What's the most you've spent on a dog?
Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2017 5:39 pm
Just wondering how much it would be to get a well bred, healthy, and good hunting dog.
Thanks
Thanks
Hunting Dog Training, Gun Dog Puppies, and Discussion
http://gundogforum.com/forum/
I have bought and sold quite a few dogs and pups over the years, a few titled but most young pups out of the best breeding I can find and never paid or sold one for over 500 dollars. Prices have gone up but you can find some really good dogs for a reasonable price yet today.cjhills wrote:Anybody who breeds pups to sell for $250 to $500 has a serious problem. These are probably dogs with no health testing and little or no health care. In Gsps tail docking done with what ever will chop the tail off and little or no regard for length or whether it will be bald later in life. Shots if any are done at home and no vet care.
Breeding even half way decent dogs is a game of chance and if you do not work at improving the odds you are going backwards
The most I ever paid for a dog was $3500 for a dog the trainers had abused with a harsh force retrieve. This dog was from a fairly big name kennel whose biggest asset was promoting themselves and years back when $3500 was a lot more money than it is now. She did turn out to be worth every penny and was my foundation female. I have four generations of her bloodline.....Cj
MNTonester wrote:CJ, not disputing a thing you say. I bought my Springer back in 1999(?) as an end of litter pup. He had Pine Shadows blood in his pedigree. I paid $175 for him and he remains the best dog I've ever owned. I bought my lab in 2006 for $200; again, an end of litter pup (that's him in my avatar). He too has been more than I could have hoped for. I'm saying, it can be done if the timing is right.
I always wonder why people on this forum seem to think there is something wrong with making a little money on a litter one breeds. A breeder who raises a pup, titles or at least trains her, does the health tests pays a sizeable stud fee, runs the risk of health issues and birthing problems with his female, pays for tail docking shots and other vet care, raies the litter for two months or more, is some how doing something wrong if he expects to get a little of his money back and time paid for. Ourselves and Most breeders we are associated with put a lot of their life into the dogs. While I have gave puppies to friends and family. I do not breed so some cheapskate I do not know and probably will never see again can have a nice, healthy dog at my expense.........Cjbustingcover wrote:Most I've spent on a dog is 750 but honestly the free dogs have cost the most in the end. You can get a broke, force fetched pointer for 1000-3000.
You can get well bred puppies for 400-700 I would not pay more than $500 for a pup personally. Plenty of really nice little ones in that range. Anyone selling pups for $1000+ is out for money and not what I'm interested in. Rather just wait around and spend that money on a started or finished dog.
I've learned over the years, through experience and on forums such as these, that it is reasonable to expect a breeder to make some money on the sale of a pup. I'm at the stage of my life (-4 months to retirement) where I have concerns about my own longevity which has some bearing on my next dog, if any. I have a near 11 1/2 year old lab that may not be here next year...I dread that day considering what a pleasant dog and great hunter he's been. I have a 2 year old poodle that's really turned into something out in the field. If I get another dog in the next 6 years, and my stamina still exists, I want to get a breed that has been on the back of my mind for awhile, either a Spinone or a Braco Italiano. I know going in neither will be cheap and that is acceptable to me.I always wonder why people on this forum seem to think there is something wrong with making a little money on a litter one breeds.
Are you happy with your dog? What breed?Golden1 wrote:Thanks for all the answers. I realize I worded my question as if I was looking to buy a dog but I recently (4 months ago) got a puppy and he cost 1500 which is a obviously a lot of money. I was curious on how much some of you have spent on your dogs.
One of my pet peeves also. I have questioned that for years and still see no correlation to a meaningful thing to do with Quality of the pup. I own a pup, car, truck, lawn mower, 4 wheeler, house and a farm and in each case the purchase price is less that the operating cost but the dog is the only one where I am told the purchase price is not a major item that is normally the main factor in being able to afford the purchase. But someday I may get smarter and figure it out.JONOV wrote: Also, is anyone else tired of hearing "the purchase price is the cheapest part of owning a dog?" I get that, but frankly find it patronizing. The purchase price is the cheapest part of a lot of things, but that doesn't mean that it isn't important or significant. Frankly, I feel like its a cop-out when the legitimate worth of a dog is questioned.
JONOV wrote:Are you happy with your dog? What breed?Golden1 wrote:Thanks for all the answers. I realize I worded my question as if I was looking to buy a dog but I recently (4 months ago) got a puppy and he cost 1500 which is a obviously a lot of money. I was curious on how much some of you have spent on your dogs.
I was looking hard for field bred Golden Retrievers and that was on the low end of average for what people seemed to be selling them for.
Simple, I look at it as a hobby rather than a business. I keep, run and breed dogs because i like doing it and expect to lose money. I can't look at a puppy who has done nothing but been born and think to charge someone thousands of dollars for it. Grown dogs are different. People can sell their property for however much they deem worthy, just not for me.cjhills wrote:I always wonder why people on this forum seem to think there is something wrong with making a little money on a litter one breeds. A breeder who raises a pup, titles or at least trains her, does the health tests pays a sizeable stud fee, runs the risk of health issues and birthing problems with his female, pays for tail docking shots and other vet care, raies the litter for two months or more, is some how doing something wrong if he expects to get a little of his money back and time paid for. Ourselves and Most breeders we are associated with put a lot of their life into the dogs. While I have gave puppies to friends and family. I do not breed so some cheapskate I do not know and probably will never see again can have a nice, healthy dog at my expense.........Cjbustingcover wrote:Most I've spent on a dog is 750 but honestly the free dogs have cost the most in the end. You can get a broke, force fetched pointer for 1000-3000.
You can get well bred puppies for 400-700 I would not pay more than $500 for a pup personally. Plenty of really nice little ones in that range. Anyone selling pups for $1000+ is out for money and not what I'm interested in. Rather just wait around and spend that money on a started or finished dog.
All that aside (and I agree that most breeders don't make money per se, and mostly want to fund the ongoing hobby,) can you really look at yourself in the mirror, and tell us that if you owned a Shadow Oak Bo caliber of dog, that you wouldn't sell the pups for four figures?bustingcover wrote:Simple, I look at it as a hobby rather than a business. I keep, run and breed dogs because i like doing it and expect to lose money. I can't look at a puppy who has done nothing but been born and think to charge someone thousands of dollars for it. Grown dogs are different. People can sell their property for however much they deem worthy, just not for me.cjhills wrote:I always wonder why people on this forum seem to think there is something wrong with making a little money on a litter one breeds. A breeder who raises a pup, titles or at least trains her, does the health tests pays a sizeable stud fee, runs the risk of health issues and birthing problems with his female, pays for tail docking shots and other vet care, raies the litter for two months or more, is some how doing something wrong if he expects to get a little of his money back and time paid for. Ourselves and Most breeders we are associated with put a lot of their life into the dogs. While I have gave puppies to friends and family. I do not breed so some cheapskate I do not know and probably will never see again can have a nice, healthy dog at my expense.........Cjbustingcover wrote:Most I've spent on a dog is 750 but honestly the free dogs have cost the most in the end. You can get a broke, force fetched pointer for 1000-3000.
You can get well bred puppies for 400-700 I would not pay more than $500 for a pup personally. Plenty of really nice little ones in that range. Anyone selling pups for $1000+ is out for money and not what I'm interested in. Rather just wait around and spend that money on a started or finished dog.
Opinions are like 'belly buttons'....we all have one! Nuff Said...JONOV wrote:I
Also, is anyone else tired of hearing "the purchase price is the cheapest part of owning a dog?" I get that, but frankly find it patronizing. The purchase price is the cheapest part of a lot of things, but that doesn't mean that it isn't important or significant. Frankly, I feel like its a cop-out when the legitimate worth of a dog is questioned.
Ezzy....your car, truck, lawn mower, 4 wheeler, house and farm will not get cancer, go blind early, have major hip and joint issues....etc. etc. What you pay for a pup lowers the risk of the dog having these problems (assuming you do the normal do diligence on the breeder), because the breeders have consistently had the health certifications done prior to breeding....furthermore the probability that you will not have a dog that "Won't Hunt" is improved by selective breeding which costs the breeder extra money....as Stud Fees on great dogs are not cheep! If you do your homework on the breeder and pups they are breeding you will dramatically improve your odds of getting a healthy (long term) pup that has good hunting potential!ezzy333 wrote:JONOV wrote: One of my pet peeves also. I have questioned that for years and still see no correlation to a meaningful thing to do with Quality of the pup. I own a pup, car, truck, lawn mower, 4 wheeler, house and a farm and in each case the purchase price is less that the operating cost but the dog is the only one where I am told the purchase price is not a major item that is normally the main factor in being able to afford the purchase. But someday I may get smarter and figure it out.
Ezzy
To your point, its not really different. You can buy a $2k truck or a $30K truck or a $60K truck. At some point there are diminishing returns. Lots of folks do just fine buying $2k cars and can get years and miles off of them, but they certainly know what they're looking at, and lots of folks would buy a bag of bolts at that price. If you don't know what to look for/what you're looking at, it makes sense to spend a little more. And, if you want a top of the line product that can win races, spend more still.Timewise65 wrote:Ezzy....your car, truck, lawn mower, 4 wheeler, house and farm will not get cancer, go blind early, have major hip and joint issues....etc. etc. What you pay for a pup lowers the risk of the dog having these problems (assuming you do the normal do diligence on the breeder), because the breeders have consistently had the health certifications done prior to breeding....furthermore the probability that you will not have a dog that "Won't Hunt" is improved by selective breeding which costs the breeder extra money....as Stud Fees on great dogs are not cheep! If you do your homework on the breeder and pups they are breeding you will dramatically improve your odds of getting a healthy (long term) pup that has good hunting potential!ezzy333 wrote:JONOV wrote: One of my pet peeves also. I have questioned that for years and still see no correlation to a meaningful thing to do with Quality of the pup. I own a pup, car, truck, lawn mower, 4 wheeler, house and a farm and in each case the purchase price is less that the operating cost but the dog is the only one where I am told the purchase price is not a major item that is normally the main factor in being able to afford the purchase. But someday I may get smarter and figure it out.
Ezzy
That being said, regardless how much you pay, it is minor compared to the costs of owning a field dog! But looking for a low cost deal, lowers the odds of getting a healthy dog and a dog with good field instincts, nose, and style! I always prefer to play the odds!
One of my "Pet Peeves" are people who do not get the obvious...SMILE!
Personally I couldn't and wouldn't. Its a puppy, parents don't guarantee anything. I've given away well bred pups that I could've sold for a lot of money. I get that some people want to be compensated for their work, more power to them. Just not how I operate. I'll sell puppies for what I feel are fair puppy prices and if I can't afford it I just wont have a litter simple as that. As far as grown dogs go, I definitely believe in getting their worth however high that number is because these are an actual proven product.JONOV wrote: All that aside (and I agree that most breeders don't make money per se, and mostly want to fund the ongoing hobby,) can you really look at yourself in the mirror, and tell us that if you owned a Shadow Oak Bo caliber of dog, that you wouldn't sell the pups for four figures?
We had Shorthairs without interruption for a twenty-three yr stretch. Following the loss of our last female (Layne), we decided to take a pause from the hair in the carpet before we started the search, plus we were traveling quite a bit at the time. Three months w/out a Shorthair was about all we could stand so the search began. After three more months of scouring the entire US, we settled upon a breeder who had the line(s) we sought. Following the task of vetting the sire and dam-to-be along with much discussion with the breeder and his clientele for yet another three months - we made our decision and awaited the litter-to-be for our new female, that we were adamant about. A long, long years wait came to an end & it was time to select. We had pick number one. When all was said and done, we picked the pup that was just simply the right pup for us.Max2 wrote:To the o/p ~ I will let you know in a year or so. ~ I am recently ~ 1st time in a very long time dogless and not digg'n it
Thank goodness for sites like this that I can come to and enjoy by living through others !
That is an easy question to answer. pointers are bird dogs...first last and always. The best of them are bred to compete in field trials and lie any other sporting activity, only a small percentage of the best athletes have all of the abilities to compete at the highest levels. This means that there will inevitably be as surplus of good to very good dogs available. With the lack of huntable populations of wild birds in many areas, the demand for this kind of dog is even lower.Troy08er wrote:The most I spent was a 800 on a Weimaraner. Then a bought a gsp for 600 great hunting dog. Went back to the breed for another gsp and his price went up to 900. That was out of my buget but had a friend breeding his pointer. I paid 400 for her best hunting dog I've owned. I just sold this litter for 400.00, which is pretty good bloodlines and all went to field trial homes.
She's out of IB Spur'n & her mom is out of IB Yastrzemski & IB Bean.
The new pups sire is Bruce's main event which is out of Erin's Stoney River & Erin's butterfly. So this litter has alot of fiddler & go boy..
I've hunted under alot of different breeds. I can't understand why pointers are the cheapest.
I think some of it has to do with supply...A lot of guys trial them and keep multiple dogs, and therefore have more litters. At least on facebook groups, I see two or three pointer litters or pointers for sale for every GSP.Troy08er wrote:The most I spent was a 800 on a Weimaraner. Then a bought a gsp for 600 great hunting dog. Went back to the breed for another gsp and his price went up to 900. That was out of my buget but had a friend breeding his pointer. I paid 400 for her best hunting dog I've owned. I just sold this litter for 400.00, which is pretty good bloodlines and all went to field trial homes.
She's out of IB Spur'n & her mom is out of IB Yastrzemski & IB Bean.
The new pups sire is Bruce's main event which is out of Erin's Stoney River & Erin's butterfly. So this litter has alot of fiddler & go boy..
I've hunted under alot of different breeds. I can't understand why pointers are the cheapest.
Just to be fair. I am pretty sure there are many buyers that go through a lot less than you did to find a puppy and spend a lot less that feel the same way about their dog. Also a lot of what makes a great dog is environment....CjTooling wrote:We had Shorthairs without interruption for a twenty-three yr stretch. Following the loss of our last female (Layne), we decided to take a pause from the hair in the carpet before we started the search, plus we were traveling quite a bit at the time. Three months w/out a Shorthair was about all we could stand so the search began. After three more months of scouring the entire US, we settled upon a breeder who had the line(s) we sought. Following the task of vetting the sire and dam-to-be along with much discussion with the breeder and his clientele for yet another three months - we made our decision and awaited the litter-to-be for our new female, that we were adamant about. A long, long years wait came to an end & it was time to select. We had pick number one. When all was said and done, we picked the pup that was just simply the right pup for us.Max2 wrote:To the o/p ~ I will let you know in a year or so. ~ I am recently ~ 1st time in a very long time dogless and not digg'n it
Thank goodness for sites like this that I can come to and enjoy by living through others !
We could not be any happier with him. He is easily the nicest GSP, overall, that we’ve ever had the pleasure to have as a part of our family. He also happens to be a wonderful hunting companion that is a pleasure to hunt over.
I feel your pain Max2 - that yr without a Shorthair was awfully quiet and the lack of GSP humor sure left a hole in our lives, like a quiet but persistent undertow. Be patient when the time comes.
GSP hair in the carpet and persistent GSP dust bunnies? Welp, so be it!
Thanks Ray,that make sense.birddogger2 wrote:That is an easy question to answer. pointers are bird dogs...first last and always. The best of them are bred to compete in field trials and lie any other sporting activity, only a small percentage of the best athletes have all of the abilities to compete at the highest levels. This means that there will inevitably be as surplus of good to very good dogs available. With the lack of huntable populations of wild birds in many areas, the demand for this kind of dog is even lower.Troy08er wrote:The most I spent was a 800 on a Weimaraner. Then a bought a gsp for 600 great hunting dog. Went back to the breed for another gsp and his price went up to 900. That was out of my buget but had a friend breeding his pointer. I paid 400 for her best hunting dog I've owned. I just sold this litter for 400.00, which is pretty good bloodlines and all went to field trial homes.
She's out of IB Spur'n & her mom is out of IB Yastrzemski & IB Bean.
The new pups sire is Bruce's main event which is out of Erin's Stoney River & Erin's butterfly. So this litter has alot of fiddler & go boy..
I've hunted under alot of different breeds. I can't understand why pointers are the cheapest.
The other thing is that the pointer is something of a specialist, in that it is not bred or promoted as a dog that can hunt a variety of game and do water retrieves, which is why, IMO the shorthair is so popular.
An interesting fact is that pointers can and do make very good pets, but most folks do not even consider them or their "companion" value. I am kinda glad about that actually.
As far as the OP's question...I have paid several different prices for puppies over the years. You can expect to pay somewhere between $500- $1200 plus shipping costs, for a high pick puppy out of top level champion breeding. the most I ever paid was $900 for a 16 wk. old pup, but I have paid over a thousand , when including the shipping costs, on several occasions.
My last pup was out of a winning female and the sire was a National Shooting Dog champion. You don't get much better breeding in pointers. I got 4th pick and paid $650. So far, he is looking like he will make the grade as a competitor, but I will know more after next year.
RayG
Trialing is a numbers game to a large extent. A high level trialer and their pro trainer/handler may evaluate several DOZEN pups in a year, all of which are very well bred, just to come up with one to four dog that has "all the coons up the same tree" so to speak. Those four pups may distill down to ONE derby that has it all...JONOV wrote:I think some of it has to do with supply...A lot of guys trial them and keep multiple dogs, and therefore have more litters. At least on facebook groups, I see two or three pointer litters or pointers for sale for every GSP.Troy08er wrote:The most I spent was a 800 on a Weimaraner. Then a bought a gsp for 600 great hunting dog. Went back to the breed for another gsp and his price went up to 900. That was out of my buget but had a friend breeding his pointer. I paid 400 for her best hunting dog I've owned. I just sold this litter for 400.00, which is pretty good bloodlines and all went to field trial homes.
She's out of IB Spur'n & her mom is out of IB Yastrzemski & IB Bean.
The new pups sire is Bruce's main event which is out of Erin's Stoney River & Erin's butterfly. So this litter has alot of fiddler & go boy..
I've hunted under alot of different breeds. I can't understand why pointers are the cheapest.
That's pretty cleverTrekmoor wrote:I've never really had the money to spend on "top bred dogs." I have done well over the years by looking carefully when at field trials or by looking at reported field trial results prior to buying a pup. I look for an "always a bridesmaid, never a bride" sort of dog and then watch for matings of that dog to a similar bitch. If a dog or bitch is an "always a bridesmaid" sort of dog then it is possible that it's handler is at fault. The dog has consistently shown that it has what it takes to win .....but maybe with a different handler.
Litters from such dogs can be very good and the pups will cost a good bit less because they do not have "famous" sires or dams.
I also look past a pups immediate parents when looking at the pedigree. If the grandparents etc. have been F.T.Ch.'s then what they had may have skipped a generation for some reason but those abilities often surface again in the puppies even though the pups are relatively "cheap."
Bill T.
cjhills wrote:Just to be fair. I am pretty sure there are many buyers that go through a lot less than you did to find a puppy and spend a lot less that feel the same way about their dog. Also a lot of what makes a great dog is environment....CjTooling wrote:We had Shorthairs without interruption for a twenty-three yr stretch. Following the loss of our last female (Layne), we decided to take a pause from the hair in the carpet before we started the search, plus we were traveling quite a bit at the time. Three months w/out a Shorthair was about all we could stand so the search began. After three more months of scouring the entire US, we settled upon a breeder who had the line(s) we sought. Following the task of vetting the sire and dam-to-be along with much discussion with the breeder and his clientele for yet another three months - we made our decision and awaited the litter-to-be for our new female, that we were adamant about. A long, long years wait came to an end & it was time to select. We had pick number one. When all was said and done, we picked the pup that was just simply the right pup for us.Max2 wrote:To the o/p ~ I will let you know in a year or so. ~ I am recently ~ 1st time in a very long time dogless and not digg'n it
Thank goodness for sites like this that I can come to and enjoy by living through others !
We could not be any happier with him. He is easily the nicest GSP, overall, that we’ve ever had the pleasure to have as a part of our family. He also happens to be a wonderful hunting companion that is a pleasure to hunt over.
I feel your pain Max2 - that yr without a Shorthair was awfully quiet and the lack of GSP humor sure left a hole in our lives, like a quiet but persistent undertow. Be patient when the time comes.
GSP hair in the carpet and persistent GSP dust bunnies? Welp, so be it!