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Apartment Puppies
in Singapore. How much puppy can you really afford? Your lifestyle, your spending habits and a host of other factors should be taken into account in any puppy-buying calculation. The price you'll pay for your puppy or next puppy depends on the following:  1. Assess your own lifestyle, deciding whether you have time for your puppy. If you work long hours, it is best to buy a puppy which does not require much exercise or bark a lot. A Shih Tzu makes a good lap dog. Highly energetic breeds like the Jack Russell will need an owner who has time to bring the dog out for exercise. If you have higher household monthly expenses, keep a small breed with short hairs as you cut down on grooming costs if you don't have time to groom your dog daily. If you have just lost a dog or your dog has passed away, you may need some time to get over the loss before you buy a replacement puppy. 2. How long you plan to keep the dog? 2.1 Dogs as best friends. Singapore's dogs live to an old age of around 10 - 15 years and this means that you are prepared to provide care for a long time. Some owners have to give up their dogs owing to their inability to control the dog's anti-social behaviour. Others may want to change dogs every few years. 2.2 Dogs as Investments. Dogs are not good financial investments for most people living in apartments as the number of breeding stock is restricted by government regulations and the hard work necessary in breeding dogs to produce good quality puppies. 2.2.1 Home breeding. If you plan to start a home breeding business to supplement your income, you need to get a good quality breeding stock so that your puppies produced will be attractive. Buy a breed that is popular in Singapore. In 2003, the popular breed is the Maltese, Miniature Schnauzers and Jack Russell. However, the trend may change and sometimes influenced by movies with dogs involved. Poodles and Pomeranians used to be very popular in the 1980s and in 2003, it is the Shih Tzu and the miniature Schnauzer. A good breeding female costs around $1,000 and has a breeding life of around 5 years. Breeding usually is advised when she is over one year old during her second heat. That will be one year's maintenance cost to consider. Her value will not appreciate as she grows older. You don't get tax savings for the expenses in rearing puppies and maintaining the breeding stock. 2.2.2 Barking is the main complaint. Taiwan apartment owners are said to have their dogs debarked to maintain a good neighbour relationship as non dog-owners are irritated by barking. Most Singapore dog owners feel that debarking is cruel. If your dog is a noise nuisance, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) may revoke or cancel your dog licence and you cannot keep the dog legally. The AVA officers usually investigate complaints including anonymous ones. They will ask you whether you have the dog licences required. If not, you may have to pay a $500 fine. Housing and Development Board (HDB) apartment owners are permitted only 1 dog and it must be an approved breed. Private residences are allowed a maximum of 3 dogs. 2.2.3 Sale of puppies by the home breeder. Many home breeders do produce high quality and healthy puppies but they cannot market their puppies as they are worried about committing an offence. You may sell your puppies to the 160 pet shops and save the hassle of individual inspections from prospective buyers. Generally you will get $400 - $500 per pedigree puppy of good pet quality if you sell to the pet shops in 2003. 2.2.4. Dog co-ownership scheme may be of interest to the home breeder who can't afford to buy expensive quality breeding bitches. Details are at Paragraph 6. 3. Consider these factors before you make the purchase.
3.1 What
puppy offers the best resale value?
Puppies with these attributes are available in every price range.
You need to spend time to research using the Straits Times Classifieds, to
phone the 160 or more pet shops, commercial breeding kennels, home
breeders, listings services via the Web such as
www.yahoo.com,
www.singnet.com.sg. You need
to make several weekend visits to the various sellers to know what you
want in a puppy. |
4. To determine your target purchase price you'll need two
figures: The initial payment. The maintenance cost. 4.1. The initial payment. Puppies cost from zero to $20,000. Most Singaporeans buying pedigree puppies are willing to pay from $800 - $1,500 in my observation. The puppy accessories include a play pen, crate, carrier, feed bowl, water bowl or water bottle, leash, collar, chewing toys, shampoos and dry dog feed. This can total up to $300.00 Veterinary health examination fees range from $25 - $50. Some Sellers have a 24-hour money back guarantee if the veterinarian certifies that the puppy is unfit for purchase. 4.2 Maintenance Costs. 4.2.1 Feed cost for a premium brand dry dog feed for a Beagle is around $20.00 per month and $10.00 for a Chihuahua. 4.2.2 Grooming charges range from $30.00 - $45.00 inclusive of pet transport to and from your home. 4.2.3 Veterinary bills vary amongst the private practices. Yearly vaccination costs vary from $28.00 - $70.00 depending on which veterinary surgery you go to and what type of vaccines are given. The cost will be higher if your puppy receives the coronaviral and kennel cough vaccinations which are not routinely administered. Sterilisation fees.  The female small breed spay fees vary from $80 - $200 in various veterinary surgeries. The fees for male sterilisation are much lower. An AVA-mandated scale of fees is usually posted at the reception area. In future, all veterinary surgeries may have web pages with fee structures stated. Presently, you may phone to enquire about the consultation fees and the estimated total cost of treatment or surgery. This will avoid misunderstanding as there is no uniform fixed fee charge in the various private practices. 4.2.4 Pet insurance for sick dogs are not popular in Singapore in 2003. One reason is that the insurance agents do not have the motivation to promote the policies as the commissions they will get are very little. 4.2.5 Dog licence fees. Every year, you have to pay $14.00 for the licence of a male sterilised, male unsterilised or a female sterilised dog. The licence for a female unsterilised dog is $70.00. Dog licensing fees cost more for a female dog not spayed (sterilised). 4.2.6 Permanent identification. Micro-chipping your Singapore-bred puppy is not compulsory in 2003. It costs around $40.00 and helps to identify your dog if it is lost or stolen. However, most police stations have no micro-chip reader but the AVA and the SPCA will have one. You can use dog tags to identify your dog. 4.2.7 Dog obedience classes. Charges vary. These classes are important for puppies to socialise and learn how to behave. You will need to spare some time to be present at such courses as the puppy will not respect you as the leader if you are not able to control it. 4.2.8 Boarding kennel costs. The daily boarding charges vary from $10 - $15 in non air-conditioned kennels. This excludes transport and de-ticking costs which may add in another $100. You may ask your friend to take care of your dog while you are away on holiday. 5. How can you buy a more expensive puppy? Buy a puppy that needs some "repairs". If you are sure that the puppy is suffering from a curable skin condition such as ringworm, you can get a better quality puppy for a lower price. The Seller cannot afford to wait till the puppy has recovered from its hair loss as this will mean another 2 - 4 weeks of maintenance costs.  The pedigree small breed puppies at pet shops sell from $800 to $3,000. The small breeds which are cross-bred sell less than $200. Home breeders sell around $200 - $400 less than pet shops. As sophisticated Singaporeans now demand very small breeds such as the "tea cup or mini" Malteses, such breeds cost more as they are very few of them available for sale. 6. How can you own a more expensive puppy and make money? There are a few business partnership arrangements whereby you care for the breeding bitch without having to buy her. You pay for the feeding and maintenance costs. You get a share of the revenue from the sale of the puppies, e.g. 50% of the sales price. The bitch is yours to keep. This scheme suits only dog lovers as there is a lot of time spent cleaning up of the mess produced by puppies till they are ready for sale at week 8. There must be mutual trust as money is involved in this co-ownership. Entrepreneurs who start such a scheme have great love for dogs. They provide high quality canine breeds and qualify prospective co-owners carefully. The restrictive HDB regulations of one dog/HDB apartment means that HDB residents will not be eligible to start up such a business. Private residences are restricted to keeping a maximum of 3 dogs unless special approval has been given. The Singapore Government encourages entrepreneurship in 2003, but the myriad regulations and licences required are against canine breeding start ups in apartments. 7. Resale and impulsive buying. Cute 8-week-old puppies seem to attract impulsive buying. Should you need to give up the puppy, the Buyer may take it back and give you your money less $500. Unpopular and large breeds may not find takers. You need to advertise in the Straits Times newspapers ($30.00 per 3-line advert per day.) You can post your sale in the internet portals such as www.yahoo.com.sg if you need to find a new owner for your puppy. If your puppy has grown up, there may be no buyers. There are re-homing agencies. Unwanted dogs are usually given to the Singapore Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) or the AVA. As the SPCA has around 150 kennels and takes in 1,000 unwanted and stray dogs a month in 2003, most of these dogs are euthanased as it is not possible to find them a suitable home. 8. Saving regularly. Some pet owners do save an amount monthly with each family member contributing a sum. In this way, the feeding, grooming, and veterinary expenses are available.
9. Negotiation. It is always worth looking at
puppies at least $500 above your target purchase price because you
never know how over-priced a puppy may be or how
negotiable the sellers may be for the puppy you wish to buy. If you
have seen several puppies at various pet shops and breeders, you will
know the value of good quality puppies and the market price. |
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