Sheepdogs go for Record Price at Skipton Options

[juliepoudrier]

This article has been posted on Facebook by several folks, and I thought there might be some interest in reading it here.

Cheap at twice the price.

J.

[desertranger]

That's ridiculous. Over $9,300 for a sheepdog? That guy should be drag through those thousand sheep by a thousand sheepdogs. Disgusting!

[dracina]

Great article; I really enjoyed it. Good for Nigel- maybe we'll be lucky enough to see him run Rex here one day!

Karrin

[Little Bo Boop]

Wow, that's interesting, Nigel Watkins bought one of those dogs.....We had him over here as a judge this past spring for some of our trials...nice guy.

B

[Little Bo Boop]

That's ridiculous. Over $9,300 for a sheepdog? That guy should be drag through those thousand sheep by a thousand sheepdogs. Disgusting!

huh?

[Jack & Co.]

That was a very interesting article; I enjoyed reading it as well. Thought this summed up things nicely, "A good sheepdog is worth its weight in gold."

[njnovice]

That's ridiculous. Over $9,300 for a sheepdog? That guy should be drag through those thousand sheep by a thousand sheepdogs. Disgusting!

Huh? If you depend on your dog to help make your livelihood, it sounds like a reasonable price.

[juliepoudrier]

That's ridiculous. Over $9,300 for a sheepdog? That guy should be drag through those thousand sheep by a thousand sheepdogs. Disgusting!

DR,
When you can find a human employee for that price (and who will work as tirelessly and uncomplainingly as a border collie), then I think you can call the price ridiculous. It's not unheard of to see trained open-level sheepdogs sold for $5,000-6,000, so I certainly don't see a $9,000 price tag as over the top, though it would be out of my price range....

Please do tell me why you think it's disgusting. I'm sure there are many of us here who would love to hear your reasoning.

J.

[airbear]

As someone who has bought two trained sheep dogs, admittedly for no other reason than to compete in sheep dog trials (and to keep as beloved pets) I have to say that's very reasonable price for a young, proven dog that has benefited from the training and exposure of a true shepherd.

I'll give you some math, though if you think that buying a trained dog is anaethema, this might not be compelling.

I bought my Rex at 14 months for $1300. He had been just started, in that he could do little gathers and he could wear the sheep to his handler. He showed interest and talent, but much of it was largely unexplored. I liked his breeding (which is why I bought him) though there was nothing fancy behind him, just plain Western Canadian dogs.

Rex flew from Alberta to my trainer in BC. She trained him and trialed him for a year as a Nursery dog. I don't have sheep, or the knowledge to train up a dog. My trainer has both, plus a knack for working with young dogs. In-house training is about $500/month. At the end of the year, I had a fully-trained 2 year-old dog who competed at both the CBCA and USBCHA Nursery finals, who is pretty much ready to run in Open (as soon as I slow down his shed!), and has miles and experience on him that I couldn't have offered him through my weekly trips to my friend's farm.

The total "price" for my Rex by the time I brought him home was about $7500. I think he's a wonderful sheep dog, but I have no illusions as to which Rex is a more valuable animal. Thus, I rather agree with the title of the article - a bargain at twice the price!

[Sue R]

That's ridiculous. Over $9,300 for a sheepdog? That guy should be drag through those thousand sheep by a thousand sheepdogs. Disgusting!

I have to totally disagree. As someone who depends on my dogs on as small a farm as we have, I can imagine just how valuable a good dog is to someone who depends on that dog for managing larger groups of livestock over many acres.

Nothing disgusting about it.

[nancy]

Clearly, you have never truly needed a working stock dog.

Neither have I. But I have stayed on Yorkshire farms that certainly have done. Where do you think one could get a farm hand who would work for about 10 years for just over $900 a year and a bowl of kibble a day? And give you children who will do it for the same length of time for only the kibble?

How much do you think one of those big green tractors they use costs? Is that exorbitant? Or is something mechanical worth more than something intelligent?

Heck I paid more than $9000 for my Honda Civic - in 1997. It may be a great car. But it hasn't produced the next generation for me, even though I let it sleep with the 1997 Acccord.

[sweet_ceana]

Heck I paid more than $9000 for my Honda Civic - in 1997. It may be a great car. But it hasn't produced the next generation for me, even though I let it sleep with the 1997 Acccord.

Ok, if I had been drinking liquid it would have come out of my nose when I read that.

[Pippin's person]

Wow, that's interesting, Nigel Watkins bought one of those dogs.....We had him over here as a judge this past spring for some of our trials...nice guy.

B

I agree. I scribed for him at a trial and learned a ton. Hope he does well with Rex.

[Sue R]

Ok, if I had been drinking liquid it would have come out of my nose when I read that.

Ditto!

[G. Festerling]

I think its awesome!!!! I may admittedly be a bit envious since I will never be able to afford it...but then again, I will never have the need for a caliber dog like that! Not with 5 sheep.....

[Sue R]

With Dan out for training, I've been doing a lot of thinking along this line. Particularly since I don't have any sort of stock to train young/inexperienced dogs on, I realize more and more that the cost of getting a pup or even an untrained young dog is cheap - it's the cost of getting that pup or untrained dog to a "useful" stage that is expensive. Kind of along the lines of the old axiom that buying the horse is the cheap part.

Let's just look at the numbers (and I would love others to plug in some numbers of their own, and don't forget mileage) -

Pup $600

Vet costs (visits, vax, heartworm preventatives, wormers, whatever but not including spay/neuter) to raise that pup to one year of age $200

Feed costs to raise that pup to one year of age $180 (and I'm just pulling some of these numbers out of my hat)

Misc costs (flea preventatives, supplies) to raise that pup to one year of age $120

Cost of crate $75

So, that's $1175 to get that pup to one year of age, with no training costs, transport, etc.

Training per month with a trainer $400-500 per month, not including transport

Cost of a three-day clinic $300 (not including mileage)

Cost of a 1/2 hour lesson $40 (not including mileage, a cost we often ignore in its total value)

It doesn't take long for the price of a well-started yearling or two-year-old dog to look *mighty inexpensive* at those Skipton prices, does it? For a dog that is likely to give you 8-10 years of work. And when you start with a pup or untested young dog, you are stacking the odds in your favor to get one from a well-bred litter, but there are no guarantees. With a started/trained dog bought directly (not through auction), reputable sellers should give you a trial period so you can see if you and the dog work well together, and the dog fits your situation.

[bcnewe2]

I had been thinking along the same lines as Sue.
I'm sure I've got well over 10k into Mick. and he's not even that stellar of a sheepdog (except to me)
Yes probably half is clinics and training for "both" of us, but without him I wouldn't of had a dog to learn what I have.

I've nickeled and dimed myself into quite the expensive dog.

It's not my choice to buy a trained dog because I'm after the training for myself as much as the dog but in the long run even an expensive dog isn't as much as starting from scratch.

And I WON'T add up my true costs....I don't want to know!

[CLW1]

I agree. I scribed for him at a trial and learned a ton. Hope he does well with Rex.

Same here. I think the dog has already been sold/is being sold to someone in North America. I guess it'll be burning up the trial fields here!

[CleverColliesDeb...]

Same here. I think the dog has already been sold/is being sold to someone in North America. I guess it'll be burning up the trial fields here!

Having watched Aled Owen`s 'Rex' grow and develop since his birth; he is an exceptional working dog and now, at only just over two years of age still has yet to reach full maturity.
He has wonderful temperament and shows great promise; both in terms of top-flight competition, work and future progeny.
He`s a dream dog!........I only wish I might have been able to afford the $9000+ it took to purchase him!

[in2adventure]

I think the price is only extreme because I don't need a $9000 house pet. But I agree with others that it's all about what you need. If I had a huge ranch and needed a dog for everyday stuff for my livelyhood, i would think nothing of the price. I've trained horses for show and understand the worth of a well bred pony vs a backyard buddy when it comes to need. My $800 appy by no means could compete with a $40,000 imported hanovarian (sp) when it came to a hunter class, but we had fun trying. I think BC's are the same way.