The most popular dog breeds are not the most expensive dog breeds, but the luxury dogs rate high in the top of the list. Popular dog breeds change from year to year and from country to country; and so do the most expensive dogs in the world.

What Makes a Dog Expensive?

There are a variety of factors which make dogs expensive. Purity of breed or their rarity can make dogs extremely expensive. When they are offspring from price winning dogs the prices can skyrocket too, but the biggest factor is the C-factor. As soon as a dog is spotted or photographed in possession of a celebrity, the dog’s price will shoot beyond the moon. It has happened in the past, and it will happen in the future.

Top Ten of Expensive Dogs

1 – German Sheppard $3.000 – $24.000

2 – Cavaller King Charles Spaniel $1.000 – $14.000

3 – Samoyed $4.000 – $11.000

4 – English Bulldog $2.500 – $9.000

5 – Chow Chow $3.000 – $8.500

6 – Rottweiler $2.000 – $8.000

7 – Tibetan Mastiff $2.200 – $7.000

8 – Pharaoh Hound $2.500 – $6.500

9 – Bearded Collie $1.000 – $5.000

10 – Akita $1.500 – $4.500

An exciting list of dog breeds, and unfortunately some very popular dogs did not make it to the top ten. What happened to the Golden Retriever, Komondor, Malteser Terrier, Bichon Frise, Norfolk Terrier, Staffordshire Terrier, Yorkshire Terrier and the Australian Sheppard? All popular dogs but they did not make it into the top ten of most expensive dogs 2011.


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Heated pools, massage salons and a-la-carte menus are de rigueur at luxury hotels across the world but in one exclusive Paris establishment the difference is the guests: they have four legs, and enthusiastically wagging tails.

Actuel Dogs bills itself as France's first luxury hotel for dogs, and founders Devi and Stan Burun, a dog behavior specialist and lifelong dog-lover, also offer training programs unruly hounds and dog walks in the woods.

As well as a dip in the pool, or a massage, guests including Ulysse, a bumptious yellow Labrador sporting a smart red collar, enjoy "doggy jogging," or simply relax on cushioned couches in their luxury suites. Their tiled-floor rooms smell fresh and clean and are adorned with framed prints of dogs and equipped with televisions so dogs can watch their choice of DVDs.

Owners pay between 26 euros and 35 euros ($36-$48) to leave their lucky hounds for a full day and while the luxury touches appeal to owners, the key difference with traditional kennels is that dogs are not locked up in cages.

"People think we serve the dogs' food from silver platters but this is not pointless, extravagant luxury," Devi said, as Clifford, an English bulldog, Cocker Spaniel puppy Floyd, Golden Retriever Cleo and miniature Schnauzer Belle bounded around the hotel's games room, equipped with a treadmill for training.

The concept works partly because of its location, in the chic suburb of Vincennes, on the outskirts of Paris, and close to the woods. "People live in small apartments in Paris, they work, they don't have time to walk their dogs. We respond to those needs," Devi said. Devi and Stan also have an advantage over hoteliers who have to worry about human guests trashing rooms and stealing bathrobes -- they evaluate their canine clients before their first stay, to weed out aggressive behavior.

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via AP

China's latest must-have luxury for the ultra-rich, to go with mansions and sports cars, is a large, slobbery dog with massive amounts of hair best known for herding sheep in Tibet.nce banned by the Communist Party as bourgeois, pet ownership is booming in China, and the Tibetan mastiff is the dog of the moment for those who want to spread their wealth beyond stocks and real estate.

"I used to invest in German shepherds, but Tibetan mastiffs are what's hot right now," said Sui Huizheng, a business owner who has about 20 of the dogs and attended the 6th annual China Tibetan Mastiff Expo this past weekend.

Hundreds of the hairy dogs were on hand, and owners and handlers marched the most expensive ones down catwalks as though they were fashion models. Some carried the names of wealthy Americans like "Warren Buffett," while others were called "God" and "Prince." Among the owners was a controversial running coach who trained world track champions in the 1980s.

Their hoped-for prize: breeders willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars for a mate for their mastiff. Sui spent $43,000 for a large platform and a poster-plastered booth to show off his dogs. One breeding session with Sui's top mastiff King goes for $40,000.

The craze seems to defy sales patterns and common sense elsewhere, especially for a dog that is common, has thick, lion-mane-like hair, grows to 180 pounds (80 kilograms) and is known for being fierce.

"I can understand racehorses and diamonds, but I don't understand why someone would want to pay half a million dollars for a dog," said Martha Feltenstein, president of the American Tibetan Mastiff Association. "They have a relatively short life expectancy and are not especially rare, so it's quite puzzling why they are fetching such a high price in China."

In the U.S., Tibetan mastiff pups can be bought for as little as several hundred dollars, Feltenstein said.

Breeders in China say adult Tibetan mastiffs sell for tens of thousands of dollars, and can even go for more than $100,000.

One of them sold for more than half a million dollars last year to a woman in northern China who then sent 30 black Mercedes-Benz and other luxury cars to fetch the dog from the airport, according to a report in the state-run China Daily.

After splurging on real estate in Australia, American thoroughbreds and European designer fashions, China's rich see the Tibetan mastiffs as a new status symbol. China is now home to an estimated 825,000 millionaires, its most in modern history, and its luxury goods market is one of the fastest growing in the world. Among the must-haves for rich men in northeast China, the official Xinhua News Agency recently said, was a young beautiful wife, a Lamborghini and a Tibetan mastiff, "the bigger and more ferocious the better."

"You could call it a local luxury brand," said Rupert Hoogewerf, a Shanghai-based tax specialist who compiles a popular annual list of China's richest people. "Luxury brands are growing at phenomenal rates in China and owning a Tibetan mastiff is another channel for increasing your credibility and showing off your rich status."

The mastiffs, themselves, look like money, resembling a lion that is a traditional symbol of good fortune.

"We want a breed of dog that is home grown, and this guardian dog is perfect because it is also a symbol of good luck for Chinese people throughout history," said Wu Yunliang, the owner of "Warren Buffett" and nearly 20 other mastiffs. He keeps them in the northern city of Taiyuan where he owns a nursing home.

Potential profits from mastiff breeding are what drew Sui, the businessman-breeder, who said he isn't a dog lover. "I don't touch or play with them much," Sui said. He leaves the brushing and fluffing of his dogs to nearly a dozen handlers.

Passers-by were told only to admire the dogs from afar and not get near them because they're hostile to strangers — all the better for protecting flocks and herders on the isolated Tibetan plateau, where they originated.

Retired track coach Ma Junren became fascinated with the mastiffs when he was training female distance runners on the Tibetan plateau in the late 1980s. Ma claimed the high-altitude training and concoctions of turtle blood and caterpillar fungus he fed the runners helped them set world records. But some of his athletes were later caught using banned performance-boosting substances. Ma retired, denying wrongdoing.

At the expo, he exhorted breeders to raise their standards so that China can gain entry to the World Canine Organization (Federation Cynologique Internationale), an international federation of kennel clubs. The organization has so far kept China out over lax controls on vaccinations, several breeders said.

"I hope all our Tibetan mastiff lovers are honest. We don't want to see thieves, criminals or cheaters around us," Ma said.

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by Kristi Gutierrez

You take your pooch to get massaged and groomed.  Whether you consider them your best friend or part of the family, you want nothing but the best for them.  There are great options for hotels that cater to pets, but you hate to send them to the cargo hold of a plane for the journey there.  Don't restrict your destinations for family vacations.  At last, an airlines that knows your furry friend is more than just baggage. The founders saw the need for a safe alternative for pets to travel.  Pet Airways is a pet-only airlines that is dedicated to a friendly first class experience for your pet.

Traveling with your pet can be a logistical nightmare.  With 5 inaugural cities, you can meet your pet on either coast or at any of the stops along the way.  Pets fly in the main cabin and the pet attendant assures the pawsengers comfort. You can track your pet's journey so you'll know where your baby is at all times.  You drop off your pet two hours prior to the flight departure in the pet lounge.  They get a potty break prior to take off and then board the plane.  You can then pick up your pet at the pet lounge in the destination city.  If your arrival is later, your pet can stay overnight at the PAWS lodge and you can pick them up the next day.

Flights are being offered at an introductory rate of $149 each way.  A small price to pay so you don't end up in the dog house when you come back from a vacation minus your pet.  Do more than pamper your pet, take them jet setting with you.

And don't forget how dehydrating any air travel can get, so pack an Evian spray for yourself and a bottle of Best Friend NYC Multivatimin Balancing Tonic to rehydrate your pet's coat and skin during or after the flight.

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by John Chandler

Even before Men’s Health magazine announced in 2007 that Portland is “park heaven with the most dogs per resident,” and before Forbes the same year ranked us No. 2 among pet-friendly cities in America, we knew Portlanders were crazy for their four-legged friends. Evidence of our affection is everywhere: consider William Wegman’s dog-bowl art installation in the North Park Blocks or the Oregon Humane Society’s “Pet Cam,” which lets cat-deprived cubicle jockeys peek in on the antics of frolicking felines. In fact, according to our recent online pet survey, Portlanders simply don’t skimp when it comes to lavishing attention on their companions.

Take a look at some of these luxury canine activities Portland has got to offer  including pet-friendly boutique hotel suites, hydrotherapy treatments, deep tissue massages for your pooch, canine four-Star meals, and more.

Extravagant? Perhaps. But the unconditional love of a cat or dog? Priceless. Read more...



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It was party at the Hotel Penn's Top Ballroom last night in New York City. Transformed for the evening into a pet-friendly Skybark lounge, flashbulbs were popping as extravagantly dressed dogs poured out of the elevators with their humans in tow.

As their purebred compatriots rested in hotel rooms below in anticipation of competing at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on Monday and Tuesday, these dogs strutted across the red carpet, posed for photographers, and cavorted with equally well-dressed canines inside the festive ballroom.

Organized as a benefit to raise money for Animal Haven shelter, the event included a fashion show by local pet fashion designer, Ada Nieves, and a live auction courtesy of FIDO Friendly magazine.

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Just in time for Valentine's Day, The Canine Confectionery Company was established in London to provide an exciting new range of unique luxury handmade dog sweets and treats which are as carefully prepared and beautifully packaged as human sweets and chocolates, but are made entirely from ingredients which are safe and healthy for dogs to eat.

A small family business run by dedicated dog owners, this totally unique venture is the first of its kind and has raised interest from all over the world from dog lovers who want to spoil their pet with luxurious and exciting treats without the fear of sickness or reaction to non-dog friendly ingredients in human chocolates and sweets.

From a small two treat Baby Ballotin box of WufflesTM to a luxuriously indulgent selection of twelve DogolatesTM in the large Ultimate Selection box, the range offers something for every dog, including their bestselling bags of Strawberry Heart treats for everyday spoiling, and their popular and easily digested Puppy Honey Hearts for puppies and old timers to enjoy.



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