I had no clue when I started out as a breeder how financially draining it can be. It seemed relatively easy, Buy a puppy, raise it, and at 2 years breed it….easy money, right?
Firstly, I didn’t realize that qualified puppies earmarked for breeding cost a whole lot more than a pet puppy. Breeders have worked tirelessly on their breeding stock lines and they expect to be compensated for it. Dogs that are raised to be bred can cost upwards of $10 000.
Breeding dogs isn’t as easy as it seemed. I bought a poodle (the most expensive one up to that point) We did all the testing on her, and when she was 2 ½ we decided to breed her to an out-of-state stud. Yay! We were going to have Bernedoodles. Not so fast…after doing days of daily trips for progesterone testing the vet said she was ovulating, and the stud owner sent the semen, only to be told by my vet that the mobility count was so low that it wouldn’t even produce one puppy. I was crushed. No matter, I thought, I’ll just wait another 6 months. Three months went by, and she came on heat again, this time it was what we call a “split heat” and she never actually ovulated, and therefore no puppies. Six months later and we were excitedly progesterone testing, but then when we hit day 14, the vet decided to do an ultrasound, and she saw there was a cyst on our poor girl’s ovary. Thousands of dollars in and my hopes were dashed.
This would just be the first of many disappointments. Some stud dogs fees are $4000, and sometimes no pregnancy results. Then there was the time that FedEx lost an overnight shipment of semen! Thousand’s wasted in vet fees and countless hours driving back and forth to the vet for nothing. But, when it does work out, it is so worth it. We love our dogs and their puppies so much. Our house is filled with happiness and joy when we have a litter. From the week prior to delivery until the puppies go home it’s a whirlwind of activity, from caring for the pups and mom to answering countless messages and emails about the litter to puppy evaluations, exposing our pups to common household sounds, smells, and being handled frequently.. Our dogs follow our own puppy curriculum and we are so proud of empowering our pups to be the best they can be. When it comes to puppies, you get what you pay for. Our dogs live the best lives, either here in my home, or in loving guardianship homes. They are a part of our families.
I am confident that at Tutu Cute Doodles we are raising doodles with the best temperaments, dogs that have been held and loved from birth, and we are placing some of the most beautiful dogs both inside and out with incredible families.
