Prices of puppies on the internet

Again a worthwhile reminder for those new people looking for dogs.  Every single day their are people on facebook groups complaining at the price of puppies.  It is frustrating yes because at the end of the day dog prices have shot up.  Covid 19 caused a huge price change in all dog breeds. Not just the breeds we own.  The demand for puppies suddenly allowed for some breeders to double the prices.  Sadly however these breeders do not own the best dogs in the UK, far from it.  Breeders saw £ signs.  It seems the cavalier king charles spaniel is now £3-£5.  Crosses are just as much.  We are seeing Vizsla at 3-4 k.  The highest priced litter I saw recently was £4750 a puppy and their was 10 in litter, and he was expecting another a week later of 9.  

This one that makes me laugh still, is the pet owner saying "Im not a breeder therefore I do not need a license", but they just had a litter charging 4k per puppy and probably just earned more than a licensed show breeder. Also they do not want to submit a tax return as everyone and its mother thinks breeding dogs is a tax free venture.  They also dont have to health test the dog as they are not a breeder.  You breed just one puppy you have entered the world as a breeder.  

So lesson number one.  the HMRC expect you to submit a tax return on 1 litter if you have charged over £1000.  Any hobby which could be crafting, car booting and you take money is only considered a hobby if you have not taken more than £1000 a year.  Anything over £1000 is not a hobby in the tax mans eyes.  So lesson number one, be self employed and do a tax return.  It is January time when we all submit online assessments. 

If you sell puppies you are required to have a license.  Their are so many and I mean SOOOOOOOO many breeders not licensed and selling dogs.  Well its up to them, but its breaking UK law.    It up to you as the buyer to see the license number to be sure they are doing it properly. Every advert should by law have  photo of the puppy and the license number beside.  Look at your main pets sales website and you'll see 99% aren't licensed.  Do you really want to promote back yard breeding ? 

Prices had to rise sadly it was inevitable. As everything to do with animals costs more than it did in 2018. From food, to health tests, to licenses, to everything.  The pedigree dog has become cheap compared to cross breeds sadly.  It is about time pedigree dogs were more money than cross breeds. But I could not justify charging 4k for a Vizsla.  The pedigree dog costs more to produce.  Cross breeds are bred from 6 months of age to 18 months, and then over bred, as no paper trail.  By the age of 2 some of them have had 4 litters. If you breed a dog thats too young, you will take all the nourishment from the dog, cause bone issues, muscle, weakly, they wont produce milk and you have a whole lot of problems. 

When looking at these dogs online they are not quality dogs, many pet owners using poor stud dogs which carry health issues.  Just think for one minute how they think they do not need to declare that income, and have 10 pups sitting there.  Hell thats more than most peoples wages in a year.  I wish they would all just do it properly but no.   Most have no health tests done on the parents.  Many of them have charged so much money the poor bitch is in whelp again six months after her other litter.  Some of you are buying unregistered dogs so their is no records of the dogs litters.  Lots of pictures get put on social media, and so many look fined boned and weakly.  Worm riddled, poor dogs.  

Please go to reputable breeders, who do not advertise on those big online sales sites.  Go to the Kennel club website for litters registered, then do your homework.  

Do not just buy online, parting with money through credit card or payment systems.  Find reputable breeders who have information online which is trusted, with a reputation and stick with them for as long as it takes.   All good breeders can recommend someone else who is a good breeder.   Recommendation is everything these days. 

At the end of the day do you know who controls what breeders charge for puppies? Its you!  If you walk away from the puppy farmed puppy he is more likely not to breed in the future.  If you walk away from paying 4k they will not want to be stuck with a litter of 10 vizsla.  So you are the ones in control of paying out fees.