What determines the price of Puppies?
If you are just starting your search for a well bred Labrador puppy, you might wonder just how much they might be. The first thing you need to determine is what type of breeding are you interested in. Sad to say there is a split in the breed between those that compete in the field and those that are involved in the show ring. If your primary purpose of the pup is being a hunting companion, I would strongly recommend looking for a pup bred for that purpose. If you are looking for mainly a companion animal, a show bred Labrador seems to fit the bill somewhat better.
Of course there are several things you need to look for in selecting a puppy. Once you decide which direction you wish to go, no matter what type of breeding, there are certain things to look for.
Health:
You need to be sure that both parents have OFA hip clearances. A vet just looking at the hips is not good enough. We have seen cases where vets have thought they looked good but once submitted to the “experts” at OFA it was determined that the dog indeed had Hip Dysphasia. The vast majority of the reputable breeders are also getting their dogs elbows rated by OFA, this is something else to look for. I have seen Labradors advertised in the newspaper as “OFA” but all this means is some of the dogs in the pedigree have had an OFA rating as this will be listed on the AKC pedigree. Unless a person is active in the dog world you would not realize that this really means nothing unless the parents are actually certified. Both parents need to have eye clearances. As you start looking for your pup you will hear the term CERF. This has to do with the dogs eyes. Actually CERF is just a registering and data collection organization. The actual exam and determination is done by a board certified Canine Ophthalmologist. They will exam the dog’s eyes and issue an ACVO exam report. Many breeders do not send their copy into CERF to get the certificate but retain the exam copy. Either method is perfectly acceptable. Some breeders will also do other health tests such as heart, thyroid, a PRA gene test through Optigen to determine if the dog is clear, carrier, or effected of this eye problem. If affected this could cause the dog to go blind once they get older. This is a relatively new test and if just one of the dogs has been rated as an Optigen A, you can be assured your puppy will never have this problem. Ask to see the actual OFA, CERF, ACVO, Optigen, etc. certificates. If they cannot show your copies, be assured, they have not been done.
Active in AKC activities:
You might ask why this is important. A breeder active in AKC activities will have a good working knowledge of other Labradors. Because they participate they will have a network of friends also in the breed to share information with. They gain knowledge of the various pedigrees and how the different stud dogs produce in terms of temperament, health, and trainability. While there are many, many reputable Labrador breeders, because of the level of involvement in the sport, we get to know each other and in most cases information is passed fairly freely. This helps the reputable breeder make an informed choice on selecting a sire for the litter. Because the breeder is wishing to improve what they already have in order to remain competitive, there is much time and research put into this process. In most cases the reputable breeder will not find the best match for their girl close to home and in fact the boy selected could be located a couple of thousand miles away versus in the same back yard, next door or down the street like so many Labradors in the newspaper. In addition, the breeder active in AKC activities wants to be competitive so no matter what the sport, if you are looking for a Labrador that looks like, works like and acts what it is suppose too, unless you are involved, how would they really know? Everybody thinks their dog is good looking and talented but unless you are involved in competition, you really don't know how your dogs stack up.
Club participation:
For the same reason as above, club membership helps the reputable breeder keep up to date on what’s going on in their particular sport, widens their knowledge of available dogs, and widens our circle of friends who have the same interests.
Years in the sport:
Of course the longer someone has been involved in the sport of pure bred dogs, the more knowledge the breeder has gained. If the breeder has been around for at least five plus years, the better chance you will have of this breeder still being active years down the road when you might need some help or advise with your Labrador.
Knowledge of the breed:
A reputable breeder over the years has gained much specific knowledge of the breed. In many cases they will have much greater knowledge than your veterinarian just because they see many different breeds which all have specific different problems. In vet school they don’t offer a course in Labrador Retrievers or even Sporting Breeds. The experienced breeder has experienced over the years many training issues that they have worked through. A reputable breeder will be there to work hand in hand with the family to help overcome most any issue they might face with their new puppy. If by some chance they don’t know the answer, because of the network of other breeders and vets that they have established, they can and do get you answers to your questions.
Guarantee:
Most reputable breeders offer guarantees on their puppies. Most of us do not require the return of the dog as a condition of the guarantee (which in my opinion is no guarantee at all) based upon the breeder these guarantees vary so this is something you need to look into and feel comfortable with. While doing the various health certifications and pedigree analysis greatly minimizes chances of problems in health, problems can crop up in spite of all this preliminary work.
Now What?
Now that you have picked what type of breeding you are looking for and know what to look for in a breeder, the question of price range comes into your mind.
On a field bred Labrador you will find a much wider price range in well bred pups. It is possible in the best bred litters that the pups will not be available for sale to the casual week-end hunter. On a Field Champion bitch’s litter it would probably only be available to those who are currently involved in AKC competition. A person looking for a puppy that has a very good chance of being easily trained to fill the bill of a hunting companion should look for a sire that possibly holds a FC (Field Champion), AFC (Amateur Field Champion), or a MH (Master Hunter) title. The dam should also be active in either AKC or UKC events and has proved herself through success in these activities. Parents where the statement is made “Proven Hunters” or something similar means nothing as it is based upon opinion, not actual proven performance. Look for a pup’s pedigree that shows success in terms of titles on BOTH SIDES on the pedigree in each generation, not just three generations back.
Most of us base our puppy prices on the amount of the stud fees. On a field bred Lab these greatly vary from $600 to over $2,000.00. You will find the same variation in field bred pups. I have heard of pups as high as $3,500 but for the most part they will range from $700 to $1,400 based upon the pedigree and demand. You would think that the lower priced pups would be more in demand but actually the opposite is true, the best bred pups with extreme success on both sides of the pedigree seem harder to get.
On a show bred Labrador the price range is not as spread out. It is more determined by geographic location than anything else. The general price range will fall between $700 and $1,200. Stud fees on show bred Labradors again are in a much tighter range of $800 to $900. For some reason even the best producing sire will have the same fee as an untitled up and coming young boy.
Additional costs of breeding:
By going out and using a dog that is not located in our own back yard other costs of breeding come into play in determining puppy prices. You will find in almost all cases the breeder will do progesterone tests through their vet and a laboratory to determine actual ovulation to get the timing exactly right to insure puppies. It can take one simple test to sometimes four or five to get the exact day to breed. These tests costs can vary from a little over $40 to well over $120 based upon the vet, lab used, and if the blood has to be shipped by an overnight service.
In most cases chilled or even frozen semen is used requiring special boxes to be used along with an overnight service to deliver them on a timely basis. Many of us use a Reproductive Specialist to either do Artificial Insemination or even a Surgical Implant to insure success. These items add cost to the breeding bringing the totals to $1,200 to $1,600 on average.
Advantages and disadvantages of going to a reputable breeder.
Advantages:
If it is a show breeder the puppy will grow up looking and acting like a real Labrador should. A field bred Labrador will have the natural instinct of the breed, both will be easily trained and show the proper Labrador temperament as called for in the AKC Labrador Standard.
A, Because the breeder will be most likely looking to keep a pup for themselves are very knowledgeable of the breed and it’s health issues, proper health clearances will have been preformed to help insure a more solid healthy Labrador for you.
B, Because your breeder has been involved with the breed for many years with a wide circle of friends with the same interests, they will have unlimited knowledge to help you as a new puppy owner raise your baby in a trouble free manner. Answers to your question will only be a phone call or E-mail away.
C, If by some chance something does go wrong, the reputable breeder will be there to stand behind the pup.
D, If something happens to you or your family, your Labrador will always have a good home to go to. Most all breeders require if something happens the dog will be returned to the breeder for re-homing.
E, Years down the road, the reputable breeder will still be there to continue to provide help, support, and guidance for your Labrador. We feel an obligation to those lives we chose to bring into this world. This obligation does not end with the sale of the pup.
Disadvantages:
Very probably cost is the only single disadvantage. A Labrador pup can be purchased through the newspaper as low as $150 with an average of $300 through a Back Yard Breeder who really has very little if any knowledge of the breed. Considering the average life span of a Labrador is around fourteen years, the difference comes to about $50 to $60 extra a year or $4.00 to $5.00 a month to gain the advantages of buying from a reputable breeder.
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The choice is yours!
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Things to look out for:
Almost all field breeders sell their pups with Full AKC Registration. Most all show breeders sell their pups on Limited Registration; beware of any breeder that offers Full Registration or “Breeding Rights” with an additional fee.
Beware of any breeder that prices their pups based upon their color or shade.
Beware of any breeder that sells “Show Quality” at a higher price to a pet home. With Labrador puppies, no matter how good of a breeding it might be, we are extremely lucky to have one to two potential “Show Prospects”. Actually there is no such thing as a “Show Quality” puppy. You might have puppies with potential, but until they mature you have no idea what you might have, all you can gauge is basic structure at such a young age. Considering only about 2.3% of the Labradors that are shown in the ring actually finish their championship, the odds are long at best. Most people that sell “Show Quality puppies, the number they have available in a litter is directly proportional to the number of uninformed people that are willing to pay the price thinking they have a future show winner.
Beware of the breeders that offer exotic shades or colors such as “white”, “silver”, "blue", “platinum”, etc. There are only three colors of Labradors, Black, Yellow (which can range in shade from light cream to fox red), and chocolate.
Beware of the breeders that offer either miniature Labradors or ones that are unusually big. There is but one Labrador Retriever and the standard dictates the size.
By: Gregg Tonkin, Little River LabradorsPlease do not reproduce without permission
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