Price is dependent on quality, pedigree and buyer’s intentions and includes:
AKC Registration application (that will be temporarily retained until your puppy has been spayed or neutered), health guarantee, up to 3 vaccinations, crate/litter-box/doggy door training, small sample of food and vitamins, familiar toy, teething chews, washable potty pad/crate pad, years of pedigree and health research/testing, several informative articles and recent studies and unlimited advice/support from an experienced breeder and mentors, for the life of the dog.
Pet Quality 4 months to 3 years old: $1500-3500
The older the puppies are is the more time, energy, socializing and training they have. All these things add to their value. These are not “craigslist” or “newspaper ad” quality dogs. Please browse through my website to see the quality I produce in my dogs.
There is no market for selling to show homes because we all breed our own, and therefore, 99% of our pups go to pet homes. We can only keep so many dogs to show, and the ones we keep to show fit a specific purpose geared toward the future of our breeding program but as a general rule, the ones we decide to send to pet homes are not a lesser quality, they just don’t fit the specific needs we have at the time.
Backyard breeders charge the same price as , and sometimes more than show breeders, yet strangely, in dogs, people are willing to pay the same or more for a lesser quality pup just because they are more readily available.
We realize it is easy enough to find a cheaper puppy on Facebook or in online adds, from inexperienced breeder who don’t care about quality. It is not up to me to determine the value of someone else’s puppies. Maybe they don’t invest as much money in their health care/testing and competition to insure they are producing quality Papillons. Maybe you will get lucky and find one with no health or temperament problems, or maybe you’ll exceed that cost in vet care to get/keep them healthy and/or get their bad habits rehabilitated. The gamble is yours to take.
When it comes to testing quality, It is very easy to become “kennel blind” if you are not competing against others in your area and having the quality evaluated and compared to others. If they aren’t making the extra effort to insure quality, and you’re willing to spend the money on pups that lack quality, why spend the money on a purebred that might resemble a papillon, when you can help save a life at a local shelter? Or if money is the issue, you should consider a retired show dog.
Retirees: 4 years old and older $800-2000
We prefer to retire our dogs around the age of 4 or 5 year old, so most of my retiring adults are still very young. They can live to be 15-18 years old, so “middle aged” is about 7-9 years old, which means they will still have a very long life ahead of them. If you want a well bred, sound and healthy dog that fits in a tighter budget, then you should consider a retiree.
Some people can’t afford a puppy or don’t appreciate the work that goes into being a reputable breeder, yet they want a well bred, healthy, geneticly-tested, mentally and physically sound puppy with a long line of champions in their pedigrees. My retirees fit that bill well and are also crate trained, walk on a lead and mind their manors. They know their names and will come to it, even through a crowd. Most will be ready, (or near ready), to pass the Canine Good Citizen test and become therapy/companion dogs. Some of my retirees have even gone on to become Obedience, Rally and Agility competitors.
Due to their nature to mark their territory, they wear diapers and belly bands in the house and motels, as maintaining housebreaking is difficult with their hormones competing. I’m told, however, by clients who’ve purchased a retiree from me that housebreaking was simple once they were de-sexed and living away from the pack they compete with.
Show prospects: $3500 – $5,000 +
This price is the same, even when going to pet homes. I rarely sell to show homes, but I will consider legitimate show homes, depending on my contractual obligations regarding the parents and/or grandparents of my puppies. I do not breed for pet quality, but I cannot show them all, so most of my puppies placed in companion homes are show prospects that may develop to be show quality.
”First pick puppy”, “Second pick puppy” etc are terms that mean nothing to me. My “pick” depends on what my current and future needs are and are highly based on my personal opinion. We sometimes place the puppy that best adheres to the Papillon Standard, because what some call “second pick” exibits a trait that I need, that the so-called “first pick” does not have.
When inquiring for a prospect to show, please include a sort of “resume” of your experience and accomplishments with AKC sports. I’ll want to be able to talk to your mentor and references and I’ll expect to be able to find AKC show records with your name as owner or breeder. We’ve been lied to and cheated by people I trusted on their word, and my days of “taking your word for it” is over. You’ll need to prove to me that your true intentions are to show my puppy with the intent of completing a conformation champion title.
The only benefit I receive from having my puppy in a show home is to reach the goal of making his or her parents a Sire or Dam of Merit. There is nothing in it for me otherwise. UKC shows can not facilitate reaching that goal for me, or the goal of seeing my pups in the Eukanuba or Westminster shows, so if you only show in UKC, you won’t qualify. We will only consider show homes with bigger aspirations than UKC titles.
Below are pictures of show quality puppies that I’ve placed in pet homes.