REPUTABLE breeders typically charge somewhere between $1500 and $2000 for a puppy. Those who are charging less may be "fire selling" puppies because they cannot find homes (ask yourself why they can't?) And those who charge more may just be taking advantage of people who are desperate to get a puppy NOW when the supply of puppies may be limited.

Breezy Ridge GSMD puppies fall within $1500 to $1900, and the price will vary depending on size of litter. I offer owners of puppies rebates or incentives, if certain practices are adhered to and milestones met, such as putting the puppy on a quality health insurance plan for the first two years of its life, obtaining a CGC title, and earning a championship (for owners of show quality puppies).

If the cost of buying a puppy is a major factor in your purchase decision, you need to reconsider if this breed is right for you. The price of the puppy is a small drop in the bucket compared to the cost of taking care of that dog over the course of its life. You will want to spend a lot more time researching the costs of actually owning a Swissy.

This is a breed that often does poorly on lower-cost foods laden with fillers and processed grains. A good quality dog food is a must and runs about $50 a month per dog (my dogs eat Innova Large Breed Adult and Innova EVO). Other good brands are Eagle Pack Holistic Large Breed, and Taste of the Wild.

For wellness care (update on shots, heartworm test, lyme disease test, fecal test, etc), the cost varies from veterinarians, but generally range from $150 - $200 per year. Talk to your vet about their costs for the various orthopedic surgeries that an unlucky Swissy may face. That could be anything from surgery for an OCD flap in a shoulder, a torn ACL or even more extreme, a total hip replacement. Bloat surgery is very expensive as well, and the prognosis for a complete recovery can be iffy. Additionally, not all vets have the knowledge or skill required to deal with bloat, so make sure your vet has experience with this. Because bloat is an incredibly painful and grave condition that needs IMMEDIATE attention, there is no time to shop around for vet care. You need to know in advance that you're prepared to do whatever it takes to care for your Swissy so you'll be able to react appropriately in an emergency situation.

Chronic conditions also exist in this breed, which may need continuous care for the life of your dog. Urinary incontinence is one such example (mostly in females) of a condition that usually can be treated with drugs. Epilepsy is an even more serious disease, for certain, as it not only requires lifelong medication, but also regular vet visits (for blood tests to check liver function, etc.) and potentially emergency vet visits when an epileptic Swissy starts experiencing cluster seizures or a state of persistent seizing (status epilepticus).

While many Swissies go through life never requiring more than just maintenance veterinary care, there is no way to guarantee that your puppy will be one of the lucky ones. You can and should do as much as possible to stack the odds in your favor, by carefully screening a breeder about the health of their dogs and particularly the dogs in the pedigree of your puppy. Still, because these are living, breathing creatures and not machines, there is no way to guarantee anything when it comes to the health of a dog. And even if your puppy is lucky enough to win the genetic lottery, accidents can happen.