Typically, our prices start at around $1,500 and can go up to around $3,500 depending on the overall quality, pedigree, color, sex, and whether the buyer wants breeding rights or not.
So, you may ask…Dang…why so much?
Its tough to put an exact number on the total cost of a well-breed OEB because so much of the cost is “subjective” or “time”. Although the natural question is “how much is our time worth to me”, the real question is how much is our time worth to the potential buyer.
Chris and I spend countless hours researching and studying dogs, pedigree, trends, and breeders to determine health patterns or traits that we either want in our line or (more importantly) don’t want. How much is that worth? Honestly, it could be thousands to the potential buyer in reduced veterinarian bills, a longer lifespan and better overall quality of life.
What value can you put on the 2-3 hours per day of cleaning and sterilizing bowls, washing and disinfecting pens, toys and bedding. People often believe that because you “kennel” the dogs, there is less work. Its actually more work, a lot more. Think of this way, how much more difficult is it to keep a “preschool” room clean and bacteria free than your child’s room at home!
We haven’t discussed the fact that you can not on vacation, you can’t have a “sick day” or even one of those “I just don’t feel it” days.
It’s easy to imagine an OEB breeder pairing a male and female together and waiting for puppies to be born and then selling them for huge profits with little or no work involved. Buyers often perform the math in one direction! 5 puppies x $1500 = $4,500. Let me say..that is simply not the case – there’s so much more that goes into breeding high quality Olde English Bulldogges. Most breeders will eventually breed themselves broke!
So you want to be Breeder 101 –
As a matter of health and welfare of our kennel, all breeding dogs receive the following.
- Annual vet examines to ensure the each dog is able and capable of breeding safely.
- Complete set of hip x-rays and DNA profile.
- Monthly flea, tick and heart worm medication.
- Annual vaccinations
Once the female has gone into her heat cycle, we are on “the clock” to complete a series test and exams which include a routine vet exam to ensure the female is “sound” and often we will run blood test to determine the progesterone level. This help determine the best time to “breed”.
Once the breeding takes place:
Once the female is bred, she is kept close and has everything that she needs in order to make the pregnancy and whelping process go smoothly. Just like humans, each pregnant female receive a regiment of prenatal vitamins and as we move closer to delivery, she will receive a calcium supplement.
Typically 4 days before the due date, the female is taken for a pre-whelping vet examination including x-rays to determine the number of puppies within the litter. During this examination, we determine the circumference of the puppies head in relation to the normal opening in the birth canal. This often determines the difficulty level of the upcoming whelping process and helps us with the prognosis of a possible C-section. If a C-section is needed, we will schedule it during “normal” business hours. No only is the procedure much cheaper, we have not putting the mother-to-be in any stress or discomfort. The cost of an emergency C-section can be upwards of $2,000 and has the propensity to be problematic. In addition, once the delivery has concluded, we will often return to the vet for another set of x-rays to determine if she has passed all of her puppies.
Puppies have arrived!
This is where the “real” work begins. From the start the mother is pretty well exhausted for the lengthy labor and often she isn’t capable of caring or feeding her puppies, or even concerned with feeding herself for the first day or two. Still, the puppies have to be fed every two hours (if not by her…by you) as they are completely helpless to feed themselves. During the first 24 hours, it is not unusual for us to have to supplement mom’s feeding with a bottle or, in extreme cases, tube fed if the puppy begins to show signs of distress and lacks strength or suckling to nurse on their own. In addition, puppies do not have the ability to self regulate their body temperature; therefore, without careful monitoring a puppy can quick get life-threatening compromised by a low body temperature.
After a few days, the mom typically “comes” around and you move into a support mode for her. If the mother has any medical concerns, you are tending to her, tending to her puppies, cleaning the mother several times per day and cleaning her soiled bedding etc. She will typically have quit a bit of discharge for 2-3 days.
Sometime between 5-7 days the puppies return to the vet to have their tails and dewclaws docked.
After a grueling three weeks or so, things start to get a bit easier. The puppies can finally be left alone.Their eye are open, they are starting to move around and they start growing teeth. At this point the mother is beginning to take breaks.
As the teeth come in, (for obvious reasons) the mother will naturally reduce her feedings. At this time, we start introducing food and monitor each puppy to ensure they are eating and can tolerate the change. Because mother is feeding them less and less, we have to monitor their output for signs of dehydration.
At 5 weeks the worming process begins and at 6 weeks we are back at the vet for their 1st round of vaccination and well puppy visit.
I hope this explains my comment of “breeding yourself broke” I tried to keep the page somewhat short, but, I have left out a lot of the grunt details out. You can rest assured; if you decide to purchase a CSB puppy you’re money will be well spent.