Tara:
There is so much to consider here. If she is not going to show or breed the dog, then for $600 for this guy is not an issue in my opinion. I think that should be bottom line for any puppy. To ask to pay less would require the breeder to provide less than adequate care for the mother and the babies. This would be irresponsible of the breeder and the buyer in my opinion. If we want adequate care for these puppies, we cannot ask breeders to lose money in the process. Sure, they love the dogs, but she has had this one for a year so he has all his shots, and she has raised him from the day he was born. $600 is less than $2 per day from the day he was boen not to mention the care for his mother before and after the birth. She may have made a little money from him if ahe used him as a stud dog, but not much I would gather.
There is obviously no guarantee that she has provided minimal care but he looks clean and appears healthy. His ears are down, but not all yorkie ears go up. A lot of dogs appear "sad" in pictures. They don't like the flash, etc. They may be perfectly happy animals otherwise.
Does your friend plan to see the puppy before buying? I would think that would be imperative to determine his temperament since he is an older dog. He is not the "ideal" picture perfect yorkie, but for $600 they are not asking "ideal" yorkie prices either.
She also needs to consider the fact that he was used as a stud dog since he will always "mark" and most stud dogs are kept in their own shelters out of the house by most breeders. She could have him wear a bellyband in the house and some males can be trained after they are neutered but it is difficult.
BTW, the fact that he was not interested in "her" female but did mate with her friend's female is not unusual. He just had a preference and didn't care for one of them. It's pretty common I think, but I am not a breeder so i don't know for sure.
Good luck! |