Cost
The Price of Pomeranians
Overview
It's certainly wise to look into the cost of a Pomeranian puppy (or even an older Pom) before you plan to bring this amazing breed into your home.
While, of course, the initial price of buying a purebred Pomeranian will be of the utmost importance in your decision making process, the cost of care should be considered as well.
You will find that the price will vary depending on several factors. We will discuss why this is so, and cover elements that include:
- The state in which the puppy is coming from
- The age of the Pom
- What type of registration the Pom has
- Breeding limits/ restrictions
- Being wary of a too low or a too high price
Cost Based on Location
Prices vary greatly all across the United States. There is not one across-the-board price. Cost goes up or down depending on which section of the country the breeder resides.
Not very long ago, it was common for breeders to ship puppies via
airplanes (alone and without an escort). This rarely happens any longer due to very strict regulations in place by the AKC (applicable to breeders that sell AKC registered pups).
For this reason, if you find you need to look out-of-state, you'll have to factor in either driving costs for you to pick up your new family member or an airplane ticket for you to personally transport the puppy.
You will find, generally speaking, that the element of "demand" plays quite a large role in determining price points for this amazing breed. While there are no exact records for how many Pomeranians are registered in the US, there are over 70 million dogs in the country (this includes both owned and those in shelters in need of rescue, purebreds and mixes).
If we take that number and cut it in half (to be more than fair and to make allowances for the mixed breeds), we have 35 million dogs.
If just 1% of those are purebred Pomeranians, that gives us a total number of 390,000 Pomeranian puppies and dogs in the USA at any one given time. And this, as you can imagine, is an
extremely conservative estimate considering that the Pom is in the top 20 most popular dog breeds and this breed makes up more than 1% of dogs.
This said, depending on where you live, there can be lots of available pups or they can be very scarce. For example, in New England, there are few Pomeranian breeders compared to other states.
So what does this mean to you and your wallet? Generally, this means that to locate a quality, AKC registered Pom that comes from a small home breeder will usually cost more than from a state in which there are a larger number of Pom pups available.
Many southern states produce a large number of puppies, not only of the Pomeranian breed but many other popular breeds as well.
While efforts are being made around the clock to shut down "puppy mills" in the south and other areas, the breeding business is strong.
Demand is high, however since there are many breeders to choose from, most will keep their prices on the lower end in order to stay in business.
While we are strongly against mills and we are "pro home-breeder", many loving, caring and ethical home breeders need to compete with much larger competition in certain areas.
This places them in a situation in which they must keep prices comparatively low in order to compete with larger breeders who can mass produce pups and keep prices to a minimum.
Keeping this in mind, these breeders who dedicate their lives to raising happy and healthy Poms sometimes only earn a very small profit. Why do they continue on? Many simply are in love with the breed and can't imagine doing anything else.
How the Time of Year Affects Pricing
You know the saying, "Timing is everything!". Well, this is certainly true when it comes to buying a puppy.
In states of the US in which winter equals snow storms and temperatures at or below freezing, the cost for Pomeranians comes down during the months that most do not even think about bringing a new pup home.
Therefore, in states such as this, there is a high demand during spring and summer months...and a lower demand during the wintertime.
Many breeders will take a break in the fall so that they do not have litters in the winter. For those who do decide to breed year round, you will find that the pricing often is lowered from October through February. If you have decided that you do want to obtain a Pomeranian puppy it can be helpful to choose a breeder who will be lowing pricing in accordance with falling temperatures.
With this in mind, don't forget that house training is often a lot more difficult with snow on the ground. Just opening your door to head out into freezing weather may be enough for you to consider waiting for the spring even if that means paying a little more.
The Age of the Pomeranian Greatly Affects the Price
The window of time to sell a puppy is between 6 weeks old (when a pup is chosen and a deposit is placed down) to 8 weeks old, which is the
age that most pups are ready to transition to their new homes.
Therefore, you will find that when a Pomeranian reaches the 9 or 10 week mark, prices are dramatically reduced.
While a 9 month old, 10 month old and even older pups will make just as wonderful family members, the notion of obtaining a 2 month old is so ingrained in people's minds, that when a pup passes that age, the cost is greatly reduced in an effort to sell the pup before he or she reaches 3 months or even 4 months, at which time demand lowers quite a bit and sometimes a breeder will find that no one is interested in obtaining a Pom of that age.
Does Coloring Affect Cost?
This breed can be found in such a wide range of
colors, it is amazing. The most common coat color is orange. There are rare colors such as blue and even lavender. Generally speaking, the more rare a color or a coat combination, the higher the cost. In some cases, what may be considered to be rare may not be prices as such. This can happen if someone focuses on that color and regularly produces puppies of that color or variations (partis that hold that hue)... price can even out and not factor in as much.
Type of Registration
While there are many CKC registered puppies that are perfectly healthy and make for great pets, we personally recommend obtaining an AKC puppy. Why? Well, one of the reasons is that the AKC is very strict regarding rules and regulations. Visits are often done at the premises in order to ensure that the program stays small (preventing mills).
People are held accountable and records must be perfectly kept in order to keep your license. CKC is more laid-back. In fact, for a dog to be officially declared as a purebred, one only must send in a
photograph and have written signatures of witnesses.
It is more expensive for a breeder to offer AKC pups, and this means that the price for an AKC registered Pomeranian will generally be higher than a CKC....However, it is our recommendation that this is worth the cost increase.
Most pet owners will receive a limited registration, which means that they will not have breeding rights.
This is done for 2 main reasons:
To make sure that inexperienced people are not producing litters and also so that a Pom that is not of show quality is not producing puppies. Pet quality Poms are just that: perfect as pets...when bought from a loving, experienced and ethical breeder, the dogs will be purebred and beautiful...just not of show quality which has very strict guidelines.
Summary:
The cost of a Pomeranian puppy is typically between $800 and $2000. For some Poms with championship bloodlines, the price may be as high as $3500.
If a Pom is Priced Too Low or Too High
If you see an 8-week-old AKC registered Pomeranian for sale for the low price of $100 to $300, this is a red flag.
In the same regard, $4000.00 is too high of a price tag for anyone to reasonably consider.
If cost is too low, remember the saying "You get what you pay for" and that "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is". If you see an ad that asks for thousands, it is most likely a scam.... Some will claim that they have Poms of "special bloodlines" and such...and these are marketing scams.
A Word About Teacups
This term, along with "toy Pomeranian", "miniature" and other words to imply a "smaller-than-average" dog is a marketing scam. This is a small breed. If someone is intentionally producing tiny pups, this creates dogs that will most likely have a host of health issues down the line.
If they are of standard size, using this term to mislead potential buyers into thinking that they will have a "unique" Pom is unethical. All Poms are unique and beautiful at their standard size of 3 - 7 lbs ( 1.36 - 3.175 kg) when fully grown.
Ongoing Costs
The first year is the most expensive, since you will be obtaining all of the needed supplies. This will typically cost $1270+.
Then, once you have most of the things that you'll need, the cost of food, replacing toys, vet visits, and other elements will typically cost $500+ per year.
If You Want to Purchase a Pom from a Breeder
If you are wondering whom you can trust to purchase a puppy from, we do have a small
list of breeders whom we personally recommend. You may wish to look over our recommendations, and then begin with a visit to their site or a phone call to inquire about your 'Pomeranian goals'.
Adopting a Pomeranian
If you are thinking about
adopting a Pomeranian from a shelter, there will still be costs involved. It can range from $100 to $500 USD. For most there is a minimum donation to cover the cost of medical care, shots, food, de-worming, flea treatment and more.
Purebred Pomeranians are hard to come by at shelters and most will be adults. Even if you may need to be patient until a Pom becomes available, this is such a great option, since these Poms really need a lot of love and appreciate having a loving owner.
Reader Q&A
Q: What would be a fair price to pay for a 7-8 year old teacup? I was quoted $1,150 but that seems high for an older dog.
A:
Well, there are two elements at play here. The first, is that there is no such breed as a teacup or miniature Pomeranian. This term is used in 1 or 2 ways. It is often used as a marketing term to mislead puppy buyers. It may also be used to describe a Pom that is so tiny he is smaller than the breed standard, thus a dog that is dangerously tiny.
And then the second element is the price. Yes, this is much to high for a so-called 'teacup' or any adult Pomeranian of 7 to 8 years old, other than the one exception of the dog being a male and being of champion bloodlines, with the intention of breeding him. In regard to a female, 7 or 8 is too old to breed; this is the age that she should be retired, so $1150 is much too high.
Most adult Pomeranians being sold by reputable breeders are done so at perhaps half the price of puppies, as intention is more about finding a loving home for a retired dog than it is about making a sale.