Updated January 9, 2024 – Thinking about adding a Sheepadoodle to your family and curious about the cost? You’re in the right place! Welcome to our “Sheepadoodle Price Guide: How Much Do They Cost”.
The cost of a Sheepadoodle can vary significantly. At the lower end, you might come across Sheepadoodle puppies priced around $795. However, this might not be the bargain you think it is. Such a low price can sometimes indicate that the puppy comes from less knowledgeable or careless breeders, potentially leading to health issues.
On the higher end, there are ‘turnkey’ Sheepadoodles, or those trained as guide or service dogs, which can fetch prices up to $28,900 for an 8-month old puppy. We’ll discuss what ‘turnkey’ entails later in this post
In this guide we will go into the ins and outs of the cost of a sheepadoodle. Whether it’s your first time owning a dog or you’re a seasoned pet parent, budgeting for a new furry friend is crucial. We’ll cover everything from the initial price tag to ongoing care expenses. So, let’s get started and discover what it really costs to bring one of these adorable, fluffy companions into your home.
How Much Does a Sheepadoodle Cost?
Price of a Sheepadoodle continues to stay on the high side in 2024. The average Sheepadoodle price is $2,000 to $4,000. Smaller Sheepadoodles tend to fetch a higher price than a standard Sheepadoodle. Their cost range is $3,500 to $4,500.
Keep reading to learn about how these and other influences can affect the cost of this designer breed.
7 Key Factors Influencing the Cost of a Sheepadoodle
1. Size: How Does Size Affect the Price of a Sheepadoodle?
The cost of a Sheepadoodle, a hybrid breed, is often affected by its size. Typically, Sheepadoodles come in different sizes – standard/medium, miniature, and micro mini. While some breeders charge the same price for all sizes most breeders charge a premium for the smaller sized Sheepadoodle.
- Standard Sheepadoodle: a cross between an old English Sheepdog and a Standard Poodle, are large dogs, often weighing over 50 pounds. This size tends to be less in demand so they are often sold for about 20% less than their smaller counterparts.
- Miniature Sheepadoodle: a cross between an Old English Sheepdog and a miniature Poodle is slightly smaller, these weigh between 25 and 40 pounds. Miniature Sheepadoodles are often in high demand due to their more manageable size. This demand can drive up their price compared to the standard variety.
- Micro Mini Sheepadoodles: The smallest variant, an Old English Sheepdog and a toy poodle, usually weighs less than 25 pounds. Their compact size makes them highly desirable for people living in smaller spaces or looking for a smaller companion. The breeding process to maintain this smaller size can be more intricate and resource-intensive, often resulting in higher prices for toy Sheepadoodles.
Overall, the smaller the Sheepadoodle, the higher the cost tends to be. This is due to a combination of breeding challenges, demand, and the appeal of smaller dogs for urban living environments.
2. Training: How does training affect the Sheepadoodle Price?
Doodles often attract first-time dog owners with their adorable, teddy-bear-like faces and the promise of being easy to train. However, this has sometimes led to tales of unruly, hard-to-manage dogs. While it’s true that most doodles inherit the Poodle’s intelligence and eagerness to please, they still require proper puppy training from someone who has the patience, experience and time to train them.
Unfortunately, many first-time dog owners lack the necessary skills for effective dog training. To address this challenge, breeders have begun offering pre-trained puppies at an additional cost.
The extent and level of training varies among breeders. Some offer different tiers of training, while others specialize in providing fully trained “turnkey” dogs. Typically, these puppies are older than the standard 8 weeks when they join their new families.
What is a Turnkey Puppy?
While the definition of a “turnkey puppy” is ultimately up to the trainer, it generally refers to a puppy that has already undergone extensive training before going to its new home. The term “turnkey” implies that the puppy is ready to seamlessly integrate into its new family environment, much like a turnkey home is ready for immediate occupancy.
Here’s what typically defines a turnkey puppy:
- Advanced Training: Unlike a standard puppy that may not know any commands, turnkey puppies receive comprehensive training. This can include house training, obedience commands, socialization with people and other animals, and sometimes even more specialized training like service or therapy skills.
- Older Age: Turnkey puppies are usually older than the typical 8-week-old puppy sold by breeders. This is because it takes time to provide the level of training they receive. They might be 6 to 8 months old by the time they are ready for adoption.
- Higher Cost: Due to the extensive training and care invested in these puppies, they come at a significantly higher price compared to untrained puppies. The cost of a trained puppy can be on top of the puppy’s purchase price. Training fees can range from $2,400 for a month’s training to over $23,000 for a Turnkey puppy.
- Ease of Transition: The main advantage of a turnkey puppy is the ease of transition into a new home. The extensive training helps reduce the common challenges associated with integrating a new puppy, like housebreaking and basic obedience training.
Disadvantages of a Turnkey Puppy
Choosing a turnkey puppy, while convenient, also comes with several disadvantages that prospective owners should consider:
- Higher Cost: The most significant disadvantage is the price. The extensive training that turnkey puppies receive significantly increases their cost compared to standard puppies. This can make them prohibitively expensive for many people.
- Missed Bonding Opportunities: Early puppyhood is a crucial time for bonding between a dog and its owner. With turnkey puppies, owners miss out on this early bonding period. The experiences and challenges of training can strengthen the bond and understanding between a dog and its owner, which is diminished when the puppy arrives already trained.
- Limited Understanding of Training Methods: Owners of turnkey puppies may lack understanding or experience in maintaining and reinforcing training. If the owner isn’t familiar with the training methods used, they may struggle to uphold or advance the training, leading to confusion or regression in the dog’s behavior.
Tip: If you choose to get a trained puppy, make sure you know exactly what is included in the training as it varies by breeder.
3. Color: What color Sheepadoodle is the most expensive?
The pricing of Sheepadoodles can be influenced by their coat color, with some colors being more sought after and therefore more expensive. Here are some general trends:
- Rare or Unique Colors: Sheepadoodles with rare or unique coat colors tend to be more expensive. For example, colors like blue merle can fetch higher prices due to their rarity and distinct appearance.
- Parti-Colored Coats: Parti-colored Sheepadoodles, which have a coat with two distinct colors in a specific pattern, can also be more costly. The uniqueness of each parti-colored coat makes these puppies particularly appealing to some buyers.
- Solid Colors: While still attractive, solid-colored Sheepadoodles may be less expensive than their uniquely colored counterparts.
4. Quality of the Breeder: How does where you get your pup affect a puppy’s price?
The source from which you acquire a puppy significantly influences its price. Here are some key factors based on different sources:
1. Reputable Breeders
A reputable breeder is someone deeply committed to the well-being and improvement of their breed. They focus on enhancing the breed’s health by meticulously selecting the best breeding pairs, underpinned by thorough health testing of their breeding dogs. Additionally, they offer long-term health guarantees against avoidable genetic conditions. A notable practice among such breeders is the use of guardian homes, allowing their breeding dogs to enjoy family life.
Another benefit of buying from a reputable breeder is the opportunity to choose your puppy from the litter, with expert guidance from the breeder to ensure a good match.
The extensive care, health care, and testing that quality breeders invest in mean that their prices are generally higher.
In our survey we found that for a health-tested Sheepadoodle puppy, the average price range you can expect is between $2,500 to over $3,500. This price reflects the high standards and ethical practices of responsible breeding.
2. Backyard Breeder
Backyard breeders often offer puppies at some of the lowest prices. These individuals typically breed their family pet to earn extra income, without a deep understanding of healthy breeding practices. Consequently, the puppies from these breeders may face health issues due to substandard breeding practices.
Commonly, backyard breeders advertise on platforms like Facebook or Craigslist.
A key way to identify a backyard breeder is by asking detailed questions about the breed and their breeding methods. Often, they lack the knowledge to provide thorough answers. Additionally, they usually do not perform health testing on their breeding dogs, nor do they offer contracts or health guarantees.
It is advisable to avoid purchasing a puppy from backyard breeders, as this supports irresponsible breeding and potentially compromises the health and well-being of the dogs.
Backyard breeders typically charge between $700 to $1,500.
3. Puppy Mills
Puppy mills might offer lower initial costs than reputable breeders, but they’re not a wise choice. These facilities breed dogs en masse in poor conditions, often leading to health and socialization issues in puppies.
They sell through pet stores, online brokers, or disguise themselves as reputable breeders online. Always inquire about health tests and breeding practices when choosing a breeder to ensure you’re supporting ethical breeding and getting a healthy pet.
Sheepadoodle puppies from a puppy mill can cost between $750 and $3,000.
4. Puppy Brokers
Puppy brokers, often mistaken for breeders, actually serve as middlemen between puppy mills or backyard breeders and customers, selling puppies either to stores or directly online.
While some brokers are obvious, selling various breeds from multiple sources on one website, others are more discreet, creating separate sites for each breed to seem like distinct sellers.
A way to identify brokers is to track the interconnected web of links across their sites, often used for cross-promotion.
Puppies sold by brokers, especially those in popular colors, can exceed $3,000, with the broker earning a sizable commission from these sales.
5. Health Testing: How does health testing affect the Sheepadoodle price?
The cost of a Sheepadoodle is significantly impacted by health testing, a crucial process that ensures the breeding dogs are free from specific genetic health conditions. Breeders invest in a range of tests, such as evaluations for hip dysplasia and elbow dysplasia—common in larger breeds like Sheepdogs—and eye exams and genetic screenings for conditions like Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA), prevalent in Poodles.
Not all dogs, however, pass these tests, meaning not every puppy is suitable for breeding. This selective breeding process, aiming to only breed the healthiest individuals, adds to the breeder’s costs.
As a result, the expense of comprehensive health screenings is mirrored in the higher price of the puppies. While health tested dogs typically fetch a higher fee, having a higher cost does not guarantee health testing.
6. Sheepadoodle Generations: How the generation affects price.
The generation of a Sheepadoodle can significantly affect its cost due to the varying characteristics and breeding complexities associated with each generation. Here’s a breakdown of how different generations might influence pricing:
F1 Sheepadoodles (First Generation): These are the direct offspring of a purebred Sheepdog and a purebred Poodle. They often exhibit a mix of traits from both parent breeds and can have a varied coat type. F1 Sheepadoodles are generally sought after for their hybrid vigor, but their characteristics can be less predictable, affecting their price.
F1 b Sheepadoodles (Second Generation): An F1b is the result of breeding an F1 Sheepadoodle back to a purebred Poodle. This generation typically has a more hypoallergenic coat, making them ideal for families with allergies. The predictability of their coat type and temperament often leads to a higher price point.
F2 Sheepadoodles (Second Generation): These are the offspring of two F1 Sheepadoodles. While they still maintain hybrid vigor, their traits can be even less predictable than the F1 generation. This unpredictability can sometimes result in a lower price compared to F1b Sheepadoodles.
F2b and Beyond: As you go further in generations (like F2b, F3, etc.), where Sheepadoodles are bred with other Sheepadoodles or backcrossed with Poodles, the predictability in coat type and temperament increases. Breeders might charge more for these generations due to their more consistent and desirable traits.
7. Hair type: How does a Sheepadoodle’s coat affect their price
The coat type of a Sheepadoodle plays a significant role in determining its cost. This is because certain coat types are more desirable and may require more complex breeding strategies to achieve. Here’s how different coat types can affect pricing:
- Curly Coat: Often seen in Doodles with a higher percentage of Poodle genetics (like F1b generations), curly coats are highly sought after because they are typically more hypoallergenic and shed less. These qualities make curly-coated Doodles particularly appealing to families with allergies, and thus, they often command a higher price.
- Wavy Coat: This coat type, common in first-generation (F1) Doodles, strikes a balance between the Poodle and Sheepdog coat types. While still relatively low-shedding, wavy coats may not be as hypoallergenic as curly coats. Doodles with wavy coats are usually priced lower than those with curly coats but may still be relatively expensive due to their appealing aesthetics.
- Straight Coat: Straight coats are less common and typically indicate a stronger genetic influence from the non-Poodle parent breed. While still attractive, straight-coated Doodles might shed more and be less hypoallergenic, which can lead to a lower price compared to curly or wavy coats.
Where to find a Sheepadoodle puppy for less?
Finding a Sheepadoodle puppy at a lower cost requires some research and patience. Here are some strategies to consider:
- Rescue Organizations and Shelters: Sheepadoodle Rescues may occasionally be found in animal shelters or with rescue groups. Adopting from these organizations is usually more affordable than buying from a breeder.
- Breeder Waitlists: Reach out to reputable breeders and inquire about being placed on a waitlist for puppies that are older and haven’t been sold yet. Breeders may offer these puppies at a reduced price.
- Breeder Discounts: Some breeders offer discounts for military personal and first responders.
- Guardian Homes: Many breeders use guardian homes, where a breeding dog lives with a family but remains part of the breeder’s breeding program. Once the dog’s breeding responsibilities are complete, the guardian home may have the opportunity to fully adopt the dog, often at a reduced cost compared to purchasing a puppy.
Beyond the initial price of a Sheepadoodle
When considering bringing a Sheepadoodle into your life, it’s important to understand the associated costs of proper care for this unique breed. Owning a Sheepadoodle involves more than just the initial purchase price; it includes various annual costs related to their health, maintenance, and well-being.
Due to their size, which can range from mini to large, and potential health problems, the expenses can vary significantly. These costs encompass everything from routine veterinary check-ups and possible health issue treatments to daily care necessities like food, grooming, and training.
First Year Costs* – $1,500 to $3,500
- Veterinarian Care: Initial vaccinations, spaying/neutering, micro-chipping, and other routine health checks – $400 to $600.
- Food: the cost for food will depend on the size of your dog and the type of food you feed them. $400 to $800
- Toys and treats $200 to $600
- Pet Supplies: Includes items like a bed, crate, leash, collar, food and water bowls, snuggle puppy and toys. – $200 to $550.
- Training Classes: Basic obedience classes or professional training sessions to ensure a well-behaved pet– $150 – $300
- Dental Care: toothbrush and dog safe toothpaste – $15 to $20
- Grooming: professional grooming $400 – $600
- Grooming DIY: to buy supplies the first year $400 -$800
- Pet Insurance: Optional – will vary based on policy – $45 to $100
- Miscellaneous: Includes expenses like dog walking, pet sitters, or boarding for times when you might be away.
Ongoing Annual Costs* – $1,250 or more
- Veterinarian Care: $250 to $400 this includes the cost of vaccines. Maybe more if illness or accidents happen.
- Food: cost of dog food depends on the size of your dog and type of food- $600 to $1200
- Toys and treats: $200 to $600
- Grooming: professional grooming $600 – $1,200
- Grooming DIY: $400 -$800 to buy supplies the first year.
- Pet Insurance Renewal: If opted for, this will be an annual cost.
- Replacement Supplies: Replacing or upgrading things like beds, collars, leashes, toys, and bowls as needed.
- Emergency Savings: It’s wise to set aside funds for unexpected vet bills or emergencies.
- Miscellaneous Costs: Continuing expenses for dog walking, pet sitting, or boarding as needed.
* Note: the actual cost will depend on your buying choices.
Is a Sheepadoodle a good family dog?
Yes, Sheepadoodles are often considered great family pets, which is good news for families looking to add a furry member to their household. These dogs are known for their gentle and friendly nature, making them a fantastic choice for families with young children. Sheepadoodles typically exhibit a playful and affectionate temperament, which is well-suited for an active family environment. They are intelligent and trainable, responding well to positive reinforcement training methods.
Another key aspect of Sheepadoodles is their need for regular exercise. They are energetic dogs that thrive with daily physical activity, making them ideal for families who enjoy outdoor activities or have a lifestyle that can accommodate regular walks, playtime, and other forms of exercise. This need for exercise not only keeps the Sheepadoodle healthy but also helps in maintaining good behavior, as regular activity helps to expend their energy constructively.
In summary, Sheepadoodles are great family pets, especially suitable for families with school aged children. Their friendly demeanor, combined with a need for regular exercise, makes them a joyful and active addition to any household.
You may also want to look into other doodle breeds, like the Labradoodle, or Bernedoodle.
Bringing home your Sheepadoodle puppy
Once you decide on a breeder, you should start thinking about what you will need for when you bring your puppy home. Puppies require many things, but one of the things you might not think about is where your puppy will go to the bathroom. Having an established place to train your puppy to go will make potty training easier. To learn more, check out our posts on Potty Training a Puppy: Made Easy and Outdoor Dog Potty Area Guide.