We put our 9 year old Brittany down this past fall due to rapid onset congestive heart failure. My wife and I have largely gotten over the loss, and came across a three year old female Llewellyn Setter, not fixed, trip color. Owner is selling due to divorce ( neither one will have time for her in posts divorce time).

What is the going rate for a dog like this? We have no desire to breed her. If we get her, we will have her spayed. Curious about how much I should offer ( or might be asked to pay).

Thanks.

I always thought 2nd hand dogs were free, same as 2nd hand wives.

So much depends on if she all ready trained ect.

Does she hunt.

At 3 she has 7 to 10 years left of hunting.

I would not pay much.

A good friend of mine once told.

Never pay more for a dog then your willing to lose.

Life is to short to keep a bad dog around.

So what I am saying if you buy the dog and she turns out to be the dog from hell.

How bad will you feel about the money when you put a bullet in her head.

At 3 I take her for free if she turns out to be a great dog wonderful

If one has to get rid of her no loss.

If she’s just a pet, puppy price seems fair providing she’s in good health.
If she’s a trained field dog it would seem a shame to spay her and make a pet out of her. I’ve seen top notch three year olds sell for 10-20 grand 30-40 years ago.

quote:

Originally posted by TREE 'EM:
If she’s just a pet, puppy price seems fair providing she’s in good health.
If she’s a trained field dog it would seem a shame to spay her and make a pet out of her. I’ve seen top notch three year olds sell for 10-20 grand 30-40 years ago.

Wow!

Can’t remember ever paying anything for a dog. When I was young I ran with my dogs and we caught and killed a lot of hogs with a knife or 22 pistol.

There is nothing wrong with asking money, it adds value to the dog so like many other give aways if something goes wrong off to the pound they go. Now arriving at a value should be an agreeable price, and as a fail safe if things go bad and the desire to re home what are the original owners feelings or suggestions. Dogs are pack animals and to disrupt their pack can be traumatic to them and may result in some form of bad behavior. There are breed specific adoption sites

quote:

Originally posted by TREE 'EM:
If she’s just a pet, puppy price seems fair providing she’s in good health.
If she’s a trained field dog it would seem a shame to spay her and make a pet out of her. I’ve seen top notch three year olds sell for 10-20 grand 30-40 years ago.

As stated above price is dependent on ability and breeding.
I have known bird dogs and hounds to sell for 6 figures.
Is there a paticular reason to spay?

I have competed dogs for quite a few years, people who are really into their breed will get them into preliminary competition to see if they have potential, in AKC retriever it would be for dogs under 2 years called DERBY and qualifying for those over 2. A high percentage of dog owners utilize pro trainers and they are the ones entering the dogs in these competition . Many dogs who get enough Derby points get sold to people who do not want to wait 2 years to see if they have what it takes and a lot of those dogs get washed out in full competition such the "Open or All Age", these dogs either as sold as wash outs or returned to the owner since a responsible trainer will not waste their clients money if the dog will not cut it. Now pro trainer will charge anywhere in the range of $500 to $3k per month plus competition fees. I purchased one of my lab pups from a wealthy businessman who purchased a excellent young lab for $30K and with a $2400/month pro was not able to get the dog into the ranks of a National qualifier. Most wash outs can go from a few thousand to whatever the buyer is willing to pay They are generally very good dogs with a fault however small it maybe which keeps the out of the ranks of super dog.

Friend of mine paid about 3k for a ready to hunt setter a few years ago that was 3-4 years old. He also bought it to breed one of his female setters to. I would think any where from 500 on up depending on training. Pup prices for hunting dogs are easy over 1000 now.

If this is a broke dog for foot hunting I’d say $2-3k is a fair price. By broke dog I mean will hold a point , retrieve to hand or stay with the bird. Back another dog in point. Not gun shy. If your not a breeder no sense in keeping her intact . I’d fix and you don’t have to worry about males and heat cycles.

quote:

Originally posted by twilli:
If this is a broke dog for foot hunting I’d say $2-3k is a fair price. By broke dog I mean will hold a point , retrieve to hand or stay with the bird. Back another dog in point. Not gun shy. If your not a breeder no sense in keeping her intact . I’d fix and you don’t have to worry about males and heat cycles.

$3k is cheap for a finished setter ready to hunt from good breeding. If you don’t want to breed her then spay and don’t worry about her coming into season when it’s hunting season.

The big question is whether it's a trained hunting dog or just a house pet.

If the dog will dependably search for and retrieve cripples its worth more.