Re: [PyrNet-L] Pyr puppy prices

[BirdBugg <BirdBugg@aol.com>]

In a message dated 3/25/98 1:21:51 AM Pacific Standard Time, dgg@startext.net
writes:

<< Prices vary a lot from region to region in the country, and of course
 big-name kennels charge a lot more. Because one dog cost $2,000 and another
 $500 or even less doesn't reflect at all on the quality of the dog. >>

Thanks Darrell, 

That was another point that I wanted to say something about and forgot.
Anybody can charge the "going rate" for their puppies.  And if you think about
it the BYB'ers (who are "in it for the money")are going to charge what the
market will bear.  So believing that just because you are paying $800+  for a
pup, your dog will be of the "BEST" quality is truly putting your head in the
sand.

I know, because I made the breeder mistake.  I can't say whether the breeder
was a BYB or not, but I can say that just as breeders can get all the right
answers from a puppy buyer so can a buyer get all the right answers from a
breeder.  The dog I bought was sold without papers or contract(didn't even
know there was such a thing for dogs then) for $250.  This was 6 years ago and
I didn't know any different.  But she gave me a great story and lots of info
that sounded right.  Supposedly the reason the pup was so cheap was it was
"pet quality" with no papers, oh and she was selling it for someone else who
had to go back East for a family emergency.  This didn't matter to me as I did
not intend to show, and knew that I intended to get her spayed.  Well now I
know better, but as they say hindsight is 20/20 <G>.  

But my point is, even though she said that the pups were normally sold for
$800, this did not make them great dogs.  I have a better idea how to find a
breeder now, but as I said, anyone who knows what you want to hear can give
you the right answers.  And If I were a BYB and people would pay $1000 for my
pyr, of course I am going to charge that because after all, I am in it for the
money right?

Right or wrong, some people are going to charge more and some will charge
less.  Some will go by per person basis.  But to simply state that all "good"
pyrs should sell for $800 or more, is restricting pet ownership to the few
that can afford the initial outlay.  I personally would rather spend my money
ON the dog then FOR the dog.  I feel like I take pretty good care of my pets.
I get them spayed or neutered (Gambit was the first one I didn't because I was
going to show him, but I don't think I will now, so he will be going in as
soon as the breeder gives the ok), I buy them the best food that works for
them, I buy them good collars and leashes, they don't need a dog house cause
they are inside dogs, but I buy them beds, and their own blankets (brand new).
They are all current on Vaccinations and when they need medical care they get
that too.

It doesn't matter to me that I "only" spent $250 on Echo, It is my
responsibility to take care of her and I do.  But I do know that if she had
cost more than that we wouldn't have been able to get her and she would be
with someone else, maybe someone better, but quite possibly someone worse, and
with her temperment problem, she could very well have been put to sleep by now
if she had been with anyone else.

Sandy