Hello All,
I've just been thinking about a couple questions I've been asked about our puppies and thought you might appreciate reading the answers as well so here's what's on my mind today:
One of the main questions I get asked is how I arrive at my $600. price tag for my puppies. Actually that's quite easy to explain;
First as far as pricing goes, you can find a Parsons Russell priced anywhere from $150. to well over $1,000. depending on registration, show quality etc. so I guess that would mean mine are kind of mid-range in that dept. But my reasoning goes far beyond that...
Have any of you been to your local veterinarian lately? Well, the last time I took my HEALTHY female "Coffee" in for a well-check and a few vaccinations, my bill was around $250.! So having a healthy dog would be highly beneficial to a dog owner and mine have not been sick one day in their lives, come from a long line of healthy stock, have no genetic abnormalities etc. If I was to lay odds on my pups, I'd say your visits to a vet will be very rare. Also, a Parsons Russell can live to be over 16 yrs old so having a healthy one is even that much more important!
Another consideration you need to think about is my entire mind-set to raising these puppies. I raise with a focus on the goal of presenting you with a family member. I do not like kennels and I have not liked the personality of many dogs I have met that have been raised for show. It seems you need to focus on one or the other in my opinion and I prefer to have a family member. Now that is not to say you cannot raise my pups for the show ring and they obviously have the genetics for it but I just prefer not to do that with mine. So mine are raised in the center of our home and on our laps much of the time.
Another consideration when adding a new puppy to your family is personality. Parsons Russells are known for their active & happy personality but I've met lesser quality dogs (In fact, I brought one home from a rescue once) and if a dog can be schizophrenic well, I've seen a few I'd label that. Man...when a Russell goes crazy he'll take you along with him! These dogs slip out any open door and chase anything in site but never think about looking behind them or taking stock of where they've been and usually by that evening or a couple days later, your local dog catcher or veterinarian will be calling if you have tags on him and then besides losing your mind worrying about them, you may also have a fine to pay. All puppies go through a "puppy stage" but once mine get through that time, they would prefer to be with you then to running outside by themselves. They are active and LOVE running with you on a leash but they really don't love the idea of being alone. And even if you have two dogs, my Russells will prefer his people to his dog friends.
My dogs are also as gentle as I've ever seen a dog to be. I have 6 children and 10 grandchildren and have NEVER had either of my dogs hurt or threaten any of them in any way even though at times I'm sure they may have deserved it...ha,ha. Of course in your family this will depend on the interaction they have with people and how much they are socialized.
And finally, I paid a high price for my breeding pair because I wanted to be sure of the genetics and history so that if I decided to breed them I could be proud of their off-spring. I spare no expense in presenting you with a high quality puppy I can easily guarantee and I feel the $600 price tag is fair indeed.
In closing I want to share a recent photo of our daughter with Coffee and one of her pups...I do think sometimes "a picture is worth a thousand words".
If any of you who have owned our Russells would like to comment to our group about your experience with our dogs, please feel free to reply.
Thanks for taking the time to read my thoughts!
Shirley
