How Much for a Pedigree Collie

[WoodRose]

Hello, I'm hoping some of you may be able to help me settle a -ahem- dispute with DH. We are planning to get a new collie in the New Year. Our 2 collies were "pre-loved" and we got a Springer from a rescue who sadly died suddenly after only 2 mos.

DH is adament that he wants to buy our new puppy from a breeder because he is concerned that a rescue may have health problems. I think he is worrying unnecessarily. I would prefer to get a pre-loved or rescue puppy. I think I could sway the argument if I knew roughly how much it would cost to buy a pedigree collie from a breeder. DH thinks it will be about £200. From comments on MN and in RL I suspect it may be the better part of a £1000. This is way too much for us so I don't want to waste a breeder's time by putting ourselves on a list for a dog we can't afford.

So sorry to hear about your springer :(
we got ours from Dogs Trust almost 2 years ago, she's now Ten and is the love of my life, i'm so sad to hear you lost yours although i'm sure it is quite rare that this happens.

I guess with Collies it depends on the breeder and where you live. As lovely as Collies are they are rarely as expensive as 'premium' puppies luke Pugs and french bulldogs which tend to be around the £1000 mark.

I've seen Collie puppies for sale around here (South Wales) for £300 - £350. Good luck, but maybe try a rescue centre first you may find a young collie that needs some loving x

1. Sorry to say, as a rescuer, that your DH is talking out of his bum! :o A decent rescue will neuter, vaccinate, microchip, assess, and vet check and provide lifelong support and backup, as well as take the dog back should you ever be unable to keep him.

1. £200 will certainly buy you a Collie... from a puppy farm. There your £200 will get you a dear little soul who will be of about 6 weeks of age, too young to leave his mummy, has been brought up in a shed, who will be interbred, unsocialised, not health checked, not screened for genetic disease, not vaccinated (and neither will his parents be) and who will quite possibly be a vet bill on legs or dead within a month.

It's a harsh reality, but a reality nonetheless.

Otherwise it will get you a Collie bred by some novice dork without a clue, who again has done no health checks on the parents or pup and no idea of how to socialise or care for it but who wants to make a few bucks on the side.

I'n sorry to say that sometimes a dog can die suddenly and at a young age, regardless of coming from a rescue or a breeder... as you doubtless know, whilst you lost an ESS who was a rescue, MNer Kid lost the ESS she bought from a breeder.

A Border Collie from a reputable breeder with all relevant health checks will cost at least 3 times your DHs idea of a budget, possibly considerably more.

The money from the sale will go towards a new TV for the breeder perhaps, or towards the costs of the next litter.

As you know, a donation to rescue and the space freed up in that rescue when you adopt from them will provide sanctuary to another dog which would otherwise be put to sleep in the local pound for want of a home.

Perhaps you can remind DH of that too?

Oh... and I'd recommend Wiccaweys as a very good Border rescue, or suggest that if you are in/near Cambs that you meet the adorable Beau at Poplar Farm Kennels.

And without meaning to sound rude, smoggii, Wales has the worst record of all the UK for puppy farming, with Border Collies being one of the more frequently farmed dogs there.

I would avoid like the plague. Many Tears Rescue website will show you why.

If you go to their website, about a third of the way down THIS PAGE you'll see a beautiful tricolour baby called Roger, WoodRose. Perhaos show DH him?

Valhalla - I couldn't agree more and have told DH the same. The sad truth is that even if we had bought our Springer from the best breeder in Britain, he would still have died from a brain anuerism (sp?). As for buying from a puppy farm - not flippin' likely!! I really cannot put in print what I think of the people who could be so vile as to intensively breed dogs for profit. If we were to buy from a breeder, it would only be from a breeder who was breeding for he rown purpose and had extra puppies to sell.

Thanks for the heads up re Poplar Farm. I have been keeping an eye on Wiccaweys and Valgrays as well as Many Tears where there are currently about a dozen dogs I would adopt in a heart beat!

Woodrose, the vet said my dog may also have suffered a brain anuerism, but I believe he messed up the operation myself.

I did go down the route of purchasing a puppy from a breeder, but I searched long and hard to find a good breeder. We decided it was best for us as a family as we needed a cute little puppy that we could bond easily with rather than an older dog that may or may not have issues that would need resolving. Even though we got a puppy, it was still hard for us to bond as for a while, we feared the worst would happen again.

I paid £200 more than I had seen other ESS for sale. But I knew it was money well spent as it meant the parents had been health checked, the puppy was being well looked after, had his injections and had been checked by a vet on 4 separate occassions.

I always look on prodogsdirect. They often have some wonderful dogs on there that need a loving home. I would love to offer more dogs a home, but sadly, my house is not big enough and I can't offer more than my one little darling ESS a loving home.

Good luck in your search. I hope getting another dog helps heal some of the pain of losing your other dear little dog. I know it was even worse for you as you witnessed the death. We were at least spared that.

Thanks Kid for your kind words. As you know, we live in London as well. For that reason, we are committed to getting a puppy - be it from a breeder or a rescue - to ensure that it is properly socialised for a busy urban enviroment.

Our poor Springer, rescued from rural Ireland, was an angel in the home and a dream with children. However, other dogs - eeek! It was very stressful walking him and progress was painfully slow because we were constantly coming across other dogs off lead which wound him up. I was beginning to despair as to whether we would ever manage a relaxed walk with him.

I know there are no guarantees with any dog, but we are trying to minimise the risk.

I bet now having lost him, you would happily have him back even though walking him was stressful.

I know I'd happily have my pup back, even if he was slowly eating my stairs! The funny thing is, my new pup (well he is a bit of a giant now!) occassionally eats the same step but on the other side of it. Must be something special about that step!

Absolutely! We had him for such a short time but he has left a very large hole. I felt dreadful for DS(8) who had really bonded with him. It was made worse by the fact that we lost our female collie in June whom DS adored. I feel the pressure to get it absolutely right for the family in general, but for DS in particular.

Very odd about the step. Do you think it has some irresistable doggie scent? I know when our female collie was a puppy she completely ignored the Ikea pine and went straight for the antique hardwood EVERY time,

my DS was also 8 when we lost our pup. Actually he still is 8!

No idea about the step, he seems to prefer the skirting board at the moment.
But, I just can't get too cross at him as I am just so happy to have him. Everything is just material to me, easily replaced. Its much harder to replace a dog so I intend to make him very happy which will make us very happy.

Kids actually handle death much better than we expect them to. Infact, its us adults that don't seem to handle it very well.
DS did cry randomly for a few months after our pups death, but we have had a few weeks with no tears which is a relief as it doesn't take much to start me off crying!

I was telling another dog owner recently at the park about it and I literally had to fight back the tears. I needn't have worried though as he was almost crying for me!

Keep us updated with whatever you decide. Its a hard decision to make getting a dog, but you just need to know its the right dog.

You will probably have to do what we ended up doing. While we can't gaurantee there will be no ill health with teddy, we have reduced the risk by carefully selecting him from the hundreds of pups that were available. It really was worth spending the extra money as it meant I could relax a little and not worry too much about him dying young.
I ended up paying £650 for him.

this recuse deal with main Collies if thats any help www.heathlands.org.uk/index.php?pageid=1

Thanks lisad - I shall add it to my list of rescues. So sad there have to be so many.

Thank you Kid! Your mention of ProDogs made me take another stroll through their page of dogs needing homes - no particular reason, just instinct I suppose.

I've just seen a Poodle advertised there, which is just what my best mate and his partner are looking for (she sneezes and wheezes at the very thought of dog fur, poor woman). I know Steve and his other half will make fantastic owners and this pooch sounds like she needs a home just like theirs, so I've just sent him the link and Glady's email address and am keeping my fingers crossed.

WoodRose, I really hope you find what you're looking for. When you do I think he/she is going to be one very lucky dog.

I hope your friend gets the poodel Vall. I will be so happy to have played a very small part in getting a rescue dog a new home. (Very, very small part but still played a part by reminding you of the site!)

I often logged into there to follow the story of the little cocker spaniel Ben. He had a serious heart problem and was at risk of dying. He had the life saving operation and I think he has a new home too. He will need one more operation when he is a bit older, but for now he is okay.