Price of a puppy?

[Alex C.]

What is a 'FAIR' price for a pup? I've contacted some breeders I found from the abc and they range quite a bit ($650-$1200). What has everyone paid? I was initially going to pay $300 for Brandi, but in the end got her for free.

 

[GoCougs]

What is a 'FAIR' price for a pup? I've contacted some breeders I found from the abc and they range quite a bit ($650-$1200). What has everyone paid? I was initially going to pay $300 for Brandi, but in the end got her for free.

Well, it's hard to say really. It really depends on where you live, and the breeders in your area. Some parts of the country are more expensive than others.

For example: The price range you listed sounds about average for pet quality puppies. The low end of your range is low for my area, the high end of your range is about the low end for most show quality pups around here.

 

[SILLY6PAK]

For example: The price range you listed sounds about average for pet quality puppies. The low end of your range is low for my area, the high end of your range is about the low end for most show quality pups around here.

same in my area. The only two I got less than $100.00 were Rex and Piper. Both rescues.

 

[SandyHG55654]

Well I paid practically nothing for Dozer but it was at Christmas time and I got him out of the newspaper. :eek: When we got Diesel we found prices ranged anywhere from $1,000- $2,000 for reputable bred pups. The lower end for pet quality and the high end for show puppies.

 

[Alex C.]

Brandi was from a BYB who is my friend, but since I helped him place the pups in good homes and gave him a ton of info from BW, he gave her to me. I also helped him get Brandi's mom spayed.

I believe my area is cheaper than out East. The lower price was for limited registration, spay/neuter contract. The other HAD to be for show/breeding rights. I hope not to offend anyone, but I think its outrageous to pay $1000-$2000 or more for a puppy. Then, as Angie35 says, you have to add $200-$300 for shipping or going out to pickup the pup. In the paper here, they sell them from $300-$600, but they are definitely BYB's and I won't do that anymore. Brandi's parents are 3 & 5yrs old and healthy, but you never know what can happen.

 

[Ranvan]

This is one of my "pet peeves." The better pups don't always cost as much as the high end pups.

Down the road from me is a breeder who has bred many champions and shows his dogs. I have tallked with a few breeders in Michigan that also show their dogs and are members of our Boxer Club. All of them were willing to sell me a pup at $800.

Yet down the road a little farther is a "breeder" who has dogs with champions somewhere in the background. She is co-owner of a dog that is shown...not her breeding line. And she sells pups for $1200, $1800, and even $2000. No kidding. She has a website with lots of info and quite a bit of spin. I have heard that she even had a billboard for awhile. Her dogs look okay, but they are way overpriced. But guess what...she sells them. Seems most go to the Chicago area where they expect to pay more. (When I was looking, she had a one year old female to be rehomed she was going to sell me for only $200. I was suspicious because she sold her pups for so much more).

And yet on the east side of the state is a breeder (mentioned in another thread of mine) who does no showing, has dogs that supposedly have a champion or two in the background, and many have "show potential." But she sells "black boxers." She sells hers for $1500 - $2000. She is the reason I think that more warning should be given regarding breeders with websites.

Now, whom would you rather buy from?

BTW, I paid $150 for my white one seven years ago and $200 for my nine month old (at the time) brindle back in February of this year. The white had many champions in her lines but was white. The brindle..who knows? I even suspect that some unknown breed may be in her line giving her a bit of a longer muzzle. (But yes, she is a wonderful dog...couldn't have asked for much better).

So, it comes down to the research you do. I would suggest starting with the state Boxer club. Ask as many breeders as you can if they have pups, and even if they don't...what would they sell them for. This will give you a good idea.

Of course, you could also give an older one a home. He or she may come from less than desirable background, but as a pet, he or she may be far superior to a "show quality" pup. And the price will probably be alot less.

 

[SandyHG55654]

I hope not to offend anyone, but I think its outrageous to pay $1000-$2000 or more for a puppy.

So, it comes down to the research you do. I would suggest starting with the state Boxer club. Ask as many breeders as you can if they have pups, and even if they don't...what would they sell them for. This will give you a good idea.

Firstly i'd like to say i'm not offended that I paid that type of price for my dog. Or that you think it's outragous. Remember I live in California where the cost of everything is high. And in actuality I think that price is very fair for a reputable bred dog from health tested parents.

As far as researching goes I did exactly what Ranvan said I started at My local Boxer club who gave me a list of reputable breeders. I called and e-mailed and looked through their web sites and asked a million questions, went and looked at puppies, narrowing it down to those who did the apropriate health testing.

BYB or newspaper puppies are going for $300-$500 for un-papered "Purebred" Boxer pups. AKC/BYB Registered are going for $600-$900 in the newspaper.

What I found was out of a list of about 12 breeders given to me by the Boxer club. Most well known kennels for this area 8 offered no health testing at all just a health check, and ACK registered, some had health guarantees, some didn't but none were for over 30 days or so. Out of those the prices were $800-$1000 for a pet quality pup. Show pups for $1200-$1400 For no testing! So basically to me they are Kennels who are BYB's and sell pups at high prices :(

So looking at that, why not pay a little more for piece of mind?

Out of the 4 breeders I found who did health testing some did in various degrees. Some tested hips and thyroid but not heart or eyes... and so on. Most had no pus available and had extensive waiting lists. We ended up getting Diesel from a breeder who tested for everything but hips. They said they hadn't had that problem in their lines at all and we took that chance because they had one pup left and after searching for what seemed like forever we snatched him up. I don't regret spending a penny extra on the cost of my dog. But to each his own and that is my story and my opinion. Good luck in your search.

 

[GoCougs]

The lower price was for limited registration, spay/neuter contract. The other HAD to be for show/breeding rights.

I sincerely hope you mean, the lower price is for pet quality pups, who they only allow limited registration. It is against AKC rules for breeders to base their prices on the registration of dogs.

I hope not to offend anyone, but I think its outrageous to pay $1000-$2000 or more for a puppy.

You get what you pay for. It costs significantly more to be a responsible breeder. A BYB need to only put two dogs together and wait until the puppies arive. Being a responsible breeder involves alot of health testing, vet visits to monitor the pregnancy, vet visits and medication for the puppies, etc. The job is exponentially more expensive, and that is why they cost more.

This is one of my "pet peeves." The better pups don't always cost as much as the high end pups.

Certainly not. There are plenty of breeders who charge for the name on the hood, so to speak.

I have tallked with a few breeders in Michigan that also show their dogs and are members of our Boxer Club. All of them were willing to sell me a pup at $800.

Fellow club members do tend to cut eachother better deals than the average person off of the street. Why? Because you can be fairly certain your dogs go to good homes, and will be shown (if they are show dogs). Many times that is more important than money.

And yet on the east side of the state is a breeder (mentioned in another thread of mine) who does no showing, has dogs that supposedly have a champion or two in the background, and many have "show potential." But she sells "black boxers." She sells hers for $1500 - $2000.

She's selling something that doesn't exist. People will pay more for something they think is "rare". That's what keep these kinds of BYB in business. They've figured this out.

As far as having "champions in the lines," that's an old BYB racket as well. That means absolutely nothing without health testing, matching it with the right mate, etc.. Plenty of champions have turned out bad offspring. Plenty of champions have inheritable health issues that aren't detectable in a show ring. Being a champion doesn't immediately qualify a dog as good breeding stock, nor does is make their puppies special because of it.

Of course, you could also give an older one a home. He or she may come from less than desirable background, but as a pet, he or she may be far superior to a "show quality" pup. And the price will probably be alot less.

Rescue a boxer!!!

 

[Poetic_thing]

I hope not to offend anyone, but I think its outrageous to pay $1000-$2000 or more for a puppy.

No offense taken here, but let me just say this - my first boxer was $350 from a BYB, over the course of 18 months we spent around $15,000 on medication, vet visits, blood work and food because she at almost 4 1/2 she was diagnosed with Chronic Renal Failure. We chose to do what we could for her as long as her quality of life was there. She never made it to 6 years old. My next two were from reputable breeders who did all the appropriate health testing and had healthy lines. As my DH has always said about MANY things, "You can pay more now or you can pay a whole lot more later". Having gone through my first experience with Dakota I can say I never want to ever have to go through that again and I don't wish it on anyone. A healthy boxer is worth more than anything to me and I will always go that route.

 

[Darbysmom1]

you have no idea what it cost to produce a litter of puppies if you care and do all the right testing, stud fee, care for the bitch and puppies, the cost of showing the parents till they are finished. I think $1,000 is in no way a crazy amount even for a pet quality you will find byb selling there dogs for 200-300 because they have not done health testing, finished there dogs in the ring or spent the extra time and money to find a quality stud for their bitch. They spend about 50 bucks on shots and tail docking and call it good. It makes me so sad when I have have friends that say I dont want to rescue I want a puppy ( our rescue has 6 puppies up for adoption right now 8 weeks old ), it is only a pet there is no way I am spending more then $200. You cant help me find a pet for that price and I tell them no! At the rescue we only charge the fees we pay on a dog to get them fixed, up to date on shots and wormed. most our adoption fees are around 200 just for that. In my area the normal for a good show prospect is $2,000. That is around meaning some are more some are less.