Do you think you should pay the same for a mixed breed dog as a pedigree? Discussions

I have just been browsing the pet ads looking at dogs for sale and was amazed how expensive cross breeds are. There seems to be a huge amount of ads for poodle X labradors, springers X cockers, I even saw Pug X Basset to name a few. All of these puppies were going for £500+ The pug x basset was for £700.

I always thought you paid the high price for the correct breeding and top quality lines. None of these dogs obviously had been KC registered.

Are these people just cashing in on the Labradoodle fad or do people really think asking these prices is justified?

I would be interested to know what other people think on here?

Sarah

Think you've just started a big debate there Sarah LOL

The rights and wrongs of 'designer dogs' has been done to death on here but most good topics crop up again and again.

In terms of the cost of buying - I'm kind of split down the middle.

You can argue the cost of raising a litter to 8 weeks is the same regardless of whether the dog is a mutt, a cross or a pedigree.

At the end of the day I guess it's a case of market forces - if people are prepared to pay a certain price then any breeder will charge what they can get.

In a word, no....

I also think (some) pedigree dogs are priced ridiculously high!

What you (should) be paying for in a ped is health testing, confirmation, temperament, working/show lines (if that is what you so choose), proper socialisation, knowing you have a pup that has been bred and brought up by someone you can trust and knows what they are doing, and someone who is doing the best for their particular breed.

With a cross/mongrel all this is pot luck.

If you want a ped from a byb or puppy farm then this is they type of dog that is not worth the paper it's registered on imo, and i'd pay more for a well bred (as good as can be) cross breed.

I agree Phil.

I think I was just amazed at the prices and the variety of different cross breeds and the amount of them.

I love all dogs, pedigree or mixed, I'm not a dog snob but I really just couldn't believe the prices they were asking, but as you said obviously some people are paying them.

Sarah

im total against breeding designer dogs full stop,if its a accidental litter as it happens then so be it,it costs no more to raise a xbred litter than an a full bred litter,except for health checks,whose going to bother to to do them if there only thinking of what theyl get for the puppies,but then again the odd person might get them health checked before they put them on the market,but the buyer should be aware that most of theses crosses are only crossed for the money,and should avoid buying theses dogs as youl get the same in the pound,and youre helping the pound by rehoming them,i wouldnt by one,and id not recommend buying one,if its a crossbred your looking for look carefully you dont need to pay that much for one anywhere,how do they justify the cost of these mongrels.

Totally no is my answer as it only encourages these byb's to breed to make money.

I have bought Pedigree dogs and have had mixed breeds when I was growing up but when I have bought a Pedigree and paid a large amount for the dog I have done so because I believed I was paying for a dog where the lines have been carefully checked so I was getting a dog as close to the breed standard and for temprement. I also know how expensive it can be to put a bitch to a good stud dog. I also expect a puppy from a reputable breeder to have been wormed, had it first vaccinations, vet checked etc. All these things cost a lot of money so I feel when I hand over my money that I am paying for this service.

I didn't see many, if any, offering the same with the 'designer cross breeds' so it left me wondering what a buyer would be paying these high prices for.

If I wanted a mixed breed I would perhaps be going to local dog rescues where I would rather pay a donation, large or small which would go to help further doggies.

Sarah

if people will pay silly money then its up to them really, just fuels the fire of peopel cross breeding for money.

one lady i was chatting to wants to buy a westie cross from this lady who her sister bought her dog from, this lady has now breed the dog 3 times since last sept and she doesnt know how many times before that, if people will buy she will keep on breeding!

and its obv not for the love of the breeds its for big old ££ signs in her eyes!

as for lab cross poodles, £950 is crazy, im not even sure why they breed them, most owner say they moult like crazy and lots are being handed back as owners cant control them!

I'm thinking of the dogs I have just now.

Fingal = £250 (Pedigree Springer)

Skye = £0 (cross between Old English Sheepdog x Deerhound)

Which do i prefer ? which is best value ???

Definitely no.
I think it should actually be illegal to charge more for any crossbreed than the national average rescue adoption donation outlay.

That would put shysters off deliberately breeding them, and people wanting a `designer` crossbreed would then be more likely to go to a rescue centre as there would be far less available via the swines making money out of crosses who make far more out of it financially compared to ethical pedigree breeders - bearing in mind the shysters are not paying for health checks as they would be worthless with crossbreeds, no stud fee`s as most of them probably either have their own puppy-farm stock to abuse by overbreeding, or sell `accidental` litters as `deliberate designer` dogs, and probably no worming, innoculations or insurance costs etc.

The likelihood is that there will still always be plenty to cater for anyones `designer` choice among the multitude of `accidental` litters and constant stream of adults going in to rescues which can`t currently get homes because people are gullible enough to fall for the designer price tag rubbish :smt021

Was so needing my bed but (me being me) had to reply LOL...........


Should be illegal to pay more for a cross breed. Why ?

Some 'shysters' can push sub standard pedigree dogs which is wrong.

Should be illegal to sell at higher cost than the national average for rescue adoptions is what I put ;-)

The reason it should be price capped [ imo ], is because without the money such breeders are currently raking in, [ as their costs are considerably lower than ethical breeders costs as I put in my previous post ;-) ], they will be less inclined to do it all as it would not be financially worth their while as it is now [ damn them ].

Absolutely its wrong I agree, but its also wrong to sell deliberate crossbreeds for financial gain.
Those doing that and the sort churning out poorly bred pedigree`s are all pond scum of equally non-existant morals imo, they all make me sick to the core for doing it :smt027

It's wrong to breed for money full stop whether pure bred or not.
Becky

The answer is NO!

There are enough pedigree and mongrals out there already looking for homes, so why add to the population.

Just saw this advert.
Golden retriever x Standard Poodle £850
Westie x Toy Poodle £600
Pug x Jack Russell £500
All with the same telephone number. It smells of puppy farming to me. Nothing mentioned about health checks. I feel so sorry for the poor dogs.

I am, with Boobah on this one def NO I do not believe in encouraging BYB's and Puppy Farmers.

Also I agree with Mahooli no one should be breeding just for the money, whether its pedigree of Cross-breed.

While people are prepared to pay silly money to line the pockets of such breeders unfortunately these so called designer dogs willbecause continue to be bred f where there is demand they will supply and it is wrong in my opinion thst they are making mega bucks out of theser poor puppies with no proper health checks being done. Far better to get a cross breed puppy from a rescue than encourage these greedy people by buying one from them.

I too am in total ageeance with boobah , there is enough ppl jumping on the bandwagon of back yard breeders , and charging vast amounts of money for cross breed dogs .totally agree eunice the poor dogs will no doubt suffer in the end from these sort of ppl not health testing , im sure as stated before there would be ample amounts of cross breed puppies from accidental litters in rescue centres they can rehome ,i myself got juke from rescue (gsd/boxer) and he only cost 25 pounds 8 years ago , so why should ppl pay vast amounts of money for a cross breed when they can rehome a rescue dog jmo xxdk

I know of someone in the poodle world who has managed to persuade the 'Labradoodle' people to set up their own rescue due to the large numbers of these now turning up in rescue.
Becky

I fear that is what the future holds for many of these new designer breeds as ppl dnt know what there taking on becky in terms of health complaints ,growth etc i think its a shame xxdk

I know and that's the sad fact. People think they are getting this amazing wonder dog and it all goes pearshaped.
Becky