Started & Finished Brittany Bird Dogs & PuppiesChief's Brittanys® All rights reserved
For Sale on Occasion. Average Age range to 6 to 48 months old. 'On Point' photos are of the dog pointing (wing or live bird)!
Amount of bird dog training varies. Original puppy price, Ability / Quality of companion gun dogs, level of training, whether they are sexually intact and worthy of breeding, registry eligibility (full vs. limited) and their bloodlines affect total price.
No Brittany bird dogs / gun dogs will be offered that we feel have extraordinary concerns (outside the ordinary for Brittanys). We require that you visit with the dog you are interested in, see it's companion / field capabilities and base your family decision upon that. An interview is mandatory and does not imply acceptance. All dogs sold with a 'first right to refuse' clause.
Dave gives first priority to his Companion Gun Dog forum members (it's free) before he lists any started dogs here to the general public. If you want on his mailing list, please visit http://my.brittanys.com to join the free gun dog forum.
WHAT GOES INTO THE PRICE OF A STARTED OR FINISHED BIRD DOG?
I compare bird dog value to fire wood still standing in the forest, yet to be cut, split stacked, hauled, unloaded, expense of tools, etc. Trees in the forest suitable for firewood are basically not worth much as they stand there. The time you put into it is where the value rises. Labor and quality of the wood affect the price significantly! It goes from value in tonnage to value in cords.
Consider that a well bred pup will be at LEAST 500 dollars in value at 8 weeks of age if it has a worthy proven pedigree. Now consider that Vet fees for shots and health maintenance will be at least about 100 to 300 dollars per year NOT counting snake avoidance training, non-core vaccines such as Lymes, Giardia, Crotalus toxoid (rattlesnake shot), heart worm prevention pills and testing etc.
Now let's consider that if the dog is professionally trained the owner has at least 1000 dollars invested in basic training, birds, fuel, licenses, etc.
So a one year old that is started should be familiar with: 'come', field commands including voice / whistle / hand signals to turn, whoa, heel, come, hunt dead, etc. Oh, and of course you want it to be good with kids, not mean, potty trained or potty trainable, etc. Of course the dog is still a pup so is far from perfect or finished.
Add all that up and a one year old with the above started training is a steal at anything less than 1500 dollars. The older they are, the more they cost. Spay / neuter affects price considerably and anything less than this affects price.
FINISHED Dogs have had two to three times the level of training and everything else. Consider that the average finished dog has many months of training, travel and wild bird experience. Finished dogs less than 5000 dollars are a steal provided they point absolutely steady, are absolutely steady to wing or wing and shot if requested, retrieve tenderly and absolutely to hand every time, back (honor) absolutely on sight no matter how far away, etc. have MUCH wild bird experience on multiple wild species including bobwhites, pheasant, and partridge not to mention experience retrieves on water fowl.
They must have a good nose and of course a good personality, good with kids, not too old, maybe potty trained or potentially potty trainable. Spay / neuter affects price considerably and training less mentioned seriously affects price. It is difficult to find a decent finished dog as most owners of these dogs do not want to part with them as they have invested months / years of their own life in this dog. They are very much bonded with the dog, something hard to put a tangible value on.
You can now see that there is a lot that goes in to a started or finished dog. |
