The cost of puppies these days - Page 1

I was on another site today and I think that 1800.00 limited registration is high. Maybe Im just out of the loop but is that the going rate these days? The average for me is 1500.00 full registration from titled parents (not necessarily sch 2 or better but some title) and certified hips and elbows. We are in a recession.

So what is the going rate?

depends.

from my kennel, SchH3, fh sired litter with schH1 dam, hips, elbows, full reg 1500 usd. Pet contract (1200 usd)

Non titled mother, same sire, proven breeding 1200 usd, $ 800 pet contract.
 So yes your price idea is about right.

good luck searching for your new dog..

Pack

1800 for limited is high unless dad or mom is VA.

Seems high.  I remember recently I saw a Siberian Husky listed at 3,000 and I even considered emailing the idiots.  Just basic pets for parents, no show ratings, no sled pulling, no OFAs or health tests, but hey a suckers born every minute.

GSDPACK,

What does pet contract mean?

Thanks
Ibrahim

$1800 for a limited registration seems high to me. You should get a full registration for that amount and the parents should at least be OFA good or better and titled. 

For a pet, you'd pay anywhere from $600 - $1200, although the parents ought to be significantly better dogs at the high end of the range, that is, they should have titles and look like fantastic dogs. And they should be OFA'd fair or better.

But people charge what the market will bear and the OP will no doubt be getting some PMs about pups for sale from various breeders who have puppies now. Recession or not, some people still have money and some of them will spend more than they need to to get a good dog.

If you are ordering a puppy from Germany, I couldn't tell you what it would cost since I haven't looked at the exchange rates lately.

Pet contract usually means the owner won't be breeding the dog. It could say the dog must be spayed/'neutered at the appropriate age or that the breeder must be contacted first to change the registration type if the new owner decides to show and breed the dog. I think AKC still allows a limited to full registration change. For a fee, of course.

Can someone explain the purpose of having two prices?  I can see if a pup is unsuitable to breed, yes  than selling it on a spay neuter contract makes sense.  However, to sell a good pup, for more money for breeding, but the same pup for less on a limited registration  to a pet buyer, - what does this serve except to make the breeder more money off of other breeders?  and to make us pet owners spay or neuter our pets to get a more reasonable price.
Or is that how it works? 

I don't know, because I stay away from breeders with two prices.  Just curious.

Red Sable,  not every puppy in a litter is a promising prospect for show or work. So you can have different prices for pups in the same litter.  If a breeder is selling the same pup for different prices based on the registration type - yep, you got it. $$$  There is usually a clause in that contract that says if the puppy is unsuitable for show or breeding, it can be exchanged for another pup. Most pet buyers, of course, become attached to the pup and won't want to exchange a healthy 8 month old male with one undescended testicle (just to take an example of what can go wrong physically), so they won't invoke the clause. You can still work that dog in SchH or any AKC performance event. You just can't show him and expect to even place. It's a showring disqualification.

Breeders, OTOH, may very well want a different pup or dog if they had planned on showing him in the showring as well as participating in performance events. But a breeder isn't likely to take a puppy with one undescended testicle to begin with, so this happens more when a very promising pup doesn't turn out to be the perfect physical specimen they expected.

I don't breed. I just sometimes hang around with people who do.

Thanks Sam1427,

One more question, how much does limited registration/full registration cost? If a buyer does not need registration then that amount can be deducted from puppy price, is that correct?

Thanks
Ibrahim

You're welcome, Ibrahim.

The way it works with AKC is first the breeder registers the entire litter soon after they are born. I think I saw that AKC recently changed this cost, but can't remember what it is now.  The AKC processes the litter registration and sends the breeder the registration forms, one for each puppy.  The buyer then gets a form to send in to the AKC with either a limited or full registration (different box checked) and I believe that costs $20.00 now.  Yes, you'd think the price would be lower if the litter and the puppies aren't registered. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. People in the USA who like purebred dogs have become accustomed to getting AKC "papers" (it's one sheet) for a puppy and expect it. So breeders usually give you the paper and it's up to you whether you send it in to the AKC or not. The price of registration is small compared to the price you pay for a pup.

If you neglect to send the registration form in within a year after getting the puppy, you can still do a late registration but there's a $35 penalty in addition to the registration fee. They like to keep their statistics current.

You can look up all the regulations at the AKC site: 
http://www.akc.org    Just do a search on registration once you are on the AKC site and find the FAQ.

Regards,
Sam