Price of a hunting dog?

I don't know what my max would be, but I'm not going to pay more for a specific color, i.e. "silver."
 
I think a well bred dog with health clearances would be at least 1K the price would go up to closer to 2K if the sire/dam are titled. If the breeder has large dogs such as labs which notoriously have big litters then I imagine a profit can be made but for breeds like mine (cockers) where 4-6 pups is the norm then it is doubtful much of a profit can be made assuming the breeder does everything right. I speak from experience on this.
 
A5 Sweet 16 said:
There's no doubt people who make a living breeding dogs the right way need to be paid...a lot (to me). They've got costs to cover just like anyone else & deserve to make a profit on top of it. Part of my issue is that my WIFE knows you can get a really quality dog for a lot less than pro breeder price. Don't get me wrong. If I absolutely HAD to pay $3,000 for a great dog, I would. Luckily, I don't have to & can apply the difference to braces, cars, college, musical instruments, & other awesome stuff, like cases of bismuth (since 16 ga tungsten-matrix got discontinued). I know, "Who cares what they cost?" is said somewhat tongue-in-cheek. But the same very valid logic put forth by Gatzby and others above could be used for shotguns, trucks, clothing, & all the other gear a pheasant hunter wants to own. It all adds up. It's interesting to see where people's priorities lie. (Recall, I'm hunting only - no tests/trials or breeding. If I were doing those other things, maybe my price point would be vastly different.)
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I could care less what a shotgun cost also. If I want it I buy it. Now gasoline, taxes, and insurance, that is something to complain about. That is money just thrown away.
 
westksbowhunter said:
I could care less what a shotgun cost also. If I want it I buy it. Now gasoline, taxes, and insurance, that is something to complain about. That is money just thrown away.
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Who's complaining? You apparently either have so much money that it's not an object, or you don't mind going into debt in order to hunt. So I guess I'm either happy for you, or sad for you.
 
A5 Sweet 16 said:
Who's complaining? You apparently either have so much money that it's not an object, or you don't mind going into debt in order to hunt. So I guess I'm either happy for you, or sad for you.
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Well I have no debt and don't own a credit card. Besides who mentioned "complaining" about hunting? Feeling guilty?
 
Now I know you retriever guys are loaded with $$. :D
 
westksbowhunter said:
Besides who mentioned "complaining" about hunting? Feeling guilty?
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What?!?! Has exactly zip to do with my comment. You insinuated I was complaining about the cost of a dog. Nope. Simply pointing out that cost DOES matter to some of us. Happy for you that you can apparently buy any dog, gun, etc. you want. Great job.
 
wow, sounds like what i paid about 8 years ago is considered a rescue dog compared to you guys! not sure what the going rate is for the breeder I went to but at the time it was 800 for a male brit lab pup, I'm assuming the females hit 1k
 
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My newest Dog a lab was around 1200.00. My older one was 800.00. The thing I’d throw out there is it is very confusing for an occasional dog buyer to know exactly what to be looking for. Titles are confusing and often disputed especially APLA stuff. On my next dog which is a ways out I’m going to pick the brain of guys like Gatzby if he has the time for it. I’m going to hit some field trials as a spectator to refresh what these titles mean. I hunted with my neighbors lab who is an unregistered rescue lab named Piper, that is one Rooster finding/pointing lab, price was the adoption fee. I never have that kind of luck nor would I step that far out of the box for fear of dissappointment if it didn’t work out.
 
Everyone who said the cost of the dog is just the initial investment is spot on. Lots of factors go into costs of hunting dogs. The best dog I ever owned I paid 250 dollars for in 2004. An english setter. Everything you could possibly want in a dog. I paid 1000 for one of my vizslas and sold her pups for 1200. Sire was heavily titled. I could have charged more but didn't feel comfortable doing so because im not a breeder just a hunter who wanted pups from a certain 2 dogs. One is going to be a house pet. And people pay ungodly amounts for toy dogs and dogs that are just going to be pets. So paying less for a dog that hunts is a good deal in my book.
 
PTM said:
My newest Dog a lab was around 1200.00. My older one was 800.00. The thing I’d throw out there is it is very confusing for an occasional dog buyer to know exactly what to be looking for. Titles are confusing and often disputed especially APLA stuff. On my next dog which is a ways out I’m going to pick the brain of guys like Gatzby if he has the time for it. I’m going to hit some field trials as a spectator to refresh what these titles mean. I hunted with my neighbors lab who is an unregistered rescue lab named Piper, that is one Rooster finding/pointing lab, price was the adoption fee. I never have that kind of luck nor would I step that far out of the box for fear of dissappointment if it didn’t work out.
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Anytime I’m glad to help. It’s likely the Master National will be in the St. Cloud area in 2020. 1500+/- of the best Retreivers in the nation will be there. Great opportunity to check out a lot of dogs.
 
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