What Is the Cost to Clone a Dog? 2024 Price Update
Updated on
Click to Skip Ahead
Do you have a dog you want to live with forever? It’s possible that your do
However, it’s hard since dogs have shorter lifespans than humans. Thus, your lovely dog will likely die earlier and leave you lonely. More so, you may feel that no other dog can make you happy like your current dog. You don’t have to worry because it is possible to clone your lovely dog.
You may have heard about dog cloning but wonder what the process entails. The average price of cloning a dog is around $50,000. Let’s look at what the cloning process entails.
What Is Dog Cloning?
Dog cloning involves getting a copy of your pet. The cloned dog will have all the physical characteristics of your lovely dog. Some of the shared traits include appearance, temperament, and intelligence. You also note that both dogs share the same genetic identity.
Dog cloning does not involve any change to the dog’s genes. Cloned dogs can live healthy, complete, and happy lives.
How Is Dog Cloning Done?
Dog cloning enables you to save your dog’s genes through genetic preservation. It should only be done by a highly qualified veterinarian. Your vet collects a small tissue sample from your beloved dog. It is a minor procedure whereby cells are taken from your dog. The tissues are taken to a laboratory where the new cells are cultured until you are ready to do the cloning. The new tissues have the same genetic make-up as those of your current dog.
To clone your dog, an egg is taken from a female dog, and its nucleus is removed and replaced with a complete nucleus from one of your dog’s cells. The resultant egg has all the genetic make-up of your current dog. The egg doesn’t require sperm to be fertilized. To start the cell division like normal fertilization, an electric current passes through the egg, transforming it into a growing embryo.
The embryo gets inserted into a surrogate mother dog. This results in a pregnancy, and the surrogate mother gives birth to your dog’s clone. After weaning, you can take home your dog’s clone. The cloned dog is the same genetic copy as your original dog, but they may not look identical.
How Much Does It Cost to Clone a Dog?
Now that you have the correct information about dog cloning, you are in a better position to decide whether to do it or not. If you decide to go on with the dog cloning process, there are certain factors you need to keep in mind. One of the factors is the cost of cloning. You need to know the amount so that you can budget well beforehand.
The average price of cloning a dog is around $50,000. The price is significantly less than what was charged< a few years ago. In 2008, the price of dog cloning was about $100,000. So, the cost has gone down almost by half since then.
In the process, you need to get a vet to collect the tissue samples and then send them to a cloning company. Most dog cloning companies usually ask for a deposit from the entire cost to start the process of cloning your dog. You are then required to pay the remaining amount when the cloning process is completed.
The companies also have refund policies. You will get a refund if the samples are not viable. You also get a refund if the dog cloning process cannot take place for various reasons.
Factors That Determine the Cost of Dog Cloning
The cost of dog cloning varies depending on several factors.
The Cloning Company
One of the most significant factors determining the cost of cloning a dog is the company you hire. There are many companies with labs where the cells are cultured and the embryo is eventually transferred to the surrogate mother.
Like many other businesses, dog cloning companies don’t charge the same amount. Although the average price may be almost the same, there are differences that can make a huge impact on your budget.
The most reputable cloning companies with highly qualified scientists charge more than others. The high charges are due to the fact that their success rate is also high. So, you have confidence that you will get a dog clone similar to your current dog. The probability of the process failing is low.
Dog Breed
The cost of dog cloning may also vary depending on your dog’s breed. For some breeds, such as the English Foxhound, Harrier, Otterhound, and others, the cloning cost might be a bit higher than other, common breeds. Cloning expensive dogs, such as the Samoyed, Chow Chow, American Bully, and others, is also costlier.
The Number of Dog Clones You Want
You may have three to four dogs you want to be cloned. With many dog clones, you can expect to pay more. The cost is high because the process also involves more work and might take more time. However, you might enjoy a discount from your clone company.
Advantages of Cloning a Dog
It’s a Tribute to Your Dog
The most significant benefit of cloning your dog is having the opportunity to get a second dog that is as close as possible to your current one. You get a dog with traits you like about your current dog and continue enjoying the companionship.
It Can Ease Grief
When you clone your dog, you ease the grief that comes when your dog dies. Losing a dog is painful since you also lose a great friend. With the new dog at home, you feel entertained, and they can also help you deal with certain challenging situations.
Dog Clones Are Always Available
Dog clones are always ready as long as you have viable tissues to culture cells and the money to pay the costs involved. So, you can always have your best friend back.
Disadvantages of Cloning a Dog
Costly Process
Dog cloning is not cheap. It is far more expensive than buying another dog.
Differences Between Your Dog and The Clone
It’s hard to get a new dog with 100% similarity to your current dog. So, you could get a clone that doesn’t look or have the same behavior as your lovely pet.
High Mortality Rates
The death rate of cloned dogs is higher than the ones naturally born. So, you may get a cloned dog that will die fast and still leave you grieving.
Dog Cloning FAQs
Will my cloned dog look similar to the current dog?
Your main goal in cloning the dog is to get a copy with the same character, looks, nature, affection, intelligence, and other traits. However, the clone might not be an exact duplicate of your dog, as the genes might express themselves differently. The personality, eyes, coat, and other body qualities might differ from those of your current dog.
Can I clone my dog from ashes?
No, it is not possible. Dog cloning requires viable body cells from your current dog. The heat from the cremation chambers destroys cells. No genes are left after the cremation process, making it impossible to clone your dog from the ashes.
Is it possible to clone my dog from hair?
A single dog hair contains small quantities of DNA, but usually, a hair sample consists of hairs with roots of bad quality and sometimes, broken hair shafts without any roots. So, viable DNA cannot be extracted from a single strand. Also, hair strands have low-quality cells, and even a large amount of dog hair cannot be used to get DNA. The cells extracted must be somatic and complete for successful cloning to happen.
Can I clone a dead dog?
Yes, it’s possible; as long as the carcass is fresh, your vet can extract live cells before they get destroyed by bacteria. However, you should know that not all dead dogs have live cells since microorganisms feed on the remains. So, to successfully clone a dead dog, the cells should be extracted immediately after the death.
Is it legal to clone my dog?
It’s legal to clone dogs in the United States, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. If you have the budget, you can do it.
Conclusion
Dog cloning is a great way to live with a dog similar to your current loved pet. You can continue enjoying the same companionship and entertainment from the dog for many years. Just remember that the cloned dog may not be 100% similar to the original dog.
Also, you will need a decent amount of spare cash because, as you have seen, a successful dog cloning will cost around $50,000. It’s also worth noting that the process is invasive, so your dog has to undergo some surgeries to harvest the egg. There’s also the ethics regarding the use of surrogate bitches needed for this procedure.
Featured Image Credit: Branislav Nenin, Shutterstock
