I had a horrible experience just recently with a breeder who had puppies for sale. She sounded at first like she was responsible when it came to guarantees for health, hips, etc.
However, after the hour long drive to her home, the first thing I see is a seriously run down home that housed the puppies. (not people, as the home she lived in was a half mile further down the road)) Ice was literally on the inside of the windows which she scraped off so I could view the parents out back. FILTHY conditions. She didn't believe in feeding the puppies certain amounts throughout the day, but PURINA PUPPY CHOW in a large bowl so they could freely eat whenever they liked. The food was spilled in the stools and urine. No pedigree to be shown to me about the parents. No OFA proof. Puppies had white tips on their tails, some white streaks on their backs, most all paws were white, white spot on chest and chin. These were black and tan pups. They JUST turned 7 weeks (not told to me during the phone call, just that they were ready to go to a home) and out of a litter of 6, 2 were remaining. Then I heard, "You seem like you can afford it, why don't you just buy the last 2 here?" I stood there with my jaw dropped. Then she proceeded to tell me that if I wanted to breed, they would cost 400.00. If not, then it would be a limited registration and then the pup would cost 300.00. I remarked that even though I do not know a whole lot in regards to the German Shepherd standard, I did believe that the white markings were not smiled upon by breeders. So, I strongly believed that if anyone bought one of these pups it should only be limited. Her words were "Oh, I do not think that is my place to tell a potential owner that they couldn't breed their pup" OH MY! Since then, I have spoken to 4 other GSD breeders where all of them didn't even understand what I meant by OFA. One guy's ad read that his pups were from Champion bloodlines. Yeah, it was ONE champion in a 5 generation pedigree, AND the champion being 4 generations back. He said (and I quote) "Since this is a top notch pedigree that is why they are selling for 500.00 instead of 300.00.
Someone please help me here. I am on an acre of land which is fenced in with a privacy fence. No other dogs, no cats. My husband and I are 51 yrs old. All kids are grown. No, I am not going to show nor breed. However, if you have a puppy, or even an older GS, please, we would love to give it a good home. However, I REFUSE to pay some backwoods breeder who is clearly about making a dollar and has no interest whatsoever in bettering the breed. We are in WV and definitely can afford to take care of a dog through sickness and health. I also see price ranges from 150.00 (yes, THAT LOW!) to 4,000. What is a normal price for a good looking, healthy pet GSD?
Thank you in advance all.
ALSO..I am willing to drive up to 400 miles to meet you and vice versa.
However, after the hour long drive to her home, the first thing I see is a seriously run down home that housed the puppies. (not people, as the home she lived in was a half mile further down the road)) Ice was literally on the inside of the windows which she scraped off so I could view the parents out back. FILTHY conditions. She didn't believe in feeding the puppies certain amounts throughout the day, but PURINA PUPPY CHOW in a large bowl so they could freely eat whenever they liked. The food was spilled in the stools and urine. No pedigree to be shown to me about the parents. No OFA proof. Puppies had white tips on their tails, some white streaks on their backs, most all paws were white, white spot on chest and chin. These were black and tan pups. They JUST turned 7 weeks (not told to me during the phone call, just that they were ready to go to a home) and out of a litter of 6, 2 were remaining. Then I heard, "You seem like you can afford it, why don't you just buy the last 2 here?" I stood there with my jaw dropped. Then she proceeded to tell me that if I wanted to breed, they would cost 400.00. If not, then it would be a limited registration and then the pup would cost 300.00. I remarked that even though I do not know a whole lot in regards to the German Shepherd standard, I did believe that the white markings were not smiled upon by breeders. So, I strongly believed that if anyone bought one of these pups it should only be limited. Her words were "Oh, I do not think that is my place to tell a potential owner that they couldn't breed their pup" OH MY! Since then, I have spoken to 4 other GSD breeders where all of them didn't even understand what I meant by OFA. One guy's ad read that his pups were from Champion bloodlines. Yeah, it was ONE champion in a 5 generation pedigree, AND the champion being 4 generations back. He said (and I quote) "Since this is a top notch pedigree that is why they are selling for 500.00 instead of 300.00.
Someone please help me here. I am on an acre of land which is fenced in with a privacy fence. No other dogs, no cats. My husband and I are 51 yrs old. All kids are grown. No, I am not going to show nor breed. However, if you have a puppy, or even an older GS, please, we would love to give it a good home. However, I REFUSE to pay some backwoods breeder who is clearly about making a dollar and has no interest whatsoever in bettering the breed. We are in WV and definitely can afford to take care of a dog through sickness and health. I also see price ranges from 150.00 (yes, THAT LOW!) to 4,000. What is a normal price for a good looking, healthy pet GSD?
Thank you in advance all.
ALSO..I am willing to drive up to 400 miles to meet you and vice versa.