Gun Dog Forum

I am considering adopting a two year old GSP that has had little training but is well socialized, has had some exposure to birds, and is house broke. The dog will not have papers but the foster family can provide the information I need to get them if I want them. He is also neutered, current on vaccines, and micro-chipped. The organization that has the dog is asking a $300 "re-homing" fee. Does that seem reasonable? If not, how much is a 'normal' fee for situations like this one?

Nope.

Nope. $0.

Most rescue organizations go seriously into the red with their rehoming fees. The vet visit to vaccinate, neuter and micro chip probably costs about $200. That means for a normal healthy dog they "make" $100. If the dog had been heartworm positive, they would have gone several hundred dollars in the hole and a foster family would have had to keep him for several months to treat him. I guarantee that for every normal healthy dog that goes thru rescue, there are several dogs come in that need expensive veterinary care. The price sounds pretty darned fair to me.

I paid that much for a rescue JRT. Seems reasonable to me. I see a lot of rescue/shelter dogs for $200-$300+.
Already house broke, neutered, vaccines, and chipped….expenses you won’t have to incur.
Can’t really put a price tag on the happiness a dog can bring into your life. If he’s a good dog and your committed to being good owners I’d say go for it.

If the organization paid for the neutering, shots, microchip and food thats not out of line to recoup their cost. My girlfriend volunteers for a "little dog rescue" :roll: and thats a pretty standard re-homing fee. She makes nothing from it BTW.

$300 to me seems way high for what the dog is. If you are truly serious about this dog, do yourself a favor and check to make sure that he is not noise sensitive. I know of more than one dog that come from a rescue that ended up being gun shy....

Rescues are not supposed to provide registration papers. Those are supposed to go to AKC, but they may have a pedigree on the dog or be offering you a PAL.

Thr cost is average in the rescue industry. They should provide you with complete medical records, including heartworm blood test, which is required annually now in order to purchase preventative.

Rescues are not supposed to provide registration papers. Those are supposed to go to AKC, but they may have a pedigree on the dog or be offering you a PAL.

Thr cost is average in the rescue industry. They should provide you with complete medical records, including heartworm blood test, which is required annually now in order to purchase preventative.

Fireside wrote:Most rescue organizations go seriously into the red with their rehoming fees. The vet visit to vaccinate, neuter and micro chip probably costs about $200. That means for a normal healthy dog they "make" $100. If the dog had been heartworm positive, they would have gone several hundred dollars in the hole and a foster family would have had to keep him for several months to treat him. I guarantee that for every normal healthy dog that goes thru rescue, there are several dogs come in that need expensive veterinary care. The price sounds pretty darned fair to me.

X2

chuckanut wrote:I am considering adopting a two year old GSP that has had little training but is well socialized, has had some exposure to birds, and is house broke. The dog will not have papers but the foster family can provide the information I need to get them if I want them. He is also neutered, current on vaccines, and micro-chipped. The organization that has the dog is asking a $300 "re-homing" fee. Does that seem reasonable? If not, how much is a 'normal' fee for situations like this one?

What are you wanting out of this dog? Hunting partner? Pet?

Is this dog gunshy? Do you have kids? Is the dog good with kids? The list could go on...........

For $200 more you could buy a GSP puppy and start with a clean slate, not have to worry about the above questions..........

Fees like that are absolutely normal for breed rescue groups. Even with volunteers, rescue groups incur costs that must be recovered or they can't rescue any more dogs. It's usually called an adoption fee and in many cases that fee doesn't come close to what it cost to get the dog healthy and worthy of adoption. Only you can decide if it's worth taking on a dog like that. You have to go into it with the mind set that you are helping one of mans best friends and not with the thought of the next National Champ.

brad27 wrote:

chuckanut wrote:I am considering adopting a two year old GSP that has had little training but is well socialized, has had some exposure to birds, and is house broke. The dog will not have papers but the foster family can provide the information I need to get them if I want them. He is also neutered, current on vaccines, and micro-chipped. The organization that has the dog is asking a $300 "re-homing" fee. Does that seem reasonable? If not, how much is a 'normal' fee for situations like this one?

What are you wanting out of this dog? Hunting partner? Pet?

Is this dog gunshy? Do you have kids? Is the dog good with kids? The list could go on...........

For $200 more you could buy a GSP puppy and start with a clean slate, not have to worry about the above questions..........

The dog wil be a family pet first and a hunting dog second. The foster family has kids and he's apparently great with them. I just went through the puppy thing and am not ready to deal with that again. I just like the idea of having another dog and this guy fits the bill. Sounds like the fee is reasonable so I'll probably go for it. Thanks for the insight folks.

I just 'rescued' a pup from someone who apparently didn't want these dogs bred. It was a very sad situation. The pups were said to be 3 months old and had the first round of shots. At first, there was no talk of too many dogs, papers or other super major issues besides their size and health and price. Turns out they were 5 months old and probably 30 pounds underweight. I 'rescued' this dog for $200 and gave it to a friend because I couldn't have another dog in the house right now.

Sharon wrote:

Fireside wrote:Most rescue organizations go seriously into the red with their rehoming fees. The vet visit to vaccinate, neuter and micro chip probably costs about $200. That means for a normal healthy dog they "make" $100. If the dog had been heartworm positive, they would have gone several hundred dollars in the hole and a foster family would have had to keep him for several months to treat him. I guarantee that for every normal healthy dog that goes thru rescue, there are several dogs come in that need expensive veterinary care. The price sounds pretty darned fair to me.

X2

+3 but if you are looking for a good huntining dog you are rolling the dice. It is like buying a used car. If you are just trying to do the "good hearted thing" then $300 will be the least expensive part of owning a dog.

The initial price of a dog is the cheapest part of the whole deal. In my mind a good deal is low on the list of requirements for taking on a new dog.

Garrison wrote:The initial price of a dog is the cheapest part of the whole deal. In my mind a good deal is low on the list of requirements for taking on a new dog.

+1
Why are you still awake. Lol

I'm not part of any rescue organization but I got wind of a 2 year old 'intact' male setter on craigslist and decided to take him on as a rescue and between the vet. care that my friend has volunteered and the time, food, and energy that I have invested I would say that $300 is very reasonable if what you're saying you are getting is indeed what you're getting. I hope it is and I wish you the best of luck. Thanks for taking a chance

brad27 wrote:

Garrison wrote:The initial price of a dog is the cheapest part of the whole deal. In my mind a good deal is low on the list of requirements for taking on a new dog.

+1
Why are you still awake. Lol

Gramps cut off the cable at the house and all deer tags are filled!

BTW Brad and I both have rescues in our care that have issues to iron out, but are on their way to being nice dogs, and yes they have cost more than $300.

I have a shorthair male that's ready to hunt that I would sell for that. He has his akc full registration that goes with him too. Steady to wing and shot, does a nice retrieve also.

chuckanut wrote:

brad27 wrote:

chuckanut wrote:I am considering adopting a two year old GSP that has had little training but is well socialized, has had some exposure to birds, and is house broke. The dog will not have papers but the foster family can provide the information I need to get them if I want them. He is also neutered, current on vaccines, and micro-chipped. The organization that has the dog is asking a $300 "re-homing" fee. Does that seem reasonable? If not, how much is a 'normal' fee for situations like this one?

What are you wanting out of this dog? Hunting partner? Pet?

Is this dog gunshy? Do you have kids? Is the dog good with kids? The list could go on...........

For $200 more you could buy a GSP puppy and start with a clean slate, not have to worry about the above questions..........

The dog wil be a family pet first and a hunting dog second. The foster family has kids and he's apparently great with them. I just went through the puppy thing and am not ready to deal with that again. I just like the idea of having another dog and this guy fits the bill. Sounds like the fee is reasonable so I'll probably go for it. Thanks for the insight folks.

Congratulations and good luck with your new pointer!