I think it depends on the breed, my first dane cost me £1000 as he was show quality as i wanted to show, sadly i lost him at 2yrs old, and swore i would never pay that amount for another dog again, my second dane cost me £850, I know of some breeders who charge up to £2000 for a show quality pup i think its stupid. there is no way i would pay anything near that for a cross breed

Our BC's both had a litter when I was a teen and we sold their pups for £250 each. It makes me shudder now as there were no health tests etc, my parents didn't vet the new owners. TBF, they were farm collies so people didn't expect more, but knowing what I do now as an adult it does make me sad.

Bentley cost us €250, we got €50 off because they thought he had a heart problem (he doesn't ) and he's a JRT. We can't believe the cost that some JRT's are selling for now, we even saw one advertised as having KC papers

As much as we both wanted to get a rescue pup next we saw the German Pinscher on Crufts in 2012, and loved it! Only to discover that there are only 50 or so in the UK and considered rare. Demanding tenacious dogs that need an experienced owner (like lots of breeds) and I would hate to see one go to the wrong home. We were both vetted by our breeder, and another owner that already had one of the breeder's pups. Nala's parents are both fully health tested and Dad was champion in Sweden and mum recently in Luxumbourg, so she is show quality, although that's just a bonus for us and not essential (her best mate is a JRT )
We paid £900 for Nala. I had issues when I heard the cost however, given how fantastic our breeder has been I think the cost was well worth it, and might go some way to put off someone that couldn't provide the commitment she needs, if that makes sense. And I could pay the same price for a laptop, that wouldn't last nearly as long as Nala will

My colleague paid £1700 for a Rhodesian Ridgeback pup in late 2012. Apparently the breeder charges that much to put people off buying one without realising the commitment they're making. The ongoing cost of having dogs is A LOT and far outweighs any initial outlay IMO.

With both of them asleep next to me right now and looking like little angels I would pay for them over and over again

Tessabelle - you make a very good point. My business class VIAO cost around 800 and I'm already considering a more lightweight replacement after 2yrs or so. If I added up all the money computers, laptops, printers and other high tech paraphernalia cost over the years I am sure it would outweigh the cost of all my dogs.

And sometimes all this equipment does is cause you stress and aggro! Unlike lovely dogs!

*I know several people who've paid well over £1K for a telly (I never have) and they don't expect them to last a lifetime nor consider it a waste of money. If I had to choose between a telly and a dog - no contest - bye bye telly!

My Border collie cost me £250 she is ISDS registered. I think £350 is the most i would pay for a Border Collie, although some breeders up the price if the dog is Merle, Red e.t.c.

My sister paided either £100 or £120 for her Staffy puppy, it is only 11-12 weeks old, so not that long ago at all. I would love to get my mum a Shih Tzu as she wants one, but i think £350-£400 is enough, but around here they cost about £500 plus!. Even crossbreed ones, although my mum does not want a crossbreed. I just don't get how people can charge more for little dogs, they eat less!.

Hi its the celebrity thing,as most of them we are led to believe have handbag dogs,so they fetch a premium.crystalgirl

I believe very little dogs are harder to breed, have smaller litters and more problems giving birth. Which is why they are more expensive I have always thought. Betty was one of 4, our bigger dog Mollie was one of 9.

Also they are harder to raise once born, the lady who Betty came from had a lovely set up for them to be kept safe from feet etc as they were very trip overable and stand onable.

Hi I may be showing my ignorance,but the only dog I have known to have problems with puppies is the bulldog because they rarely give birth naturally,and would imagine that the puppies cost will reflect that.I know of a lady who was put on a waiting list for pugxfrenchbulldog and she paid more then my, Belgian Shepherds but it never occurred to me that smaller dogs would cost more,because people are buying poodles to cross with Labradors ect crystalgirl

i paid over £1000 for my new pup and she was worth every penny!! didn't begrudge paying it as i wanted a dog from health tested parents that was (to the best of the breeders ability) show quality.

And a gorgeous girl she is Dooley. You cannot count the cost in terms of happiness brought by owning the dog you fell in love with. If you can afford to pay - whyever not. We all have the choice of what to spend our money on. I know some people in the UK who pay more than that for their annual ciggie spend. Or posh gym membership or waddever!

As for Shih Tzu's being 'handbag dogs' I wouldn't like to cart a fully grown one of those around in my handbag!

Very hard to argue with any of that. Dogs are like anything you buy, you will only pay what you consider it to be worth. Breeders will sell their puppies at the current going rate. I don't blame them because if their pups are from solid health tested stock, and all of the work they put in its worth it to me. Most breeders are there for you through your dogs life. If money was no object there are quite a few different bull breeds that sell for over £1200 over here that I would love to own, but my budget wouldn't stretch to that, as well as covering the cost of responsibly owning a dog for life.