price of pups

[Tiff 36]

posted this on another forum but it didn't get much discussion ... maybe more views will be freely expressed here?

 

I come to this topic as a very frugal person and a working dog owner, as well as having a few “pet†dogs. If I come across like a jerk, so be it, but I always speak my mind. We don't breed or show, (1 terrier litter 3 years ago, all which we kept) but we wouldn't keep any that wouldn’t be worth breeding from. If a dog is exceptional at its task over a number of seasons, we might want to be able to use its blood in the future, or have a friend be able to use it. We NEED our dogs to work, and work well, because we just can’t afford the time or money spent keeping a cull. I have insisted on keeping (to my husbands frustration) my pet dogs that I’ve had since before we met, they really don’t do anything other than shed hair on our bed, but we have agreed that any dogs coming in now MUST work. It is just not fair to us, our dogs, or the new dog that doesn’t step up to scratch.

 

Now before I go any further, I am not criticizing those who sell their pups/ dogs/ breeding, or “only†show, or don't hunt their dogs, I am not trying to offend or piss anyone off, and the written word can be easily misconstrued. I am just bringing this topic up out of curiosity more than anything. Hunting/ working is not for everyone. Period. If someone is not into working, but has a working breed, here is my opinion. In a perfect world, there would be no show dogs, there would be only working dogs who HAPPEN to spend a few days in the show ring. But as the world is not as I envision it (imagine that!), the reality is different. The non-hunting show people are there to keep the breed records and dogs “pureâ€; the working people are there to work the dogs. The working people have a duty to report back to the show people which dogs and lines are workers and which are crap (assuming they are raised properly of course), and the show people have a duty to breed those dogs/lines that have passed the true test, and cull the non-working lines who have failed. Yes I know there are genetic issues and while the show people care about them, many working people don’t because they are looking for tangible success found in the results of working. That’s another issue for later though!

 

I can completely agree with the statement about free dogs, some people only hear "free" and figure it is "no big deal" if the dog doesn't work out, don't bother taking it to the vet, etc. But a lot people value the animal, no matter the price tag. Now when I say free, I feel that SOMETHING should be paid or returned. A hundred bucks, an incredible meal out, a promise (that is then kept!) of a future dog or breeding, something! If a stud fee was paid, split the stud fee plus expenses amongst the pups sold.

 

In my bigmouthed opinion, it is one thing if someone wants a Fen/Desert dog and is going to be making some decent money with matching their dogs, professional pest control where they earn their living, selling pictures/books/another product, or even if someone just want a "Saluki" (or whatever breed) either to breed their own (for profit of course), or just so they can say they have one. It is completely different (to me, anyway) for someone who truly wants one for their own use, no profit involved.

 

Without even considering the cost of a pup and shipping, it takes hours of work, each and every day to prepare a pup for an active future in the field. It takes a heck of a lot more time and effort to ready a working dog than it does a show dog or pet. Exceptional food (flesh/ fats/ veg etc), 2-3X daily walks out, interaction with the other dogs, stock breaking to all sorts of “off limit†animals (chickens, goats, sheep, cattle, housecats etc), retrieve sessions, jumping fences, nail clipping, recall, human and vet interaction, house / kennel training, basic obedience, the list goes on and on. A working dog has such a varied life, much more so than the average pet or show dog. That is a reality.

 

Like many of you, our lives rotate around the dogs. We have been fortunate with them, we are willing to spend the time, energy and money to feed and care for the ones that we have, but it takes a lot of all 3 of those things! And that's before including the cost of a pup/shipping/etc. We have been even more fortunate in our friends that we have not had to pay for any of the pups we have had, but we would return the favor at any time IF we chose to breed or let one of our dogs jump a friend's bitch, for working stock anyway! We have a friend who had some dogs stolen and he has a standing offer from us to have whatever he wants from us if we breed a litter.

 

We have friends from all over the US and UK who come to stay at our home, hunt our quarry, with our dogs and sometimes their own, so I guess that is a small way to pass on our favors.

 

I just cringe when I think of getting a pup ("free" or paid ANY amount for), raise it up properly (as listed above), nurture it, be attached to it, pour thousands of hours of training/ conditioning into it, only for it to run into a tree or across a buried harrow on its first "grown up" course. Just think of adding a thousand dollar (or double, or times ten!) price tag to that same pup. No less "heartbreaking" but my wallet would be weeping as well.