puppy price - Page 1

Hello,

What is the average price of a schutzhund puppy in the US? What factors infulence higher prices (double or even triple) of other puppies?

Thanks,

Mike

 $1800 upwards 

Show or working?  I think most working pups start around $1500 or so, at least on the West Coast, and showline pups I have seen at $2k.

Before worrying so much about price, research your breeder, and then you won't be so concerned with the price, but will feel comfortable paying for the quality of the pup you buy.

There are a lot of breeders out there that aren't worth a crap that out high prices on their pups as a marketing ploy.  Do your research.

 We paid $3,000.00 for our pup.  She came from a breeder in Switzerland that also has a home in the states.  His dogs are proven breeders and several have won seiger shows.

What do you mean by a    "schutzhund puppy"    ??? Do you mean one that you wish to train and compete in the Sport of Schutzhund? Or do you mean a puppy of Schutzhund titled lines?  Or what?

Bloodlines as well as the history of the dogs in the pedigree counts for much.  Dogs who have achieved much who are up close in the pedigree make it more valuable too. If you are looking for a working Schutzhund dog, then the BSP patisipants will matter alot to you and will effect the pricing. If there are many VA dogs in a Show pedigree then that is valuable to those looking to do well in the Show ring. There are many many other factors involved including the individual aptitude of each pup in a litter. They are not all the same, nor do they have the same potential.  As far as one pup in the same litter costing 3x as much as the others sounds a little rediculous to me, as no one can guarantee that this puppy will be a BSP champion nor can they guarantee that that puppy will VA in the show ring. It is all still a gamble. If it was that easy to pick out a VA or BSP puppy then everyone would have one!

A specific breeder's reputation can also account for higher priced pups.

Hope that helps some.

Debby

Well it will be interesting to see what happens to prices in this current economic climate and considering there are a large number of people who seem to have recently jumped into the breeding arena.

I agree with KariM on both west coast prices and priorities.  It is for sure important to do your homework and not get fleeced by a  breeder who charges a ton of bucks for not much pup, if you amortize the cost of the dog over the average life span of a dog, the difference in prices of working line pups from reputable breeders  is a drop in the bucket compared to what it will cost to feed, train, club costs, gas to club, seminars, veterinary, etc..  

 I also want to say something about health guarantees.  Don't be fooled.  Especially by those who have recently been drawn to breeding because of the crazy high prices of puppies.  They think it's easy and will promise you the moon in their guarantees.  BUT what can they realistically deliver?

In the case of a pup with bad hips, most contracts offer replacement of pup with a pup the breeder determines to be of equal value.  Usually the guarantee does not extend to the replacement pup.  So what if the breeder is no good?  Even if he/she honors the terms of the contract and replaces the pup, if all he breeds is crap what are the odds your replacement pup will be any healthier than the one you began with?  What about the breeder who only has one nice bitch and a bunch of shitters?  Do you really want that guy to tell you a pup from a breeding you wouldn't have touched with a ten foot pole is as good as the one you researched?  To me, this is why it is so important to deal with a breeder with an excellent reputation and excellent stock.  If you are looking for a schutzhund sport prospect I also think it's vital to go to a breeder who actually trains and titles. 

A lot depends on the breeder you choose.  Some breeders will have select, excellent, outstanding, and/or superb-type ratings and can go $2000 to $4500+.  You may be able to find the same types of lines elsewhere for much less. 

I'd say you'll likely see ranges of $1500-$1800 for a sound, breeding-quality puppy, though some breeders we've used have now increased their prices.  Sometimes they'll do so if they've recently purchased the female, if they purchased the female pregnant, and depending on the stud used.  If they've imported the female, those are also costs that get passed onto buyers.  We've paid anywhere from $1800 to $2800 for puppies, but less when we imported.  As some other posters have said, the higher the price, the higher the risk because as a puppy, you don't know what their potential will be, if ears will go up, if hips will OFA, if the dog will be breeding quality (if that's what you want and pay for, etc.) so you don't want to pay thousands and thousands for a dog that may not be what you ultimately thought it would when you saw lines and some progeny.  Finding the right puppy can be a tricky business in many ways. 

Be sure to beware of the bells and whistles of some breeders; you pay for those.  Always look for good lines and research heavily on the web.  Comparison shopping often pays off.

What often affects the price of a puppy is how many paid ads are purchased by the breeder. Show breeders appeal to the public because their dogs are very pleasing to look at and these large, glossy ads in the magazines can be purchased with the price of one puppy per month, if the breeder is selling a puppy at $3500-5000; that is the overhead. Big show breeders produce alot of puppies. These puppy can be very well suited for show homes and a good amount of pet homes, that they appeal to.

A good working dog breeder is more concerned about their dogs receiving a rich life of things to do, and they can often be dogs with more energy and attitude than an average pet home realizes in time and commitment.

The new entrepreneur buys a male and female pups for future breedings to sell pups on someone elses accomplishments without doing the titling themselves or buys titled dogs and learns the lingo.

The looks of a big black/red gsd compared to a sable in the average pet eye, is as different as Hollywood vs the normal population. So the show breeders can charge more.

The truth is that people like to be sold, so the best salesman isn't always selling the type of dog that the buyer wants. But with lights, mirrors and promises.... it's a free-market system.

Average is between 1,000 and 1,500 for a good working line pedigreed puppy...this is our price range. We do sort puppies out as much as you can by testing  nerves, drives ball and food for the sport but no one can say this puppy will do sport  too many factors incuding the training skills of the person buying the puppy. If you buy a older green dog more of a chance still a gamble but a better percentage of getting a sport dog. That being said we have a record here of putting out a very high percent of puppies that have been titled and at a high level that is something to look for when buying from any kennel what have they produced. many of our dogs go to pet homes that could be titled which is common here in the states but as there is a shortage of working homes.  We try our best to get a puppy suitable for what the customer wants and think our prices are very reasonable coming from top proven producers. 

Marlene