Cost of a cavalier..

Ok this is a nosy question, so please don't answer if you aren't ok with doing so! I'm just curious what others have paid for their cavaliers (what most breeders are charging in various parts of the world at the moment). I'm in the US (michigan) and it seems that most cavaliers from good reputable breeders are around $1,500. I paid $2,200 for Polly, she has very good breeding behind her (sire is #1 champion in canada and the top 20 in the US and dam is also a champion) which seems to be within a fair price point. Also her parents and grandparents have been cleared of heart murmurs at the age of 7 which is really good. Fingers crossed their good luck carries on to my baby. Thanks for sharing if you choose to!

I paid $1000 for Guinness, his parents are not champions, but both were heart cleared by a cardiologist at 2.5 years. I'm looking into getting a (pet quality) female from one of major breedersin the US and expect to be paying more in the range of what you paid for Polly.

On an aside, I saw a litter of ckc (kc that will register anything) cavaliers in the local newspaper for $500/pup. They had a brother sister pair they were recommending
as a "good breeding pair" (their words, not mine). I was so horrified I kept up with the ad for a few weeks and based on the list of available pups it appears the two were sold weeks apart, so hopefully to different homes.

From my experience in looking for a puppy two years ago, reputable breeders who conduct all health tests (and use stud dogs whose owners are doing the same) -- the cost was around 2,500. I'm in Kansas, but talked to breeders from all over the states. I found breeders who charged in between 3,000 and 4,000, but the range was usually in the 2,500 range in the midwest.

Tara,

Do those prices for all health tests include MRI? If so I would say they seem a little high (in my opinion), but not outrageous. If that's just hearts, eyes, hips, patellas I would consider those prices excessive for a pet quality dog of any breed.

Also, I have PM'd you about breeders.

£720 icon_nwunsure

I paid $1000 for Oliver as a pup, $1500 each for Riley and Maddie and $2000 for Oz. Riley, Maddie and Oz are all from the same breeder, so she raised her prices in the four years after we got Maddie.

£650. Eye, Heart and Patella tested. Stud dog also tested. Know the history of grandparents and so on. My breeder gives you like a family tree. If she continues breeding she will MRI Scan.

Soushiruiuma,

Yes, those prices are from breeders who scan. Those prices also hold true for breeders not scanning for each breeding.

I found that price doesn't necessarily tell you how reputable the breeder is. There are many BYB's around me and they usually charge between $1500 and $1800. I guess what I'm saying is that just because a breeder charges a large some, doesn't mean that he / she is doing what needs to be done as far as testing, socialization, studying lines, etc.

IMHO, to find a reputable breeder charging anything less than $1800-$2000 in the Midwest would be tough. The most reputable I've found are around the $2500 range.

Tara

Mine are both from the same breeder and were $2,000 each.

I notice ads in the paper for Cavaliers that seem very high considering they appear to be BYBs. Some of them claim to be "rescue" dogs, but when I call to inquire about giving them over to the Cavalier rescue I volunteer with the people make up some story about where they came from, etc. Since other people from the rescue call these same ads and hear different stories than I do I know that the person who listed the dogs isn't telling the truth and that they're most likely not even rescues. It's a shame they're trying to make money off of these poor dogs.

I also know that these terrible "pocket" puppy pet stores in this area sell "pocket" Cavaliers for $2,000-$2,500. They are unusually small, look unhealthy and are obviously from puppy mills. It boggles my mind why someone would pay this kind of money for an extremely small, unhealthy, below breed-standard (weight) dog, when they could pay about the same price and get a puppy from a reputable breeder that does the health testing.

The most recent price I heard in the Northeast US, just last month, was $2,500.00, from a champion sire and dam , both of which conformed to the MVD, SM, hips, eyes, and patellas protocols.
--
Rod Russell

We paid $ 3000 1 1/2 yr. ago for our Abigail whose parents as well as grandparents had great health records as well as being champions.

The prices I was quoted at that time were $1500 up with $2000 a common price.

Heather R

Prices would be quite a bit less for dogs from reputable health testing breeders in the UK or Ireland. About half to a third the cost of US prices at current exchange rates. Go figure... never have understood the discrepancy as the costs are about the same with vets etc. However MRI scanning is considerably cheaper in the UK, where breeders can avail of scans for as little as 100 pounds. I think it is simply what the market tolerates, if people are honest -- cavaliers are very common in the UK and Ireland and still fairly unusual in the US/Canada. I don't think UK breeders could sell pet puppies at typical US prices.

I agree Karlin. My husband is from England which is where I first fell in love with these dogs and when researching the costs of cavaliers in the states, I was so surprised at the price differences. But then as you said, cavaliers are common in the UK, I would see quite a few of them on my trips over. I very rarely see them where I am from and often when I tell people what breed Polly is I get a "I've never heard of that" response. I didn't realize how much cheaper the MRI scans were in the UK though, wow! I was shocked at how much they cost here.

Karlin said:

Prices would be quite a bit less for dogs from reputable health testing breeders in the UK or Ireland. About half to a third the cost of US prices at current exchange rates. Go figure... never have understood the discrepancy as the costs are about the same with vets etc. However MRI scanning is considerably cheaper in the UK, where breeders can avail of scans for as little as 100 pounds. I think it is simply what the market tolerates, if people are honest -- cavaliers are very common in the UK and Ireland and still fairly unusual in the US/Canada. I don't think UK breeders could sell pet puppies at typical US prices.

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Chelsea was from a hobby breeder and $1700. Her background is UKC and I believe grandparents came fromt he UK. Viivain was from a lady who has been breeding and showing, for 26 years she was $2700 as she was almost show quality. Vivian's I think great grandma is 13 and all healthy (heart and neruo) with the exception of some arthritis. Her breeder is one great lady, and so attune to the Cavs, keeps all of her breeding stock even after retirement, she started with wolf hounds(what a change)

About the MRI, Chelsea is possibly needing one, I was warned about the cost with estimates 1700 to 2700, ouch thanks for insurance. Even though they are being a little bit of a pain about the pre-certification.

Karlin; I agree that cavaliers are still not very common in US. I had to research breeders all along the east coast and traveled quite a distance for our Abigail.

Heather R

Daisy was $1600 from a fairly small show breeder who tested hearts and eyes and provided certification of both. Daisy's dad is Sheeba Harry Potter, who last I heard was heart clear at 9 years old. I mentioned SM to her at the time we bought Daisy, and at that time, she was not scanning, but she may be now. She admitted it was a concern. That was almost 4 years ago.

In TN, a similar level of breeder was charging $2000 at that time. Like others, I see a wide range of prices from the BYB's who run ads in the paper -- everything from $400 to $1800.

The price variation within the US (or UK or Ireland or anywhere) - as opposed to the price variation between countries -- is a little misleading. There is definitely a price range for a dog from a reputable breeder in the US as opposed to BYBs, brokers, trash breeders, puppy mill dogs.... a bargain does not exist, and a low priced puppy is a sure sign of a questionable source (specially anything below $1000 in the US -- I'd really expect a dg from a good breeder at this point to be at least $1500. Dogs as with many other things tend to be lower in the middle states and higher on the coasts. Really high prices (over about $27500) to me would also be suspect as often it is the crap breeders and brokers selling crap dogs on open registration so others can set up a breeding farm for this horribly exploited breed or are shysters claiming their crap dogs are 'show quality' or 'champion stock' (there are of course good breeders selling at higher prices too, so research is all-important!). Such claims are highly suspect as reputable breeders would never sell on open (breeding) registration, and in the US/Canada would almost ALWAYS have a spay/neuter clause for ownership. Also, what some say are healthy, 'tested', champion dogs are often just the opposite -- questionably obtained dogs, dogs that had champions in their background generations ago (every puppy farm/mill dog would be the same!); dogs that have only been seen by an often paid-off vet who churns out such approvals and makes lots of money himself this way... The best way to vet a breeder and to verify that breeding stock are properly tested is to start with the suggestions here.

You see the same in Ireland and the UK -- really cheap puppies in the small ads or shop windows, but also overpriced dogs from what are obviously trash breeders making ridiculous claims and taking advantage of underinformed puppy buyers.

The low cost UK MRIs are minimal scans designed for breeders to scan and grade breeding stock so they better know the state of their own lines. They wouldn't be the norm by any means and prices for medical scans (eg for diagnosis) wold be in line with the US. Prices can vary quite a bit for MRIs so it is worth calling around. Also in the UK, pet owners can sometimes get in on the UK club scan days at low cost (or those organised by Mark Marshall) and this may interest some who simply want to get a scan of their dog. If you do so, please be sure to submit the results to Sarah Blott (PM me for more info).

As always, knowledge is your best tool when screening breeders and looking for a healthfocused, reputable breeder, not cost of puppies or what might be claimed on a website or in person. Learning what to look for and why and what to ask is important and healthfocused breeders will, truly, welcome a buyer who knows and cares about these issues. The ones to avoid are those that have lots of 'yes, but' responses.

US$1800 for this little runt with limited registration out of Southern California. Father and grandpa are/were champions, mother is not but her parents/grandparents might have been (I forget).

LittleRunt is as cute as a button.

We paid $2300 each for Lucy & Charlie Brown. Both come from a very well known and reputable breeder in Southern California. Parents, most grandparents and some great grandparents are champions. Both dogs are considered pet quality and have limited registration and I had to sign a spay/neuter contract, although the breeder almost kept Lucy as a show dog and even had a judge come and look at her, but in the end decided to keep Lucy's litter mate instead. As it turned out, at 18 months it became clear that her litter mate was just going to be too small to be a breeding bitch and really too laid back to be a star in the show ring.... so the breeder decided to put her up for sale. Around the same time a neighbor/friend of mine decided she wanted a Cav but really didn't want a puppy. I asked my breeder if she knew of any older dogs that may be available and lo and behold Lucy's littermate ended up being purchased by my friend. So now Lucy has her sister living right down the street! Fun for puppy playdates. But now, every time I email pictures of Lucy to my breeder she says she should have kept Lucy instead, as Lucy is much larger and has a much more outgoing personality than her sis. Anyway, I am rambling..

We got quotes ranging from $2000 all the way up to $5000 from breeders in the San Francisco Bay Area but Lucy happened to be available during the timeframe that we wanted a pup and the other breeders couldn't say enough good things about the breeder we ended up buying from so we went for it and were so pleased we bought Charlie Brown 2 years later.