Update Sept 2022:
Now that people are going back to work, there is a surplus of puppies on the market. Prices should decline in some regions but it is likely that they are not good breeders. Quality breeders usually have long waitlists and do not need to drop their prices as the demand for their dogs is high. I know of three breeders who have two year wait lists.
World-wide, the price of puppies and dogs has gone up. Apparently during Covid 19, many people thought that them being at home was a good time to get a puppy or dog, decreasing overall availability. Waiting lists for puppies are years long and the limited supply has driven prices up. More unscrupulous breeders are increasing how many litters they are having.
Buyer Beware
It’s a buyer beware situation! Some people are cashing in on the trend and charging over-inflated prices for puppies with untested health and temperament. In Canada for example, mixed breed pups that just over a year ago used to go for $750 are now selling for $3000 or more, depending on the mix. The poodle mixes (often with doodle in the name) have historically sold for very high prices and are now costing even more at around $4500 to $6000. Most of these are from untested health lines.
If you are looking for a service dog candidate right now, for the same money (or less), you can get dogs from long-time established and ethical breeders who do breed-specific health testing and are concerned with the temperament of their lines and individual dogs. These are breeders who breed with a purpose: to either produce a dog for a specific sport or function or to improve their breed. Some breed to create a good family dog but these are hard to find.
The get-rich-quick breeders will tell you their dogs “are healthy and vet checked”. A veterinarian cannot see hereditary diseases, not can they see internal structural anomalies that won’t develop until the dog is older. For a service dog candidate, a simple vet check tells us nothing. Being a service dog is mentally, emotionally, socially and physically taxing. Burnout due to stress and stress-related medical conditions is common among owner trained service dogs. Service dog candidates need to be genetically and structurally healthy as a starting point. Of course temperament of the individual is important as well.
Some Steps to Take
What can you do to make sure you are getting a medically healthy dog?
1. Choose a breed or mix.
2. Find out what inherited health issues are common in the breed or breeds you are considering. Look at health issues beyond basic structural issues. Here is a .pdf that you can view online or download. It lists the breeds and what inheritable diseases they are prone to. Some diseases are affected by the environment both in development and as an adult.
Be aware that there are other diseases such as seizures or allergies that may or may not be tested for but may also affect a specific line of a breed. Do additional breed-specific searches on the internet or join a breed-specific group of forum to learn more from owners and educated breeders alike.
3. Ask what specific health conditions the breeder tests the specific parents for or tries to keep out of their lines.
4. Get copies of the actual test results of both parents of any litter you are seriously considering. In some cases you can get OFA numbers and look them up on the OFA website or for labradors, golden retrievers and Nova Scotia duck tollers on http://www.k9data.com.
If the dog is an adult (2 years or older) you can get the dog itself tested for many things like hips, elbows, patellas, eyes etc if the breeder has not yet done that. You can also make the purchase or return of the dog contingent on suitable results of the tests. Make sure to specific that they will refund or replace the dog (whichever you prefer) and by what age the tests must be done.
No Guarantees
Unfortunately, there are many factors involved in a dog’s individual health so health testing will not guarantee a lifelong healthy dog. What health testing does do, is give you an idea to the degree the breeder is doing due diligence to prevent unwanted known health issues from getting into their lines or attempting to remove them from their lines. And studies show that when done over many generations, health testing is predictive of the health of the lines overall.
Check out our free blogposts on finding a reputable dog breeder and work though that.
Get Third Party Breeder Evaluation
Finding a suitable canine candidate can take some time. Ruling out unethical breeders then talking to potential breeders takes patience. It is an emotional roller coaster for everyone. When you are spending that amount of money, training and effort on a potential service dog candidate, it it worth it to get a second opinion about a specific breeder from a professional. Book a set of 3 x 30 min web cam sessions or one or more 60 minute web cam sessions with us. We help help guide you in the direction of a reputable breeder by ruling out the less desirable ones.
