One of the breeder (had AKC breeder of merit banner on his website) whom I've been in contact with, when asked how much his puppy would cost, answered me;
"I can't tell you yet. If they turn out to be a show dog quality, then it'll be $1800. If they are not, then it'll be $1000 for female, $900 for male for a companion dog on non-breeding agreement"
For someone who's a total beginner to hear this... what do you think he/she would react? This is not a business?
If I put myself in your shoes, I wouldn't be impressed with what that breeder said, simply because you are NOT looking for a show dog, you are looking for a pet. If you're not 100% comfortable with the breeder than x him/her off of your list. For me personally, her attitude would have put me off, I don't necessarily think he/she is a bad breeder, just not a very likeable person.
That being said, I still don't believe its a business. The breeder I got my shelties from certainly doesn't make any money from breeding, she does it because she loves shelties and breeding. When you consider the vet costs in that first 8-10 weeks its quite expensive and more often breeders break even or lose money than make money.
I can also understand charging more for a show dog that you might breed, but I don't think its right asking more money for a female than male.
I don't think that a rescue or shelter should be totally ruled out. I adopted Chase when he was 14 weeks old. He was still tiny and had puppy fluff. He had a story, not baggage. He had positive experiences, just like every other puppy would have with a responsible owner, and was socialized and is an amazing dog. He is extremely loving towards people and other animals. You can buy a puppy at 8 weeks or adopt one at 11 months but the difference in the puppy is whether or not you are willing to put in the time to make that puppy socialized and loving.
I agree with this, I wouldn't rule out a rescue dog. Often they're given up because of living situations and not always because of behavioral issues.
A rescue will genuinely want that dog to be a good fit with your family and will help you to match a dog's personality with your family. And if for whatever reason it isn't working out, they'll gladly accept that dog back and usually give you your money back or help you to chose another dog (They usually give you two to three months to decide if things are working out).
I've had my rescue Toby for 7 months now. I'll admit, he's been a challenge as he did come with issues that I don't believe the rescue knew the extent of (He's extremely sensitive of city noises, but the person who fostered him didn't live in the city so didn't see the degree of his anxiety). The rescue was very clear that I shouldn't hesitate to bring him back if things weren't working out (His foster mom loved him so much she said she'd keep him if he came back), but chose not to. I specifically wanted a dog that I could train and while Toby was definitely more than I bargained for, he's a wonderful, goofy, cuddly, loving boy that I wouldn't give up for the world.
I'd also like to mention that Toby's foster mom has been extremely supportive and gave me some great suggestions to manage him, so that something else to consider when buying from a rescue, you have a resource that cares about the rescue dog enough to help you with him/her.
