Dog price questions

MinnHunter said:
I know. It sucks. Im getting older quick and I dont have any time to waste on a bad dog so I spent more to lessen the risk.
Its entirely likely this is my last gun dog. My Pudelpointer was around $1300 9 years ago and she been a so so dog but with great hunting instincts.
My last Golden lived 15 years and did everything well. Lost her two years ago. We really wanted another Golden but I needed one that was also a serious hunter and they are hard to come by. Especially within driving distance. Here's a pick from Aug at 7 months. She's solid, athletic and smart.
Not a 10 out of 10 but at least a solid 8 in the brains dept. And not hyper. Right now is not her proudest moment as she's laying on my foot in a diaper........
Click to expand...
Good looking dog1 "Not a 10 out of 10." Can you amplify on this for us? Where does the dog fall short?
 
jonnyB said:
That's the highest I've seen for a field Golden...wonder why the return? Where do you train your dog?
Click to expand...
I tried to send you a private msg but I guess that isn't an option here. I don't want to say anything that may sound negative about the breeder because they have a class operation. I took mine to pine creek kennels for two weeks of bird/gun intro just to get her in front of a lot of birds young. Otherwise I train my own dogs. I took her to a game farm yesterday. I did my own thing but didn't have the best luck planting birds. One flew out of my hands! Lol My golden was HOT on their scent. Very encouraging. She tracked and flushed 3 but 2 got clean away. It was snowing pretty hard while we were there. Marks well and was on top of downed birds but tears into live birds instead of retrieve. A work in progress. Not unlike my last golden I am not expecting too much at her age. I could be wrong but goldens seem to mature slower and I don't have the option of getting her lots of bird experience quickly. Takes me longer than many but I'll get there eventually. I suppose I'm at a disadvantage doing it myself but I enjoy it and am able to produce a dog that does what I want, when I want, with my commands regardless if they follow all traditional standards.
 
Last edited:
jonnyB said:
Good looking dog1 "Not a 10 out of 10." Can you amplify on this for us? Where does the dog fall short?
Click to expand...
I Guage all goldens (all dogs for that matter) by the first one in our family. My older brother got one when I was a boy and that dog was brilliant. Shes been gone almost 40 years and everyone that knew her still talks about her. Because of that dog i have always leaned towards goldens. We've all known dogs that had almost human like intelligence and I call them 10/10. I've yet to own one and probably never will but I am perfectly content with an 8. My pointer is more like a 5 or 6 on good day lol but her instincts carry her the rest of the way as a hunter. I've had 4 of my own dogs and all had a sweet disposition which is enough for me. I've had one dud. Sickly, couldn't swim and didn't hunt. A golden and very first dog. She only made it 6 years. We lost her to epilepsy.
 
Last edited:
MinnHunter said:
I tried to send you a private msg but I guess that isn't an option here. I don't want to say anything that may sound negative about the breeder because they have a class operation. I took mine to pine creek kennels for two weeks of bird/gun intro just to get her in front of a lot of birds young. Otherwise I train my own dogs. I took her to a game farm yesterday. I did my own thing but didn't have the best luck planting birds. One flew out of my hands! Lol My golden was HOT on their scent. Very encouraging. She tracked and flushed 3 but 2 got clean away. It was snowing pretty hard while we were there. Marks well and was on top of downed birds but tears into live birds instead of retrieve. A work in progress. Not unlike my last golden I am not expecting too much at her age. I could be wrong but goldens seem to mature slower and I don't have the option of getting her lots of bird experience quickly. Takes me longer than many but I'll get there eventually. I suppose I'm at a disadvantage doing it myself but I enjoy it and am able to produce a dog that does what I want, when I want, with my commands regardless if they follow all traditional standards.
Click to expand...
Thanks MN hunter...good report. Looking back, the key to developing my "hunting machine" (nephew's term) is lots of bird contact/hunting. He's 10 and still going strong!

"He tears into live birds"...not sure what is meant by that phrase.

Your litter's pedigree has some fine dogs in it's background; I wish you well with yours. If you want some help planting birds, give a holler.

Jon
 
That is a sharp looking pup.
 
Prices on dogs will always be debated, especially on forums like this. You can find a "good" dog in lots of places. "Good" is what you perceive as good. Standards that put your dog against others is where the increase in money comes from. Proven health, retrieving standards, hunt tests, etc all point to consistent dogs. I am amazed at what people will pay for a Golden Doodle or Lab a Doodle. I will never apologize for the price I charge when they get that much or more for a dog that isn't even recognized as a breed. By the way, I just put another person on my waiting list this morning. Good breeders will have waiting lists of people that is a good indicator that they have been doing it for a while and that they have happy customers. Good luck with the new pup! I suggest you go and see it before you pick it up. Spend time with the litter so you know what the tempermaents of the pups are like.
 
EricB--Good advice from Alaskan Swamp Collies and GoldenBoy on page 1 of this thread. If you indicated, I missed it, but my first question would be--what type of hunting will you do, mostly, with this dog? In 1990, I bought our first dog, a beautiful Golden, for $350 as a pup. He was wonderful--that rare combo of house dog and field dog we all look for. He had a great nose, was a terror on cripples, a fine duck/goose retriever and very obedient. That was the "pros". Cons: he picked up burrs easily, was prone to skin problems and was affected by allergies. My second dog was a Golden---same deal, only WORSE with the skin problems; would up spending $3,500 at the Purdue University vet center; he died too young. I'll skip the half-truths and BS told to me by several breeders and say that you need to be VERY CAREFUL in picking a pup and breeder. And with a started dog--I'd never buy one of those without seeing him actually hunt first.
My current yellow Lab is 15 months and has now hunted a full season; we shot a couple dozen roosters and about the same number of ducks over him. He's going to be fine. I paid $850 for him as a pup. Spent $750/month for 2 1/2 months with the breeder/trainer. Well worth it. Few things worthwhile come "cheap". CAVEAT EMPTOR and good luck!
 
Wolfchief said:
EricB--Good advice from Alaskan Swamp Collies and GoldenBoy on page 1 of this thread. If you indicated, I missed it, but my first question would be--what type of hunting will you do, mostly, with this dog? In 1990, I bought our first dog, a beautiful Golden, for $350 as a pup. He was wonderful--that rare combo of house dog and field dog we all look for. He had a great nose, was a terror on cripples, a fine duck/goose retriever and very obedient. That was the "pros". Cons: he picked up burrs easily, was prone to skin problems and was affected by allergies. My second dog was a Golden---same deal, only WORSE with the skin problems; would up spending $3,500 at the Purdue University vet center; he died too young. I'll skip the half-truths and BS told to me by several breeders and say that you need to be VERY CAREFUL in picking a pup and breeder. And with a started dog--I'd never buy one of those without seeing him actually hunt first.
My current yellow Lab is 15 months and has now hunted a full season; we shot a couple dozen roosters and about the same number of ducks over him. He's going to be fine. I paid $850 for him as a pup. Spent $750/month for 2 1/2 months with the breeder/trainer. Well worth it. Few things worthwhile come "cheap". CAVEAT EMPTOR and good luck!
Click to expand...
Thanks Wolfchief. I did listen and found a solid breeder that hunts his Goldens. Also got recommendations from owners of other pups from the line. It hurt some to part with the amount she cost but the parents grandparents, great grandparents, etc., all have certs on hips, eyes, etc.
 
One of the reasons that Goldens are so expensive now is that a lot of the field dogs are being used in agility, which they excel at. We do both with our Goldens and are extremely competitive routinely beating the border collies. A lot of agility people are looking for field Goldens now, I have friends that have been looking for the right pup for 2 years and money is not an issue. Now if I could just find the right female for my male. I had a breeding planned 2 years ago and we had 12 people on a waiting list in a couple weeks, no one asked the price. Alas the litter didn't happen. So enjoy your pup.
 
Never paid for a dog. Of the two labs I have One is gunshy (yellow lab) and a family dog. One is not (black lab). Both from accidental litters. Both instances dogs chose me and I got them through Craigslist and a friend of a friend. No regrets.
 
Seems like the price of dogs in general has went up, seems like Lab pups from health tested litters with Master Hunter titles are teetering around 1500 bucks around here. Never tried pricing a Golden but I would think they’d be a little more just because they aren’t as common. I’ve went with started dogs the last couple of times and then had additional training put on them and then been training with a Pro the last couple of years. I remember thinking I was paying a premium until I saw the level of work it takes to train a dog to a high level. My wife doesn’t believe me but I can assure you a reputable dog trainer job is out there working his ass off and earning every dime, same goes for a reputable breeder.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top