Staggered at the price of a pup

[JudyN]

You may of spoken too soon @JudyN....

Blimmin' heck, I stand corrected I suppose... working lurchers are in a way tools (I've called Jasper a tool at times), and bought to do a job, so their value isn't just in having a posh pedigree or daft name - it can be measured in terms of rabbits caught, for instance. Though you could buy a lot of rabbits for £1500!

 

[Mayblossom]

A couple of my friends have tried for a rescue dog, both experienced dog owners , own fenced in garden, beautiful common for walking on their doorstep etc etc, all the criteria needed for a happy dog but because their fencing wasn’t high enough and the ladies were in their early sixties they were considered unsuitable. They both walk their own dogs twice a day for a good hour or more so fit ladies! The dogs they were interested in were middle aged dogs so not likely to outlive the owners there’s all these dogs out there needing homes and two lovely ladies willing to adopt rather than go for puppies but couldn’t take them on a rescue oh and the garden fences were 5’ instead of 6’

 

[JoanneF]

Some of the smaller rescues are more flexible in their home check requirements, it might be worth widening your search.

 

[merlina]

Ouch! As a homechecker for the past 20 years for about ten different rescues this is really difficult stuff to read. All I can do is speak for the people who visit potential homes- at their own expense and in their own time. (Over the years I'd had a couple of times when I've been threatened with a formal complaint to my boss or to take this up with my supervisor- if only they existed I wish I'd said- even the bigger rescues run on very few actual 'staff', the majority with none). All a homechecker is asked to do is gather information and bring up any potential problems they can see with the adopter: no fencing, place to sleep and retreat, main road that the house opens onto.(Large aggressive partner who 'doesn't see why she wants a dog.') Most rescues will have invested donated funds to spay, get fit, address behavioural problems in the rescued dogs.If you have already spent up to a thousand pounds (I've known double this) and if there's two potential homes, one with fewer problems then the rescue acts for the dog's interest not the person who wants it. There's another side to every story and every perceived 'conflict'.

 

[Rinkydinkydo]

Blimmin' heck, I stand corrected I suppose... working lurchers are in a way tools (I've called Jasper a tool at times), and bought to do a job, so their value isn't just in having a posh pedigree or daft name - it can be measured in terms of rabbits caught, for instance. Though you could buy a lot of rabbits for £1500!

I've been chatting to a guy on a FB group this morning about this advert. He was telling me he had seen adverts like the one before. He says they are fishing for gullible people who think higher the price the better the dog is. In reality you don't know until the dog as grown,wether that's working dogs or show dogs. Anyway they advertise the pups when they are a week old hoping someone will pay £1500. Then as the pups approach the 8 weeks old mark they will put another advert on For all of the pups even If some have already been sold. This time they will price them at around £400 (the going rate) then update the new advert saying only 4 left out of the 6.The time comes to collect the pups,2 are paying £1500 each for a pup,4 are are only pay £400 for pups from the same litter.

 

[Lennor Magill]

The higher the price the more dodgy stuff will go on.
We've had pups gifted in the past from litters that were 4 and 5 years in the planning. Nothing to do with money but always about the dogs. It's very rare this happens these days.

 

[Robert Powell]

The prices are crazy! Even for rehoming ( not rescue) the owners are still asking £1000 for a dog that is 6 years old and selling due to having a baby sad when a dog has to go due to a baby arriving Cockerpoos are getting on for £2000 in Surrey from some breeders, it’s only a cross breed after all ! We paid £465 for our Springer and she was just perfect, nothing like the prices today. Lily our Parson was £650 from a breeder who shows ...same breeder today £1500 I just wouldn’t pay that sort of money but a lot will because all puppies seem to be reserved before they are born. I’ve brought ponies for a lot less than that

Henry our Springer was 16 weeks old when we had him. He cost 125 pounds! We were lucky....though Henry had to be PTS aged 9 and three quarters.
I know a guy in the west midlands who bought a cockerpoo pup for £1300.

 

[Lennor Magill]

I reserved my dog before it was born without knowing the price. When i found out the price £600 i respectfully withdrew citing that it was more than i payed for my other grey that was killed by hit and run a few months earlier. The breeder said it wasn't all about money but a good loving home . The price was reduced to an affordable sum and Morgan was brought to us at 8wks after us seeing him at 5wks with his mother and siblings . 16 months later his brother was returned to the the breeder (contract stated that her dogs were to returned and not sold on if no longer wanted) she was asking for a new home for Rex it was Christmas time so offered to foster him until a new home could be found. After only a few day we asked if we could adopt him as he was a very timid extremely thin and frightened boy and as he'd bonded with me felt he should stay as he'd begun to settle with kindness and love. The breeder agreed and no money changed hands.
She has a social media page for the entire litter from birth and we all post at regular intervals with pictures and prizes won at various events . I dont show my boys but have two wonderful greys whom we adore, great big lovable food hounds nothing edible lying around is safe but that's the breed tealeaf most of them but great companions

 

[Ari_RR]

I suppose it's probably true that high pricing deters some potentially good dog owners...

On the other hand, it may force some soul searching before getting a puppy, and deter some who do not put enough thought into what kind of commitment is really required, for many years. The more money one has to spend upfront - the more carefully he will consider the decision... And that I think may be a good thing.

 

[Biker John]

A small local rescue my wife volunteered at and I popped in to help. They had an elderly, scruffy quite large Lurcher that had been in kennels for a long time. He just didn't sell himself at all when people came he just ignored them. Anyway one time an elderly lady who walked slowly and used a crutch came with her son. She explained she wanted a dog as she had just lost her last one, the son said he lived close, was prepared to exercise the dog and would take it on gladly if it outlived her. They let her look round showing her various small dogs then she caught site of the Lurcher wanted to see him. When he was brought out it went straight up to her and stood next to her. After bit of worry from the manager she was eventually allowed to take him on trial, (yes a home check was carried out). They came back after a week to show the staff, he walked slowly with her and never left her side. I saw them occasionally when I was going to or coming away from work, and stopped for a chat once. She told me he was wonderful, they walked slowly with him not pulling at all to a local beach. There she sat on a bench letting him off lead, he spent about half an hour chasing sea gulls before she called him put his lead on then they walked home. So a successful re homing from a small rescue that I tend to think wouldn't have happened with a larger one.

 

[Flobo]

What a lovely story,destiny eh! I have to admit I have never in my life bought a dog, they have all just crossed my path in a variety of ways needing a new home...

 

[NaomiH]

We paid £200 for Sparky, our rescue greyhound/ saluki, from our local greyhound and rescue centre in Guildford. He only actually cost £175 but I gave a little extra. The rescue were great in terms of listening to what we needed and found us a dog that would benefit from being with a family. They wouldn't let us spend time with him until we had passed the home inspection ....cue urgent nailing of 6' bamboo roll onto our garden fence! Fortunately the garden passed muster and the rest is history. I had never had a dog before or had dogs as a child so didn't know what I was letting myself in for! It was a total baptism by fire and (as Judy N knows!) I found it extremely challenging as I didn't understand that his boisterous ways and barking were just him being playful (he was only 10 months), not aggressive.

Over time, I have come to realise that we have been blessed with an extremely loving, affectionate boy with an exceptionally lovely temperament and sweet nature. He really has been an ideal first dog in so many ways and has taught me so much. Having spent the first 18 months convinced he had major behaviour problems, I consulted so many people about him and read so many books I feel as if I should have an honorary degree in lurcher behaviour! There were so many times to begin with that I felt as if we had made a huge mistake and that I couldn't cope with him....but over time I came to realise that the rescue had done us proud and that he is a wonderful dog. Okay ...so he might steal picnics, be a nightmare around cats, horses or livestock and cost a fortune in food and dog walkers (not at the moment obviously!), be permanently at the vets with injuries and have been seriously ill after being bitten by an adder a few months ago... but he is incredibly special and I feel so lucky and privileged that he loves us.

 

[Ragsysmum]

There are quite a few rescues who look beyond the height of your fencing though. I'm on my 47th rescue dog, fostered or adopted over the years from around seven or eight different rescues countrywide with several from the same ones, and our fencing is mostly less than 6' and with only 3'6 gates. You just need the right dog, often an older, placid dog which just wants to be with you and has no inclination to try to escape. I keep them on a lead even round the garden in the early days to see if they show any interest in finding an escape route, over or under the fencing but they rarely do.

 

[Hemlock]

There are quite a few rescues who look beyond the height of your fencing though. I'm on my 47th rescue dog, fostered or adopted over the years from around seven or eight different rescues countrywide with several from the same ones, and our fencing is mostly less than 6' and with only 3'6 gates. You just need the right dog, often an older, placid dog which just wants to be with you and has no inclination to try to escape. I keep them on a lead even round the garden in the early days to see if they show any interest in finding an escape route, over or under the fencing but they rarely do.

It's good that it works for you but it would be a red flag for so many dogs - not just about what can get out but also what could come in.

Folks don't often realise that they don't have to fence the whole garden - just an area by the back door, half the lawn, whatever fits in with the property. A lower fence with an inward overhang would do, if a higher fence is tricky. But having the kind of dogs that can jump seven feet from a standstill and with no particular effort, for the majority of dogs a fence is a must to keep them safe. Also some dogs will dig, so paving slabs at the foot of the fence and daily checking is another sensible precaution.
We all hear of dogs that have never even dreamt of leaving an unfenced property, but Rescues can't afford to take that risk, as it only has to go wrong once. I never let a puppy I'd bred go to an unfenced home either.
When a Rescue that I'd taken a dog from asked me to work with them as a homechecker, I reluctantly refused and told them hardly anyone would pass!!

 

[Biker John]

As to fencing, I remember years ago a chap I met with a tiny Chih. We got talking and he said it was the hardest dog he had ever had to keep in. He started with a two foot fence, when it got a bit older it climbed out. So he put a six foot chicken wire fence round. Again he saw it climbing it, so he brought the top foot in. So the dog dug under it. He finished up with the bottom foot buried and the top foot slanted in. All for a tiny dog, I will add that it was a happy friendly dog more than happy to play with other dogs irrespective of their size as well as liking being fussed over by people.