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Originally Posted by Kpattray  I had no idea that the prices were that high. I might have to reconsider. I realize that bad breeding not only results in pets with many expensive health issues ( just went through that) but also so much heartache. I cannot live through watching my beloved pet suffer with medical problems again. I also cannot afford a dog over $1000. I guess I wrongly assumed those prices were for show dogs and not pet quality. |
Well the first thing I would say is get health insurance, one that covers genetic defects! If you can't afford the $40 or so dollars a month for that well then you need to think about your financial wherewithal to afford the health care for a dog over their lifetime.
The least of the cost of owning a dog is the purchase price. You need to be ready to fund the on-going health and feeding care of the puppy/young adult. Not to mention training, boarding,and grooming costs.
In terms of health there should be no difference between a show dog and a pet dog. That is a much often touted fallacy. Good breeders breed for health, structure and temperament, period full stop. The difference as far as a show breeder goes, between a potential show dog versus a pet dog, could for example rest upon: coat quality, ear-set,eye color and size, weight, temperament, etc.
What we place as pets are those dogs that could not meet the rigorous requirements for show. But those |pets" have been bred from quality to quality dogs, they just don't meet the very stringent requirements for breeding.