Buying a Puppy - £500?

[Qua Sae]

Hi there.. I'm after a little bit of advice. A friend is looking at buying a puppy & she's told me that they are called 'Colliepoos' (Cross of collie & poodle, I'm assuming) & are priced at £500 each.

£500 is a lot to pay for a puppy & I'd never heard of this breed before so I looked online for a photo (as you do) but I can't seem to find it! I can find a Bordoodle & Cadoodle but no Colliepoo.

I really don't want to see her being ripped off. What kind of things should she be asking the owner? Should there be a kennel club registration for the breed? I'm assuming £500 is a good price for a pedigree breed of dog but for something they've made up is incredibly excessive, isn't it? We have a dog, he's a Border Collie/Whippet cross.. It'd be like me telling people he's a pure bred Collet!

I'd really love a bit of advice on this & I know there are a few dog lovers on here

 

[Shrimpy]

It's not a real breed, it's one of those daft designer crossbreeds. She'd have better value for money getting a non cross, so a collie or a poodle instead. There wont be KC reg papers cause it's not a true breed as such.

 

[Kankles]

Here's a pic of a collie/poodle cross. There is loads of information out there about what to look for when buying a puppy, just type a search string into google.

http://www.theimagefile.com/?Action=VF&id=1203558202

As shrimpy said this particular breed won't be pure pedigree as it's a cross breed, however all types of breeds need good homes, but I would make sure that your friend visits the breeders first.

Also pet insurance is a must. I bought my 2nd pup 4 yrs ago now and he had to have major surgery on his leg, it cost about £2000, but luckily we took out insurance from the day we brought him home.

X

 

[Shrimpy]

I agree all puppies and kitties deserve good homes but I think charging £500 for what is essentially a mongrel is a disgrace!

 

[PinkToaster]

My mum & dad used to breed purebred golden retrievers with family history going back longer than my own, and they went for £200 (males) £250 (females).

So to pay £500 for a cross breed seems ridiculous!

 

[Lexie_dog]

Also to say that although the picture link someone posted shows a fluffy wee bundle looking quite poodle like, there's no guarantee that's what she'll actually get with a cross.

She could end up with a dog that sheds like a collie, or has more collie characteristics than a poodle. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with collies, but usually people get say Labradoodles because they "don't shed like labs" but because they are a impure F1 hybrid you can end up with a poodle that sheds like a yellow lab. Which, having a yellow lab, I can assure you is a lot of hair.

For £500 I would be expecting free pet insurance, wormed, de-flea'd, first round of jags and papers, which is what a standard kennel club breeder would supply you with and a bit cheaper too.

Also, and I realise this is a sweeping generalisation and perhaps a bit unfair, you tend to find that when a dog is in fashion, there's a fair bit of irresponsible breeding goes on because the dogs are in demand so the *****es get bred frequently with sub standard sires e.g labs with bad hip scores, dogs with aggressive tendencies . Its low level puppy farming.

 

[missdetermination]

Current trend is crosses...a friend used to sell pure cocker spaniels (could barely get £500 for them)...cocker poo's however had people all over the country paying £1000!!! LOL

I like the picture above...very cute HOWEVER the border/poodle I saw at agility at the weekend was not like that...very stocky and out of proportion.

Any thing your friend may want to consider is that is a mix of the 2 most intellegent dogs, if she is not dog savvy it "may" be a bit much for her. My two collies would run rings round most

 

[JackieN]

Definately worth doing her homework with those two breeds. My little girly (not a fashionable mix or anything) a collie x gsd, has the nervy guardy traits of both and takes a long long time to get used to new people. Has to meet them soooooooooooo many times before she befriends them even aged 2. Genetically nervy.

I have to say knowing what I know now I would do alot more homework and would more likely get a puppy or younger dog from a rescue, knowing the money I was paying was going back to do more good

 

[The Punisher]

We paid £180 for our full breed border collie. She came with a full medical history, had already had all her jabs&had be wormed and de flea-ed. The breeder even threw in the food she was in and a toy she'd been playing with. £500 for what essentially is a made up breed seems a bit extortionist. We're getting another dog this year & we'll be going to a home & picking up a staffie. There are so many animals that need good homes at the minute. The RSPCA & Dogs Trust are struggling to cope in some areas.
Then you get rip off merchants fleecing animal lovers. It makes me so mad!

 

[Qua Sae]

We got our dog from the RSPCA & have had no problems with his behaviour at all. He's pretty much a perfect pooch. She has considered looking at the RSPCA but it can take a while to find what you are looking for. Luckily we saw Sox on our first visit & within 10 days, he was ours!

I don't need people to preach about insurance, I didn't really ask about that & our dog IS insured. I always recommend that others insure them but it's a personal choice. My Grandma poo poo's the idea of paying £20 a month, especially as we've never really claimed on it. We've just been told he has early arthritis & muscle wastage though so it ought to come in handy soon.

My biggest concern was that she wanted a dog mixed with a poodle because her partner is allergic to dogs - she wanted one that doesn't shed & is less likely to cause him any problems (hard to find in the shelters).. But the chances of these dogs being bred properly & any of them being hypo-allergenic is pretty slim in my eyes.

Not only that but if she pays £500 & then has to shell out for the vaccines, worming, fleaing & neutering costs as well, it would be ridiculous! I'd love to talk to the breeders & try to get them to come down on the price.. After all, if they're calling it a colliepoo they've obviously not done research on actual breed names for cross breeds - what are the chances they've bred from the best dogs in a long line of healthy litters? The last thing you want is a puppy that has all of the bad traits from the parents!

I was expecting the same as Lexie_dog in terms of what you get for your money. £500 for a dog is a lot of money! I know a woman who breeds Cavalier pups & although she claims to check all of her dogs, one of her main females that she uses had to be put down because of a heart problem - one which has probably been passed down through the generations into the pups she sells now! I would be pissed if I'd paid £500 for a pup, only to find out 7 years down the line that because I got him from that woman, he was doomed to have heart problems!

 

[judimac]

Tell her to get a rescue dog!

 

[JackieN]

There are some amazing dogs in rescue. They don't all have issues believe me, some are fantastic just need a loving home

 

[Qua Sae]

I know not all of the dogs in the rescue places have issues - I already mentioned that our dog came from the RSPCA & he's pretty much perfect.

She has looked (or will look) in the RSPCA but she needs a pup that won't set off her partner's allergies, which is why she wants the poodle-cross.. She thinks it will be hypo-allergenic & will shed less.

She's very unlikely to find a hypo-allergenic dog in the RSPCA or any other shelter.

I said all of this in my last reply (& most of it in my original post!) Why am I having to repeat myself? It's a tad annoying to say the least.

 

[Maximus]

This reminds me of all the hype a few years ago now when they announced Labradoodles!

 

[cherry-pie]

Also, and I realise this is a sweeping generalisation and perhaps a bit unfair, you tend to find that when a dog is in fashion, there's a fair bit of irresponsible breeding goes on because the dogs are in demand so the *****es get bred frequently with sub standard sires e.g labs with bad hip scores, dogs with aggressive tendencies . Its low level puppy farming.

Lots of good advice already, so nothing to add in that respect. However, I think Lexie is right in what she says about beware of cruel puppy farming of 'fashion breeds' - sadly it is not uncommon.

From a personal level my MIL bought a 'pekapoo' - a pekanese (sp?) crossed with a poodle. She paid alot of money (£600) for her and she is a lovely temprament but she has some serious health problems with her skin, her teeth and her bones which is all very sad. It has been a very hard lesson to learn and not one that I would like to see anyone else have to go through so please advise your friend to proceed with caution, ask lots of questions and not to rush into anything xxx

 

[reptara]

I would say that is far too much money for what is technically a mongrel a it's not a pure breed. Has she looked at lhaso apso dogs these don't shed and are hypo allergenic even though they're long haired.

 

[lifeizsweet]

Are the parents health tested for their specific breeds? At the end of the day its a cross breed won't be kc registered and could end up with the worst traits from both breeds. 500 is a lot we paid that for our lab, who's kc registered pure bred and who's parents are proven trial champs.

I'm not going to echo the get a rescue posts. Sometimes it's just not possible a rescue would never rehome with us but our Labrador leads a great life as both a pet and working dog.

If they want a puppy they will pay what they think it's worth at the end of the day, but with crosses be prepared to end up with the worst of 2 breeds

 

[Tinytootz]

Unfortunately, as has been said, there is no guarantee that the pup will have the 'good' characteristics from each breed. Would she consider getting an older collie poodle cross? That way, it's characteristics may have had chance to develop. At the end of the day, £500 for a puppy is £500 for a puppy - if it's what she wants, then go for it. My OH wants a Malamute, and that is going to set him back £500+ and they aren't a cross. But it's what he wants, so I see no point in convincing him otherwise. Why settle for a dog you aren't 100% sure on in the first place

 

[Lexie_dog]

My biggest concern was that she wanted a dog mixed with a poodle because her partner is allergic to dogs - she wanted one that doesn't shed & is less likely to cause him any problems (hard to find in the shelters).. But the chances of these dogs being bred properly & any of them being hypo-allergenic is pretty slim in my eyes.

Question: Why not just get a poodle?

Or a Bedlington Terrier or any other dog considered hypo-allergenic? Hypoallergenic dog breed - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I realise you can't answer this question for her on here, I'm just curious as to why she thinks a hybrid would be a safer bet in relation to triggering allergies? Is it a looks thing do you think?

Obviously you've already addressed the hybrid question in your reply above, I'm just curious as to what your friends reasoning is?

 

[Qua Sae]

I think the main attraction to this puppy is that it's there, right now. She wants a poodle type because of the hypo-allergenic trait, but also because of the curly fur because she's a hairdresser. Lol. She was offered a springer pup but I warned her they'd be a lot of work & wouldn't do well being left while she was out working.

I've been looking at a few pups online & found some pure-bred pups being sold for between £500-£750 in our area & as mentioned above, you get a lot with them for that price! Fully insured, vaccinated, wormed, flea'd and relevant paperwork!