Posted by Pops on March 26, 2008, 11:04 pm, in reply to "Re: Fair Price For A Well Bred Pup From Hunting Lines?"

WHY? why do you need numbers? right now walkers have numbers, but the breed isn't really any better. IMO it better to be able to find 5 good workers in 20 dogs than ten good workers in 1000 dogs (walkers) increased numbers hasn't helped the dog argentino at all in fact it has hurt a lot more. there are a lot more junk & show breeders now than working breeders maybe 5 or 8 to 1. ten years ago it was maybe 1 to 1. also look at the Mt Cur, since it's fad w/ the competition hunters you can't find any that work like real curs. you have to look long & hard to find one that hunts like a cur. and if you can find one that works stock worth a damn i'll kiss your hairy butt. increased numbers hasn't helped them at all. the absolute worst case scenario is the pit bull, back when 90% of the breed was owned by dogmen breeding for the box you might have one attack in ten years. in comes the petaphiles, fighting gets banned & highly publicised. idiots that are incompetant to own a goldfish start breeding them. they get sold as pets to fools that buy into the petaphile lies and are dumbfounded when their new precious proceeds to eat 2 german sheperds & 3 labs & snacks on a chow. now are you really sure you want more numbers & how much is enough? MAYBEEE, the hunting breeders that are asking outrageous prices are trying to avoid the issues & damage that comes from popularity. the edale went through a spike in the 20s or 30s and went through a similar issue the pits are going through but on a smaller scale because of a less rating driven, sensationalist media at the time.

 Post a Response

Posted by Robert on March 25, 2008, 10:42 pm, in reply to "Re: Fair Price For A Well Bred Pup From Hunting Lines?"

Yes, we need numbers, but the right kind of numbers. The prices, for the most part, are likely being established by something other than how well the pups can be expected to hunt, since I suspect most breeders have little or no idea how well their dogs hunt, let alone how well their pups will hunt. People who are really interested in maintaining the better qualities of the breed aren't going to be asking outrageous prices. Except for the pups they keep for themselves, they'll be most interested in finding an owner who will appreciate the dog, give the dog an appropriate job to do, and breed the dog if it turns out to be a good one. They'll be as interested in finding the right owners as the buyers are in finding the right dogs. The price will depend on the circumstances, but generally it should be at least enough to ensure that the person really wants the pup. More than that may eliminate the best potential owners, and that's not the way to ensure the future of the breed. I'd think it would be very difficult to operate a kennel of hunting dogs at a profit (and especially difficult to make a living from such a kennel) and still have time to work the dogs enough to know how each dog performs and to find buyers who are right for the dogs. Robert

 Post a Response

Posted by terrierman on March 25, 2008, 8:05 pm, in reply to "Re: Fair Price For A Well Bred Pup From Hunting Lines?"

I agree with both Robert and CJ. An Airedale can provide you with a fair amount of sport while out hunting, and there is also that "something" about them that is hard to put your finger on. They seem to just be more fun than most other breeds. However, there aren't enough good hunting lines being bred because there just aren't enough people hunting them, and you can't blame guys for not wanting to pay twice as much for an Airedale pup as pups from most other hunting breeds. Until they start being sold at a competitive price I think they are destined to remain a "minor" hunting breed. Pete

 Post a Response