Hi

We are after female bulldog puppy for a family pet. We have up to £800 to spend. If anybody knows of any then please contact me on dawnharper2000@yahoo.co.uk.

Thanks

I think you will find that the breed cost quite a bit more than that, whether from responsible breeders or the many of the other kind.

I would contact the breed clubs secretaries advice for a fair price range for a well bred puppy.  http://www.bulldogbreedcouncil.co.uk/

Bulldog pups are around £1500 to £2000.
My advice is save up and get a healthy pup and dont rush into anything.
Be careful of a million scams offering you a pup for £300 to £800 and will ship
or asking for a deposit up front,I know of several people who have been conned that way.

To the original poster I would contact the breed clubs for a puppy list and advise on pricing and references for any breeder you find.

Carolyn no disrespect to you BUT  maybe the enquirer will find a good genuine breeder charging just enough to cover her costs   Maybe she will find one at £800.. This £1500-£2000 is outragous anyway. The dog paper week in week out has several litters of Bull dogs now because they have become good money earners for so many.   The over charging of this breed and a few others really needs to stop. The breed clubs should do something about it.  It is distroying the breed. IMHO

The problem is that when good breeders wish to keep the price reasonable they risk pups being bought and resold for the higher sums.

Yes your right Barbara but this nonsense needs to stop. Litters of 6 -9 in the dog papers at £2K each.   It is a terrible sadness for the breed.

Someone has to take the lead.  How can anyone charging £2000 with 6-9 puppies in a litter say they are covering their cost !!!!!!!!!!!

Totally agree.

Are health tested , show bulldogs sold at these prices? I always wondered why this breed could command a high price tag.

People keep saying they are hard to breed etc etc BUT there is always plenty litters advertised EVERYWHERE

These type of breeds are what is going to bring the clampers to the everyday breed enthusiasts who barely cover their costs. Mark my words.

I agree the cost of bulldogs is horrendous, far too expensive and a lot of "breeders" are jumping on the "bandwagon" as Blue says you just need to look at the "iffy" papers that advertise and you see a good few litters.

Another thing I have noticed is recently, how many new members of this board also have bulldogs as a 2nd breed.

you would be suprised how many top kennels in the country have bulldogs as a second breed to fund there showing , i could name you at least 20 in all different breeds , top people, but they all have bulldogs not for show just to breed.

Peanuts

> 6-9 puppies in a litter

thats a lot for a bulldog isn't it?? though i agree on the price, i'd love one and soooo can't afford it.

A lady who brought one of my last litter ,breeds and shows bulldogs. Hers usually throw litters of this amount. And judging by adverts elsewhere that seems to be 'the norm'.

I dont agree with the basis of the price being because of difficulties in conception/whelping/raising etc. As was mentioned before surely the amount available, both through reputable and byb's shows that this cant be the case.

oh well, i stand corrected. then the price is mad. i do appreciate that their might be whelping and conception difficulties that add to the price (because that equals more vet fees) but if your throwing 9 pups at that price thats one hell of a profit.

I was sat in between two bulldog owners at our Vets just recently. One started talking about how expensive the breed is and quoted that they had paid £2,500. (oh and it had a cherry eye, its second one) I just got the feeling that they were bragging at how much they had paid. Sad!

It is funny the mentality of people today.  What a strange old world eh? 

just my pennysworth,they are a lot more time consuming to rear than a normal breed of dog,breeders have to put them on to mum every 2 hours for the first 2 weeks then every 3 hours on the 3rd week,
there are a lot of people jumping on the bandwagon and its so so sad,i love the breed dearly and its awful,i too have paid the 2000 mark for mine but shes worth every pound spent,
a while ago i had a litter of 3,cost of stud 500,cost of c section 500,i kept two back so no profit there at all but i love them all the same,a lot do it for profit i agree but these are the pet breeders and not the genuine bulldog lovers who breed occasionally to show,sad i know but its the way it is now,i too wish something could be done about some that breed for profit, i recently saw a 4 year old bitch going for 2000 just because she has a few champs in her line,way back might i add,i emailed them and asked why shes this much for a pet? their reply was shes not been spayed and can have another litter,poor girl,i told them to try bulldog rescue where she will find a forever fireside home,she will just go as a breeding machine,theyve had her 4 years but do they care!!!
also its always the pet breeders that get litters of nines and not the genuine ones,well the less they have in their litters the less worry for me finding the right homes and families,a lot of us are endorsing the pedigrees now which i find better but we all have to stick to it,then maybe the pet market wont be so flooded.

Why do you have "to put them on mum"? Surely if the cost of a stud is £500 the cost of a puppy shouldnt be more than a couple of hundred more?

Well in my breed the stud fee is the cost of a puppy so even less money to cover costs on a small litter.

Please spare us the " extra time involved routine"  please.   No disrespect personally but it is a little tiny bit insulting to other breeders to say that they have to put pups on etc. Most people I know,(and I can speak for those I have known for long enough on here) who have puppies don't leave them unattended at ALL for the first 3 weeks, so the BD breeders really don't do anymore than any other good breeder does when rearer a little properly.   The £2000 price tag for one BD puppy is often more than a whole litter in my breed would fetch and that is the whole litter. 

Not that would make me other hopefully others in suddenly increase prices as all this does is encourage more poor breeding.

Nobody on this earth will every believe that at £2000 per pup even at £1500 a pup breeders are just covering their cost..     Not even worth attempting it. We are too smart

I think we have got more than slightly off topic here. This forum isn't for discussion on the pros and cons of breeding or pricing...but to help the OP find a puppy

Thanks

Perhaps Mel, but I think it is one thread I am glad that has run on a bit longer to help " educate" the OP.  After all when selecting breeders we tell all puppy searchers to look at the big picture etc, why the litter has been bred etc. 

I've made my point and said more than my penny's worth now anyway

To be honest I would not be touching a puppy from any breeder that wasn't showing their stock, as with the gene pool as large as it is (the breed is in the top 20 for registrations) there is absolutely no reason to breed other than for money for those not involved with showing their dogs.

If I had to pay so much for a pup then I would be very very fussy about the quality (it would have to be virtually gold plated) and I would want real evidence of health.  Sadly virtually no-one in the breed hip scores and the ones that have been show no room for complacency.  I would want heart tested ancestors too as they are not long lived and cardiac arrest is one of the commonest reasons for death.

I would urge the Original poster to look at the KC/AHT health survey results here: http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/download/1527/hsbulldog.pdf

The breeed Council health scheme is a good starting point, but there really si no excuse not to Hip Score.

If the original poster choose to go for one of the alternative crossbred bulldogs they should bear in mind that these will be subject to the same health issues as the parent breeds, and as they are crossbreeds you really won't know what went into the mix.  If the people breeding these cannot show health certification, hip scores heart tests etc, do not trust the often quoted spiel that they a re trying to get back to a healthier bulldog.

what i mean by "putting them on mum" is that in a lot of breeds people go off to bed and leave mum to rear them,we cant do this with bulldogs,
you obviously dont know a lot about them imo.i wish people would just leave it alone when talking about bulldogs,if your complaining about the cost of one you simply dont buy one,
i chose to pay this money and as i said shes worth every penny i spent and is dearly loved,also shes from good ch show parents and has been shown herself.

I don't think most good breeders leave Mums to get on with rearing their litters but watch over them.  I fish out straying pups, watch that bitch doesn't lay on one etc, but crush bars can help with that with heavier/less agile breeds.

If you mean that Bulldogs are such bad mothers that they can't look after their puppies without simply a careful watch to ensure that each pup gets it's fair share then the breed really is in dire straits.  Can't mate without undue interference, preventing the dog from tying being common, can't give birth naturally in many cases not even allowed to try, and can't mother it's own young unaided

Surely this isn't what your saying, as such animals should be weeded out of the gene pool.  it isn't exactly a small gene pool judging by the number of registrations.

As for the cost time and trouble is something that is what any breeder should give a litter, the extra cost to breed is the likely C section, that still means the breed is hugely overpriced compared to rearing costs, especially as litters are usually not unduly small.

I can understand the quandary good breeders have over the risk of resale fro a profit if they wanted to sell the pups for a more reasonable price, but they are overpriced.

if your complaining about the cost of one you simply dont buy one,


Definately no intention of buying one.  I feel so sorry for the breed really.

I don't think we are complaining about the cost in relation to buying one BUT how these very silly unaccounted for prices  has badly damaged the breed and if left unaddressed it could damage the breed beyond recovery.

> is that in a lot of breeds people go off to bed and leave mum to rear them,we cant do this with bulldogs

i wouldn;t have dreamed of doing this with our pups!! they were not alone for more than 2 mins at a time for the first four weeks!

> you obviously dont know a lot about them imo

sorry i'm not sure what you need to know about the breed for what was being discussed in that post? i wouldn;t every leave small pups with mum no matter what the breed was- far far to risky. why would the specifics of the bulldog matter in that? we had to get our pups on mum seperately anyway (they tended to keep battering each other off- apparently there was one particularly yummy nipple lol- so none of them ate unless we put them on 2 or 3 at a time), so nothing unusual about what you mentioned, why does that add on an extra £1000- £1500?

My bulldogs nurse their own pups and are fantastic mothers,I stay with them 24 hours a day for at least till 4 weeks old,if Im not watching them another family member is,
bulldogs can and do mate naturally but like a lot of heavy breeds we support the dog/bitch, ie St bernards,danes,even rotties,some small dogs need "help" Im sure.
We allow our male to tie if he so wishes (and he has) so again some breeders do and others dont.
Giving birth,Ive allowed my bitch to go into labour and was hoping to have a natural birth sadly that wasnt to be,but I will get it one day as  it is something Im aiming at with mine,so have other bulldog owners.

The way I look at it is I chose (IMO) to have the Rolls Royce of the dog world and therefore I choose to pay that price, it was something that I thought of
when I looked into having a bulldog.
yes they are a lot of money but I can hand on heart say that I have never once looked at my dog and thought about the money he/she cost
I just adore them from each wrinkle to the sexy bulldog bum.

Please dont feel sorry for them all,they arent all the awful cant breath walk or enjoy life breed you may think.
Mine are sods with my rotties and can run leap from each sofa to the other,they can leap and nip your bum in a joyful play fight
they can run, you can visit and get smoothered in the most amazing breed that i know of.

Sadly like any other breed there are going to be the breeders who breed for the money.

breeders who breed for the money

Oh you can say that again!
A quick scroll down the Bulldog litters on this site discloses many normal/large size litters where the breeder owns both parents -and still charging Silly money.....nice little earner!!
BUT of course this is a never-ending spiral because if you've paid out £2000 for a bitch.....wont you want to re-coup your outlay by breeding a litter. And so it goes on.... cant imagine many endorsed registrations.

carolyn do you mind me asking then what you charge? it;s just that the main theme seems to be people objecting to large scale profit making- from what you;ve said about your breeding it seems to have not incurred any additional costs except the c section. if its the typical price would you mind explaining why? (interested not critisising)

to my mind the expense of a pedigree dog can put off a lot of unsuitable buyers but the expense generally only covers the costs to the breeder. i could understand it being so high if they were a rare breed (though doesn;t strike me as particularly ethical). if they are one of the very high registrations how can that price be justified?

if quality, well bred, health checked animals are sold at over the odds it gives backyard breeders cart blanc to do the same

I dont mind you asking,its the same as other breeders.
I know where your coming from as my other breed/love is rotties who are going through a bad time at the moment even finding homes for pups.

If it were down to being money over a lifetime Im sure other breeds would make more.
Bulldogs normally only have 3 litters
whereas other breeds can have 6 litters.

I cant justify it as I love the breed for the breed.
I chose the breed so paid what others were charging.

In Response to carolyn

You are to be complemented in aiming for a healthy more natural dog which I am sure they must once have predominantly have been.

What we are talking about is the excessive cost compared to the rearing costs.

Most breeders in most breeds can legitimately say they do not make any money out of their dog hobby when the costs of keeping and proving their dogs is added to that of breeding and rearing a litter.

Unfortunately a few breeds where the cost of puppies is so high it cannot fairly be said to be the case and this will cause problems with the Authorities (who accept that most breeders are at best recouping some of their outlay) for all breeders sooner or later.

If the day comes when I have to employ and accountant because I breed the occasional litter will be the death knell for most breeders leaving just those who breed commercially.

I keep track of my outgoings against any puppy sales and can show that I spend more than I ever receive, but I will be blowed if I have to learn how to keep professional accounts etc.  How would that be a hobby anymore.  How do we offset puppies returned and the cost of rehabilitating, boarding and re-homing?

> If it were down to being money over a lifetime Im sure other breeds would make more.
> Bulldogs normally only have 3 litters
> whereas other breeds can have 6 litters.
>

My bitches have never whelped more than 18 pups in total, that is 3 litters.  Our breed club have set a limit of four litters.

To be honest anyone campaigning a bitch would be hard pushed to find time for any ore than two or three litters.

Also the breed has an average lifespan twice that of a bulldog.

Another breed I am familiar with has large litters (10 beign normal), but again breeders would have no more than 3 litters and as they are at least a third and even a quarter the price of bulldogs even though they are £200 dearer than an equally well bred pup of my breed, I don't see the math.

> Please dont feel sorry for them all,they arent all the awful cant breath walk or enjoy life bree

I went to see the film Water Horse last week and the bulldog in that sure was an active sort.  I also see some quite fit and active sorts near me and know they are shown, though not sure hwo well they do.

> if quality, well bred, health checked animals are sold at over the odds it gives backyard breeders cart blanc to do the same

Also it seems that so few are health tested.  I know the breed council ahve a geenral ehalth certification scheme, but hardly any are Hip scored in teh UK yet US statistics shwo they are the worst breed for hip status being at number 1 http://www.offa.org/hipstatbreed.html

>Bulldogs normally only have 3 litters
>whereas other breeds can have 6 litters

Sorry Carolyn, not meaning to jump on you when you are being helpful in answering questions, but you say this like it's a good thing? I don't know many people who would have more than 2 or maybe 3 litters from any bitch. Although it may be permitted by the KC, I would personally have very little respect for anyone who got near 6 litters - even in the breeds where very small litters are the norm.

M.

Im trying to answer all the questions but I cant answer them all sadly,I know other bulldog owners read this site so maybe they can help you with some
answers I cant answer.
I know where your all coming from as my other breed as Ive already said dont cost half as much.

Sorry Carolyn,not getting at you,  you just happen to be the person who has soem knowledge on this.  Can you see that this could really harm hobby breeders in all breeds if it becomes generally thought that people are making a substantial profit breeding even the odd litter.

It looks like 6 pups is average and if five are sold at £2000 that is £10000 (at £15000 that is £7500).  Now with health screening stud fee, and other whelping/registration/rearing costs, but excluding wear and tear on house and fuel bills I have never spent more than £1800 to £2000 rearing a litter even with a C section (except when I travelled abroad, that litter cost over £3000). 

At £550 - £600 a pup you can see the difference, even with a supposed profit of a £1000 on the litter it is obvious that the keep of the dogs etc is not going to be covered by such a modest sum.

I cannot see how much more a Bulldog litter might actually cost to rear, certainly not double that figure.

Yours isn't the only breed this could apply to, the DDB seems to be in a similar position re overpricing.  I can appreciate they eat a lot more, but not that much more. 

With the high priced toy breeds they often have few or no pups after their costs, so lack of availability and costs are a factor here.

LOL I know your not getting at me but rather than not reply to you and you think Im being ignorant
I thought it best to just say i dont know all the answers and hopefully someone that does will take over.
All I know is be it £50 or £5000 I love em to bits.

1 thing I will say is they are blooming hard to get a litter of when you want them,
if I were to mate a rottie i can pretty much start getting things ready and plan the pups birth,even roughly when the 1st show will be lol
but with these blooming bulldogs I cant even get my hopes up that Im going to get a litter so many times my heart has
sunk after the scan,and even if I did if all will survive.

Hi Carolyn,

I think perhaps the point is being missed slightly NOBODY thinks their dog is not worth every penny they paid for it.  

The point is by people charging these pricing which can NEVER EVER be justified they are ruining the breed.  Pet people start to breed poor examples of the breed, back yard breeders think it is a nice earner and off you go.  

Believe me I know, my breed has a similar problem but not because of price but because the generally are good whelpers, good mothers, good sellers and a small breed that doesn't cast hair etc etc  all the things puppy farmers and the pet breeders love for their little pocket money litters.   My breed has an average of 3 -4 pups and between the price of stud fees , rearing and any vet costs including a section if needed there isn't a lot of left. however people in my breed don't add the price of the section onto the price of the pups.

The price some "pet" bred bulldogs are being sold at is a whole litter of 4 in my breed.

That is why I feel sorry for the breed. Greedy people ruining it.     These prices are magnetics for the Tax man and he now contacts the KC direct for information.

Bulldogs normally only have 3 litters
whereas other breeds can have 6 litters

Most people I know only have 2 litter from any bitch and 3rd ONLY if she really really had to. I don't know anyone who has bred more than 3 litters for a bitch in my breed.

> the DDB seems to be in a similar position re overpricing.  I can appreciate they eat a lot more, but not that much more

not anymore than any other large breed- bullmastiffs, great danes, newfies and many many more eat at least as much.

to be frank it seems like just trying to make money to me which is not the point of breeding- to me its the first footstep on the road to puppy farming.

and 6 litters?? anyone on here had a bitch have 6 litters??

> Another breed I am familiar with has large litters (10 beign normal

sounds quite big- maybe to try and make up for extra vet fees (medication, anesthetics etc) based on weight? still a jump though

Has anyone a BRS they can glance through as next to the bitches name it shows her DOB and how many litters and pups this litter makes.

Just off to have a look at the hound one.

Which is the most exploited hound breed I wonder?

ohh, how do you do that barbara?

im pleased your not buying one,its up to each individual what they pay for a bulldog,i had to pay it and shes much loved,
i do show too
we dont all do it for profit i can assure you,us show people breed for ourselves,like i said its the pet breeders jumping on the bandwagon im afraid,
sad i know but how do we stop it happening,
i have seen 4 year old bitches advertised at 2000 pounds,it infuriates me i can tell you.

That was the point I think we were trying to make, how are the breed club reacting to the overpricing of the breed?

> ,mine have sold for less than the pet breeders do and i know theyre well bred from good healthy lines

good stuff

if people are selling the good quality ones for less than the puppy farmers who's gonna buy from them?

im pleased your not buying one

Louzola lets keep it constructive and not personal.

I will use your example in this senario to make it perfectly clear that you or anyone elses arguement supporting these silly prices just will never work..

do show too and usually have a litter all for myself,recently had a litter of 3 and im keeping two back for showing,wheres the profit in that!!!


I don't know what you sell your pups for , lets say £1500  pups in my breed go between £550 and £650 ( that is pretty max)

I only get about 3 also and generally always run on 1 or 2. So I would have 1 to sell.  Without a section the sale of one puppy will help cover SOME my costs but never them all.

If you had only 1 to sell it would still cover ALL your costs.

I nor anyone else grouped you or anyone personally on this thread or board into the big profit makers BUT the prices are wrong plain and simple.