Price of puppies up 900% in 2021
Economy

Lonely lockdowns, travel restrictions and social media feeds with adorable puppies have sent both demand and the cost of puppies skyrocketing in 2021.
In 2010, an Aussie could pick up a new Maltese X Shih Tzu puppy for $500 - less than a return flight from Perth to Sydney.
Fast forward to 2021 and prices have surged by 740%, with the average Maltese X Shih Tzu puppy costing $4,200 today.
Queen Elizabeth?s Corgis started a social media trend, spiking demand for the small, pointy-eared dogs.
Designer dogs are also on trend. The price of a ?Groodle? (Golden Retriever mixed with a Poodle) has surged 900% from a low of $600 in 2010 to over $6,000 in 2021.
The global pandemic fuelled demand for puppies as work-from-home directives led to an increasing number of lonely Aussies, pushing demand well beyond supply.
A number of downsides to the puppy pandemic include a rise in illegal puppy farms around the country and online scams for dogs that never arrive.
The NSW Government even set up the ?Puppy Factory Taskforce? to combat the rise in illegal puppy farms.