True Joy French Bulldogs - Paul and Shannon Shepard
truejoyfrenchbulldogs@gmail.com
619-820-3960
WHY DO FRENCH BULLDOGS COST SO MUCH???
A lot of people ask why frenchies cost so much... Well here you go!! Quality French and English bulldogs from well established and reputable breeders are NOT CHEAP! There is a great deal of time, research, effort and expense involved in raising a French or English bulldog litter. It can EASILY cost around $5,000- $9,000 to breed, deliver, and raise a litter. If you consider the initial investment for the breeder to buy a quality well bred female; this on average is anywhere from $5,000-$15,000 or more! Then you have the cost of raising that female on a quality diet, vet care, and grooming supplies which in an average year that can add $1,000-$2,000 per dog.
When the female finally reaches breeding age (IF she turns out to be breeding quality) you then begin your search for the right stud. This can consume countless hours of researching pedigrees and healthy lines. Once you find the right stud you pay another $1,000-$5,000 for stud fees! In MOST cases the stud is in another state or country. You then have to pay to have the semen shipped to you. If this is a state to state shipment the average cost is about $200 per collection and overnight shipment; and we always do two inseminations on our females. If the semen is coming from another country it has to come cryogenically frozen and shipped in a nitrogen container which means you have to pay for the return shipping of that container, as well. Overnight cryo shipments from Europe are $1,000 and that does not include the cost for the stud owner to have the semen frozen! That can add another $1,000-$1,500 to the stud fee and the shipping. If you are using frozen semen you have to have it surgically implanted in the female, that is another $500-$900!
When the female finally comes into heat you have to begin progesterone testing to determine when she will ovulate and can be bred. These tests run, on average, $80 each and they should be done every other day until peak levels are reached, that's another $300-$400. Once she is ready and you have your chilled semen shipped to you the artificial insemination is another $150 per a.i.! Then you wait four weeks to do an ultrasound to confirm pregnancy, that's another $100. If you are lucky and the female is confirmed pregnant you now have to purchase your supplies to prepare for your litter! Hospital grade puppy Incubators are $1,000 and up, you will need towels, tube feeding supplies (because you do NOT bottle feed French and English bulldogs), heating pads, blankets (lots of them, it will be messy) medical supplies, milk replacement, puppy weight scale and the list goes on...(you can add at least another $500 in supplies and food.) Then comes the c-section, another $1,500 if it's scheduled during business hours. If your female needs a late night or weekend emergency c-section you can double that!
MOST french and English bulldogs do not deliver naturally and after all the time and money invested it is safer to not risk the life of the mother or her litter to "see if she can deliver naturally." Bulldogs always need assistance from humans during labor as they have short flat faces and can have trouble tearing the sacks by themselves, not to mention puppies getting stuck! C-sections are the safest way to
deliver for mom and her babies.
Some females will not have anything to do with the puppies once they are born, some are inexperienced in the matter and don't understand what to do with the pups, thus, countless hours are spent in assisting in raising the puppies. You have to constantly watch the mother so she doesn't accidentally lay on one of her pups and suffocate it not even realizing it. The puppies need to be fed every 2 hours around the clock for the 1st couple weeks of their lives. This means you can kiss sleep goodbye for at least 2-3 weeks and if you have a job you better plan to take your vacation during this time! If mom's milk doesn't come in or she isn't producing enough milk, which is quite common, you will be tube feeding a litter of pups every 2-3 hours around the clock!
The average size of a french bulldog litter is only 2-4 puppies and 4-6 for English bulldogs! So, after the breeder chooses who they are keeping there may only be a few pups available for sale. If you do the math on what it cost to get that litter into the world and compare that to the amount of selling a few puppies you will see who is taking the bigger loss and why bulldogs are so expensive!
At the end of the day the amount of time and money that is invested in PROPERLY raising and breeding bulldogs is astronomical compared to the cost of buying a QUALITY puppy from a reputable breeder!
You usually get what you pay for as the saying goes... you may find "cheaper" pups as I have heard from some! You may pay less in the beginning sure? May cost you in the end for vet bills and unhealthy puppies into adulthood! We strive to get you your furever family member the most reasonable & healthiest the best we can!
(Copied from another breeder author to me unknown)