Price of puppies

[Jukebag]

Can't be doing with all this virus fear mongering and social distancing (or anti social distancing as there's nothing social about it) as it's just playing on the gullible public and bringing in these new abnormal's.

I have noticed certain breeds have shot up in price. I was on a site the other day looking at puppies and a breeder put £3000 for Dascshund pups lol. Since when have Dascshunds been 3 grand? must have been a typo. We bought a rough collie about 8 years ago from a well established breeder (though I dont think this breeder is around anymore as there's no mention anywhere on the dogs site ive been on) and we paid £700. Before we settled on one we considering a St Bernard and was ready to buy a pup for about a grand. Looking back I'm glad we didn't.

[Lotobear]

Norgles said:

Lakeland Terrier?

[The Moose]

I know this will get the PETA types hassling me, but I would suggest you stump up the cash for the right puppy.

There are so many unknowns with rescues that it’s just too big of a risk when having young kids around. Despite what you think, most dogs don’t come with the full story.

[The Dictator]

We bought a Boxer puppy from a very well off family who lived on a farm and clearly did not require the money. He was £650.

When he died a few months before he was 10. I contact the family to let them know. Purely by chance their daughter's bh had recently had a litter, only the second litter they had had in the last 10 years.

It turned out the litter had been born the same day we had to put Bengal to sleep, about 3hrs afterwards. The vet had told them to expect 5 puppies and they got 6, ours was the last one born. We had no choice really other than to call him Phoenix.

10 years on the price had increased from £650 to £1400!! By the time we realised the price, we had fallen in love.

We have 2 young children, so knowing the back story was the only thing that really made us not take on a rescue.

I think next time, we will certainly consider it, as hopefully by that point the children will be teenagers.

[Algarve]

you can get puppies from rescue places if anyones concerned about history, or lack of it. You can also get older dogs with known history (owner emigrated, died or so on)

we've got this 4 month old pup at our shelter, he's reserved but stuck here until his new family can come get him:


Since he's got a home to go to I decided best to bring him to my house:




Found at 2 months old so a complete blank slate as far as behaviour goes. By the time he goes to his new owner he'll be fully house trained, and well socialised. And won't cost anything at all.

If anyones determined they want a specific breed then of course go get one from a good breeder, but don't write off shelters if your only concern is not knowing the history of the dog. Many will have something suitable

[moorx]

Algarve said:

you can get puppies from rescue places if anyones concerned about history, or lack of it. You can also get older dogs with known history (owner emigrated, died or so on)

we've got this 4 month old pup at our shelter, he's reserved but stuck here until his new family can come get him:


Since he's got a home to go to I decided best to bring him to my house:




Found at 2 months old so a complete blank slate as far as behaviour goes. By the time he goes to his new owner he'll be fully house trained, and well socialised. And won't cost anything at all.

If anyones determined they want a specific breed then of course go get one from a good breeder, but don't write off shelters if your only concern is not knowing the history of the dog. Many will have something suitable

He's gorgeous - what amazing markings!

[Superleg48]

The Moose said:

I know this will get the PETA types hassling me, but I would suggest you stump up the cash for the right puppy.

There are so many unknowns with rescues that it’s just too big of a risk when having young kids around. Despite what you think, most dogs don’t come with the full story.

At the risk of conforming to expected type, this statement is just not accurate and sweeping in its generalisations. Do your homework on the rescue centre and as many are, the best ones will have a pretty good idea of the animals they have and their suitability for specific environments.

Puppies From breeders do not magically become perfect child friendly dogs. Any dog, whether sourced from a breeder or a rescue centre will quite simply become a product of its environment. The behaviours of the people that interact with them determine the shape of their own behaviours. 9 times out of 10 if a dog displays any behaviours of concern, there will be some human interaction that has fostered that issue.

I firmly believe, through considerable experience in dog ownership sourced from both breeders and rescues, over 40 years that there is no such thing as a dog born bad. Sadly, too many people have dogs and really have no idea what their are doing and wonder why the dog won’t “fit” into their environment. This is one of the key reasons we find so many rescue centres and so many dogs cast off. Thank god they exist, for the sake of the poor animals that find themselves there, through no fault of their own.

[Algarve]

Superleg48 said:

Do your homework on the rescue centre and as many are, the best ones will have a pretty good idea of the animals they have and their suitability for specific environments.

Theres some bad shelters out there but they're mostly good. Do your research on the shelter first and then let them help you choose a dog would be my suggestion.

We get a lot of people in trying to choose dogs on looks/size alone. But who cares whether your dog is 15kg or 29kg or whether he's got cool spots or just plain orange. So we end up needing to try and steer people towards dogs that are a far better lifestyle/personality fit than one that they like the look of

Shelters don't want failed adoptions, its awful for everyone concerned. Its upsetting for the dog to be homed then come back. So they will generally try their hardest to match people up with a suitable dog. We don't want to see them again

From my experience of dealing with other shelters they've mostly been the same... we want to match up dogs and not have them returned. if we don't have anything suitable, we'll tell you rather than palm you off on one thats nearly what you wanted

[300sl-24]

Try doodleaid https://www.doodleaid.com/ for a rescue they are really good.

Just collected these two last week








They are brother and sister just over a year old. The donation was £200 each

Edited by 300sl-24 on Monday 6th July 22:45

[The Moose]

Superleg48 said:

The Moose said:

I know this will get the PETA types hassling me, but I would suggest you stump up the cash for the right puppy.

There are so many unknowns with rescues that it’s just too big of a risk when having young kids around. Despite what you think, most dogs don’t come with the full story.

At the risk of conforming to expected type,

I don't mind people disagreeing with me - the PETA types are those who threaten to kill me and my wife for daring to suggest our children's lives come above our pets or something equally insane!

Superleg48 said:

this statement is just not accurate and sweeping in its generalisations. Do your homework on the rescue centre and as many are, the best ones will have a pretty good idea of the animals they have and their suitability for specific environments.

The problem I have with dog rescues is that they are only able to work on the best information they have. Crap in = crap out.

People say as little as possible when giving a dog up to save face. I know of a dog that was being 'advertised' (sorry, can't think of a better word) by a reputable UK rescue operation as great with kids and great with cats. I happen to know the reason the dog was up for adoption was that it kept biting the original owners' children and it didn't seem to like cats! Obviously this is a single situation, but if I know of one like this there must be thousands of others!

Superleg48 said:

Puppies From breeders do not magically become perfect child friendly dogs. Any dog, whether sourced from a breeder or a rescue centre will quite simply become a product of its environment. The behaviours of the people that interact with them determine the shape of their own behaviours. 9 times out of 10 if a dog displays any behaviours of concern, there will be some human interaction that has fostered that issue.

I completely agree with you

Superleg48 said:

I firmly believe, through considerable experience in dog ownership sourced from both breeders and rescues, over 40 years that there is no such thing as a dog born bad.

I completely agree with you here also. I think some dogs are more prone to 'bad' behavior, or for want of a better description, have a shorter tether.

Superleg48 said:

Sadly, too many people have dogs and really have no idea what their are doing and wonder why the dog won’t “fit” into their environment.

Agreed.

Superleg48 said:

This is one of the key reasons we find so many rescue centres and so many dogs cast off. Thank god they exist, for the sake of the poor animals that find themselves there, through no fault of their own.

Agreed.

I have nothing against rescue dogs or the rescues themselves. Many are doing their best to stop animals getting needlessly killed which is absolutely nothing but a great thing. However I strongly believe that rescue dogs should NOT go into a home with young or vulnerable children. We very nearly adopted our latest dog - we had even selected the dog.

We were on our third hour long visit with this amazing dog. We had done a couple of nice walks, played, given load of treats, done the home check etc. We were just having a last chill-out session in their staged living room area and I got a phone call. Picture me reaching into my right pocket with my right hand and put the phone against my left ear so my arm went across the front of my chest. As I raised the phone to my ear, the dog showed serious signs of aggression towards me. The helper from the rescue center was as shocked as I was as no one had seen that before.

We could only guess that she had been hit with a backhand strike multiple times by the previous owner. So incredibly sad, but as we were trying to get pregnant at the time there's no possible way I could risk that reaction when my child/ren were growing up.

I still feel sad when I think back to it as I don't know what happened to the dog. It was de-listed before we got home and probably ended up being destroyed. So terribly sad to think I was responsible for that, but at the same time I won't risk my family. She would have been great for a single adult, or adult couple who knew what behavior to avoid. Kids, not so much.

We ended up buying a puppy (breed doesn't matter but he's a lab). I spoke with probably 25 breeders until I was happy with the one we ended up buying from. Working with her was the best decision. We have now become friends and will actually stay with them on our road trip later this year. We will also work with them when we start our own breeding program in a couple of years time.

I appreciate the civilized response to my comment, thank you.

[Superleg48]

The Moose said:

Agreed.

I have nothing against rescue dogs or the rescues themselves. Many are doing their best to stop animals getting needlessly killed which is absolutely nothing but a great thing. However I strongly believe that rescue dogs should NOT go into a home with young or vulnerable children. .

I completely understand why you have expressed this belief and your broader explanation supports why you hold this belief. I think your experience is highly unusual though and the reaction of the staff at the time, suggests that it even surprised them. You are right, something will have happened to the dog in the past, where your movements triggered what was most likely fear aggression. As you rightly observe, this is not the fault of the dog, but sadly meant it was not suitable for you.

I do feel though that there is absolutely no reason at all why rescue dogs should not be considered for homes with children. There are many many stories, ourselves included, where we have homes rescue dogs with children in the environment with absolutely no issues.

Most reputable rescues actually don’t pay much credence to what the previous owners say, many dogs of course are found abandoned or in poor conditions where they get zero information. What they do is spend some considerable time with the dogs, interacting with them, testing their social skills, both with hoomans and other animals, and so forth to form their own opinions. So what they describe about the dog is often their own first hand experience of it.

Furthermore, good Rescues will take the time to vet the potential owner, encourage introductory and accustomisation visits (think I just made that word up) before releasing the dog, for the very reason your unfortunate experience highlights.

Sadly, there are bad rescues that are less interested in the dog than they should be, but they are very rare. Similarly, there are bad breeders (puppy farms etc) who are also not interested in the dog. There are more of these than bad rescues though. It is a minefield.

[The Moose]

Superleg48 said:

It is a minefield.

I think this is one thing that everyone can agree on!

[gl20]

Reading with interest as we’ve been trying to get a dog... from a rescue centre (many centres in fact)... and getting nowhere.

I knowNy people on here are recommending them but have they tried since COVID Or basing on previous experience? I suspect that because of breeder prices and the general increased demand since lockdown it is now much harder to get a rescued dog than before.

Each time we see one that may be a good match we have to reapply and every time ‘sorry, it’s already reserved’ within minutes.

We’re now at the point of thinking we just wait until they get flooded with dogs who have been dumped by people treating lockdown like Christmas.

FWIW we were thinking Trailhound or greyhound or lurcher. Besides being a better match I’d have thought they’d be less popular but it’s not making any difference.

[BoggoStump]

try Rescue Remedies.

Also i found many rescue centres through instagram, if you find Rescue Remedies on insta, and see who they follow, they follow other rescue places, which if you look at who their following you can find more and so on so on.. they tend to be ones that are much smaller than the bigger names.

[GT03ROB]

gl20 said:

Reading with interest as we’ve been trying to get a dog... from a rescue centre (many centres in fact)... and getting nowhere.

I knowNy people on here are recommending them but have they tried since COVID Or basing on previous experience? I suspect that because of breeder prices and the general increased demand since lockdown it is now much harder to get a rescued dog than before.

Each time we see one that may be a good match we have to reapply and every time ‘sorry, it’s already reserved’ within minutes.

We’re now at the point of thinking we just wait until they get flooded with dogs who have been dumped by people treating lockdown like Christmas.

FWIW we were thinking Trailhound or greyhound or lurcher. Besides being a better match I’d have thought they’d be less popular but it’s not making any difference.

If you are struggling in the UK take a look at some of the overseas places. Look at this thread

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

There area number of places helping with dogs from Romania & Cyprus

[Djtemeka]

Labradoodle, cockapoo etc are all just mongrels. Why people pay so much for them I don’t know :P
Seriously hahahaha.

1-2k on a mongrel....

[Pit Pony]

The Moose said:

I know this will get the PETA types hassling me, but I would suggest you stump up the cash for the right puppy.

There are so many unknowns with rescues that it’s just too big of a risk when having young kids around. Despite what you think, most dogs don’t come with the full story.

My sister in law got a lovely dog from a rescue last year, primarily for her autistic son, but also as a friend to their rescued greyhound.

It had belonged to an old lady, who'd gone into a care home, and is proper nice.

The particular rescue, were very sensitive to the needs of the new owner. Some rescues, like the RSPCA in my humble opinion, just pretend to give a st.

[Unknown_User]

gl20 said:

Reading with interest as we’ve been trying to get a dog... from a rescue centre (many centres in fact)... and getting nowhere.

I knowNy people on here are recommending them but have they tried since COVID Or basing on previous experience? I suspect that because of breeder prices and the general increased demand since lockdown it is now much harder to get a rescued dog than before.

Each time we see one that may be a good match we have to reapply and every time ‘sorry, it’s already reserved’ within minutes.

We’re now at the point of thinking we just wait until they get flooded with dogs who have been dumped by people treating lockdown like Christmas.

FWIW we were thinking Trailhound or greyhound or lurcher. Besides being a better match I’d have thought they’d be less popular but it’s not making any difference.

Please take a look at the Rescue Boggo mentioned;

https://www.rescueremediesdogrescue.co.uk/viewforu...

They are all volunteers and are very busy at the moment, so please be patient. They do some exceptional work and have some truly wonderful dogs.

[300sl-24]

gl20 said:

Reading with interest as we’ve been trying to get a dog... from a rescue centre (many centres in fact)... and getting nowhere.

I knowNy people on here are recommending them but have they tried since COVID Or basing on previous experience? I suspect that because of breeder prices and the general increased demand since lockdown it is now much harder to get a rescued dog than before.

Each time we see one that may be a good match we have to reapply and every time ‘sorry, it’s already reserved’ within minutes.

We’re now at the point of thinking we just wait until they get flooded with dogs who have been dumped by people treating lockdown like Christmas.

FWIW we were thinking Trailhound or greyhound or lurcher. Besides being a better match I’d have thought they’d be less popular but it’s not making any difference.

I got the two pictured above last week. I applied for a different dog a couple of weeks previously and they did a home check via Facetime to check the garden etc. We were in the final two but lost out because the winner's house had access to a field at the back so the owner decided to let them have the dog.

These two came up and we applied again already having had the checks done and were successful. A 700 mile round trip from Essex to Berwick upon Tweed in my S211 and they were home.

Just keep applying because they think once people start going back to work more dogs will become available. These dogs have rocketed for puppies now normally £2k plus which is down to greedy breeders hiking the prices up,many after a lower price has been agreed and a deposit taken from the buyer. Please do not pay these prices it is nothing but sharp practice!

Edited by 300sl-24 on Thursday 9th July 08:07

[Mezzanine]

I know someone who is looking to adopt a dog at the moment. They have spoken to several rehoming places who have said their ‘stock’ levels are very low because people have seen the price of puppies are so high that, rather than give up their dog, they are selling them on for money instead.

Obviously less dogs in rehoming shelters is a ‘good’ thing on the face of it but you worry who these dogs end up with and how they get treated.

We have been looking at rehoming for a while and whilst I completely understand why certain places have quite restrictive policies to who they rehome to, it can get pretty frustrating when you know you can give a dog a better life than what they have had.