Pointer Value

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Ducksanddogs
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Pointer Value

Post by Ducksanddogs » Wed Aug 29, 2018 2:10 pm

Good Afternoon,

Long time lurker, first time poster.

Unfortunately, my wife and I are looking at placing our pointer in a different home. We may be moving within a few months to a place that won't offer the type of hunting we're used to. My biggest concern is that he ends up with a family that will run him and hunt him. However, nearly everyone I've spoken to has asked me what the price is. I honestly have no idea how to price a dog like this so I wanted to poll you guys to see if someone can help me out.

Details:

I paid $800 for him as a puppy and about $3,000 in training. He's a Liver/Roan GSP, he'll be three years old in October, and he's intact.

He's got a nose like a bloodhound, is steady to wing and shot, backs, is controlled nicely with a collar, knows here, heel, sit, kennel. He does not retrieve. I hunt with a lab by my side and like the pointer to hold steady while the lab retrieves. Although, the drive to retrieve is there so I'm sure it could be taught relatively easily.

That said, I just don't know how to value a dog based on these traits.

Again, my main concern is that he ends up with the right family; but, I want to make sure I'm not just giving him away, either.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

JONOV
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Re: Pointer Value

Post by JONOV » Wed Aug 29, 2018 2:59 pm

Is he a house/family dog? I know a GSP that was asking $3500 for a finished dog (NAVHDA UT Prize 2,) so a dog that steady to wing/shot/fall and retrieving to hand...These are dogs that are 1200 for a puppy or thereabouts.

Honestly, I'd find the best home you can and worry about the money after you talk that out.

Or, frankly, take the dog with you if he's a well adjusted house pet, and make sure you get him a lot of exercise and hunt him when you can, even if its not the same as Montana.

Ducksanddogs
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Re: Pointer Value

Post by Ducksanddogs » Wed Aug 29, 2018 3:05 pm

Thanks for the reply. Yes, he's a house dog/family dog.

My plan was to find the right home and figure out the price later; but, everyone is very interested in the price and don't even seem interested to meet up and see him work, etc., before knowing the price. It's somewhat of a catch 22.

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aksportsman
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Re: Pointer Value

Post by aksportsman » Wed Aug 29, 2018 5:00 pm

Where are you moving? I remember a post a few years back that mentioned the same concern. The owner was not fully aware of the opportunities available to the dog but ended up keeping it when others here pointed them out.

Ducksanddogs
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Re: Pointer Value

Post by Ducksanddogs » Wed Aug 29, 2018 10:38 pm

Back to Southcentral Alaska. I’m not going to travel to where the huns and sharpies are regularly enough and it gets too cold to try to put him on ducks.

Trekmoor
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Re: Pointer Value

Post by Trekmoor » Thu Aug 30, 2018 4:13 am

If you have friends who have seen your dog working and liked him maybe one of them would take him ? If that happened you would know the kind of home he was going to.

I did something like this a while back. I became too unwell to work my 3 years old Brittany bitch or even to take her for long walks during which she could hunt and exercise. I had a friend who lives about 20 miles away who had seen her working a few times and who liked her very much. She was a fully trained bitch , she worked to field trial standards.

Although I knew I could get a very good price for her elsewhere I sold her to my friend for just £300 …..because I knew him and liked his "way" with dogs. I just made sure she got the best home I could possibly get for her and to heck with the money !

Since he has owned her he has made only one complaint about her …..he took her shooting and was taken by surprise when she did not run-in to fall of bird ! :lol: His own two dogs just run-in at once , he says her steadiness is taking him a while to get used to ! :lol:

It's a nice sort of "complaint" to get ! :D

Bill T.

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DonF
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Re: Pointer Value

Post by DonF » Thu Aug 30, 2018 9:06 am

Where your going should have grouse and ptarmigan. You be south of Anchorage?

Ducksanddogs
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Re: Pointer Value

Post by Ducksanddogs » Thu Aug 30, 2018 11:04 am

I appreciate everyone's response. I just wanted to point out that where I'm moving, I've lived there for five years in the past and with so much other stuff going on during the Fall, I won't be hunting with this guy anymore.

There are ptarmigan there; but, I won't be hunting them. I hunt waterfowl almost exclusively up there and when I'm not hunting waterfowl, I'm either chasing big game or trapping. While I do appreciate the suggestions for alternatives, we have decided to place the dog with someone else so, as much as it sucks, I'm really just looking for a value based on the details I've provided.

If that changes once I get up there, I'd probably opt for a dog more suited to the temperatures, anyways.

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BuckeyeSteve
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Re: Pointer Value

Post by BuckeyeSteve » Thu Aug 30, 2018 6:47 pm

Maybe you should consider keeping and taking the dog with you, there is probably some good hunting in southern.... just kidding. I get it. Obviously the dog is worth what you're able to get for him, and that has to be consdering the fact that you're limiting his sale to a good family dog buyer who hunts regularly (good for you for that, btw). I can tell you what I would pay, as a new dog owner working to trade my own. If I found someone selling a really well trained 3 year old with house manners, I would pay 2000 to 2500. I'm sure it's worth more to others, but as a family dog I value the puppy stage. I also recognize how much money it would save me to have a trained dog that wouldn't chew my house apart. For me there would be a good amount of give and take. If you find someone without kids who only wants a hunting dog that lives in the house.... and the dog is a rockstar that could compete, I'd say you'd be talking 3000 to 3500. Just my opinion.

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bustingcover
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Re: Pointer Value

Post by bustingcover » Thu Aug 30, 2018 9:01 pm

Honestly the value is how much someone’s willing to pay and how much you’re willing to let him go for. I would say anywhere from 1500-3000. But it’s hard to find people willing to spend big money on a dog.

Personally I would just try to find the best home I could for him where he can be hunted and taken care of. If you have to give him away so be it. You’re never going to get the money back that you put into these animals best you can do is do right by them.

Pedro
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Re: Pointer Value

Post by Pedro » Fri Aug 31, 2018 7:27 am

There are broke dogs advertised on the sale sites from $1500 to $8000. The pros tend to be able to get more for a dog than the general public. Only way to know is advertise him on the gun dog sites at what you consider is a fair px and see the response.

Ducksanddogs
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Re: Pointer Value

Post by Ducksanddogs » Fri Aug 31, 2018 9:34 am

BuckeyeSteve wrote:Maybe you should consider keeping and taking the dog with you, there is probably some good hunting in southern.... just kidding. I get it. Obviously the dog is worth what you're able to get for him, and that has to be consdering the fact that you're limiting his sale to a good family dog buyer who hunts regularly (good for you for that, btw). I can tell you what I would pay, as a new dog owner working to trade my own. If I found someone selling a really well trained 3 year old with house manners, I would pay 2000 to 2500. I'm sure it's worth more to others, but as a family dog I value the puppy stage. I also recognize how much money it would save me to have a trained dog that wouldn't chew my house apart. For me there would be a good amount of give and take. If you find someone without kids who only wants a hunting dog that lives in the house.... and the dog is a rockstar that could compete, I'd say you'd be talking 3000 to 3500. Just my opinion.


You got me. I started reading your post and was thinking, "Are you kidding me?? Another one..." Well played.

Thanks for your input, I genuinely appreciate it.

Ducksanddogs
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Re: Pointer Value

Post by Ducksanddogs » Fri Aug 31, 2018 9:37 am

bustingcover wrote:Honestly the value is how much someone’s willing to pay and how much you’re willing to let him go for. I would say anywhere from 1500-3000. But it’s hard to find people willing to spend big money on a dog.

Personally I would just try to find the best home I could for him where he can be hunted and taken care of. If you have to give him away so be it. You’re never going to get the money back that you put into these animals best you can do is do right by them.


Thanks for your comments, I appreciate them. And, to be 100% clear, I don't even think I'd MIND giving him away. However, our upland bird season opens tomorrow and if I tell folks he's free, I'm going to have A TON of candidates to talk to, see their place, run him for them, etc. I don't mean to offend anyone who isn't in a position to spend this much money on a dog; but, I do feel like if I have him listed at a fair price for what he is, I will only be dealing with people who are committed to owning a quality gun dog, not people who just see an opportunity to get a free dog and possibly do some hunting. I'm not saying someone who couldn't afford to spend the money isn't capable of providing him a great home and hunting hard, I'm just saying I don't want to have to 'sift through all of the resumes' that would come in if he were advertised as a free gun dog the day before the season opens.

Steve007
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Re: Pointer Value

Post by Steve007 » Fri Aug 31, 2018 11:26 am

To me, no retrieve is a definite negative, a house dog is a gigantic positive. A GSP, however, is a common breed (nothing negative implied) which reduces value. If I had an opening for a GSP, I'd pay $1500 for that dog (but hesitate a little, given no retrieve) and count a thousand as a super deal. I could teach him to retrieve in non-bird season if he didn't pick it up on his own.

There are always (I maintain) more good dogs than good homes,and values reflect that. I'd want the wife to accompany the buyer to make sure the dog would really be kept as a house dog. GSP are frequently kennel dogs, and everyone knows it. I'd be careful. Paying some money (admittedly, the worth of money varies) improves the odds that the dog will be well-treated. I K dead minimum, 1500 is a fair deal. imo.

As a sub-comment, I would not call him a "pointer'' to prospective buyers. He's a shorthair. Or a German Shorthair. Or a GSP. imo.

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Sharon
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Re: Pointer Value

Post by Sharon » Fri Aug 31, 2018 4:26 pm

Well said!
This is why animal rescues make you pay a hundred or 2 for the dog you want. If you can't afford that , you can't afford a dog , and they want to know the dog will hopefully be well cared for.

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Urban_Redneck
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Re: Pointer Value

Post by Urban_Redneck » Sat Sep 01, 2018 5:02 am

I'd find a kid that's crazy about hunting and give him away.

That's me, filling my kharma bank.

Steve007
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Re: Pointer Value

Post by Steve007 » Sat Sep 01, 2018 9:08 am

Urban_Redneck wrote:I'd find a kid that's crazy about hunting and give him away.

That's me, filling my kharma bank.
How romantic. You'd better first make sure the kid's father is willing to pay all food and vet bills, that the mother wants the dog in the house and figure what's going to happen to the dog when the kid's at school or, later, college and a career.

Karma should involve a modicum of reality.

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Urban_Redneck
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Re: Pointer Value

Post by Urban_Redneck » Sun Sep 02, 2018 6:31 am

Steve007 wrote:
Urban_Redneck wrote:I'd find a kid that's crazy about hunting and give him away.

That's me, filling my kharma bank.
How romantic. You'd better first make sure the kid's father is willing to pay all food and vet bills, that the mother wants the dog in the house and figure what's going to happen to the dog when the kid's at school or, later, college and a career.

Karma should involve a modicum of reality.
:roll: :lol: :roll:

Given the knowledge and experience of this group and the original poster, I assumed that qualifying any new owner was a given.

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