# How much should a trained Golden puppy cost to adopt?



## drj02 (Dec 18, 2010)

Hello all...my wife and I are considering adopting a golden puppy for a companion to our 2 year old Golden retriever named Honey. A local breeder has a 6 month old blond boy trained for $2500. Is this a good price? Any advise would be greatly appreciated as we adopted Honey from a shelter and are not familiar with current breeder costs
Thanks everyone!


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

Wow, that seems like a lot, but I live in a part of the country where prices are much less. How does the breeder define trained? Basic manners and housebroken? Started for field?

How about the parents-full clearances on them-OFA or PennHip for hips, OFA for elbows, eyes checked annually by a veterinary opthamologist, heart checked by a cardiologist?

Why is she placing the puppy? Is he a show or competition puppy that isn't working out?

Lots of questions before an answer can be given on whether or not $2500 is too much.


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## Muddypaws (Apr 20, 2009)

Is he a show dog? What kind of training? At 6 months old it has to be basic with maybe a little conformation (if he was being trained to show). More important, do the parents have all of their certifications? What is the health history? Contract? Training would the the least of my concerns, puppies are easy to begin to train but it is a constant and ongoing process. You have to keep it up.


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## LibertyME (Jan 6, 2007)

What is the breeder/trainers definition of "trained"?
Housebroken, leash trained, crate trained has value...but only if the training methods used are not going to conflict with the training Im going to do...I have no interest in trying to undo overly harsh training methods or paying for training on a dog that comes from parents without clearances.


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## CarolinaCasey (Jun 1, 2007)

If all clearances on the parents are in place and the dog is up to date on preventatives, vaccines, housetrained, and knows some commands- I would have no problem paying about $1500-2000. A well bred puppy from cleared parents from conformation lines are usually about $1200-$1500. The breeder has probably at least $500 into training, veterinary care, etc. I guess what I'm saying is that I would ask what their puppies typically sell for and then add about $500. That is what I would find reasonable.


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## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

I guess it depends on what you are willing to pay for a trained puppy. I prefer to train my own because I feel like there is a bond that is built while training them, but not everyone is up to training a puppy.


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## Bogart (Nov 14, 2009)

Hi,
I have a 5 Month old Male Golden Pup. He is House trained, he still learns his sits, downs, wait/stay (still very iffy on that) and come.
He still likes to jump on familiar People (dog people) we meet on our walks all the time. He doesn't do it to strangers. 
I think 2500$ is a steep price and a 6 month old only has basic obedience and doubtful that it would be solid like my older guy at 6 years old is.
Our bonding time is also training the little Dude so I wouldn't want to miss that. Also soon he should come into the fun Teenie months and that opens up a whole other can of worms with the obedience.


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## Golden999 (Jun 29, 2010)

Please don't pay $2500 for a dog. It just makes the price go up for everyone else when people start successfully selling dogs at that kind of price.

If that's your only option price wise for a pure bred, pick up a mutt at the pound or on craiglist instead for under $100 and write a $2400 check to some sort of charity organization that provides food to hungry people or shelter to homeless people with the money you save.

I think you can get a golden for a lot less than the figure you quoted, though. You might have to do your own training (Which is a lot of work, but creates a special bond) or get an older dog without the same type of pedigree or expert training (but adequate training), but I think you can come away with a golden who will make you happy for less than 15% of that.


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## hvgoldens4 (Nov 25, 2009)

Lots of questions.....
Why is the dog being placed(not going to work out for conformation, failed a preliminary clearance, bad bite, etc) or was the dog returned to the breeder?
Do the parents have all their clearances?
Will the breeder still give support, etc? Also ask to see the contract on the dog.

I am in PA and $2500 does seem rather steep. Typically in our area, 6 months old to one year old puppies are placed for $1500 to a max of about $1800 and that is when they are up to date on all shots, microchipped, crate trained, housebroken, etc.


Jennifer
Harborview


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## TiffanyPartyOf8 (Jul 14, 2011)

I got our AKC registered golden for $30 on craigslist (gas for the guy to bring him to us since he wanted to see where we lived before leaving his puppy). Buddy was 7 months old when we got him. I doubt he's from a great breeder and I doubt his parents have clearances but we were willing to take a chance on him. He was going to animal care & control if he wasn't given away. He's seriously an amazing dog and we love him to death. He was housebroken when he arrived and had a loose concept of "sit" haha. He's come a long way.


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## opera330 (Nov 14, 2010)

*Priceless!!!!!*

I would pay the $2500.


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## lgnutah (Feb 26, 2007)

opera330 said:


> I would pay the $2500.


With the limited information the OP has provided, what makes you say this?


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## goldprof (Oct 12, 2011)

Delmarva Goldens has a 4-month old puppy available now for $1500, her usual price for pups. He's (mostly) house trained, leash trained, and crate trained, and sounds adorable!


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

Sounds like a lot for a 6 month old pup. How reliably trained can a 6 month old pup be?


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## drj02 (Dec 18, 2010)

Thanks everyone! Having a really hard time finding a recommended breeder from this site with availability. Still doing lots of homework and optimistic!


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

I agree that you need so much info still about the parents, their clearances, and this situation. My gut says no. I once considered spending this amount on a show puppy with a glorious pedigree, but common sense made me ask lots of questions- like why would they give a dog like that to me for any price,lol, as his father is a legend. Turned out he was missing 6 teeth, and they ended up neutering him and putting him in a pet home. I guess they were trying to see if a fool(me) and her money could be parted before doing the right thing. I say this just to emphasize due diligence. Check offa.org for the parents' four clearances and get a clear picture of why the puppy is being placed and why they consider him/her a 2,500 puppy.


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## drj02 (Dec 18, 2010)

Wow! Great info, thank you. I am so sorry to hear that story though. That is why this is such a stressful task. The scamming that goes on is just terrible! I will definately take your advise. We would spend everything we had for our Honey as she is truly our life every day. She is at the groomers as we speak and I am lost in my own house without her. Another reason why I struggle not to spend the $2500 if he is so awesome during our meet and greet with Honey. This process is soooo difficult emotionally. Thanks again. I will crunch any research I can in the hopes of being sure one way or another.


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## WLR (May 11, 2008)

A couple years ago we had a similar thread going here and upon a little investigation it was discovered the "breeder" in So Cal had some run ins with the local ASPCA and former employees who stated the training method was done with cattle prods. 
Nice training program.
Do your homework.


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## opera330 (Nov 14, 2010)

*2500 dollar pup*

I said priceless because if you are looking for trained, housebroken, 6month old with winter coming you won't be outside too often in the middle of the night. I just came home last New Years Day with our puppy Cody. Athough he is my third golden I had completely forgotten how cold and dark it is outside at two in the morning. We love our puppy and thankfully my husband can survive the winter snow and night time potties pretty well, but if it were me and everything else was in order I would pay it. To me it would be worth it.

Can you say who the breeder is? I noticed Cody's breeder is advertising a 6mo old housebroken and trained puppy. You can send me a private message if you wish.


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## drj02 (Dec 18, 2010)

I don't want to unintentionally create any undo negative feeds for this breeder by mentioning name but the breeder is Goldngrove in Vineland, NJ. Do you know her? I see you are from NJ as well? 
My goal is just to be as educated as possible with this potential opportunity.
Thanks in advance for your time...


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

goldprof said:


> Delmarva Goldens has a 4-month old puppy available now for $1500, her usual price for pups. He's (mostly) house trained, leash trained, and crate trained, and sounds adorable!


This is such a good breeder that I would go for this. Things make sense- the price, the age of the puppy, I am speculating the reason for placing must be that he will not quite be a show prospect even though he was the breeder's pick for a possibility, which is a great way to get a fantastic pup.


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

This is just my first process in taking a gander. First, I look on K9data and then on offa.org. I see fair hips, normal elbows, but no heart and eye clearances. I also notice no titles of any kind telling me that the dog works well in a venue. Right away, I need to ask the breeder to see her heart and eye clearances in case the breeder has them in hand but they didnt make it to the data base. I will only count clears from specialists. Even for my dear pet dog, I will expect the breeder to work with her dogs and not breed untitled dog to untitled dog. That is just me looking for my 1,000 pet golden. There is NO WAY I will pay 2,500 for a dog without some crazy-exceptional pedigree I want to use to compete. If you pay 2,500 for a trained pup, do make sure it is hips,elbows, heart, and eyes clear for prelims already. 




KPDATA
Goldngrove's Holly Millennium (4/13/2007-)

Call name:	"Holly"
Gender:	F
Country of origin:	USA
Registration:	AKC SR42838011
Breeder:	Debby Schaser
Owner:	Debby Schaser
Hip clearance:	OFA GR-98789F25F-VPI
Elbow clearance:	OFA GR-EL20497F25-VPI
Thyroid clearance:	Normal
Pedigree: Goldngrove's Holly Millennium

OFA

GOLDNGROVE'S HOLLY MILLENNIUM 

Registration:	SR42838011 (AKC)	Sire:	SN67172701 
No photo on file
Breed: GOLDEN RETRIEVER	Dam:	SN70801601
Sex:	F	*Titles:	
Color:	GOLDEN	CHIC #:	
Birthdate:	Apr 13 2007	Addtl. Reg. #	
DNA Profile: 


OFA Number Registry Test/Film
Date Report Date Age Final Conclusion 
GR-98789F25F-VPI	HIPS	Jun 5 2009	Aug 3 2009	25	FAIR
GR-EL20497F25-VPI	ELBOW	Jun 5 2009	Aug 3 2009	25	NORMAL


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

drj02 said:


> Thanks everyone! Having a really hard time finding a recommended breeder from this site with availability. Still doing lots of homework and optimistic!


This site isn't really aimed at breeder recommendations. Many great breeders don't have a major web presence, since they only breed a litter or two a year and place the pups by word of mouth and/or through their local Golden Retriever club.

What you'll see on here is well-intentioned people trying to evaluate basic ethics and occasionally recommending breeders who are forum members or a couple of other well-known breeders.

Googling or coming to GRF for breeder names will simply pass over a majority of those small-scale excellent breeders. Call your local Golden club and build some relationships.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

Just a cursory search of Goldngrove's website raises a couple of questions. I checked the parents listed for "current litters" and found hip and elbow clearances on the first dogs but no heart clearance mentioned. The hip and elbow clearances are posted on k9data, and I confirmed them at offa.org, but there's no heart clearance registered with OFA, nor did they post anything about it on on k9data. Searching the CERF database with the dogs' registration numbers also turned up no eye clearance. On their own site, they say eyes and hearts are "good," but there's no indication of how they arrived at that claim.

It's certainly possible that those heart and eye exams were done properly, but the paperwork wasn't done to have them posted. If that's the case, I would be asking to see proof of an AVCO exam and a specialist heart clearance. The GRCA's Code of Ethics was recently changed to more strongly encourage that eye and heart clearances be registered in their respective databases, so I prefer to see breeders doing that. If they don't, though, the important thing is that the exams are done and the proof is provided to the buyer.

Do you know the parents of the 6 month old male in question? I would certainly want to see proof of all clearances before I even began to think about something like $2500.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

I see Jill has already beaten me to the proverbial punch.


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## opera330 (Nov 14, 2010)

*Yes*

That is where Cody came from


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## timberwolf (Apr 1, 2009)

I'd love to see a "fully obedience trained" 6 month golden!!!


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## SeaMonster (Jul 4, 2011)

I guess if someone had to spend 6 months leash training, potty training, and teaching the puppy basic obedience and some commands, the 2500 would justify the time and effort they put forth. 

I would never pay that though, training your own dog the very basics of living with people is so much fun and rewarding when you see results.


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

timberwolf said:


> I'd love to see a "fully obedience trained" 6 month golden!!!


That was my first thought as well. I was going to say that breeder must have found the holy grail because I've never seen a fully _anything_ (except maybe fully adorable or sweet) 6 month old golden! 

And I'll echo what LJilly said, $2500 for a puppy is a lot more than I would pay. For that price I would expect the parents to be heavily titled, proven producers of exceptional and healthy puppies, and be stellar representations of the breed. I've only heard of 1 or 2 litters in the past few years (one born recently, though) that would qualify, but those puppies are often very coveted and spoken for well in advance of the breeding. 

I would certainly hope that a breeder would spend time with any un-sold puppy to work on housebreaking and some basic obedience...but IMO that shouldn't cost extra.


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

GoldenJackPuppy's post is perfect- the salient point is that, in a litter in which the pups are going for 2,500 to 5,500, it would be a death-defying act of awesomeness to be on the list.


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## opera330 (Nov 14, 2010)

*What's Important*

I feel that it is strictly personal what we look for in a golden. I could care less how many titles follow the Dam or Sires name. What I look for are the clearances and if I am comfortable with them that is how I decide. I have come across many "reputable breeders" that upon contact find that the dog is "just under two", or it is OK to breed fair hip to fair hip with several fairs down the line, etc. It is what is important to the buyer that matters. I was choosing a friend a family member someone that we all could love. The rest is up to me to protect his environment, choose his food wisely and provide the exercise and training that he needs.


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