Also the health tests done on the bitch are a huge fee and only need to be done once-her next litter she wont have to pay for them and most likely will sell her best three pups instead of keeping or giving away. Do that math.
Read my post Jerms. I looked at three pom litters and didn't include any of the other costs, just health clearances and raising the litter. There is no profit there, or a profit so marginal that there is no point to call it a profit. This is with a reputable breeder, however, one that does testing and only produces one to two litters a year. I am a writer and there is a strict rule for writing, "If you can make more working at McDonalds than you can writing, choose a different career." If you are making, at most, 10 bucks an hour for a 40 hour week, then fine, breed dogs, however, if you are reputable, keep litters low, show dogs, etc, then the 1.18 per hour is not worth it unless you are doing it for the love of the breed. I mean, I could babysit (I have my Early Childhood Education degree) and make 35/day/kid and still make more taking one kid (probably work less) than I could breeding dogs so if you are looking strictly for profit, it makes more sense to babysit. I am pretty sure breeders out there could make more money doing other work. The cost of a pup is to recoup expenses and to help you continue working with your other dogs and furthering your line and your plans for the breed. The majority of breeders do it for love of the breed, not to make money.
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Realized my numbers were off slightly. The profit was 3115 for 3 litters. 16 weeks per litter x 40 hours per week is a total of 1920 hours minimum for 3 litters. Total per hour is $1.62 so yeah, if it was about money, they should choose a different career.
