the cost of a good workingline prospect - Page 4

kkr gsd2 Your right. The prices I mainly were talking about were not imports but dogs already here.

The weak dollar is certainly a factor if you're shopping for an import.  The Euro is so much stronger than the dollar right now that any dog's price (in Euros) is artificially inflated simply because of the currency exchange rate.  Even the Canadian dollar is very strong compared to the greenback, so buying dogs and paying in Loonies is also going to be stiff. 

To add insult to injury, the high cost of oil is jacking up some shippers costs due to fuel surcharges. 

It's a good time to be shopping for dogs in the US.  Sucks if you're set on going overseas. 

Yvette

Slade

You just proved with your elequent words, why a 6-8 month old dog is higher in price than an 8 week old pup.  As you have put it, not all puppies coming out of any dog are going to be excellent.  That is why you are going to pay exceedingly more for a dog that more can be guaranteed.  That doesn't even get into the imprinting and training.  I will leave that out, but the fact that I will know more about the said dog is worth the price.

Now as to the training, what are you talking about?  Of course most helpers are, for a lack of a better word, free.  What does that matter?  Do you honestly think that someone who starts a dog in tracking, builds a dogs drive and works on things like focus, grips, etc should not be payed in any way?  Again, what does the helper fees have to do with anything?  Last time I checked most people had to drive a ways to get to the club.  Unless the club is at your property, the helpers usually don't make house calls.  Are the prices of gas and someone's time worth nothing?  And please do not forget that I have to buy beer for after training.  It is a staple of quality training!

Maybe were just lucky cause in a cause in a 80 mi. radius we have more helpers than we know what to do with.An other than gas it doesnt cost a thing cause we all have something to offer one another.I was wrong to think that everyone has it this easy or thinks the way we do around here.I never said a good dog was cheap but 3k to 5k  for a 6-8 dog thats in the us is a little to much. 

Good point about having training fields and helper right around the corner. By the time most people (experienced trainer/handlers)  feel a young dog has the abilities and drives needed for the sport (or not) they have already put a LOT of miles on that dog (at $3.50/gal.) paid helper fees, health and maintenance costs (maybe a few costly vet bills)... basically invested a lot of time and money in that young dog.

Sure, occasionally I can pick up a nice, sound, well-bred prospect cheap, in a case where the owner is experiencing hardship or lifestyle changes that prevents them from keeping their dog, so I can pass the savings on to a buyer, but that is the exception, NOT the rule!  Chances are even then that prospect is not going to be right up the street from my house, and I am going to have to invest my own time and money transporting, caring for, continuing training with the dog, advertising it for sale, particularly expensive if the dog is imported from abroad. (Hello $1200+ for shipping alone) I figure I spend about $100./mo. to bring a young dog along. It adds up fast.

SS

Appreciate all the opinions and feedback, including those who have pm'd me. Many have pointed out expenses I never really thought about like shots, vetting and x-rays. I do have a 6 month old prospect in mind right now but didn't mention it earlier because I wanted feedback on prices in general, and not just on one dog. The young pup is an import, so expect shipping to be through the roof.

bump

friend just bought a very nice male for urban search and rescue, very hight drive. environmentaly sound, started in baby agility, nice hunt and bite work. from eurosport k9. email me privately and i will give you the price. prelim hips and elbows. videos on web site.

check out their videos

This is for all the breeders and every one else who like to brag that the pupy parents have titles.hate to tell you this but there are no scintific prove that just because parents have titles that means the puppy is godd or he will have titles too.but it is a scientificaly proven fact that the genetics play a huge role.in other words Zidane tom leefdalhof or troll or fero ro mink they all would have produce still the same iif they did not have any titles.just some thing for the intelligent minds to play with.have a nice one.thanks.

Held

That is very true, but how do I know that Fero is a good dog?  I am in a different country and I am not going to fly to Germany to go test a dog that I heard is fabulous.  Besides, if it wasn't for their track records, they wouldn't have been use like they were and nobody would have heard of them.

One thing you have to consider, is the fact that these dogs aren't all used because they won any or numerous championships.  Yes, Tom won the WUSV, but those dogs are used heavily because they are proven producers.    Go to the vom banholz site and watch some of the videos of the dogs you mentioned.  To me, a couple of the dogs you mentioned are good performers, but not excellent.  Their merits are more in the production of offspring.

I agree with you that a title does not make the dog, but the dog makes the title, NO?  The only problem is that it is all we have to go on besides someone's opinion of an unknown dog.  I don't know if it was this thread, but I stated that the best dog to ever live probably was a house pet.  A dog that slipped through the cracks and didn't go to a working home where he could get titled and nobody ever heard of him.