On Sun, 26 Oct 2003 19:44:16 GMT, punchy wrote:

I am thinking about purchasing a dog from a breeder in another part of
the country.

I am in the business of breeding and selling reptiles. In that industry
it is common to negotiate prices.

My question is: Is this common with dog purchases as well? I don't want
to offend the person I am dealing with by making them an offer that is
less then what they termed their "asking price".

In general, no. The breeder determines a price and a prospective
buyer has the option to accept it or not. More information on
pricing, including breed averages, can be found at:
http://timbreblue.com/petdogs-l/gett...eder_cost.html. It is
considered an anomaly amongst the responsible breeders I know to
actually make money. Most hope to break even, but the reality is
usually somewhere in the red.

I would be more concerned about making sure you are dealing with a
responsible breeder than the cost. Good resources can be found online
to help make that determination. http://www.dog-play.com/ethics.html
is one, as is the breed's parent club which can be found through
http://www.akc.org/ (for AKC breeds). Over the lifetime of the dog
the initial purchase price is pretty insignificant.

Good luck!

Best regards,

Becky
"If people tell you their dogs have never produced a defect, their
dogs have probably produced only one litter, they don't follow up on
their puppies or what is most likely the case, they are being less than truthful."
George A. Padgett, DVM

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