Sort of on the topic, but reversed. I went to 6 places to see Yorkies before I found my breeder. The first ones were ready to sell the puppies right away 6-8 weeks, and didn't ask me any questions about how I would care for the baby. I thought that was really scary, especially since they were charging $2000-$6000, $2000 for the males on up to $6000 for a female. Now price only becomes the issue when the breeder doesn't care where the puppy goes as long as they get PAID. As a future mommy I wanted the breeder to care, however, Obie's breeder put me through so many questions and made me sign so many things, that I felt overwhelmed. I would have liked somewhere in the middle. My husband said it felt like he was trying to adopt a child, and the only thing left unasked was our credit rating.
I think that someone who cares that much about the children she/he has helped bring into the world they definitely should be compensated for their expenses and their time. Whatever those costs might be. Plus, I have read some horror stories about breeders that have had to feed the babies themselves because mom would have nothing to do with them, and complications in birth where mom dies. Someone who chooses to do this needs to be familiar with all the possible factors that can go wrong.
So in my opinion price really isn't the issue, the love from both the breeder and the potential owner need to be the first concern. Because after all it is all about these cute babies! |