Prices on "green" young adult females - Page 4

mfh27, I agree.

Mfh27 I also agree on your post. If a dog is average for workability it's not breed quality so price should = pet price or less for the added time for training, housebreaking, & socializing an adult dog.
A young green dog $2,000 - $3,500 if it has great drives, temperament, health, & pedigree.
Young adult with excellent training / titled / proven producer = $4,500 & up

I don't mind paying for quality in a dog, training, etc.. but I won't pay for young adult without the drives, temperament, health, & pedigree, I look for in a dog.
If any of those are missing I see an adult green dog almost as a rescue price at that point. Not that it needs to be rescued, but can get a nice green adult dog in any rescue for less than $500 for a pet.
Shelters & GSD rescues are filled with young green dogs or train adults, that don't have the drives to work so can't qualify for their working programs. They are placed as pets for rescue prices.
Most of my young trained adults are donated to needy agencies, so I have a different mind set than most about young green dogs though.

Heiko, yes, you misunderstood me. Those behaviors that people attribute to "undersocialization," to me, just mean the dog doesn't have the temperament I want in the first place. "Socialization" is another one of those words that means something different to everyone. I have never gone out of my way to "socialize" my dogs, by the popular opinion of the definition of the word. When I have to do that or else they become neurotic freaks, I'll quit breeding. 


mfh, why are we back to talking about average dogs w/average prey drive, family companions, etc.? This was a thread about BREEDING QUALITY FEMALES or BREEDING PROSPECTS and the prices we'd expect to pay.  The qualities I mentioned are not up for interpretation. If a dog doesn't have proper temperament, excellent physical attributes (structure, pigment, bone, etc.), excellent health, stability and workablility, then it's not a breeding prospect, and therefore not what we were discussing. 

And your comment about breeders wanting money for something they didn't invest much time or money into shows a little bit of ignorance or unawareness as to what it actually takes to produce NICE puppies-not just puppies, but NICE puppies. I have a lot of respect for breeders who really try to do things right. How about the initial investment of breeding stock of true quality? How about the time that goes into researching (not to mention costs of travel to see prospective studs) the correct pairing? How about training fees they may pay? How about fees they may pay to get a buyer a video made of a certain pup/dog working? This stuff isn't "free." Stud fees, time spent w/pups observing, testing, imprinting, hours upon hours spent talking to prospective puppy buyers via phone and email, and as the pups get older, if you're keeping some back to sell green or started, they become more work as they age and you have associated costs from that also. This is why few breeders make a living off of selling dogs. I don't see how you could make any money if you do it right, honestly. If breeding was an hourly job.....oh my...pennies an hour maybe, lol. 

Would most of you agree that, as I used to try to explain to buyers when I was in real estate, what someone paid for a house/dog doesn't matter, nor does it have any bearing on its current worth/value? What if you stumble upon a diamond ring on the sidewalk? You can't find its owner so you sell it? Is it worthless because you found it and didn't "pay much" for it? Of course not; how you acquired it is immaterial.  You pay someone for things you are unwilling or unable to do yourself; these are services. The value of any commodity or service is based on what someone will pay for it, and the people who do a lot of homework on dogs and have a lot riding on the dogs they end up purchasing want a "sure thing," not a crapshoot, and therefore they are willing (mostly- at least those responding to this thread) to pay for the fact that they know what they're getting; it's right in front of them, it will not likely change, the dog is healthy, sound (physically and mentally) and all the puppy stuff has already been done. Lots of people don't want to deal with puppies and therefore are happy to pay more than puppy price. 

I have a nice bitch I'm selling right now that 99% of people would breed- I keep going back and forth about it- but there are just a few nitpicky things I don't like well enough and therefore I'm not selling this dog at the same price I think a breeding quality bitch should go for. 

This is the dog that will answer all your questions.  Indoor/outdoor dog I named kazbeck  http://www.youtube.com/user/kazbeckful 

Hi Jenni78, if your undecieded on the female your selling price then try the lowest end for a normal young green quality breed female / hightest end for a young green working line dog.
Which is normally around $1,500 - $3,000. Adjust the price range depending on the dog's workability, health, pedigree, structure, & training level.
If she is high in most area's = higher end of the price range, moderate in most area's = moderately price within that range, or lacking in any area / more than one are = lower end of the price range.

Target her gifts for working in a certain area; herding / agility / SAR / detection / schutzhund / therapy, then video tape her being tested in the given area to provid to the sellers. Proof is in the work more people would be willing to take her more seriously other than for just breeding her. Plus she'll find a home where she'll be happy doing what she loves.  


  

Thanks, cphudson, that's what I'm working on. I'm taking her to a trainer tomorrow to help me get some video of her and evaluate her for a few things that are hard to do by myself. My 2yr old son is simply not reliable at taking direction, lol. I do think she would make an excellent herding dog. She shows far more natural inclination than just about any other GSD I've ever had. I was considering breeding her to a working farm dog I co-own because I have quite a list of interested parties on pups out of that dog. I have been unable to find a bitch thus far to really complement his abilities w/out going way overboard on the prey drive. This bitch is more moderate and easier to control. 

I know I'm picky and a lot of my hesitation is really petty- part of what I don't like about her is her eyes are kind of light. I would not breed her to a dog w/out exceptional pigment because of this. She is as black as they come, never had a white hair on her from birth on, has nice dark gums, nails, etc...but her eyes, while I think they're very pretty, bug me at the same time. 

Anyway, thanks for the input. This is something that's been nagging at me since I was selling the other one and then trying to determine a price on this current one, or whether I wanted to sell her at all. I do think I have her priced correctly, if not a little low. 

My bad Jenni, I thought this thread was about pricing the bitch you were selling that you describe as having average prey drive and better for a busy family (as oppose to a working or sport family).  You want to know, in theory, how much a breed quality bitch is.

Yeah; exactly. The responses I got on her (from "breeders") and the responses on the one I sold a while back made me really wonder what people expect to pay. Here they are, trying to give me ridiculous offers on a perfectly nice bitch, but not necessarily a breeding quality bitch, instead of sucking it up and paying a fair price on a dog that truly possesses ALL the necessary traits for breeding. It's like "breeders" who don't want to pay for what should be bred like to scoop up just ok/mediocre (and this bitch is better than mediocre, I'm just making a point) females at puppy prices and turn around and make a fortune off of them when you consider their initial investment, or lack of. I'm not against anyone making money, as I said, but make money because your product is better than the rest of what's out there- not because your initial investment was nil and you're just gouging people. JMO. 

I will put a price in the ad for the one I have for sale if the one interested party ends up not taking her home when he comes to visit. I have learned my lesson on that; bargain hunters are the only ones who seem to respond to an ad w/out a price. 

I went back and reread my posts and I see where they could be misleading. What I'm trying to say is that even though I personally don't think this female is as nice as her mom, and there are a few things about her I don't totally love from a breeding standpoint, the people who want to buy her for a breeder sure do seem to want to get off cheaply! I just don't see how they can really expect to pay those prices for a truly breedworthy animal. Lord knows, I paid a fair bit for Capri, but in all honesty, I'd buy her again and again and I don't in any way feel ripped off. I was very particular about what I wanted, it was quite a while before it appeared, and I didn't haggle on the price. She wasn't listed for sale; it was either I pay this and get what I want, or I try to save a few bucks and end up with ...........?????????

If I were shopping for a green dog, with xrays, I'd expect to pay $2000 to $3500 (working lines). Any more than that, I'd expect the dog to be about ready for a title. Less than that, and I'd suspect the dog wasn't the quality of dog (or pedigree) that I'd be interested in.

I, personally, think $3000+ for an 8 month old (male or female) is quite high and would expect the puppy to be showing himself likely to be capable of trialing/competing at a high level.

You get into the show lines, and you step up the prices significantly, of course.