Pam Crump    Shih Tzu

 

Pricing Considerations for Pets

 

The prices of our puppies are considerably higher than prices charged by many breeders.  Often, the low-price breeders:

  1. do not register puppies with AKC (the only registry in the U.S. that has it’s reliablility in the pedigree),
  2. do not have a reliable pedigree (cannot even know if the puppy is pure bred or is a result of inbreeding),
  3. do not offer a written health guarantee (or the guarantee is worded such that the buyer gets no real financial protection),
  4. often have puppies with health problems (resulting in high vet bills and/or death of the puppy)  [We hear such horror stories frequently],
  5. often have puppies with significant inbreeding since they have so few males to breed (resulting in health and conformation problems),
  6. have puppies that fail to conform well to the AKC breed standard (and thus do not have the proper appearance of a Shih Tzu),
  7. do not plan breedings well (to maximize the quality of the puppies),
  8. do not invest much money in their breeding stock (thus reducing the likelihood of quality),
  9. do not provide proper health care for their dogs and puppies,
  10. do not provide healthy living conditions for their dogs and puppies.

 

Many puppy buyers do not realize and appreciate the issues that should be considered in determining the value of a puppy.

  1. AKC registration and pedigree,
  2. written health guarantee (of at least a year) that provides for full refund of the purchase price (not just a replacement puppy),
  3. good conformation to the AKC breed standard (best assurance being the significance of Champions in the pedigree),
  4. rare colors or markings that are difficult to produce, and are in high demand,
  5. the ongoing contact and help available from the breeder.

 

We attempt to determine the prices of our puppies based on how we believe the following factors influence the desirability of the puppy for a pet owner, as well as the rarity of the desirable factor(s).  [Please note that the order of desirability for a show prospect is not at all the same as for a pet.]

 

[Note:  All of our puppies are priced for a pet home with limited AKC registration (without breeding rights).  We will consider giving full AKC registration (breeding rights) to Show homes or Breeding homes.  The price for full registration is more than for limited.

 

1.                Girls are more in demand than boys.

2.                The more Champions in the 5-generation pedigree, the higher the price.

3.                Certain colors and markings are rare and/or more in demand.
           (listed in order of desirability)

a.                 Coat Markings

1)    Tan “Dobie” markings (extremely rare)

2)    Solid color with no markings

3)    Multi-color with symmetrical markings

4)    Multi-color with asymmetrical markings

b.                Color of Points (eyes, nose, lips, paw pads)

1)    Blue (rare)

2)    Liver (eyes may be green) (rare)

3)    Black

4)    One blue eye (fault)

5)    Pink on nose, lips, or eye rims (fault)

c.                 Color of Coat (solids preferred to multi-colors)

1)    Blue (very rare)

2)    Dark Chocolate (very rare)

3)    Lighter Chocolate (or Liver) (rare)

4)    White (solid only) (very rare)

5)    Cream

6)    Brindle

7)    Red

8)    Black

9)    Silver

10)    Gold

4.                Adult Weight (for pet)

1)    under 8 pounds (rare)

2)    8 to 10 pounds

3)    10 to 12 pounds

4)    12 to 14 pounds

5)    over 14 pounds

5.                Other factors to consider

a.                 Coat Thickness

1)    Extremely thick

2)    Thick (normal)

3)    Thin (fault)

b.                Coat Texture

1)    Silky

2)    Cottony

c.                 Coat Straightness

1)    Straight

2)    Wavey

3)    Curly (fault)

d.                Bite

1)    Even

2)    Slight underbite

3)    Larger underbite

4)    Overbite (fault)

e.                Teeth

1)    Straight

2)    Crooked

f.                   Height (at withers)

1)    9 to 10½ inches

2)    8 to 9 inches

3)    10½ to 11 inches

4)    under 8 inches (fault)

5)    over 11 inches (fault)

g.                Body Length (between withers and root of tail)

1)    slightly longer than height

2)    same as height or slightly shorter

3)    significantly shorter or longer than height (fault)

h.                 Head

1)    Round, Broad and Domed

2)    Narrow and/or Flat (fault)

i.                    Eyes

1)    Large, round, not prominent, set well apart, looking straight ahead, minimal white in eye

2)    any significant variation from this (fault)