinations ($150), and registering the litter
($50). The last vet check comes before they go to their new homes ($500) as you say good-bye through tears to your babies.

Final Expense – Hopefully

We have decided to keep a puppy, so we have seven to sell. Each costs $1500 because the same amount of love, care, effort, and expense went into the pet puppies, so we bring in $10,500. Final expense for the litter from start to finish is around $13,594. This means that each $1500 puppy actually costs over $1900.

However, there are other variables: litter size, breeding doesn’t take, or more aggressive procedures needed, such as artificial insemination or surgical insemination, use of frozen semen that has been stored for years at some expense, additional tests, a C-section. These costs are based on my experience in North Carolina, but costs vary in different areas.

Why we breed?

Why do we breeders do this? Because we love and want to better our breed. Because we believe in breeding and placing puppies sound in body and mind. Because it is what drives us. We are the breeders you want to buy from, and this is why the pets are the same price as the others.

Molly Nye, Mns4@aol.com; American Bloodhound Club https://www.americanbloodhoundclub.org/. Daytime phone number: (740) 849-7920.