Price of working sheepdog/border collie Working Dogs

Hi, I'm looking into getting a working sheepdog/border collie. I have experience with the breed and am currently searching for a puppy.
I’m probably going down the sports bred line and wondered what people think is an acceptable price for these dogs to be sold at. I ask this as there seems to be quite a big difference in price.
Would you expect to pay less for a WSD (just a border collie not registered on the breed register for those that don't know) than for a BC, but that has the same health tests done as a breed registered BC?
What do you think is an acceptable price and would you expect to pay less for a WSD than BC?
I just don't want to pay over the odds and it turns out I was actually ripped off.
Thanks

You say you want to go down the sports bred line, which makes me think you wish to compete with your dog.

If you have gone to a particular kennel because the dogs they breed are very successful in one or more spheres this is presumably your key objective, price is secondary.

And if you have gone to a kennel which has a fantastic history of producing Champions in Working Trials, Obedience, Agility etc then you may find that there is a long waiting list, for a reason.

Remember outwith KC BREED registration (as of course these are registered on the activity register) you are in effect paying for the knowledge, skills and experience of the breeder; the calibre of the dogs they produce and the reputation they have.

If you feel you are being ripped off you need to ask yourself why? In what way?

And then you can walk away.

Kennels with awesome sports reputations are:

Waggerland (WT, Agility Champions and OW in Obedience)
Glenalpine (WT Champions)
Colliewood (WT and Ob Champions)

etc etc

I think you have to look at what you are paying for. A good breeder will rear their litter with as much time, care and socialization possible. They will do their upmost to bring healthy happy and sociable examples of the breed into the world.
Breed registered or not, if the same amount of care and thought has gone into the litter then it makes no difference in temrs of the dog you are getting.

Some ISDS dogs (with good lines) will go for £300 - some Show bred/sport bred BCs will be up to £600 - and vice versa.

A dog is worth what you are willing to pay IMO.

I would however want to look at how the parents and relations are doing.

I always remember someone in BCs talking to me when I was looking to breed, she said collies are bred for a herding instinct, breeding from agility/ob champions is nice but that comes down to training. My own observations - if someone who is considered 'excellent' in a certain field produces pups, many pups will go onto handlers/trainers who are also good and the pups are very successful, the same applies to people who doing OK at said field, the pups will also go on to compete, but more often than not, at the same level. Just my observations.

It all depends what you want your collie for. Are you wishing to train and compete in some form of sport?

Remember that working bred collies often make excellent sports propositions and can thrive in a busy, active and knowledgeable home. If the litter are ISDS registered then the parents will be eye tested. The average price for an 8 week old working bred collie is around £150.

- they are a bit more expensive down here!!

Wot she said.

Bit more expensive here too!

Really? Our last couple of litters (from eye tested proven parents and excellent working lines) were sold to working homes for £120 each. Most shepherds/farmers are not willing to pay more than £150. I bought Moss as a pup from a top trialler for £200, but many working men thought I had spent too much

In the latest Farmers Guardian there are three litters of collie pups advertised (West Yorks, Staffs and Cheshire) and all are £150.

I know an ISDS litter that was £300, and our local farmer had one recently and charged about the same.

Possibly some are cottoning on to the fact people are looking for these dogs for sport? A quick look on the net will tell you the kind of prices some BCs are fetching - I cannot think of another reason the farmer local to us bred, he had no need for a dog and did not keep from the litter.

However - that being said - I know a lot of people having problems shifting litters, if the homes are not lined up, it can be a nightmare to shift a litter at the moment, and its coming up to Christmas, one BC breeder I know of had 3 litters a few years back to help pay for Christmas, (possibly the same one) did it last year, could not sell one pup and they all ended up in rescue.

I wonder if it is just the North/South divide thing again? I have never known a farmer/shepherd spend that much on a pup, although they will happily pay £thousands for a fully trained dog ... well perhaps not happily They all stand aghast when I have told them what I have paid for my GSDS ;-)

Your local farmer could have perhaps had an accidental litter if he didn't keep one/need one for himself. Or, as you say, he could have just thought it was a good way of making a quick buck :?

Wow. To be honest, my pups will be a fair bit more than that...how can they afford to let them go so cheap?!

I paid £300 for ripley and £400 for mav.

I think it must be a North/South thing... Down here (Kent) litters of collie pups are going for around £350-450. Having said that everything South always is a good few £-£££ more expensive than it is the further the north you go, maybe because the demands are not as much North?

I know where to get a collie now for the best price for my OH

There are "successful"kennels that health test their dogs & just forget to mention the history of epilepsy in past & current dogs. I can think of 2 litters of from such kennels that have had 2 or more epileptic puppies bred from them. Not just Show lines, but Obedience too, a very successful handler in Obedience made/makes no secret that their dog sired epileptics in more than one litter.

Please be very very careful when looking at WSDs(ie not KC or ISDS registered)they can & do have breeds other than WSD/BC behind them & are not just unregistered pure bred WSD/BC. There is at least one WSD line with Labrador behind them-another breed with a poor record with epilepsy in some pedigrees.

As for the price I know of some WSD litters that have sold for in excess of £500 & ISDS registered litters that have sold from £150.

If I was to buy a KC only registered BC I would look for ALL available health tests to be done & as little as possible "foreign"(ie USA, Australian, New Zealand )behind them & I would also expect the breeder to be 110% honest about epilepsy behind their dogs. I very much doubt I would ever buy a KC only registered BC again-the one I did buy was for the lines he carries to a super working Ob Ch from ISDS lines nothing else.

In future my plans really lay with pure ISDS lines from known & proven lines(with the help of the breeder of two of my dogs(ISDS ones) I have an almost fully health tested bitch(she's too young for her clinical eye test & to be bred from at the moment) who I hope to have a litter or two from within the next few years-one possibly to my KC only registered boy(subject to hip/elbow/eye testing results) & another to a good ISDS working dog. I did plan to breed her to my dog's brother, but have had good cause to change my plans

It was very deliberate He went to a proven working dog who is doing well trialling.

odd...where did my post go???


i paid £500 over ten years ago for my dual registered bc...maybe cos he was from surrey lol

I've seen plenty of registered dogs for the kind of money Kirsty is talking about. Personally, I wouldnt pay more than £200 for a collie and even if I did want to compete, not sure i'd go to a specific sporting kennel. IMO, there are plenty of farm bred collies out there who are more than capable of competition standards. There is so much choice that it's not necessary to pay silly money for one.
I would never contemplate paying over £300 for one, that is for sure.

i paid £400 for my dual reg bc 4 years ago

When I was looking for a dog after Shadow died border collie pups with papers were going for around £45. This was about 8 years ago. I wouldn't think they'd have seen well bred with a telescope though.

They seriously don't make any money from the litter - I am sure if I totted up the eye testing, x-ray of bitch, food for pups (as well as extra for pregnant and nursing bitch), wormers, flea treatment etc then we would have probably lost money on the litters we have bred, but it was never about making money.

Most (decent) shepherds are breeding to keep a pup or two for themselves and they also know that if they want their pups to go to genuine working homes then there is absolutely no point in trying to charge more than the average £150, as other working folk just won't pay much more than that.

I do recall one litter advertised in the FG for weeks and weeks, as it was a litter out of a KC bitch but taken to an ISDS dog. The advertiser was wanting in excess of £300 if I remember rightly.