# Avg cost of showline male



## spiritsmom

I found a great looking 5 yr old intact male for sale locally, but had some questions as to a fair price for such a dog. I do not know his pedigree, it wasn't posted in the ad. He is untitled and never been bred. The ad stated that his hips were x-rayed at 18 mos old and were never sent in, but the vet said they looked good. Says he has great drive and a good temperament (good with kids and dogs, but not cats). They are asking $1500 for him. 

Now is not the time for me to get another dog, perhaps next summer so I wouldn't be getting this particular dog (although he is gorgeous). But is what they are asking for him a good price or should a dog that costs that much actually be proven or titled or certified hips (hopefully all of the above). Just wondering is this too high a price to pay for a dog that is a great unknown when it comes to breeding, seems like he has been just a pet for 5 yrs.


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## Liesje

All of that is very vague. The pedigree would be helpful. Whether or not I trust a vet's opinion on the x-rays would depend on the vet (and who took the rads). Positioning is critical and many vets do not know how to properly position x-rays. This does not mean they are bad vets, it's a very specialized thing so I would not give any weight on an opinion unless it came from an experienced radiologist looking at correctly positioned x-rays. Drive and temperament are also very subjective so personally I'd want to meet the dog and interact and draw my own conclusions.

Assuming the hips and elbows are good and the pedigree is decent, I would think $1500 is a pretty fair price though I'm not familiar with how males are sold. Some people adopt out brood bitches once they are "retired" and many are simply given away to suitable homes. I'm not sure how I feel about selling a 5 year old dog but again, the reasons are unknown to me. A proven show line stud dog of that age would be much much MUCH more expensive (like you don't even want to know). An 8 week old male German show line puppy with a great pedigree would probably be $1500-$3500 depending on the breeder and locale.


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## elisabeth_00117

I agree with Lies.

I say it is an average price for a "pet dog" as this dog has prelims but no offical certifications at this point. He also has no titles to prove that he can work (not saying he can't, just nothing saying he has been worked) and so I would consider him a "pet dog" or "companion dog" going by the description.

For a registered male puppy with proved parents (work and health) and a guarente, I would say that $1500 is the average price atleast here in Canada.


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## spiritsmom

Just checking. Usually I see adult dogs for sale on various breeders' sites and the untitled/unproven ones seem to be $500-1000 depending on their lines. This one just seemed to be a bit high - they are selling him because he is going after their cats. The ad was very vague - I'd have to e-mail to get more info but since the dog is not attainable at this point anyway I didn't want to waste the owner's time.


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## LaRen616

Usually puppies cost $1500

5 year old dogs are usually alot less


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## selzer

Not necessarily. A five year old dog with an excellent pedigree, but now related to everything in the breeders kennel will do them not so much good as keeping a young bitch in his place. 

That dog can produce puppies for another five years easy. 

Let's say that this dog is out of a World Sieger and World Siegerin, how many of us would take him for $1500, on the pedigree alone? However, there is something that does not ring true on the x-rays. If the x-rays looked normal and good they would probably have sent the pre-lims in and retested at two. Testing him at five years, even a dog with ok hips and elbows may not pass now. So if the dog had an Awesome pedigree, and this x-ray statement, my guess would be that they are not being completely up front. 

Depending on the training, accomplishments, h&e, temperament, looks, medical history, and registration, I do not see this as out of the ball park for a 5 year old dog. With any of the following, awesome pedigree, a conformation champion, high acheivements such as SAR dog, OTCH, MACH, SchHIII, etc., proven producer of excellent dogs, the price should go up considerably.


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## spiritsmom

Thanks for all the input! Seems like it would be easier to find a stud dog (and pay a stud fee) if and when that time ever came than to own both a male and a female.


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## Liesje

Easier than?...


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## MaggieRoseLee

spiritsmom said:


> Thanks for all the input! Seems like it would be easier to find a stud dog (and pay a stud fee) if and when that time ever came than to own both a male and a female.


I think that is a MUCH wiser decision. You can take the time to really research and find a dog that's the best mix for your dog. Hopefully with a great breeder who can help match for the genetics, both good and bad, needed for the best pups possible.


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## Liesje

Oh I didn't realize the dog was possibly for breeding. In that case, YES it would be dumb to pay $1500 for an untitled, unproven male with no official hip and elbow ratings. You can breed to the top VA dogs for $1000 or less.


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## spiritsmom

Exactly. It would be better to just pay a stud fee than to actually own a stud dog down the road in the future.


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## Rusty_212

selzer said:


> Not necessarily. A five year old dog with an excellent pedigree, but now related to everything in the breeders kennel will do them not so much good as keeping a young bitch in his place.
> 
> That dog can produce puppies for another five years easy.
> 
> Let's say that this dog is out of a World Sieger and World Siegerin, how many of us would take him for $1500, on the pedigree alone? However, there is something that does not ring true on the x-rays. If the x-rays looked normal and good they would probably have sent the pre-lims in and retested at two. Testing him at five years, even a dog with ok hips and elbows may not pass now. So if the dog had an Awesome pedigree, and this x-ray statement, my guess would be that they are not being completely up front.
> 
> Depending on the training, accomplishments, h&e, temperament, looks, medical history, and registration, I do not see this as out of the ball park for a 5 year old dog. With any of the following, awesome pedigree, a conformation champion, high acheivements such as SAR dog, OTCH, MACH, SchHIII, etc., proven producer of excellent dogs, the price should go up considerably.


$1500 is cheap, compared to these:German Shepherd Dogs for Sale


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## selzer

$1500 is not cheap if the dog does not have good hips and normal elbows. It has NO value to a person serious about owning a stud dog. Or rather it will cost them a considerable amount to keep whether or not the hips and elbows cause problems, take up space and time that should be spent training and working the future stud dog. 

I looked at the dogs on the site. German showline dogs, imports, some with nice pedigrees, and with titles, etc. 

It is much cheaper to go ahead and buy a promising puppy from the lines you want, or to pay a stud fee. If you want a dog that is already trained and titled and screened, you pay more. 

I would not buy an adult that did not have the hips and elbows clear. I would not take anyone's word for it either.


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## Liesje

spiritsmom said:


> Exactly. It would be better to just pay a stud fee than to actually own a stud dog down the road in the future.


Definitely. The dog for sale would need thousands put into him before I'd ever consider him as a stud. Even the best studs in the world are affordable and fairly easy to book. I was in on a chat with a showline breeder who currently has a top stud at his kennel and he said he will not keep a male unless it's as good or better than the father, which is rare. I have no future in breeding because I love males and want to train and keep males, lol. For people serious about breeding, put the work into great bitches so that they can be bred to a great stud.


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## spiritsmom

Thanks for the advice, that does seem the most reasonable route to go.


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## Narny

The breeder I was looking into has a dog that apparently is worth a lot. This guy said this is THE PERFECT DOG! Not kidding. He had already turned down 75K for the dog. I was told that this dog could do everything and was going to be a stud dog for them. By the way... he will probably get 100K to 125$ when all is said and done. That's a house! But its also the cost of a stud dog I guess.


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