Story of a Backyard Breeder: I want to share this story with all of who have thought it might be fun to breed Boxers.
Recently I went to my vet for puppy check ups and the girls told me about a beautiful Boxer girl who had been brought in recently. She had whelped a litter of puppies 8 days earlier and because the breeders had not given her a post pregnancy checkup, she had fallen very ill. This beautiful girl had retained a puppy and because the breeders could not afford a check up, her life was in danger. By the time she arrived at the vet she was brought in on a stretcher. She was septic and near death. The vet believed they could save her, but the breeders could not afford the care and had to have her put down. They lost their beloved pet and had to make the horrible decision of putting her to sleep because they thought breeding would be fun, but couldn't afford it. Their babies lost their mother, they lost their family all for the price of a check up. It was a horrible day for everyone there. The girls had thought about calling me to help save her, because they knew my love for Boxers and I wouldn't let her die for the sake of money, but had decided not to, though I told them in the future to call, it was too late for this family. What a horrible waste:(
My advice: If you can not afford a minimum of $1500.00 to spend in the event of an emergency, do not breed any dog! or this could be your family.
So, you want to breed Boxers. So do I. Have you done your homework? I have.
First thing you need to ask your self is "Why do I want to breed Boxers?" Is the answer, "It would be fun or I want to make some extra money" Re-think your plan. Although my kids are alot of fun, the work and expense in preparing them for breeding has not been. Deciding to breed Boxers has been a long term investment with enormous dedication and detail to do it correctly. I began this endeavor almost a year ago and aquired the following costs to date: Initial cost for Archer, Sissy and Kaleigh $4000.00. Travel cost-$200.00, 10 months of feeding high quality food-$840.00. Pet health care plan $25.00 per month per dog TL $650.00, AKC registration-$37.00 per dog TL $111.00, Crates- $178.00, collapsable fence-$89.00, veterinary care-$745.00, dog supplies (collars, leashes, toys, bowls, shampoo, vitamins, etc...) approx $500.00 (conservatively), books-$95.00, web site cost-$50.00 per month, misc cost (fencing, zip ties, doggy door etc...)$450.00, Puppy room costs- $275.00
Future Cost:
Holter 24 hr monitor-$300.00 per dog TL $900.00 OFA fees $165.00
Hips-$326.00 per dog TL $978.00, OFA fees $165.00.
I do not have an estimate on Thyroid or vision yet.
Update after 1 litter of 7 puppies: With added costs of tail docking and dew claws, vaccinations and worming, echo doppler and OFA fees, feeding Sissy and 7 puppies, vet care during pregnancy and DNA testing, costs are now $11,228.00.
The puppies have been placed for the total amount of $5100.00
$3350.00 has been re-invested into puchasing Titan, getting him here and vet costs for Titan.
In total I have invested $14, 578.00 and have made $5100.00 for a total loss of $9478.00.
Still sounds like a good way to make money!
So, why can't you just buy a dog and breed it? You can, but you shouldn't. Do yourself and the world a favor and find a new hobby, buy and sell on Ebay if you want extra cash, have a yard sale, work overtime, just don't bring innocent puppies into this world, when their is already so many out there. At any given time you can look on the internet and find thousands of puppies that were products of someone just buying a dog and breeding it. I watch these listings regularly, and watch these dogs grow older and watch their prices being reduced again and again. I shudder to think of what happens to them when they don't sell and their owners can't keep them anymore. On the bright side, I also watch listings/web sites of puppies that are well bred and responsibly breed and see sold and pending announcments all the time. A well bred Boxer is hard to find and in high demand. If you want to breed Boxers, spend the money and do it right or don't do it at all.
My hope is that there are many more dedicated people out there, willing to pay the cost of good breeding. People who want to better their breed and help undo the wrongs that poor breeding has done. For those people reading this, these costs are what to expect, though they will surely vary from place to place. If you are willing to make the investment I wish you all the luck in the world. Good breeders will put bad breeders out of business! And bad breeders don't care about what is right or reputable, so their not going away no matter what anyone says. The only way to get rid of them is to raise the standard and give Boxer lover's a place to find a quality Boxer instead of what they can find.
Breeding is not for the elite, it is for the responsible, dedicated Boxer lover.
Breeding Responsibility and Costs
