Prices for dogs - Page 4

I have been on both sides of the buy and sell. I do not believe a puppy is worth more the $50.00 but I would not sell one for that and I paid a lot more then that for the one I have. When I have a littler of puppies I think are extreme quality I have placed them where I believe them to be best suited at no charge. So I do it because it's fun.  I could not make a living in the dog business, and few can, and a big part of them are more like used car salesmen.


Some of my thoughts from the other side of the coin.
When I hear of guarantees, the first thing that comes to mind is "bullshit" If I buy a 8 week old puppy and and spend 2 years worth of blood sweat and tears and money and it has bad hips or bad eyes or bad nerve or anything else that makes it low or no quality, what do I get?  another puppy with the same chances.
The thing is when you breed "A" to "C" you do not get "B" it is a crap shoot and many fill the heads of buyers with "bullshit" (just like a used car salesman) into believing this puppy will be the greatest thing since sliced bread. Great dogs produce some real junk and once in a while a junker will produce a quality animal.



Many here read my ad in what I want in a dog, and I have had many people pm and call me and tell me their breeding will produce exactly what I want and have spent zero time talking to me, again bullshit. The funny thing is they promise all of this and do not have a clue to what it is. All they want is a puppy sell and my money. But the real bad thing is many of them really believe what they say, because they believe their dogs are more then they really are.

Very few can read a puppy and be accurate to adulthood, and all of the rest of us just guess.

We all claim we neither make a dime or any profit in dogs and give all manner of maths n calculations but still, we know the truth. I see showline pups of 2500k - 3500k, even up to 4000k n above, and still use feeding, vet bills and sundry etc as excuses. Yet, for 4years now, my bitch hadn't any cause to see a vet, apart from vaccination. Only recently i did swab test, in case, yet she came victoriously clean and free. We all hide under the banner of "passion" and "enthusiasm" to rip-off buyers.

Nobody breeds dogs to lose money. While a breeder may be taking a loss in a sense to get something they want I.e a particular line cross for future breeding purposes or to start their own line so to speak not a single breeder will have 2-3 litters a year to lose money and sell all the pups. Keep a couple back for future purposes yes they will take a  loss but they have additional breeding stock for the future which if the dog passes health tests and a title they can make money from in the future so while it is an immediate loss it is not a long term loss. 

The other reason I think a lot of breeders disappear is the amount of work when the bitch starts to deliver until the last pup is gone. I have spent some time with a local breeder helping and learni g (not getting paid there for the education) but feeding cleaning early neurological stimulation etc on a litter of 9 is time consuming. You are doing that for 8 weeks plus fielding 500 phone calls for the 9 pups with 492 calling trying to talk you down on price or just kicking the tires. It becomes a full time job for 8 weeks
 

How does "keeping a puppy back" equal a "loss"? That is an odd way of looking at your assets, if they are the cornerstone of your breeding program. And I should hope a breeder actually does do some work, and it isn't just the bitch. And really, too, if a breeder gets to the point (past the five year marker) of making a good reputation for themselves, most if not all of their puppies are spoken for before they are born. Fielding the phones is a skill learned no matter what business one is in, IMHO. 

How much is 30, 40 years of experience breeding and training dogs worth?  What about  years of HOT and BHOT titling multiple dogs? Again, the price of the dog should have nothing to do with the expenses incurred in breeding the litter. It's moot. It's none of my business what a breeder asks (and gets) for a puppy. I feel the same about that as I did when I was still working - non-union job. If the guy or gal sitting next to me doing the same job was able to negotiate a better salary and better benefits than I could, then shame on me for not doing a better job of making myself a more valuable employee.

No contract for me is a deal breaker; that's  why I would never import a dog from Germany or anywhere else where contracts are not SOP. I'd rather pay more for a puppy with a contract from a breeder who has proven him or her self with longevity in the breed.  I've never had any trouble getting a breeder to honor a guarantee and every contract I've agreed to has given me the options of waiting for a dog from a breeding of my choosing or getting a full refund of my purchase price.  My own contract stated the same options.
 

Not much point in even breeding a litter if there is no need to keep back a puppy or two.

It sounds like every one who is not a breeder posting on here, has contempt for breeders having the audacity to charge money for a pup they've bred. So, after reading these many post, such as; "We all hide under the banner of "passion" and "enthusiasm" to rip-off buyers." and; "....they keep telling us clueless, pet buyers who pay those ridiculous prices that enable the breeders to make a profit." I've come to the conclusion that the only people who should charge money and "make a profit" are the 'rescues' who, with the aid of 'animal control', raid and confiscate dozens of dog's from puppy mills and then conduct a huge adoption event, bringing in thousands of dollars from the confiscated dogs only a week after being "rescued". So for all the pet consumers, you need to be grateful for the many puppy mills which produce the puppies and dogs that paying money for is justified.
With the mentality exhibited on this thread, there is no need for any breed standard, health testing, training, or registries. Least of all, with the mentality displayed here, maintaining any lines which take generations to establish is totally a waste of time and anyone breeding dogs for five years or more has accomplished nothing except a successful way to make a profit from 'clueless' consumers.

On the other hand, breeding quality dogs takes time, work, knowledge, commitment, and money. In my lifetime, I have found those attributes
to come at a cost....
Y'all need to go to a fly by nite-here today-gone tomorrow BYB and get a cheap pup...in fact, just watch the news and and run down to the shelter after the next puppy mill bust.....

I resent your comment using my comment as a sign of contempt. That is not how I wrote it at all. You sound like you took this personally Joan. So I will say, I wasn't writing about you, but for some reason you saw yourself in what I wrote! 

But you do illustrate how it quickly gets used as ammo, the DNA...lol! You won't be sharing yours with me! That's okay. I'll manage.

When I say a loss I am talking from a financial standpoint for a few reasons

1.  Immediate loss of revenue from the sale
2.  It is close to three years for a breeder to even be able to get a pup out of her when you factor in titling and waiting for her to come into heat

3.  Training expenses for 3 years. Most breeders SCH clubs are not out the front door

4.  Food for three years 

5.  Vet bills for 3 years

there is no promise the dog will get titled , is able to have pups or will live three years or pass hips and elbows.
a financial standpoint accounting wise you have to make it three years and thousands of dollars in expenses before you ever see a dime of money. 
Fr

And then shell out even more for your first litter just to break even. My guess is when you buy a well bred pup and take it to the point where it is ready to whelp its first litter from a top stud you are 10k into it.