How much did you pay for your dog?

Question

There have been a few questions recently about how much should be paid for a dog. I've noticed that the prices some people think are normal, other people think are outrageous.

So I ask:

1. Where did you get your dog? (breeder? petstore? shelter? etc.)

2. What breed is your dog?

3. For what purpose did you get the dog? (pet? show? agility? obedience? hunting? working? etc.)

4. How much did you pay for the dog?

5. Do you think it was a fair price?

Feel free to additional details if you wish.

Please no "thumbs down" if you don't agree with where someone got their dog, some people prefer shelters, some people prefer breeders. This question isn't about your preference on where to get a dog at.

(A similar question was done on Dogster a while back, there were people who had both shelter or free dogs along with several-thousand dollar show dogs. So no one should look down on others just because they paid or didn't pay a certain amount for their dogs.)
.

1. breeder
2. papillon
3. pet & agility
4. $1000
5. Yes. Her parents both are CERF and OFA yearly. She comes from show-lines, but was sold as a companion/competition dog because she is mismarked and therefore would have a fault in the show-ring. I am happy with the price I paid.

Answer 1

I have 9 dogs and it would take too long to tell where all of them came from, so I'll just say where I got my Poodle-Terrier Brandy.

#1. An old elderly woman called me and asked if I still wanted a Poodle puppy. She told me that I can have a 2 month old white male poodle puppy for free. When I got there it wasn't that at all, it was a brown female Poodle Terrier that was 2 weeks old. Her mother was a white toy Poodle named Skipper. She had the puppies outside in the middle of winter. Skipper rejected the puppies after 2 weeks and all puppies except Brandy survived. The only reason why Brandy managed to live was because she was underneath her frozen brothers and sisters. The old lady told me that she had to lie to me because she figured I wouldn't come to get it if she told me the truth abut Brandy's age, breed and gender.
I took Brandy home in a cardboard box, and gave her a bath in the sink as soon as I got home because she smelled awful.

#2 I knew that the mother was a purebred Toy Poodle, and I suspected that the father was a brown Benji looking Terrier mix that lived near by where the old lady lived. Brandy had his exact same markings. I didn't see any other dog that looked like that where the old lady lived.

#3 Just to be an indoor pet.

#4 $0.00

#5 YES

As Brandy grew into an adult dog, I gave her a haircut. There was white fur underneath the brown fur. I cut the brown fur, and it never grew back. The white hair just white longer.
Brandy is about 11 years old now.

My other 8 dogs are Wolf Hybrids and German Shepherds. They all have detailed stories too, so it would be waaaay to long for me to write each one. :)

These are videos of Brandy taken this summer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjWNArzHkKI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BxkB-AjqVw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mgyGK3qdRk

Answer 2

The prices now are about 950 USD, but below is what I paid 10+ years ago:

1. Breeder

2. Tervueren (Belgian Shepherd)

3. Family dog, obedience and guard dog

4. 570 USD + I signed a contract that I would have her hips x-rayed between the age of 12-24 months, and show her at least once after the age of 12 months.

5. I thought the price was fair. The breeder is one of the best in my country, have top-notch dogs and produces an average of 1 litter every two years.
Also, several money-back guarantees were included in the contract, and the breeders were very supportive - they helped me show the dog, I could call them anytime if I had a questions or needed advice etc. We became friends and still have regular contact after all these years.

Answer 3

I have 2 dogs of my own, and currently a foster but I won't count him since he's not technically staying....
1- Both have come from shelters
2- Both are purebreds- ones and English Bulldog, the other is a Komondor
3- Pets, therapy work
4- Nothing for the bulldog, I work at the shelter he came into
$60 for the Komondor, from a neighboring shelter to have him neutered and up to date on all shots
5- I believe it was a wonderful price

I strongly believe in adopting when you can. There are always tons of purebred dogs in shelters for various reasons. If you're specifically looking for one breed or some trait I have no problem with working with a good breeder though.

Answer 4

1 & 2. I got my female lab mix from the humane society, and the male lab/shepherd mix from the city pound.
3. Mostly for pets. The female was a gift since I really wanted a dog. The male I adopted because he would have been euthanized the next day, and I couldn't let that happen. He wasn't even a year old. Since I've gotten them, both have gone through obedience (my female was my 4-H show dog), and they are certified Canine Good Citizens.
4. The humane society charged $50, but that's probably gone up since I adopted her (12 years ago). The male didn't cost me anything because I was working for the city at the time, and they knew I'd give him a good home. If he'd have gone to someone that wasn't working at that place, he would have cost about $100.
5. Absolutely.

Reverend Ron, I work at a shelter. Trust me, not all shelters are evil.

Answer 5

1. Breeder
2. Saint Bernard
3. Working and breeding
4. a) 950.00 b) 1600.00 c) 1100.00 I own three
5) a) yes a steal b) not sure yet. c) got ripped off kept the dog as pet, breeder wanted to put her down. Bad hips, spayed.
Whenever you purchase a dog its a gamble. You will never know how a dog can change as it grows. With giant breeds you have more risk IMO. My last litter was many years ago. I wont be breeding again until the end of 2008 (ONLY) if all goes well.
I also have a male Lab neutered that was donated to me by the Lupus Foundation, a Peke spayed I got from a breeder for my grandchild for 650.00 and a Mutt neutered free.

Answer 6

My dogs are all imported from Europe and are working dogs, first and foremost. They range between 12-18 months in age and are mostly the Belgian Malinois breed, although there has been the very occasional shepherd as well as labs in there. They come from a breeder that I have been dealing with for over 20 years and they cost, depending on the level of training they have in them when they get here, anywhere from $4.000 up to $12.000.
I understand that some people will think these are crazy prices to pay for a dog, but, these are working dogs and well worth the money.
On the rare occasion that I have purchased a puppy, I have paid about $3.000 for a male and much less for a female.
Hope I have helped!!

Answer 7

It varies.
Most of my chihuahuas came from breeders. I paid $500 or less for each of them. Some were simply puppies from the original dogs. The price was fair or I would not have bought them.

I have a few dogs from a shelter situation. The most I paid for one of them was $175. No, he wasn't worth that, but they were going to kill him. He's happy, but will never be healthy because they neutered him too early. He has severe hip issues. He was very ill when we got him, and sometimes I do wonder if he would have been better off not going through what he has. He cost a lot more than the original $175 that I paid to bail him out of death row when you add his medical bills on to it.

Answer 8

My first dog was free. The people who had her were taking her back to the humane society to be put down as she bit her children when they pulled her tail. It's been almost 10 years now since we rescued her and she's a wonderful sheltie/border collie cross. She still doesn't care for children but she does tolerate them and hasn't bitten any since we've had her. Of course, we don't let them pull her tail either.

Two years ago we bought a Yorkie pup from a friend who is a breeder. He's purebred, registered and we paid $600.00 for him. Seemed like a lot of money but I had fallen in love with him while puppysitting he and his brother for a week. He's so funny and gets along well with the other dog. They have a little run and play everynight and seems to have given the older one a new lease on life. I'll probably get another Yorkie from my friend when the older one passes so he won't be all alone.

Answer 9

I think I've answered this before.

Dogs in my house at the moment:
Adult female Bernese- gift from a friend as a thank you for handling the b*tch's father. Show, work etc... Basically several thousand in handling fees exchanged for the b*tch, we're both happy with the arrangement.

2 9 mos old Bernese- pups from the adult. Multiple thousands of $$ in stud fee, vet care etc... sold 4 sibling for $1800 each and didn't even come close to breaking even. Working dogs, perhaps show dogs. Both are being trained as Service Dogs, I had the male at Oktoberfest this last weekend and *I* am impressed.

Male Samoyed pup 10 mos. $1400 + a ton of assistance through years of friendship. Breeder was offered $2500 for him, I got him due to the assistance rendered through years and years of friendship and co-breeding. Strangely enough, neither of us would have thought I would ask for a pup from THIS part of the pedigree... Showdog.. and he's worth every penny and then some.

Answer 10

I haven't paid for a Siberian for a long time (20 years of showing gets you a pretty big network of friends!), so I'll base my answer on my last Dachshund (now 9 months old).

1. Longtime Breeder-Friend

2. Dachshund (Standard Longhair)

3. Show, maybe some Earthdog, household-vermin hunting. :)

4. $1000

5. Yup. He was the result of a frozen-semen breeding to the now-deceased sire of my first Dachshund (who is now 11 years old). The sire was a Dual Champion with an Earthdog Title and a CDX, and one of the most beautiful Dachshunds I've ever seen. My first Dachshund (his son) finished his Championship from the puppy class, and was a Group Placer/Specialty Winner...in addition, he's just one of the coolest dudes to grace a couch.

Point is, I would have paid more.