Bob's Dog Blog

Okay, here it is for those of you who are curious, confused or not sure as to how a live animal is priced for placement in a home.  This is my philosophy based on years of experience and may be quite in variance with those of other breeders who may feel that a pup who is nine weeks old should be given away.

THE PRICE OF A PURE BRED PUP IS BASED ON THE FOLLOWING FACTORS:

1. THE PUP’S HEALTH, NERVES AND TEMPERAMENT

2. THE PUP’S CONFORMATION, OR CORRECT TYPE

3. THE PUP’S PEDIGREE

4. THE PUP’S TRAINING

5. THE BREEDER’S INTEGRITY

There it is. If you have a pup with numbers 1-3 in great shape, then you get a pup in the mid to high level of price.  Remember, this is all relative to the quality of numbers 1-3. If the pedigree is poor or unknown, the price goes down. If the pup’s conformation is off, such as an overbite, the price goes down. If the pup has thin nerves, the price is dropped.

Now, let’s go on to number 4. Here is the truth. When you purchase a pup at eight weeks of age, that pup knows just about nothing. There is no way a pup who has just been weaned knows much or can do much. That is up to you. You do the socializing, obedience, crate training, etc. Those of you who have done this, know how much time is involved in this process. Now, if the breeder also trains the pup after eight weeks of age, then the value of the animal goes up, not down, relative to the amount of training, etc that is done. Now, just exactly why would the value drop if the breeder is raising the abilities of the pup? I don’t know either.

TRAINING AND IMPRINTING A YOUNG PUP IN THE BASICS OF OBEDIENCE, CRATING, NERVE NEUTRALIZATION AND OTHER SOCIALIZATION ACTIVITIES RAISES THE ABILITY, SKILL AND COMPATABLILITY OF THE PUP, THUS RAISING ITS VALUE TO A POTENTIAL OWNER.

Only a very dull person (i.e. an idiot) will not understand this.   A typical puppy obedience class costs between $250 and $400 with a competent trainer.  In home training is between $50 and $100 per hour.

Pups are not used VCRs. They are living, breathing, wonderful companions.  However, a value must be placed for the purpose of proper exchange with the breeder for his valuable experience, time, know how and actual training on the pup. By the way, a breeder who won’t or can’t train his own puppies is worthless as a breeder, much less as a dog owner.

Which brings me to Number 5.

Best,

Bob