Crossbreeds - Why are they so expensive? Discussions

I have been searching the net and found a cross that my mother would love (and she did love it) but she was really put off by the price, how can people charge so much for crossbreed dogs?

I would possibly be prepared to pay about £250 for a cross if the parents were KC registered and had the relevant health tests, but £400 with nothing? It's not even a Doodle so hasn't got that as an excuse!

....... Because people will pay it!

£400 is nothing ... Add frenchie,boston,bulldog or pug to some other breed and the price jumps ..

Dont forget what happens when adding hairless breeds......

Yep you get mutants ;-)

Indeed! That cost a fortune.

They are expensive because alot of these breeders know damn well that there are people out there willing to pay the price that the breeder demands.

I saw a litter of SBT pups advertised a few days ago with a Blue in there,all the litter were a reasonable price,but they wanted £800 for the blue,did it cost more to raise than the others?
Breeders like that I wouldn't touch with a barge pole.

for great pedigree and crossbreeds for low prices go to your local shelter you get a great dog and get to rehome a great dog for life everybody wins

Just out of interest what was the cross?
Like Sal, i too found the colour/price situation when I got Ronnie, cream pomeranians seem to be sold at ridiculous prices and usually from questionable breeders..nearly 1000 pound for one pup that was huge, however I found a quality breeder n got my wee man for the going price. It's ridiculous how people seem to cash in on dogs whether it be crossbreeds, pedigrees, anything!

I agree with what Luke has said, I think it is the price of dogs in general that is ridiculous!!!!!!

I personally don't see why a crossbreed dog is any less of a dog than a pedigree dog and therefore why should it cost any less?

It poops the same it eats the same it gives its owner just as much love as a pedigree...

Of course bad breeders will out for the $$$ but as many have mentioned over and over this happens with all breeds.

If the pups are being bred from a caring breeder then I guess the costs are going to be similar to a breeder of pure-bred dogs (not sure of all of these costs but would include health checks, stud dog fee, actual/potential medical costs for mum etc.). I'd therefore expect to pay similar for a cross which has been bred in this way to a pure-bred of a similar breed.

Having more expensive prices for pups with certain looks, charging well over the norm for the cross breeds etc. would be (to me) a mark of a puppy farmer. This is one of the things that put me off a certain kennel in Devon which always seemed to be first up on any kind of search for NI dogs and similar when we were doing intial research...that said, this isn't limited to crosses and prices for 'rarer' pure-bred dogs can be equally enormous. I guess people are willing to pay and that's what essentially drives the prices. It's a big shame it is a money-spinning exercise for some irresponsible people.

The cross was a Tibetan Terrier x Cocker Spaniel, it was a gorgeous looking puppy, but made no mention of health tests ect, which I would be more willing to pay a higher price for.

because people will pay.

if i were in the market for a crossbreed i dont think i would go to someone who was breeding them over being patient and going to a rescue, i dont seethe point at all.

The vast majority of people who breed cross bred pups don't care about health testing or the dogs proving themselves in a discipline - good breeders of pedigree dogs do. Personally I wouldn't pay anything for a cross-breed, i'd much rather go to the local rescue and get one from there!

I think its a rather alarming fashion trend... leading to more and more unhomable pups that are "worth" no more than your average shelter heinz 57!
Unscrupulous breeders and increasly more uneducated buyers think if they slap a "cutsie" name on this "new breed" then it makes it "worth more"... I think every person thinking of getting a dog from anywhere should go a spend a weekend working in a rescue shelter first and then if they still want their "labradoodle" or "cockapoo" they will be fully awear of what their purchase and the price they pay goes to promote essentially just lineing the pockets of greedy people with no thought for the innocent lives involved!

I don't know where the rest of you go to rescue centers but I have not once seen a crossbreed such as a cockapoo or a labradoodle in a rescue around here, seen plenty of border collies,staffies abd mongrels/heinz 57s though.

What of the people who /do/ complete the health test for the breeds their using?

Take Kiba...he's a Northern Inuit, technically, a crossbreed. His parents were hip, elbow, VWD and eye tested before breeding...

If people are doing the relevant testing and raising their pups as an ethical breeder should then I don't see why their pups are worth any less than pedigrees with the same degree of care and health testing.

Unless of course you're paying the $$$ for a top quality showdog with all the fancy names in its pedigree.

http://www.labradoodletrust.com/rehoming.html

http://www.dogsblog.com/yoshi-2/

http://www.dogsblog.com/category/poodle-cross/

and that just took a couple of minutes search on google.

Just saw a French bulldog /French bulldog cross litter for sale for £2000 ..