[DallasBiff]

Never had a dog from a breeder. First dog I remember when was I was a kid was visiting my aunt's house and the neighbor down the road had a sign advertising "puppies for sale", my brothers and I begged to buy one, the cost was $20, best dog ever, of course my mom took the dog to the vet, to check the health and get shots for the dog.

Ever since my pets were either strays or shelter pets, all great.

Don't understand paying up to $5,000 for a pure breed dog.

Discuss and flame away.

[gundog]

I taught my free Staffordshire Terrier...yeah. pit bull...to retrieve ducks.

I saw a sign on a ‘phone pole, the other day; “Labrador puppies, $900 “

[ponygirl]

I don’t understand why people are paying $1,500 - $2,500 for mixed breed dogs that can’t even be registered. Labradoodles, Golden Doodles, Schnoodles, Puggles, Chugs, Bugs, etc.

[Verginius Rufus]

We never learned how much Charlie Brown (or his parents) paid for Snoopy at the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm.

[chrisinoc]

I agree.

Look at these dogs at the rescue I volunteer for. At least half of them are pure bred (without papers) German shepherds and can be adopted for a minimum donation of $495.

https://www.gsroc.org/available-dogs/

[samadams2000]

Don’t pay to play unless you want a purebred. And then your breeder dictates the price and any commitments -yes- in the future. If not buyer beware and enjoy your dog.

[Hatteras]

The last time we tried to adopt a dog, you would have thought we were adopting a kid. They wanted vet files on any past pets, they wanted to visit and inspect the house (fence required) and they required everybody, including the kids (one away at college at the time) to be all available for interviews when they visited. And they wanted $300 for the poor little mutt. I told them to KMA.

[GenXPolymath]

I have had Beagles for at least 20 years now, we have a small pack of hunting Beagles, there are full size two are 10” aka minis all of them are AKC the full sizes are $1800 each the minis are $2000 every one is worth every penny. The words people are searching for is disposable income. Not every one is poor’s. My buddy Bry has a $20,000 Frenchie why because his last one died at 7 and he wanted another one. At his income level 20k is a month or less of income he didn’t even blink at the cost he wanted Rufus and he bought him. Pure breeds are for people who can afford them it’s that simple no need to get all deep in the minutia of it. Want a cheap dog go to the pound have your heart set on something then you will pay for it.

[kosciusko51]

I’ve owned 3 purebred dogs as an adult: 2 boxers and a French bulldog. Paid between $300 and $900. Since we fixed them, we never paid to register them.

I like purebred dogs due to issues with mixed breeds as a kid. The Boxer and Frenchy behaviors are well known. YMMV

[cgbg]

Our best dog ever was free.

A co-worker of my wife was getting married—and his fiance told him no marriage unless he got rid of the dog.

This was kinda a last minute thing—he was panicking—and so we took the two year old pure bred Springer Spaniel off his hands—and he got the Karen.

We definitely got the better deal.

Lol.

[EinNYC]

Most of my cats, for a 50 year history, have been rescues. And loved to pieces. Then, in 1992, I saw a giant cat all the way over on the opposite side of Madison Square Garden, during a cat show. I made my way over, under and around the massive crowd until I was face to face with this magnificent feline. "What kind of cat is this?" I asked. "It's a Maine Coon cat," was the reply. I had just lost my cat Vanilla to old age a few days before. I asked if I could pet this giant boy, and told the breeder I had not petted any other cats at the show (show etiquette to avoid spreading disease). "Sure!" was the reply. I petted this giant head and was rewarded with a purr that could have knocked me backward. From that moment on, I knew my next cat was going to be a Maine Coon. And has been the situation ever since. My current Dandi is my third Coon.

Why buy from a (reputable) breeder? Because certain breeds, including Coons, may be from lines known to carry a couple of genetic diseases. It's much better to get a Coon from a breeder who responsibly tests for and eliminates carriers of the genes for these diseases from their breeding program. Why buy a future heartache? I spent 1.5 years looking for a breeder who met my criteria: tested for genetic diseases, raised underfoot, showed their cats (proving they were not afraid to compare their cats to peers), and were not simply "backyard breeders", who were far more common than I ever thought. I found such a breeder, really quite an eminent one, and spent a delightful afternoon with a litter of 7 adorable babies. Their father was a quadruple grand champion. She knew I wanted a tortie and white, and this litter had the unbelievable number of 3! She knew I wanted the one with symmetrical markings, and that's the one I joyfully brought home when she was old enough. The breeder and I still keep up.

[ThisLittleLightofMine]

Ok, flame away. I have only met one breeder who wasn’t insane. But again I live in the Pacific NW.

[Varda]

You sound like my Dad. He said something like that years ago.
The truth was dogs weren't a big part of his life so paying for one seemed like nonsense to him...at that time. Later my mom bought an Alaskan Malamute. She fit their lives and was a joy to them. I was surprised when she passed that he bought a burial plot at a pet cemetery so they could visit it. Seemed like full circle.
I only have purebreds at the moment. They are a big part of our lives and we travel around participating in dog sports and events. At the end of the day, I look into the beautiful faces and enjoy the personalities which fit mine. And that's the big thing. I know what I'm getting and it's suits me and my family.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Depends on what you need.

If you want a pooch who will be happy to see you when you get home and play a little fetch a mutt is fine.

If you want a working dog that is quite a different thing.

We went for a pure bred from a good breeder because we need certain traits in our farm dogs and we also do not want certain things. Training can only take you so far.

If you have children you might want to avoid certain breeds. If you have other pets you might want to avoid certain breeds.

[Roos_Girl]

I’ve owned German Shorthaired Pointers for 25+ years. One bitch I got from a reputable breeder and we ended up showing her and having 1 litter of puppies. The national GSP club and AKC has a list of recommended genetic and other tests, and of course we did all of those to help prevent that disease or condition in the future of the breed. The shows, the traveling, the tests, the vet bills, the time I put in to research, enrichment for the puppies to help them through fear periods, temperment testing, etc, etc, etc. It was common practice to sell each puppy for the amount of the stud fee, which at the time was $1500. She had a litter of 8 puppies. I kept a male and female. I didn’t break even with the sale of the other 6. I don’t know of a reputable breeder that can make a profit selling puppies. Some people who wanted a puppy but thought the price was too high and wanted me to come down on it I wouldn’t sell to. The purchase price of a well-bred puppy, from a reputable breeder, is a drop in the bucket to what an owner will spend on a dog over its lifetime.

[Dr. Franklin]

Don't understand paying up to $5,000 for a pure breed dog.

In general, I agree with you. However, if someone wants a dog for a specific purpose, such as for use on a farm herding or protecting sheep, or maybe for hunting, it may be wise to pay some money for a breed known to be good at that job. If I wanted a dog to protect a herd of sheep from wolves and coyotes, I wouldn't want a stray dog from the pound. We had a mutt and then picked up a stray that was a bird dog. The mutt barked at cars, and the bird dog barked at birds and chased them if they were in the yard. The mutt couldn't understand why the other dog was barking at nothing. The genes do matter for specific tasks.

[Buttons12]

Yes, $5k for a purebred pup is not unusual. But we have horse breeders in my clan and the prices for those babies are exponentially more insane.

[Organic Panic]

I have three purebread setter. All free from hunters and breeders. It is crazy people pay for dogs....

[Georgia Girl 2]

We don’t need a breeder. Our last two dogs, A pure bred Beagle and a purebred Chihuahua showed up abandoned on our street and saw the invisible sign in our yard that says “limp up this driveway to a life of luxury” Best two dogs we ever had. 😏

[Tijeras_Slim]

I had two dogs bought from breeders. Both Basenjis (those don’t just show up at shelters) but they were not “show quality” but smart great dogs. All my cats have been rescues. The latest wandered out of the woods ( why the coyotes didn’t get her is a mystery) about the size of a softball curled up. That was 17 years ago and she’s still going like gangbusters.

[Irenic]

Seems it’s worth to the buyer. It’s what they want/value, for a price they’re willing to pay. No skin off my nose.

I don’t understand what some people pay for clothes, cars, sports. They understand it and it obviously means something to them.

There are many pure-bred dogs at animal control and in shelters (I don’t like some shelters because they gouge) I’ve had 4 Boxers from animal control—awesome pups. Boxers are my breed, something about them that just works for me and I’ve had many types of dogs. Now it’s Boxers.

Some people sneer but sometimes I would like to show them what my dear pups were when they joined our family. Purebreds have a right to be here just as much as a mutt. People have a right to spend stupidly if that’s what they like and desire and it doesn’t hurt their family.