Monday, March 29, 2010

Question of the week!

Talking to people, I see a HUGE variation in the cost of a puppy.

The question is: What is the most you would pay for a puppy. And why?

15 comments:

Sarah said...

hmmm depends ... if it is something like helping cover the cost of a stud fee, shipping the frozen swimmers (from Sweden in K's case) etc, clearances, feeding, vetting etc that is one thing. i would think responsible breeders take those things into account, not to make a profit, but to break even at best - and me as a buyer would have no problem paying more for a dog knowing that it is not just some shmo trying to make a buck.

breeders i know, their prices stay within a range.

there are big price differences from breed to breed though, based on what i know from my own dogs and other people's breeds. i've paid between $375 and $1300, like that helps LOL.

D said...

Probably the most I'd pay for a puppy would be $1000-1500. Why? because that is the going rate for my breed, which is somewhat uncommon. That pricing would get me at the very least a "show quality" performance prospect, with all the health clearances, temperament testing, etc.

Now that I think about it...that seems pretty cheap, since many of my clients have paid that for their Lab/goldendoodles. :))

Knotty Dogs said...

I would pay $16,582.00 for a white-factored green merle with purple points and two blue eyes so long as it didn't come from a breeder in Westville, Oklahoma.

Loretta Mueller said...

Hmmmm interesting there are not many opinions on this topic...or maybe people are too worried to respond?

KPR, too bad you don't have any of those in your litter eh? That would be a jackpot!

Barbara said...

I paid $850 Canadian for my border collies, which I think is about the ball park I would look at. I have some health clearances on parents/grand parents and some awesome herding talent in the mix.

I think that's a reasonable price for a dog.

It's a crap shoot on what you are going to get, even if every single health clearance is done. You also get out what you put in.

Arwen said...

If registered, from health tested and successful parents and bred and raised with the utmost of care, I think I'd go to about 850 euro.

But considering the long runup I'm likely to have (being in contact with the breeder before the mating in all likelihood) if it was someone I absolutely wanted a pup from, that might not be a hard line. Depends on how much I liked their dogs over other dogs I've met.

Anonymous said...

In the horse world we would point out that the purchase price is the cheap part compared to what you spend over the life of the animal. At this point in my life, though, I can't see spending over $500. I agree with barjor in that even with every clearance under the sun and parents who are wonder dogs, it's still a crap shoot.

All of our dogs are rescues(8 BC's, JRT's and mixes since my kids and I started agility over 10 years ago) and we've only gotten one as a puppy. He was 8 weeks old and I paid a $100 for him:) Love my Beep, who is a Hangin Tree Cowdog.

I don't know if I would get a puppy puppy. We've gotten a lot of our dogs older; 6 months to two years old. I like getting a sense of what their body is going to look like and what their temperment is like when they are older. So, I'll keep looking for those castoffs from working ranchers who don't want to wait for one to pan out or is to much for a family and take one of those. Got my eye on one right now that is around 8-9 months out of a registered mom and dad and grandpa are working cattle ranch dogs. I'd expect to pay $100-$200 for something like that:)

Karissa said...

I often question my sanity when I think back to what I paid for Kaiser... But considering that the going rate for Alaskan Klee Kai is $1500 - $2500, I figure the $1600 that I got him for is near the "bargain" end of the breed price. Not bad for a dog that ended up getting his Grand Champion conformation title in four months -- He might end up doing some breeding to help pay his costs, but I'm hesitant to dive into that world. ;o)

When I was shopping for a Border Collie breeder, my price limit was $1000 -- preferring to stay around $600-$800.

Ultimately, I landed myself a rescue for a $300 adoption fee.

Anonymous said...

For $3,000 or more it better come with a World Team jacket and a MACH 4/ADCH complete with ribbons and bars.

My most expensive dog was $1600, my next most expensive was $1200. One has structural issues but the heart to make up for it. The other is my DREAM dog and a total blast. My $300 dog? Fear issues, hates men, kids, hats. Free dog? $3,000 in vet expenses.

My opinion? You get what you pay for. I will pay whatever it takes to get a dog who is sound, mentality and physically, built well but most importantly... is from a breeder I can trust.

Loretta Mueller said...

My dogs are by no means expensive (all under $600) and they are lovely working dogs. On stock and in agility...sometimes people pay for a "kennel name" or a "specific color" etc etc etc.

Jim J said...

Full Tilt said, Hmmmm interesting there are not many opinions on this topic...or maybe people are too worried to respond?

OK, my opinion is that I'd pay no more than what a breed rescue or shelter was asking. My long held belief is that dogs and children share the fact that there is an over abundance of both. It's the distribution that is screwed up.

Rosanne said...

My limit is about $800-1000. anyone asking more is breeding for profit, which is not something I'm interested in.

My NAC dog cost me a whopping $300. My most expensive dog was $800, out of an imported mother ($$$) and a sire whose stud fee was in the same range of 700-800. I believe that most of the big name kennels charging oodles of cash are getting their breeding dogs at way less than that cost, so why does putting a kennel name on it make it worth $500 more? It doesn't, to me.

Anonymous said...

Whatever the adoption fee from the rescue or shelter is. Or, whatever it costs to fix it up after someone gives it to me with a problem.

Debra Kay said...

I had to give this some thought because I often feel bad about the dogs I've bought when there are so many great dogs to rescue. But I've got a rescued dog that cost more in vet bills than some of the dogs I've paid for.

It amazes me that people, including me, pay MORE for a puppy than for a dog that is sound and well trained.

I would be more likely to pay a premium for first pick of a particular litter that I was interested in-which is really bizarre because I don't breed, don't plan to breed, but I don't mind paying to get exactly what I am looking for.

All my dogs are from Oklahoma (except for the expensive rescue) and I've never bought a dog without visiting the breeder. (I even visited the parents of Oliver the dog, who was being given away in a box of puppies). If I were going to pay a premium for a litter pick or any other dog, I would have to visit or have someone I trusted visit. Picking a dog is part pedigree, part structure of the pup, and part spiritual. I was walking away from the box of puppies when Oliver caught my eye with his and said "take me home."

I would pay an extra 300 over the going price for the litter. I'm wary of breeders who want to 'grade' puppies and charge different prices, unless they are older and there is some training on them.

All that said, I will probably not bring home any more puppy puppies.
I don't like my dogs jumping until they are close to a year or more, and you can only do so much groundwork. (None of it is wasted, but jeeeeze)

Julia said...

Yes I'm late commenting, but here goes. I would top out around $1000for a BC. The 2 litters I bred I charged $650 for the first litter and $800 for the second. In the case of BCs I do not necessarily believe you get what you pay for, professional dog sports breeders just charge a lot more than herding people and those breeding the occasional litter predominantly for themselves.