Dog prices begin to paws after hitting ultimutt highs

While skyrocketing prices may seem like a bonanza for breeders, it could not be further from the truth for some.

‘They’re lovely dogs and people saw them as a quick source of income’: golden retriever breeder Kim Houlden at her Mornington peninsula property. Picture: Aaron Francis

When a kelpie sold for a record $35,200 at a working dog auction in June it set tongues and tails wagging.

The sale price smashed the previous record set in 2019 by more than $10,000, defining a new value for man’s best friend – a bond dating back thousands of years.

And in the lonely days of Covid-19 lockdowns, that friendship has never been more in demand. So much so the price of household dogs – not the prized working dog like the above mentioned kelpie – has skyrocketed.

Take for example perennial favourite, the golden retriever, which rounds off the top five of Australia’s most popular breeds. Early last year, pre-Covid, a puppy was selling for around $3500 before surging towards $8000.

While this may seem like a bonanza for breeders, it could not be further from the truth for some long-standing operators.

Golden Retriever breeder Kim Houlden on her Property in the Mornington peninsula with her puppies Emmie, Bo and Crusoe. Picture: Aaron Francis/The Australian

“Last year a lot of those huge prices were from people who were desperate to have a companion and didn’t care what price they’d pay,” said breeder and Golden Retriever Club of Victoria secretary Kim Houlden.

“It also became a money making enterprise, which was just so sad. They’re lovely dogs and people saw them as a quick source of income. We had a lot of people call, asking how do you register stud dogs.”

Compounding the price rise was the fact that many breeders scaled back their operations as Covid took hold of Australia to maintain their dogs’ wellbeing, creating an opportunity for new operators to enter the market.

According to Bathurst veterinarian, Kate Schoeffel – who was the world’s first breeder of miniature labradoodles – about 450,000 puppies are needed to be bred each year to fulfil demand.

Dr Schoeffel now suspects that for some breeds Australia will witness its first oversupply of dogs. She is particularly concerned about a rise in breeds that have known health problems like French bulldogs and pugs.

“They‘re the ones that really concern me the most. At the moment, an awful lot of people, churning out French bulldogs and pugs, and those dogs are bred by cesarean, most of them,” Dr Schoeffel said.

“They have health problems and are making a fortune for the veterinary profession.

“So I really hope those guys will get an oversupply situation and the prices will drop because at the moment if you have a blue French bulldog, you can get $17,000-$18,000 for it. It’s mental.”

Economist Saul Eslake linked the soaring demand for dogs to the home improvement boom that has swept the nation, fuelling shortages of key building supplies such as structural pine and steel.

“It is one of the ways in which Covid has affected consumer preferences and altered what people are willing to spend their money on,” said Mr Eslake, who owns one dog and four cats.

“The most simple way of saying that is that people have found themselves spending more time in their homes, both because they‘ve been locked down, or because they haven’t wanted to go out for fear of catching Covid.

A cavoodle: Picture: Roberto Nickson.

“Particularly for families with kids, if they‘re not going out as much and if they’re not able to go on holidays, maybe having a pet is a diversion and gives the kids something else to do.”

Jason Eggleton, chief executive of Dogs Victoria – the state’s peak canine body – said it was breeders not the association that set puppy prices. But he said most of the association’s members bred dogs to maintain breed standards, not profits.

“Our breeding members breed primarily for the purpose of improving the quality and/or working ability of the breed in accordance with breed standards and are not driven by commercial gain,” Mr Eggleton said.

“Dogs Victoria actually noticed during Covid-19 that many breeding members chose to scale back or even stop breeding due to concerns with detriment to a puppy’s overall health and wellbeing.”

But prices, while still high, are beginning to drop. Kim Houlden recently received a call from a potential puppy buyer, who was asking about the credentials of a breeder advertising on an online classified site.

“That breeder was registered and charging $5400 for puppies. I know that breeder was charging around $7000 last year so they have had to lower their prices,” she said.

“People are now starting to ask the right questions and saying they’re not going to pay that price.”