Some people will spend millions of dollars to buy a Dog. Or to be more exact, two people, of late. These Dogs are huge, which would not be agreeable for someone looking for a small Dog to snuggle up with in bed.
The Dogs in the million-dollar range are considered worth the price, not because of their breed, but because of their rarity. Most of us are familiar with the high cost of purebred Dogs, but rarity is the main consideration to reach the million-dollar level.
MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR VALUE
For example, the Cadaboms Okami is today the most expensive Dog in the world. The Dog was sold in February 2025 for USD 5.7 million, and they weren’t purebred.
One of their parents is a Wolf, and the other is a Caucasian Shepherd. At eight months old, the Puppy already stood up to their new human’s hips, at 30 inches tall, and they are heavyset, weighing 165 pounds. They are said to look exactly like a Wolf, but from the photos, you could see their domesticated qualities, like how they keep their mouths open with their tongue dangling, and how, at one point, they very relaxedly lay down on the ground.
This was the first time such a Dog was purchased. They were described by the American Kennel Club as a guardian Dog, protective of their humans and other pets in their home by keeping Coyotes and Wolves at bay.
ACCOUNTING FOR THE COST
Aside from rarity, a Dog reaches the above USD 1 million price tag if they closely resemble an unrelated animal who is near extinction. This makes their story compelling, more so if the Dog has the same color as the animal they resemble, reinforcing their story.
Cadaboms Qinling, who was sold for USD 3.25 million, is one such Dog. They come from a rare Chow Chow breed, and they physically resemble the rare Qinling Panda, a species nearing extinction.
In 2024, Satish Cadaboms, the world’s number one dog breeder with 150 rare Dogs, bought a 2.5-month-old Cadaboms Qinling pup. Satish told The Hindu Times that today, there’s no Chow Chow with the brown and white shades of the Qinling pup.
Rather, their coloration resembles the rare brown Panda found only in China, who is on the edge of extinction.
The fact that this is a Dog makes the animal more approachable, as they emanate their domesticity.
THE PERSON BEHIND THE PURCHASES
Satish is a famous buyer of big, uncommon Dogs, and he has a passion for rare animals. He also owns the biggest Dog in the world, the Cadaboms Hayder.
He has loved Dogs since he was six years old, when he took care of 20 street Dogs, he told The Hindu.
In junior high school, he joined Dog shows, earning USD 117 per day. In college, he became a breeder, but in the last 10 years, he hasn’t done any breeding. Instead, he may earn up to USD 3,000 per half hour by bringing his dogs to high-profile, red carpet events. Guests enjoy posing with the Dogs for pictures, and the longer the Dogs stay at the events, the more money Satish makes.
Online, a clip of a Cadaboms Okami at one such event garnered 3 million online views.
POSSIBLE PRETENSE BEHIND THE PRICE
In 2014, a Chinese property developer bought a Dog for USD 1.9 million. The name of the buyer isn’t mentioned, but the Dog was a Golden Tibetan Mastiff, who has lion’s blood.
This breed is a status symbol among China’s nouveau riche.
The downside, Agence France-Presse said, is that sometimes the breeder and the “buyer” will pretend that a Dog was sold at an exorbitant price, but in truth, no money was spent, and no sale occurred. The publicity is enough to raise the Dog’s value.
