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A woman I work with was recently bragging about her new puppy-- a $5000 French bulldog. Not being a dog owner myself, I thought I had misheard the cost of this puppy. Last I checked there were tons of dogs at animal shelters throughout the country.
I am puzzled as to why someone would need to have a purebred dog when there are so many "mutts" out there. I am honestly not a dog person, so maybe someone can explain the advantage of a purebred over a mixed breed?
I'm with you. I would never pay that kind of money for a dog....any dog. I've never had anything but mutts and when the time comes to get another dog, it'll be another mutt. I'm a bit of a mutt myself, so that's the dog for me.
I imagine this will be a pretty hot thread. Feelings run high on this issue. I have never flat out paid a large sum of money for a dog. I've only had two purebreds, a Brittany Spaniel and a Corgi. I was given the Corgi by a friend, and I was just 7 years old when I got the Spaniel. She was from a litter a Master Chief that worked under my Dad in the Navy had, and he worked me a deal for all the golf balls I could find lost on the base course he would give me the pup. I had until she was weaned to do the best I could. And I did pretty well.
5 grand for a French bull? That's serious coin for something that doesn't even qualify as a "dog". Personally, if/when I get another dog it will be a good old American mutt. The best dogs I had were mixed breeds, THE best being half coyote. However I don't recommend coys for just anyone. They take special handling and training, and they are pretty much one man critters. You HAVE to be alpha. Period. Nothing less will do, and they are VERY ....active. Mine had a terrible puppyhood, and required constant corrective measures, and they MUST be fixed ASAP. The last I can't stress enough. Going to long unaltered will bring more wild traits out, that can be highly difficult to correct even after alteration.
IMHO, paying that much money for a dog is purely for status symbolism. Especially for a dog such as that, with no real working traits. With so many just plain GOOD dogs (albeit they are mutts) needing homes out there I can't see being stuck on just having to get a pure breed. It's been my experience that mixes are better dogs (depending on the mix of course, not all are good blends). A friend of mine had a Queensland heeler pit mix that was just as flat nasty piece of work. Highly aggressive and took some way heavy alpha attitude to control. More than my coydog even. Never cared for that dog. He was a liability.
Also, there are many, many purebred dogs dumped in shelters. The concept of only mutts being euthanized is false. I volunteer sometimes for a breed specific rescue and can tell you horror stories of people that get purebred dogs and then treat them horribly and dump them at the pound. As soon as a purebred shows signs of needing medical attention or has a behavioral problem, some people dump them. Also, some people get purebreds as a money making opportunity and breed them without any concerns for health or behavior. Then the poor breeding dogs are dumped when they are no longer producing puppies. The pound doesn't care if they are purebred, they are killed just the same as mutts unless a rescue takes them in or they are adopted which doesn't always happen.
Many of the purebred dog breeds out there have genetic predispositions towards chronic health conditions, quite of few of which are serious and cause the dog to suffer. One of the better known ones is hip dysplasia which is seen in several breeds.
Your co-worker makes me angry
Misinformation makes me mad.
A responsibly bred purebred dog is less likely to have health problems because they are selected and rigorously genetically screened for them (as are their parents, etc, ad nauseum).
So yes, while there are no guarantees, you are much more likely to know what you're getting into, INCLUDING any predispositions to specific diseases. Temperament, activity level, working predispositions...these are important things to know for many families.
I do believe many mutts are likely to be healthy bc of mixing of genes allowing for a healthy chromosome to function over a defective one (basic genetics), but that doesn't mean mutts can't have hip dysplasia, etc.
Besides dogs trained for guard dog protecting or championship agility/herding lines, etc, I see no reason for a $5000...that seems...whack. But people tend to charge what they can get.
I take the view if the person wants the dog, want to pay that much and can afford it, who's business is it other than theirs?
We all do what others might consider stupid; but it is not our business.
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Originally Posted by marino760
Also, there are many, many purebred dogs dumped in shelters. The concept of only mutts being euthanized is false. I volunteer sometimes for a breed specific rescue and can tell you horror stories of people that get purebred dogs and then treat them horribly and dump them at the pound. As soon as a purebred shows signs of needing medical attention or has a behavioral problem, some people dump them. Also, some people get purebreds as a money making opportunity and breed them without any concerns for health or behavior. Then the poor breeding dogs are dumped when they are no longer producing puppies. The pound doesn't care if they are purebred, they are killed just the same as mutts unless a rescue takes them in or they are adopted which doesn't always happen.
I also volunteer in the shelter, and have forever. I think you'll agree that statement right there is why you should use caution adopting a purebred from a shelter that's an "owner surrender". If you see a dog there that otherwise would have market value, and the previous owner must have paid real money for it, there's likely something wrong with it. It may not be apparent in the shelter, but that dog is an escape artist, a voracious chewer, can't be housebroken, barks all the time, bites, has separation anxiety and wrecks the house if it's alone. Or it has a health issues, as you say, that are expensive to fix. People who own purebred dogs that are lovely, easy to own dogs are most often able to give them away to family or friends if they can no longer take care of them, or they sell them.
Of course, that same standard doesn't apply as much to strays, although still some. Dogs that get loose and no one puts enough energy into locating them at the city shelter during the stray reclaim time frame . . . aren't really treasured. Obviously, that's not always the dog's fault.
Of course, there are exceptions to these generalities. You can certainly find stellar gems of dogs at the city shelter.
First of all, $5000 for any dog is entirely too much, no matter the bloodline of the dog or breed. That's a ridiculous amount.
A reliable, smart, caring breeder does genetic testing on their dogs to only further the healthiest lines and continue to better the breed. I would never get a purebred dog whose breeder didn't do this. This is one benefit to a purebred dog, if the breeder takes part in genetic testing -- you know the dog's risk for certain genetic issues, diseases, etc. When you get a mutt, it's impossible to know what genetic issues they may carry that'll affect their health over time.
Having had both purebred and mutt's I have found the mutt's to be healthier and easier to train. they are loving and seem to realize they have been saved. Our purbred's are all rescues supposedly pure but have all had health problems.
I could never justify spending that much money on a dog considering all the other investments you make in veterinarian bills, food and toys but to each his own.
And at $5000 she probably got a pedigreed purebred, which further narrows down the physical and temperament traits, assuming the breeder had a clue. If you want to reduce the chances of getting a dog prone to hip dysplasia, gastric torsion, skin diseases, respiratory problems, etc etc etc, knowing the dog's genetic background helps.
Bragging about how much you paid for anything is crass.
$5K for any puppy is insane. I was reading a bit about Frenchies and it sounds like they may have paid a premium for a "designer" color? French Bulldogs are expensive because they often need to be delivered via C Section and require artificial insemination.
There are good legitimate reasons for getting a purebred dog. While there are plenty of shelter dogs that will make perfectly good pets, some folks need something different or want more control.
Getting a puppy insures that you are in control of the dogs training, and more importantly, socialization, from 8 weeks onward.
Getting one from a reputable breeder allows you to meet the parent(s), go over health records like hip x-rays, etc, allows you a much higher chance of guaranteeing a dog with certain behavior and physical traits, and people have no business shaming others for that.
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