Originally Posted by Little Dog (Post 2641548)

[F Gothic]At the risk of alot of people complaining I would like to say....Not everyone can afford to spend $600.00 for a pup but then again I don't care about them being "registered" I care that they have a nice loving home. My Wriddle was $100.00 (shots, neutured,wormed etc.) no we don't have papers (puppy mill crap) but I did turn around and spend another $200+ on dental and just recently had to have ears flushed again and meds ($100.00). So just because I can't afford to spend alot on a dog doesn't mean I can't or won't seek medical attention when needed!!!!! I would love to have a puppy but just can't afford to buy one that is that expensive. Yes my dogs eat well I make their treats and most of their food in my own kitchen, I spend money buying clothes, beds, toys etc. I hope some day for the Yorkie Fairy to bring me a puppy but until then I have Wriddle who needed me and loves me not because I spent alot of money on buying him but because I am here to love him and make sure he is safe and healthy! Ok, bash me...I got my big girl panties on.[/FONT]

Originally Posted by capt_noonie (Post 2641646)

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:I agree. IMO, this is just like why the counterfeit designer handbag business came about. There are certain things in life that are luxury, that are not meant for everyone to have. If you can't afford it, you dream about it, but bad people come along and knock it off, lower the value of it, lower the integrity of it. Thanks to them, now you can carry around your puppymill yorkie in your fake Juicy dog bag for $250. Despicable!:mad:

Originally Posted by FlDebra (Post 2641626)

Whoever sold you a $100 dog that had all its shots, neutered and wormed had to have gone in the red. You did say you don't have papers and mentioned puppymill crap. So, did your pup come from a puppymill? You really cannot compare dogs that came through the sick, cruel world of a puppymill with puppies cared and loved right in the breeders home being given constant attention and loving nurturing. Yorkie puppymills came about because people who did not want to or could not pay the higher Yorkie prices still wanted to own them. Enter the twisted puppymiller who can sell for cheaper prices because they don't have a standard of care or any morals. How can anyone expect a breeder to raise quality dogs and then go in the hole so that everyone can have a yorkie?

I understand where you are coming from and would not bash you -- but I still think quality Yorkies are a luxury. I think everyone should be able to have a dog. I don't think everyone should be able to have a Yorkie. Not that yorkies are a mere possession like a car but it is sort of like we may all need a car but some will buy a Ford Focus, some will buy a Cadillac and some will buy a Mercedes. They should not all be priced the same just because everyone deserves a car. You get what you can afford. I know lots of people that can't afford or do not want to spend the higher prices still want Yorkies. That is why so many of the unscrupulous breeders wound up cutting corners to be able to offer cheap yorkies. It hurt the breed a LOT! You wind up seeing yorkies that look nowhere near the standard. You also wind up with mother dogs abused and puppies neglected. But the price is low.

There is no way I would give away my Yorkies to strangers. Selling them for $300 would definately be giving them away (actually going quite a bit in the red!) when you look at how much I paid to get them to the 12 week stage (I listed a lot about expenses in last post and won't repeat it all here...but I spent a lot more because we lost our momma dog too. ) I also had to buy bottles, formula, goat's milk (not cheap), nutri-cal, syringes,etc. I also split their shots which cost more in office visits. So maybe they did cost a little more than the average Yorkie to raise, but I don't think you could do it for a lot less than I did and still be doing it right. Some litters only have one or two and they still have all the same costs that I did. Breeders also wind up with litters where none survive but much had already been spent on preparation. They have to provide year round care for the breeding females and males too. So, as a business -- there are a LOT of expenses a person may not think about. Mine are my pets so I don't figure in the cost of caring for mom and dad. They are my pleasure, but still they are a cost associated with the puppies to some extent.

So -- there are two sides to Yorkie costs. It would be nice if we all got one issued to us when we were old enough to care for them -- no cost at all. But that is not practical and asking quality breeders to sell their puppies for $300 is not practical either. Just another opinion.

I see some of the puppymill types advertising online that they have $450yorkies. I can almost guarantee they are not doing right by them or they could not possibly be making a profit. I suppose when you get into mass production, you could sell them for less and still turn a profit but who wants a puppy whose mother has been kept in a cage, stacked several high, all her life?

Now some of the $6000 price tags seem pretty ridiculous, especially because they are usually NOT the result of a careful breeding programs painstakingly spread over 20-30 years to carefully refine features. No, those price tags are usually because the puppy is extra tiny or being called a "rare." But I think prices up to $2000 can usually be justified. The crime is when they ask that high of a price but only provide the care of a puppymiller who usually charges 1/4 of that. I don't mind the high prices though if they have quality yorkies and they provide them with excellent care to get a great start.

Originally Posted by capt_noonie (Post 2641646)

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:I agree. IMO, this is just like why the counterfeit designer handbag business came about. There are certain things in life that are luxury, that are not meant for everyone to have. If you can't afford it, you dream about it, but bad people come along and knock it off, lower the value of it, lower the integrity of it. Thanks to them, now you can carry around your puppymill yorkie in your fake Juicy dog bag for $250. Despicable!:mad:

Originally Posted by Little Dog (Post 2641874)

Originally Posted by BLowry (Post 2641897)

I don't think anyone here is bashing puppymill dogs. My parents rescued a puppymill puppy. A pet store was closed down and a wonderful woman who lives 2 towns away took ALL of them. My parents got their beautiful little mini schnauzer, Heidi, at 7 months old. She had been kept in a small cage her entire life and "marked" as a breeder. Heidi was VERY timid....although she never bit, growled or was aggressive in any way. However, Heidi also came with A LOT of health issues and had to be put down when she was just 7 yrs old. The thing about puppymills is the the way the adults are kept, and, buying from a pet store is keeping mills running. I TOTALLY understand they need loving, caring homes as well....I don't know if you have ever seen a puppymill but, you can google it and see the deplorable conditions these poor animals are kept in. These people that have mills don't care ANYTHING about animals...all they care about is the almighty dollar...I am very glad that your little furbaby is ok..And I understand that not everybody can afford a pup over $1000.00 dollars.

Originally Posted by Little Dog (Post 2641908)

Originally Posted by Britster (Post 2641557)

I definitely agree with this! :thumbup:

I don't really like the argument "If you can't afford $800-$1000 for the pup, you can't afford to take care of it!!" because that's not totally true. I also don't care about papers or anything as he's my pet, not my show dog or a stud or anything. I'd rather save the few extra $100's to purchase extra food, toys, beds, etc for the dog to have. And, god forbid, if something were to happen and need medical attention then yes, I would scrape up whatever I've got to care for my baby!

But just because I'm not willing to spend $1000 on a dog does NOT mean I don't have the money to care for it. It's hard to explain what I'm trying to say but you said it well. Some people make it sound as if you have to be rich in order to own a dog and that's not true at all. I'm a college student with little money but I just set my priorities straight! My personal needs and every-day things I use as well as Jackson come first. Most of the stuff I buy Jackson... he doesn't really NEED lol. But anyways, now I'm rambling. I just don't really like that argument. Also, I do understand breeders need to make back what they put into the process but at the same time... I know the shelter I go to, all their dogs are $150 adoption fee because they bring their dogs to a low cost clinic to get shots, spay/neuter, etc. It's possible to get shots and surgeries cheaper and have them done just as good. You can get a perfectly healthy rescue dog Yorkie at a shelter for between $50-$300.

However, I do agree you shouldn't list any dogs for free on Craigslist or wherever because of the fact that there is so many evil people out there so it's definitely good to have some kind of fee just to know the person is serious.

Originally Posted by NIKI1969UK (Post 2642012)

Puppy pricing shouldn't matter, as long as a dog has a good loving home, that's whats more important. Just because someone pays more money than some else it doesn't mean they will love or care for there dog anymore than the other person.:) The most important thing here is that the puppies go to good kind people and that they will loved.

Originally Posted by capt_noonie (Post 2641646)

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:I agree. IMO, this is just like why the counterfeit designer handbag business came about. There are certain things in life that are luxury, that are not meant for everyone to have. If you can't afford it, you dream about it, but bad people come along and knock it off, lower the value of it, lower the integrity of it. Thanks to them, now you can carry around your puppymill yorkie in your fake Juicy dog bag for $250. Despicable!:mad:

Originally Posted by jeanm1963 (Post 2642027)

I just think some people are trying to say

" you get what you pay for"

I got my Laci from a BYB because I didnt know any better, I love her and wouldnt trade her for he world ,however in hindsight I would research more and go to a better breeder who has had tests done ect.. I got what I paid for..

NO shots, and ear infection no papers:eek::eek:
I dont know her history, I dont know of her parents
I paid 950.00, first month vet fee's 500.00 2 times back for the ear infection and 2 different medicines, then kennel cough, more money for scripts and more money for vet appts.. so I got what I paid for, for a few hundred more I could have gotten a dog from a reputable breeder, I love her anyways but in the long run it probally will and has cost me more money!!!! JM2C

Originally Posted by MyBohoBaby (Post 2642046)

Anything is possible "Reputable Breeder" or not... My last dog... a Bichon Frise we had bought from one of the "Reputable Breeders" and a month after purhcasing, AKC pulled her from the list... So our AKC price we paid was worthless. Jasmine then could not be registered. We had bought her in the prospect of at least getting one litter from her (so we could keep her puppies as she grew older) but then that was shot as well when she became VERY ill and we almost lost her at 4 years old. She had to have her whole uterus out. After MANY drs visits... more then one operations... LOTS of dr bills (we loved her so much) it was just more of a headache and now we are a little cautious spending even 2k for a puppy (reputable breeder or not)

SO! I dunno what the answer is... ;)

Originally Posted by capt_noonie (Post 2641646)

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:I agree. IMO, this is just like why the counterfeit designer handbag business came about. There are certain things in life that are luxury, that are not meant for everyone to have. If you can't afford it, you dream about it, but bad people come along and knock it off, lower the value of it, lower the integrity of it. Thanks to them, now you can carry around your puppymill yorkie in your fake Juicy dog bag for $250. Despicable!:mad:

Originally Posted by Jemma (Post 2641930)

Did you rescue yours from I think it's called Parkersburg? I think there were like 1,000 rescued?