Why are purebred dogs so expensive?

[MamaSheepdog]

I want a dog around for bringing goats in and for general protection since it is usually just my young daughter and I at home. I want an English or German Shepherd for general farm work and feel like a "dog breeder" may be a more dependable source since I could see the parents.

As Sky said, good working GSD's are hard to find. They have been such a popular dog for such a long time span that their working abilities have been sadly watered down, either by those just breeding because "they have a female and their neighbor has a male", or by show breeders concentrating on conformation at the expense of working ability.

That said, I think you could find a working bred English Shepherd within your price range.

I live in CA, as does SarahMelisse, and I have NEVER seen an English Shepherd here. Their scarcity would bring the price up, since the breeders likely had to bring dogs in from out of state.

I would avoid show lines and look for working line dogs. MSD breeds Aussie/ border? mixs that are widely sought after. Maybe a mix working dog would be a better choice for you.

SarahMelisse wrote:
A mix may be my only choice financially. Finding a working dog is key.


If you are anywhere near MSD, I would go for it. She knows about dogs. You can be confident that her pups have been worked around small animals and children, and have plenty of exposure. And they should not be gun shy

Thanks Demamma and Sky.

I currently have a litter for sale, as a matter of fact. Yesterday "C", who bought a dog from us about 6 months ago, came to pick up another pup. He told me that the first time they took Pongo to the dog park at about 4 months of age, he herded all twenty or so dogs into one corner of the park! :lol:

And they should not be gun shy

Lol, Sky, you know me well! Yes, they have been exposed to plenty of gunfire.

The MAIN reason you are having trouble is that you are in a VERY breeder Unfriendly state.

This is very true. I have people coming from all over the state (Bay area, Palm desert, L.A., Orange County, San Diego, etc.) because the availability is so slim and/or the pups available have not had a good foundation or are just plain unattractive. There are plenty of pit bulls and chihuahuas everywhere, as well as little designer dogs, but working dogs are harder to come by.

Why should a breeder not get compensated for all their knowledge, time and work?

Yes indeed!

My base price for pups is $400, and they are crossbred dogs. Whether a dog is purebred or not, there is a great deal of work that goes into raising a well adjusted puppy.

Our pups are born in the house and remain indoors until between 4-5 weeks old. Their dewclaws are removed at birth, tails are done with an emasculating band at nine days old. They get nail trims weekly, and are wormed at least twice before going to their new homes. We handle the pups every day.

When they are moved to a secure outside location, they are penned up only at night. During the day they are out interacting with us and our other dogs and animals.

We feed Costco's Kirkland brand Nature's Domain grain free dog food.

I screen all of my buyers. I spend many hours communicating via email and phone, at least a couple of hours with people when they come to choose their pup, and am always available to help with any training or care questions after they take their new friend home.

When they are picked up by their new owners, they are bathed and given a final nail trim before going home. I want the first bathing experience to be a positive one for them, so insist on it.

Dogs have always been a big part of my life, even before I had one of my own. In fact, I started training my friend's dogs because I enjoyed them so much, and my parents would not allow me to have a dog of my own.

My goal is to provide people with a well started pup that will be a joy to own and therefore be a lifelong companion. Thus far, it seems to be working. I have had nothing but positive feedback from owners, two so far are repeat buyers, and I often get referrals.

Here is the thread on my current litter of pupples:

first-litter-of-pupples-for-switch-t17019.html

 

[SarahMelisse]

Thank you all for your input. I had not considered that the good breeders are paying for various health screenings. Now that I know that, it would be worth it to me to go up that extra dollar amount to have a top quality dog.

See? That's why this forum is great! I didn't even think about it from the breeders standpoint for some reason. Now I just need to save up my pennies and find some referrals and recommendations for the various breeders here in Northern California.

 

[squidpop]

I don't think $2000 is very much for a dog. If you factor in that it will live for 12 years or more its like $166. dollars per year, that's a bargain. Where I live in NZD it would be really hard to get a GSD that didn't have hip problems- so the breeder would have to import from overseas to get healthy lines so I would expect to pay $2000 or more. My favorite dogs are border collies - I have two. But I also have always wanted a german shepherd or a belgian shepherd. I think if you want a dog that herds goats border collies or australian shepherds would be good and you can buy from working lines instead of show lines.

 

[SarahMelisse]

Well you get what you pay for. Consider this- many rescues charge from $200 to $500 or more for a puppy/dog, purebred or not. Many 'Poo' crosses are the same or higher, like Yorkie-Poos for $850, its all in what someone is willing to pay. In general $500 is a baseline price for a purebred pet puppy, with or with registration papers. Area of the country makes a difference too. Number of breeders makes a difference as well- in 2008 there were over 300 high volume breeders in the state of PA. PA passed strict regulations, today there are only 55 high volume breeders in PA, they drove them out of business or out of the state. Now their bragging about going after smaller breeders, they say that last year they hit 30-40 hobby breeders who went over the limit to require a kennel license. Know what that means? Their online tracking people and counting how many puppies they have listed, and then going after them. One show breeder I know got hit because a out of state rescue hated her and kept calling on her until they went after her. Less breeders, less puppies, your going to pay more. Why should a breeder not get compensated for all their knowledge, time and work? Breeding is an art, a well bred, healthy true to breed type puppy is a thing of beauty and a work of art, its a not a mutt that the shelter picked up on the side of the road, or that was dumped there. If you want the product of someones years of hard work and experience, that they will stand behind you have to pay for it. I will admit that German Shepherds can be pricey, I was just looking for one for a friend of mine. Reason why is because of the rampant health problems in the breed, Poodles and GSDs have the highest incidence of congenital/genetic defects and disease of all the breeds. So healthy tested lines cost more, and then if their imported German lines well your going to pay. I myself wouldn't waste my time buying a $500 GSD puppy, because I know I'll pay a lot more someday in vet bills and heartache. If dogs are important to you, and you need them to do a job then you pay to get the right dog. If thats what I really needed I wouldn't balk at the price. People always want your absolute best for pennies, they can't see all the hard work, blood sweat and tears that goes into it, or they just don't care. As time goes on and they pass more and more laws expect to start paying even more. Someday even a mutt will be too high priced for the average family, thanks to the HSUS and ASPCA and PETA.

I really appreciate what you've written Honorine. In fact, I read your comment to my husband and we now agree that it really would be worth it to bite down on the cost and find the right dog from a reputable breeder.

I can truly understand that a lot of hardwork goes into breeding animals (of any sort) and that selective breeding and proper raising does cost a lot of money. I didn't mean to make it sound like I was cheap and yet wanted the very best at a discount. That's not what I meant at all. Having never purchased a dog before, I had a bit (a lotta bit) of "sticker shock" when I saw how much a quality dog was. When my parents bought their AKC reg. dachshund, I thought $600 was reasonable. Now I know how truly reasonable that was.

I am so glad to have gotten your input. Now mama needs to sell some rabbits so she can buy herself a dawg! (<-- that was my best hillbilly voice )

 

[squidpop]

Are there farms around you with people who have working dogs? With border collies there are working lines that are registered with the American Border Collie Association ABCA and not AKC- ABCA registered border collies only get bred because they win herding trials and have working ability - not because they ran around a show ring and looked pretty. Maybe they are less expensive and better suited to a farm. Also, they are well known to live long healthy lives- no hip problems.

 

[Demamma]

Squidpop
:yeahthat:

 

[SarahMelisse]

Are there farms around you with people who have working dogs? With border collies there are working lines that are registered with the American Border Collie Association ABCA and not AKC- ABCA registered border collies only get bred because they win herding trials and have working ability - not because they ran around a show ring and looked pretty. Maybe they are less expensive and better suited to a farm. Also, they are well known to live long healthy lives- no hip problems.

Not at all. In fact, in my tri-county area, I could only find one German Shepherd breeder and one Queensland Heeler breeder. Everyone has pit bulls and black labs around here. There are very few farms here, mostly cattle ranches, and most working dogs on the ranches are Queensland Heelers. I don't think that QH are the right breed for us.

 

[Wheels]

If you are really considering an English Shepherd contact the club (englishshepherd.org) or the The English Shepherd Society on facebook. I'm sure they could point you in the right direction. I know there are a hand full of breeders in Oregon - but I don't know if that's good for you.

eta - I thought I saw on the facebook page (yesterday or at least recently) a lady in California who had a litter of puppies (Not that I'm endorsing her pups -just sayin')

 

[ladysown]

We've been looking for a pup for the past two months. Free are gone before the ad can be seen, $50-100 are gone before you get an email back, $150-200 gets you a ... we have ONE left so come and look now. We won't spend more than that for a mutt pup. But it's ridiculous. And yes.. we want a pup. We have rabbits, cats and an eight year old boy. We want something we know we can train to be a semi-decent dog without having the issues that older pups can come with.

 

[skysthelimit]

It took me two years to find the right German Shepherd breeder, and I am still looking for a sable GSD and my male will be 7 this year. But it's good to take your time, because the first one I jumped on, years ago, killed one of my pet rabbits when he was only 10 weeks old.

 

[SarahMelisse]

It took me two years to find the right German Shepherd breeder, and I am still looking for a sable GSD and my male will be 7 this year. But it's good to take your time, because the first one I jumped on, years ago, killed one of my pet rabbits when he was only 10 weeks old.

Yikes! I think I may have found a good breeder. I checked on a few references and everyone says they have had nothing but a good experience with her. Anyway-- her dogs and pups are raised around chickens and sheep so hopefully training a pup to behave around rabbits as well won't be too big of a leap.

 

[skysthelimit]

Sounds like a good thing

 

[DevonW]

I paid $550 for my Working Line Male Australian Shepherd. He was born and reared in a Barn and had all his first set of shots when I purchased him. Aside from the fact he had his puppy shots I know nothing about his genetic background.

I Paid $1200 for my Female Australian Shepherd from a show and sport breeder (all her dogs also compete in agility, disc, dock diving etc) She was $1200 on a non-breeding contract. She's pet quality and will NOT be bred because she's borderline Pattern White. Siren's parents are both Canadian and USA Champion Dogs (Her Aunt won BOB at Westminster this year). Siren was microchipped by the breeder, had all her shots, and had her vision and hearing tested before she was sold. Her parents are all DNA tested and she is clear by parentage for everything. There is no genetic history of Hip displaysia or luxating patellas. I bought a sound dog who is backed up with an amazing health guarantee.

For everything that Siren is clear of I have to test with Thor and that really ads up. I already know he has at least one MDR1 mutant gene (by the way he reacted to his vaccines). I have no idea if he has any other genetic issues that may affect his health later on in life. Thor is a constant source of worry to me since I do dog sports.

Raising puppies is not a cheap venture either. I have 4 of them right now that I feed raw add in the worming and flea pills and already they're a black hole for money and they haven't even had their vaccines yet.

If I were to buy another dog. I wouldn't bat an eye to pay over $1200.

 

[Zass]

I paid $1000 for our Newfoundland, and felt I'd walked away with a bargain.
The breeder knew we were just looking for a house pet dog to be neutered, and weren't going to be showing, breeding or working him. So we took home the little guy in the litter with the worst show "type".(he's 120 lbs., and I keep him a little lean for his health, he could be larger if I wanted to put that extra strain on his legs) He's inherited the perfect Newf temperament, and that's what I was after for my 6 year old daughter's dog to grow up with.

The health checks involved are intensely expensive, and so is the quality grain-free feed for animals that size.
The woman who bred him actually had an extension built onto her house, so that the mother could whelp inside without all those monster sized puppies wreaking up her home. (she had a kennel as well, but preferred to keep the mother and puppies close)

The problem of course is that some people DO just randomly put two "registered" dogs together, raise them on Ol' Roy kibble, and sell the pups without health checks. They might even worm them with some cheap over the counter product, and act like it's some kind of major expense. Then sell the pups for the same prices that the dedicated breeders charge.

It always pays to do your homework, research the breeder, AND the bloodlines your animal comes from.

 

[Millinex]

GSDs are also going to cost a lot more right now because they are a "fad", it's a popular dog right now and breeders know it, and can up their price. Try looking at other breeds, across state lines, and see what you find..

Personally, I'm happy with my GSD/Rott/Boxer mutt, he does his job well LOL

 

[squidpop]

I think you should always add to the cost of getting a puppy the price of your best pair of shoes getting chewed up or a carpet or a chair leg. Each time I get a puppy at least 3 things I hold dear get chewed.

 

[skysthelimit]

I think you should always add to the cost of getting a puppy the price of your best pair of shoes getting chewed up or a carpet or a chair leg. Each time I get a puppy at least 3 things I hold dear get chewed.

My puppies are crated when I am not watching them, and always supervised when they are out. things are put away, so with 10 puppies and two litters in the past 7 years, I can't say that's been a problem. Actually I have been quite surprised at the lack of damage these shepherds have caused, save breaking out of a few crates.

 

[SarahMelisse]

We are going to see the GSD breeder today just to visit the parents... So we'll see how they work with sheep and how they respond to our daughter. We aren't bringing anyone home today... Despite my husbands clear desire to. We still need to buy a crate (planning to do the same as you Sky) and get general care stuff together.

But the other herding dog breeders here charge the same amount for their different breed dogs (collies, Bernese, Australian shepherds), so I might as well get what I want if they are going to be the same price across the board.

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

I know I'm late to the party but I just had to throw down my own two cents.

I know two Great Dane breeders who rock, and one who does not. The ROCKIN' Dane breeders have bred like...one or two litters in the past few YEARS, they have health-screened their dogs, one is a show breeder and has shown his breeding dogs, the other isn't but he does keep an eye on conformation. Their dogs are highly socialized and partially trained when they are sold. The show-breeder sells for $1,500 to $3,000 depending on quality, the non-show-breeder charges about $1,000 to $1,500.

Neither one makes money selling dogs. Between stud fees, vet care for the pregnant female, costs of caring for the puppies, costs of showing in the case of the show breeder and costs of competing in the case of the non-show breeder (obedience competing with a Dane is IMPRESSIVE), as well as feeding all those dogs...they MAYBE break even. When one bitch needed a c-section, that breeder lost a ton of cash on that litter. The other breeder had a deformed pup in the last litter (NOT a genetic defect, just a common developmental defect), and he didn't feel comfortable selling that pup due to the health issue but also didn't want to put down an otherwise healthy dog, so he is keeping her as a pet. He's saddled with her vet and feed costs. I commend him...routine care and costs for a deformed, unbreedable, unshowable dog are the same as his champion show dogs. Because of that pup, he lost money on that last litter. He once confided that if you added up all his costs and all his sales, he's over $10,000 in the red.

The third breeder? Makes a LOT of money on her dogs. She churns out craptacular Danes on a regular basis. Her dogs aren't health certified, many that I've seen have questionable hips, and they just lack quality. They're weedy, leggy, lightly built but exessively huge, poorly-put-together dogs. She has had a lot of eye deformity since she loves those merle-y looking ones and I'm sure, based on how much white some of her pups have, that she's breeding merle-to-merle. She charges I think $300 to $400, or somewhere thereabouts.

I had a client couple years ago who was in the market for a Dane. I HIGHLY recommended both great breeders to them. The price put them off, so they found the third breeder (this was how I learned of her, sadly) and happily told me about how this awesome breeder charges so little for really pretty Danes!!! They were so smitten by the dogs they bought two, instead of one!

Then the male started having a hard time moving and breathing. His vet bills skyrocketed over the course of a few months into the THOUSANDS. One day they brought their weedy bitch in, but not the male...when I asked where he was, the gal burst out crying and her husband told me that he'd died...his organs couldn't keep up with his body and after a few days in the vet's care, his heart and lungs just gave out.

They were CRUSHED by that dog's loss.

Yeah, they'd have paid more out of the gate if they got a Dane from one of the other two, but...they thought they were saving money by buying from a cheaper breeder. I've since met a few dozen dogs bred by her and can honestly say, they are uniformly crappy.

Now...there is an exception...people who crossbreed just to charge an arm and a leg. FORGET THAT. :evil: Met too many people who crossbreed without health testing (and the myth that the crossbreds have hybrid vigor is just that-- a MYTH) and charge thousands just to rake it in...and they often claim their crossbred MUTTS are a "new pure breed." :roll: Or the dreaded new "breed" called the Daisy Dog...which is a fancy name for a MUTT. Now that I groom from home I can just refuse to deal with them, but back when I was with the salon...UGH. "Now, I want the official Daisy Dog breed clip please!" "I'm sorry, it isn't a breed and there is no standard clip." *cue customer screaming at me about how they paid $5,000 for their rare, purebred Daisy Dog and I'm just STUPID for not "knowing" how to groom them*

But if we're talking real PUREBREDS, like, real BREEDS of dog...yeah you get what you pay for.

Not to say good deals aren't out there...MSD's admittedly crossbred but EXCELLENT working dogs are a STEAL, priced well below what I believe their real value is (take the hint, MSD! ). You just have to dig a little to find them.

It also goes by breed...I'm sure my someday-Afghan will be thousands, and I'll likely have to drive at least 15+ hours one-way to get the pup...and that's okay. The breed is uncommon, good breeders are scarce, and I want JUUUUST the right dog.

Also helps if you "know people." I know two people who have two littermates, excellent hunting dogs that they paid $200 for because they were friends with the right people. Another littermate sold for a few THOUSAND, and back in I think 2008 she was one of the top ten field trial competitors in her breed in the U.S.!!! She's not a whole lot better than the other two dogs...they just haven't been competed much and are personal hunting hounds. So quality CAN be had...if you know a guy who knows a guy or something.

I also agree with Dogcatmom. People now equate breeders with ROOT OF ALL EVIL so there are just less breeders out there, and even less GOOD breeders, so with less production and increased demand, the price WILL go up.

p.s.- When you get your new pup, pictures are a must!!!

 

[SarahMelisse]

When we find that RIGHT pup, I will DEFINITELY be posting pictures!

I am so glad we went to see the breeder in the next county over, because it was an absolute junk pit. The enclosures we fairly clean, but there were about 50 dogs on dirt floor. I couldn't tell if we were inside or outside to be honest. The house was made of plywood... no kidding. Two new litters were in with their mother in a 5x5' enclosure each on the porch. Several dogs had gooey eyes. The "breeder" also spent a half hour talking about how she was 10-months behind on her mortgage and needed what ever we were willing to pay to feed all her animals. All that after saying that she was planning to keep two or three pups from the litter we were looking at.

Needless to say, we will not be buying a pup from her. It was a classic case of "looks great online, not so much in person". Still on the hunt!