French Bulldog Price: How much are French Bulldogs?
For anyone who has done research on French Bulldog price, it is no surprise that they are one of the more expensive breeds. Why are they so costly?
French Bulldog Price: What is the cost to breed?
Primarily, the answer to “how much are French Bulldogs” is based on how much it costs to breed them. To start, a breeder should invest in a quality female. This can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000 or more depending on pedigree, structure, temperament, health, color and hair length. Then, the breeder provides her with excellent care and nutrition and meets all her medical needs and health testing over the period of 1.5 to 2 years if she is not already mature.
Additionally, French Bulldog price is higher because they usually require artificial insemination, or AI, to conceive. They traditionally need a cesarean surgery, or C-Section, to birth the puppies due to their large heads. Both of these procedures are expensive and necessary most if not all of the time.
Prior to the AI, testing is needed to confirm health and peak ovulation of the female. And, prior to the c-section, testing is routinely performed to make sure the puppies are ready for life outside of the mother.
Also, many Frenchie breeders purchase equipment, such as an incubator, oxygen supply, tube feeding supplies, etc. These things are invaluable to have on hand and can be life saving in situations where puppies need extra help to survive.
Excellent breeders will go the extra step and perform health testing on each puppy if health clearances cannot be confirmed through parentage. This is the only way to really know if each puppy may be susceptible to health issues later in life.
All of the investment, testing, procedures and equipment is costly! Below is an example of potential costs involved in producing a litter:
- Female French Bulldog $6,000
- Stud fee (if breeder doesn’t own a stud) $1,000 – $3,500 or more
- Brucellosis / Progesterone level testing $100 – $300
- AI services performed by a veterinarian $100 – $300 or more
- Scheduled C-Section $600 – $1,200 or more if after hours or Emergency
- Incubator $300 or more
- Oxygen Concentrator $250-$500
- Puppy Supplies $100 – $200
- Genetic testing for each puppy $200
There is also the additional cost of routine veterinarian visits, food, vaccines, supplies, daily care items and much more. The total cost is over $10,000! When we consider that the average French Bulldog litter size is 3 puppies, it is easy to see that the estimated cost to rear one puppy is more than $3,500. The cost to produce and raise quality puppies is the biggest contributing factor to French Bulldog price.
French Bulldog Price: What is the cost to raise a puppy?
Before you ask a breeder, “how much are French Bulldogs?”, consider the sacrifice of time and effort on the part of that breeder. Once the puppies have been successfully delivered by the veterinarian and everyone is home safe, the hard work really begins.
Constant, round-the-clock monitoring is required to ensure that the puppies are safe and warm and eating well.
Due to the affects of anesthesia, puppies can be lethargic and the mama dog can be disoriented. She may not recognize the puppies as her own and reject or attack them. Dogs can kill puppies so quickly, or can lay on them accidentally. That is why they are not left alone, even for a moment, for the first few weeks of life.
Because of the shortened snout of the Frenchie, the puppies are more likely to have issues with aspirating milk into the airway. If not closely monitored a puppy can easily develop aspiration pneumonia, which is life threatening.
Once we are sure that every puppy is gaining well, developing properly, and healthy, and we know that the mama dog is attentive and aware of her puppies, then we can leave them unsupervised for short periods.
Unfortunately that is not always the case. If puppies are struggling to thrive, or if the dam’s milk doesn’t come in sufficiently, additional support is required from the breeder during their first month of life.
And, even with impeccable care from the breeder, puppies do not always survive. The loss of a puppy or even multiple babies takes an emotional toll.
An excellent breeder will love these babies as if our lives depend upon it. We give the ultimate effort, stop at nothing, sacrifice everything, and we don’t consider the cost when we are doing what we do best. We know that all of this goes into the French Bulldog price, but our true reward is not the money. It is the loving relationship that is created when our Frenchie fur-kids go to their new homes.
French Bulldog Price: What is the cost of quality?
The quality of a breeders French Bulldogs and their puppies heavily affects the French Bulldog price as well.
Elite breeders will invest in their dogs, paying a premium price for the ladies and studs that will produce their quality puppies. Dogs with excellent pedigree, conformation that adheres to the breed standard, and health as well as color will bring the highest price.
As stated above, a French Bulldog puppy of this quality with full breeding rights will normally cost $5,000 to $50,000 and up. Now imagine that a breeder has multiple Frenchies in their program! You can see how this investment can really add up.
Why pay a premium price for a French Bulldog?
Because French bulldogs are very popular, many people are trying to breed them in an attempt to make money these days. Therefore, there are dogs out there being bred with little or no regard to breed standard, structure, temperament and health.
If a breeder isn’t investing their money and priceless time to provide the care that this special breed needs, it might be evident in the low price they are asking for their puppies.
We truly believe that you get what you pay for, and if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Quality comes at a higher price, especially with Frenchies.
If the price is too low, the puppy may be poorly bred or sick. Unhealthy puppies will cost less to purchase, but will most likely cost more in proper veterinary care, medicine and likely surgeries over their lifetime.
Additionally, a puppy advertised on a website or social media with a low price may be non-existent. Scammers will steal puppy photos from legitimate breeders and try to sell them to unsuspecting puppy buyers.
At RickJenn Frenchies, we base our pricing on everything we do to provide our families with a top quality puppy that will provide love and joy for many years. Please visit our About Us page to see more about how we raise our puppies and the value we add to each one.
We invite you go directly to our Contact Us page to send us an email or call us to discuss Frenchies. We are happy to answer any questions you may have about our puppies. French Bulldog price may be expensive, but they are so worth it!