What are your thoughts...

[DELTADOG]

Do you think rabbit hunting/dogs etc.. are getting to expensive. I talked to fellow a little bit ago and asked him about a dog he has for sale. Keep in mind I am not a field trailer but I think spending 1000.00 for a dog is crazy, with that kind of money someone better guarentee me killing at least 20 rabbits every time out.. I know this is our hobby and money alot of times is not an issue but is this what the future holds for us.. Is the sport turning into a rich-mans sport???

Look at duck hunting or even now squirell hunting, I know alot of times Sq. dogs are alot different then beagles but could you imagine spending 4 or 5 thousand on one dog...

Now I know I will here lip from the big time field trialers on here but, look what your are doing to our sport over simple blood-lines of the past..

[SilverZuk]

A woman I work with breeds French Bull dogs.
She just sold the last pup from a litter.
Each pup sold for $1100 a piece.

Beagles are probably the cheapest pure bred dog out there. What is sad is they have a performance expectation. All the french bull has to do is look like a french bull, eat, sleep, and breath.

As far as cost of hound, it is market driven.
If someone is willing to pay too much for a dog, have at it.
It is america.
A fool and his money will soon be parted.

I know what I want. I know what it is worth to me.
When I see it, I am willing to pay for it.
Others may be willing to pay more for the same thing. It is a matter of disposable income and percieved value.

[PREACHERS KENNEL]

there always gonna be a jockey somehwere selling dogs cheap or hunters that have grade dogs and have litters and just keep what they want give away or sell cheap,, i am a hunter and a trialer i have got into patch dog and i like them and have spent a fair amount of money getting started but now i can raise my own,..i'll sell some out for descent price sell others to frinds that like them cheaper.kinda cover my expenses..but yes they r getting higher as well as everything else !

[Honey Pot Hounds]

It depends on the dog and the client.
There is a decent market here in the northeast for pretty, athletic and well bred Beagles for PETS.
The Pet Store at The Mall of NH in Manchester, NH. sells some of the ugliest, poorly bred Beagles to anyone with a credit card for as much as I sell my health tested, "pedigreed up the ying yang" and super socialized show puppies.

You guys dealing in real hunting Beagles probably don't sell pups to a lot of suburbanite yuppies wanting to buy hunting beagles to go chase rabbits on a Saturday morning....the big spenders tend to be more in the pet dept.. Even our show friends don't want to BUY expensive puppies...usually we have to buy one or two to start out and then we just breed them or do trades/favors, whatever....

[danny vansickle]

WHEN YOU SEE A DOG SELLING FOR THOUSANDS,WHETHER ONE THOUSAND OR FOUR IT IS BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY THAT DOG HAS DONE SOMETHING MIGHTY IMPRESSIVE OR HAS THE OBVIOUS POTENTIAL TO ACCOMPLISH SOMETHING BIG.

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR AND A DOG THAT IS REALLY WORTH THOUSANDS HAS PROBABLY HAD A PRETTY PENNY PUT INTO IT WHEN YOU CONSIDER GAS TAKING THEM OUT EVERY DAY RUNNING,A PERSONS TIME IS WORTH SOMETHING FOR SURE AND THESE HIGH DOLLAR DOGS HAVE A LOT OF TIME INVESTED IN THEM OR THEY WOULDN'T BE WORTH THAT MUCH.WHEN YOU SEE A THREE HUNDRED DOLLAR DOG USUALLY IT IS YOUNG,IF IT IS OVER 3 YRS IT IS OBVIOUSLY NOT A DOMINANT TRIAL DOG UNLESS SOMEONE IS FEALING VERY GENEROUS.

I DON'T THINK A THOUSAND BUCKS FOR A DOMINANT TRIAL DOG IS TOO MUCH,THERE IS A DIFFERENCE IN A TRIAL HOUND AND AN EVERY DAY RABBIT DOG AND IF YOU DON'T AGREE YOU MUST NOT TRIAL MUCH.


PEOPLE ARE DIFFERENT,SOME PEOPLE ARE IN IT FOR THE CASH AND IF A DOG HAS A DECENT PEDIGREE THEY WANT A TON FOR IT THAT IS WHY I WILL ALWAYS TRY A DOG FIRST UNLESS I KNOW THE DOG.I HAVE SEEN DOGS OUT OF SOME OF THE BEST HOUNDS IN THE BUSSINESS AND WOULDN'T WASTE MY TIME ON THEM BUT THE NEXT GUY MAY JUST BECAUSE OF THE BREEDING,I COULD CARE LESS HOW PRETTY THEY LOOK ON THE BENCH OR WHO THEIR DADDY IS BUT FOR A TON OF CASH IT BETTER SHOW ME SOMETHING AND IF IT DOES HAVE THAT EXTRA SOMETHING I AINT AFRAID TO SPEND THE CASH.

YOU COULD PAY 200 BUCKS FOR A WELL BRED PUP AND IT STILL MAY GROW TO BE A CULL,THAT IS WHY I WOULD RATHER BUY A DOG THAT IS TRIAL READY,IT WILL COST MORE BUT TO ME WHOEVER GOT IT TO BE AS TOUGH AS IT IS HAD TO PUT TIME AND MONEY INTO IT.

[Mapel Valley Kennels LLC.]

Very seldom do i sell a dog and or pup. I would rather give 1 to a buddy or sell it at a working man price. I believe the price of dogs are off the chain , i personally have never seen or owned a dog worth 5grand.

My time is that my time , I have started several dogs but have buried most of em. I cant sell my car and charge you for the gas i have ran thru it . But time is money , but it was also a release from stress so thats worth lots to me.

I personally think and or believe as long as people are paying the price why not ask it? When people price there product at comparable price people tend think something is wrong with it. If we price things high then everybody wants it. Go figure.

The highest price thing is not gas at 2.25 a gallon its all of you drinking the bottled water. A dollar a bottle . Water is 1.00 for 16 ounces but people complain if i ask 2500.00 for a trial/hunting hound under 3 but dont forget it has to be dead broke and able to become a akc field champion and Grand rabbit champion world beater capable of producing
the next best thing. So when you call in the future and i tell you stud fee is 200.00 and pups are 300.00 , dont choke on your water.

[SilverZuk]

One question, how would be the perfect dog be worth to you?
I am talking a dog that did absolutely everything you wanted it to do better than any othe dog you have seen?
It is probably as much as you can afford.

How much would that dog be worth if you were selling it?

Also,
If you are breeding a specific type of dog, looking for specific results.
You sell pups for $250 to $500 based on the breeding. It only takes a few litters to pay for that $2500 dog you are feeding.

For a rabbit hunter, part time field trialer it is not worth it. If you own a kennel, raise and sell several litters a year, it may be worth it.

Maybe you have a large disposable income and you are willing to pay top dollar to get what you want instead of sifting through dozens of pups and waiting 4 years hoping they will turn out. It is supply and demand.
A dog that jumps a rabbit and circles are not hard to find.
I have seen some good rabbit dogs sell for $250 and less.
They were not exceptional dogs.

When you are looking at the top 5% of dogs to perform in a certain set of standards, you are going to have to break out the check book.

[DRamey]

I had a litter of Buzzsaw pups last summer for sale and couldn't get 150 out of them, so I donated one to the National WIld Turkey Federation chapter in Frankfort. It auctioned off for $500. I told them to tell anyone that wants one for a pet to call me. The problem with people who buy beagles ready to hunt is that they want a finished product and their expectations are out of the world. I priced three running hounds, all AKC, none with any major faults or appearance flaws for $200 each to a guy and his reply was, "Well, a guy is giving me a pair of top-notch hounds, I was hoping you had some to give away." !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! By the time the average hobby houndsman buys the gas to take pups to the field not counting feed, meds and upkeep, he has spent hundreds. If you think beagling is expensive, try bass fishing. New boats are $30-50,000. THey hold 40-50 gallons of gas (buy it at the dock, $150 or the price of a pup). What about golf? Horses? Dirt-track racing? Faith in the Lord keeps me sane, running my hounds with my wife and kids and wrestling in the grass while the pups try to run away with the kids' ball caps is priceless.

[SMITTY1233]

For me my hobbies and interest are priceless.... Hunting, Beagling, softball, coaching are things I am passionate about. If I see something that can enhance my enjoyment of one of these hobbies I carefully assess the situation and decide weather I can afford it... I have no problem selling dogs for $1,000 if the deal was done in honesty and the dog has a demand for that much money. There are a few dogs that are well worth $1000 and then there are dogs that aren't worth a nickel.... Thats what makes this interesting... You have to try to find what suits your needs and decide if you want to spend the type of money it takes to obtain it.

[mo. beagler]

[quote="DRamey" Faith in the Lord keeps me sane, running my hounds with my wife and kids and wrestling in the grass while the pups try to run away with the kids' ball caps is priceless.[/quote]



AMEN BROTHER!!!

[mo. beagler]

[quote="PREACHERS KENNEL"] hunters that have grade dogs and have litters and just keep what they want give away or sell cheap,,

HEY , I RESEMBLE THAT REMARK

[jumpmaster]

I personally would never give that much money for a hound, but it doesnt make since that a pug is worth $400 a pup, and a beagle pup is worth $150 a pup. I guess some of it has to do with the over flooded market for beagles, it seems that everybody that owns a beagle breeds a beagle, and there isnt a big percentage of people wanting one for a pet, they want pugs. I have two dogs that I wouldnt take $1000 for, I dont think they are worth that much, but I know how hard it is to replace them. If you can get that much for a beagle, i'm all for it. If you give that much for one I would like to run with it, just so I could see how it compares to my $150 dogs.

[doubleb]

[/quote]I DON'T THINK A THOUSAND BUCKS FOR A DOMINANT TRIAL DOG IS TOO MUCH,THERE IS A DIFFERENCE IN A TRIAL HOUND AND AN EVERY DAY RABBIT DOG AND IF YOU DON'T AGREE YOU MUST NOT TRIAL MUCH.

I trial often an if stament is true you need to find another format i was at the meeting when they said arha was forming to promote the gundog the everyday rabbitdog that the hunter had an it didnt have to be akc just a good hunting dog all of my dogs are hunting dogs first second they are trial dogs an if it takes two dogs one to hunt one to trial then arha/nkc needs to re focus on hunting dogs

[B.Trull]

Inflation has creeped into the price of everything.. I have seen about a 300% increase in the price of beagle pups since I got into this hobby in 95. Look how much the price of an acre of land has risen in that time , new cars, etc. I am more concerned with places to hunt/run and the price of gas than the price of a hound. So, I guess no is my answer.

[Larry G]

I know a guy paid 10 grand for a bird dog named Elhew Matador. This man ain't rich either. Dog got swarmed by killer bees while hunting in Texas and died. As an old pal of mine used to say, well there goes 10 thou up a blue goose's butt.