cost in game dogs differs

[nmplott]

I was looking in magazines and on the net about hunting breeds. One thing I noticed was that bird dogs cost more than big game hounds which usually cost more than small game dogs. Any reason for that?

[Moonshiner]

more folks hunt birds and its harder to train a good birddog than a hound. Dont get me wrong it aint easy to train a hound but if you have ever been near a Springer Spaniel you'll know first hand that these dogs are a handful, they are sooooo hyper its unbelievable, their instinct is good but they are skitzos to train.
As far small game hound, do you consider a coon "small" game cause id consider squirrles and rabbits smaller and I know less folks hunt them with dogs.
Of course im out in Oregon, where we have tons of birds and its illegal to hunt really big game (deer, lion, bear) and not many folks hunt coonhounds out here, notice there are only a few users on here hail from oregon.

[Nolte]

I think it's all a matter of what guys are willing to pay. You see a lot more "well-off" people who hunt birds over other game. It's the reason guys shell out $200 a day to go hunt pheasants. Personally, I think it's much easier to train a workable bird dog than hound. It is just so much easier to set up training scenarios and corrections for the dog. Many time hounds are "out of pocket" so to speak and it's hard to determine what they are actually doing.

As for small game to big game, well sort of. I think price depends on what caliber of dog it takes to catch critters, the potential on the investment to make money, and also the ability of the dog. I know that some coon dogs have went for big time bucks, because they had that ability and the potential buyer had big hopes of making cash on stud fees. And as a general rule, bobcat dogs fetch the highest price because it takes a dang good dog to really put it to cats. It also takes a good dog to do the same to bear and lions (I think), but I think more dogs make the grade percentage wise.

[david]

Part of what Nolte is saying is "supply and demand". Certainly true in his example of bobcat dogs.

I know on the west coast the price of bobcat dogs in the seventies/eighties was driven sky high because of a couple three millionares that would pay whatever it took to buy a good bobcat or bobcat/gray fox dog. Alot of guys are not too willing to part with their good bobcat dog, because they know how hard it is to find/make one.
But even for these guys it can get a little tough to turn down ten or twenty thousand dollars for a dog when your wife and kids are looking at you with their big hungry eyes.

Another factor in the big game dog high prices, is the fact that there are people making a living helping others harvest big game. When they need a dog, they NEED A DOG, and prices in general get driven up by what these guys are willing to pay.

[nmplott]

I was mostly referring to the price of pups, for most bird dogs advertised on line they had pups starting at a minimum of 750 dollars. I know once in a while people like John Wick put out a litter with pups going for about a grand, but most hounds range from 250-500.

[nightowl24]

coon hunting and big game hunting is and was more for "backwoods" type of people. the haughty taughty people like to walk in the open fields and shoot birds...so "bigger" money people buy those dogs so they charge more money...the working man usually has coonhounds, so we put working man prices on them...i also think our typical bird dogs are akc registered and for some reason people think being akc registered makes their dogs worth more money..jmo

[Copper]

First off bird dogs are way easier to train than a hound dog. Yes bird dogs are not as easy to handle but that is easily fixed with a shock collar. Around here in Utah there seems to be a lot more hound dogs than bird dogs.

[houndcrazyfool]

i disagree, bird dogs are way easier! I have been around good bird dogs my whole life and my deer dog kicks ass on quail and pheasant. To easy... But i recently got into hounds and have three and they are not easy at all. They got to learn to have range but not run off, distinguish between game and know what not to run, stay tree'd, and on top f all that the game is not as plentiful.
So why hounds dont run as much money as bird dogs i have no clue. I think the top hound breeders are too cheap with the exception of old del cameron. Any of the rest sell their pups for 300-400 and they go in a split second. It seems to me that their is alt of good hounds out their but the really exceptional blood lines are sold on a buddy system. but thats not all bad

[pete richardson]

I think it's all a matter of what guys are willing to pay. You see a lot more "well-off" people who hunt birds over other game.


yup -- i think thats a big part of it-


my vast experience with bird dogs is one lol

she was born with bout 99% of everything she ever needed to know-

it just amazed me-- i bought books and video on training- --what training?



pup like that is worth a few bucks - i dont have anything to compare it to but i hunted woodcock over her at 6 months- find em , point retrieve etc-

she did point grouse that werent there

didnt pin them-- but 100% on woodcock or planted birds at 6 months -

i sold her ---she was spoiled rotten-- dog too smart to leave tied to chain when not hunting -had to be with me every minute- i swear she would pout sulk - more like a kid then a dog -
- there is such a thing as tooooo smart - too attached -- she was it --

i see that dog alot-- she rides in truck with a guy everywhere he goes-

she wont even look at me-

i dont know how many bird dog pups are like her- but she was worth many times what i paid for her

have had a few hound pups-out of hundreds -just naturals-- i think id pay bout anything for pups like them -- they have a way of getting themselves killed , hurt , maybe a poor investment - lol -

[nightowl24]

i have no experience with bird dogs...but if what you all say bird dogs are easier then that explains why the cost more. why pay $800 for a dog then have to spend a ton of time laying drags, running with a pup trainer, etc. to get the dog doing exactly what you want. where as with bird dogs(it seems)you let them go and they do what they do. you are paying for the ease of training. shoot i'd pay 800 for a hog dog that at 6mos i let him go, they find the hog, bay the hog, and stop the hog. it usually takes some months and some times up to a year to get a hog dog doing that, then you have to consider them getting hurt on the hunt. can't afford to pay 800 for a dog then it get hurt or die...100-200 i'll do all the training and if lose it, it doesn't kill my pocket book..

[Nolte]

i disagree, bird dogs are way easier!

I've got to disagree there partner on this one. I've got one lab and have had dozens of hounds. The Lab was much easier to train and I had no clue what I was doing. He's not a real finshed bird dog by any means, but he does what I need him to.

With bird dogs you can set up training exposure so much easier than a hound. I can go out and catch a dozen pidgeons and plant them one afternoon, then hit up a game farm the next and get the dog on 20 birds in a weekend. You are going to have a tough time getting a hound on 20 bear races, or cat races in a much longer time.

Trainging any type of dog takes time, but with bird dogs it's just much easier to set up and control the training.

[nightowl24]

nolte you said that you disagree that bird dogs are way easier....then in your post you basically back up the fact that bird dogs are easier to train...i mean you even say "the lab was much easier to train..." not trying to start a problem here i'm just confused on if you are agreeing or disagreeing...it seems as if you are agreeing that bird dogs are easier to train, but you start off by saying you don't agree that bird dogs are easier...

[Nolte]

nightowl

The way I understood the comment was that he said he disagreed that bird dogs are easier to train. I didn't see anyone up above that said bird dogs were harder to train, so the disagreement would have been with bird dogs being easier to train.

I better just stop now because this is getting me confused. Is a disagreement on a disagreement, sort of like making two wrongs a right.

In any case I think hounds are tougher to train than bird dogs.

[nightowl24]

a disagreement on a disagreement...two wrongs a right... ...all heck...lol....i think generally speaking the training of a hound is harder for the reasons you outlined, simulated situations. i will almost say training a hound isn't harder, but creating the situations are harder and there is more time involved...kind of like buying a bbq gill already put together and buying one you have to put together. if you buy it together it cost more, you buy it seperated it cost you less...same type thing with the dogs. if you buy a dog that is already tracking and treeing it cost you more, than one you have to do it all your self...

[BMC97756]

I have heard of squirrel dogs going for $5000 and my friend recently got a Patterdale terrier badger dog that set him back about $3000... It all depends on the caliber of dog in question not so much the type of hunting, I can get GREAT GSP pups for $150 all over and people around here cant even give their Labs pups away.. BUT try buying a finished dog of ANY hunting type and it WILL set you back big $$... I do have to agree that sight/scent hounds seem to be on the cheap side as far as pup prices go(often times free to hunting homes)..

JM2C,
Christian J.