Beagles are an extremely popular breed, especially in North America and the UK.
They make great family pets because of their docile nature, and because of their hunting background, they can be very obedient and task-oriented, making them excellent choices for service or emotional support animals.
Because they’re so popular, a lot of beagle breeders have started popping up to service the huge demand.
In this article, we’ll talk about some of the common rates that beagles currently go for in the North American market, as well as a lot of the bigger costs that come along with becoming a professional breeder.
If you’re looking to learn more about the hard numbers and profitability of beagle breeding, read on below!
How Much Money Do Beagle Breeders Make?
When purchasing beagle puppies from a breeder, you can expect a pretty wide price range, from $500 all the way up to $3,000, depending on a variety of factors.
Some of the biggest factors that go into beagle puppy prices include:
- Lineage
Beagles are very popular for their agility and obedience, and they’ve made a name for themselves as show dogs.
For those looking to get into dog shows, you’ll find that AKC-certified breeders in the show dog world can charge up to thousands of dollars for a beagle, depending on how successful their parents were in these shows.
- Gender
Generally, female beagles tend to go more money than male beagles. This isn’t always the case, but females are usually in higher demand because of their temperaments and lack of marking instincts.
- Size
The size of beagles can also play a pretty big role in how price is determined. Generally, smaller puppies will often go for more money, because of the cuteness factor associated with small dogs.
However if you’re evaluating dogs based on their prowess for show or hunting abilities, there may be contexts where larger, sturdier puppies end up going for more money
- Coat
Generally most beagles come in a few different variations of the Tri-Color coat.
However there are some coats that are fairly rare for beagles, like hints of blue and yellow tri colored beagles.
These rarer coats will definitely drive the prices up compared to more common coats.
- Market Availability
With most types of dog breeds, market availability and demand plays a pretty big role in the overall price of beagles.
If you’re working with a breeder that corners your local market, they have some room to drive their prices up.
On the other side, if you’re a beagle breeder working in a more competitive area, you may have to bring your prices down in order to appear more lucrative to potential buyers.
- General Health
Of course, the beagle’s health also plays a big role in what determines their price.
If a beagle has a birth defect or a disability that is likely to be a burden on their adoptive parent, it’s likely that they’d be cheaper compared to a beagle with a clean bill of health once they reach 8 weeks of age.
- Age
While everyone wants a newborn beagle puppy, if a beagle doesn’t get sold to a family after they leave puppyhood (between 4 and 6 months of age), they’re likely to cost a lot less.
Puppies are particularly in high demand, moreso than grown dogs, especially those over the age of 1.
Once a beagle is one year old, you can expect more reasonable prices between the $350-500 range, and even lower depending on what the local market looks like at the time.
What Are Common Costs Associated With Beagle Breeding?
Because a lot of costs are incurred by the breeder, they tend to be one of the biggest factors in determining your overall profitability as a breeder. Those costs include:
- Pregnancy Care For The Mother:
Beagle gestation periods are 51-56 days, so 1 pregnancy will typically last around 7 weeks.
To care for the mother during this period, you’ll probably need to feed them a high quality diet, give them optimum exercise, and agree with a vet about any special care implements that the mother may need such neonatal vitamins, ultrasounds, and general check ups.
In extreme cases, x-rays, c-sections, and hormone treatments can drive pregnancy care costs north of $3,000, depending on the general health of the mother and babies, and any potential pregnancy complications
- Stud Fees
If you don’t own the male stud (ie; the father) when breeding, you’ll likely need to pay a fee to the stud’s owner.
Because it’s less money and effort on the stud owner’s part, this fee usually isn’t more than the price of one potential puppy from the litter.
Generally its around $1,500, but obviously this varies depending on market demand and pedigree of the stud.
- Litter expenses
Caring for the actual litter of beagle puppies can also drive up costs. You’ll need fortified food for the puppies and mother, along with a whelping box or pen for the first couple weeks following their birth.
The biggest associated costs of litters come from vet visits, as most reputable breeders will have their puppies dewormed and go through at least one round of shots before they are picked up by their new parents. These costs can range anywhere from $200-$1,000 dollars, and can get even higher if its a large litter!
- Miscellaneous Costs
Other miscellaneous costs include AKC registration, microchipping, enrichment like toys and blankets, along with all of the associated cleaning products you’ll need to care for the mess – as puppies and pregnant dogs can make quite the mess!
In total, it’s fair to estimate total costs for a standard beagle pregnancy to range between $1,500 and $10,000, depending on the size of the litter and medical complications.
How Popular Are Beagles Compared to Other Breeds?
While a lot of dog breeds are more popular in the United States, beagles have definitely been one of the more saught after breeds over the last 100 years.
According to the American Kennel Club, Beagles rank 7th as the most popular dog breed in the United States, out of a whopping 197 other breeds!
The breeds that outrank the beagle in popularity include:
- Labrador Retrievers
- French Bulldogs
- Golden Retrievers
- German Shepherds
- Poodles
- Bulldogs
Some other popular dog breeds that follow beagles on the AKC’s list include:
- Rottweilers
- Pointers (German Shorthair)
- Dachshunds
- Pembroke Welsh Corgis
- Australian Shepherds
- Yorkshire Terriers
- Boxers
- Cavalier King Charles Spaniels
- Doberman Pinschers
- Great Danes
What Makes the Beagle So Popular?
They are excellent family dogs, highly trainable, and great with kids and other animals. They’re also highly sociable with other dogs, and love being around people!
They’re also quite intelligent, and have plenty of stamina. Plus, they’re relatively low maintenance compared to other breeds, and can be quite hearty. Beagles are a wonderful addition to any family.
However, they’re not for everyone.
They are prone to certain health conditions such as obesity and diabetes, so potential owners should look into potential health concerns.
As a breed, they are very food motivated, which can be a downside for their weight management.
If left unmanaged, beagles can eat way more food than they usually require, and easily put on pounds. Additionally, as a breed originally bred for hunting, beagles have a lot of energy and require a lot of exercise to help keep them in a calorie deficit.
If you plan on getting a beagle, it’s important that you have enough time to make sure they’re following a healthy diet and getting outside and burning the right amount of calories.
How to Get Started as a Beagle Breeder
If you’re interested in getting started raising beagles, it’s a great decision! Beagles are wonderful dogs, and they make great family pets.
However, it’s important to keep in mind that breeding beagles is a lot of work, especially if you’re doing it for the profit.
If you’re looking to breed beagles, you should go in with reasonable expectations.
As a side hustle, it’s likely that you won’t make a decent profit on your first litter, especially as you make the modifications to your home to be able to care for a pregnant beagle and a whole litter of puppies.
However, over time once you start to get a better handle on costs and start building a name for yourself and a local client base, beagle breeding can be both a personally rewarding and financially lucrative decision.
The Verdict: Is Beagle Breeding Profitable?
Like any side hustle, breeding beagles isn’t for everyone.
It’s a ton of work that’s filled with both highs and lows. It can be extremely rewarding to watch puppies grow up to become wonderful dogs, but it’s also difficult if you experience a poor birth or if the puppies are never going to be able to find homes.
It’s important to go into this venture with the right expectations, and not to be discouraged by an initial lack of success when you first started breeding beagles.
That being said, if you’re in a good local market, and have success with a couple of healthy and bountiful litters each year, it isn’t reasonable to assume that you’d be able to supplement your income by $10,000 – $30,000 per year to start, and potentially even more as you continue to grow and optimize your business.
