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Comment by Ludi on March 22, 2012 at 1:47pm

Perhaps some form of payment plan would be possible? I did that with Ace's breeder. I paid the deposit of 50%, then the rest in two installments before Ace was ready to come home. Since her litter isn't born yet, you do have at least two months to earn some more and add it to the nest egg.

Comment by Kaley and Ravioli on March 22, 2012 at 1:14pm

and that is why i'm torn. i really liked overo's dogs but that price is just bothering me a bit. i mean she certainly has pretty much all of the qualities i'm looking for in a breeder and right now i do have about $1300 saved up but i was hoping to not use all of it JUST on the dog. i have a $75 amazon gift card i got from my credit card reward points and i'm planning on buying all my pet supplies with that, and i also have a friend who works at a vet and can get discounts on really good dog food. i was hoping to have the left over money for the spay/neutering or for any emergencies that might happen. if i spent it ALL on at the beginning just on the dog, i'd be stuck for a little while until i got some more money. (which won't be happening right away because i'm planning on taking some time off of work when i first get my puppy) i don't know, the money issue is all very confusing right now. i'm still trying to get ahold of other breeders to see what their prices are! (they don't answer emails OR calls! come on people...) i've called 7 today from the louisiana pwcca list and the texas pwcca list with no luck..

Comment by Ludi on March 22, 2012 at 12:02pm

Reputable breeders don't need newspaper ads, that's the whole point of being a PWCCA adherent. :) In France, almost no breeders of Cardigans have a website. They're all to be contacted by phone through the CWC national club. It's actually more common for good breeders to NOT have much of an Internet presence. The more you see a name crop up on-line on sites selling dogs, the less likely they are to be an actually good breeder.

For me, $1500 for a dog of that high a caliber, from Overo, is reasonable. I say "tad overpriced" in light of America's current economic status, and as an outsider (I live in the EU) looking in. Like Jane says, the initial purchase price shouldn't be your biggest concern. Dogs need a tune-up every now and then, and when accidents happen, they can come real fast, and hit real hard.

Comment by Kaley and Ravioli on March 22, 2012 at 10:25am

man in the last post people said that $1500 was too high and i could find one from $400-600, now the opposite is being said! the moral of the story is that i'm not going to give any money to a breeder that i don't believe is reputable and reliable. 

it's possible that this person could be a reputable breeder and just doesn't know how to create a website. heck, i don't even know how to make a website! assume positive intent i always say. assume innocent until proven guilty of puppy milling! (and ugly unhealthy dog breeding)

Comment by Jane on March 21, 2012 at 4:21pm

Sorry I have to agree with everyone else. Reputable breeders really don't put ads in newspapers, and they generally don't sell their dogs for that cheap unless there's some special circumstance (a service dog, for example). Did you try calling the breeders from the pwcca site for your area? Someone must be able to point you in the right direction.

I really wouldn't worry so much about the initial purchase price...honestly that is going to be nothing compared to the costs of owning a dog in general. Saving a couple hundred bucks by buying a puppy from a BYB isn't worth it in the long run.

Comment by Ludi on March 21, 2012 at 3:48pm

I'm afraid that really sounds like a puppy mill scheme brewing. The newspaper ad, the really low price, the "AKC registered" (that seems to be the biggest catchphrase for puppy mills/BYBs) bit as the selling point... I'd be REALLY wary about this one. We could be overreacting, of course, but chances are good that we aren't, and our worst fears are realized. Don't fall prey to the price tag and being in a "rush". Remember that you're looking for a companion for the entire duration of its life, and a good 10+ years of your own. You want to make a solid, well thought-out investment with both your time and money.

The old mantra - "you get what you pay for" really tends to apply for purebreds. The previous breeder may have been a tad overpriced, but she was incredibly thorough in every single aspect of raising her dogs. You can't really put a price on that.

Comment by Lawren and Teddy on March 21, 2012 at 3:41pm

My breeder held Teddy for me until I was ready to bring him home. I did have to put a deposit down first but she was very willing to work with me. It was a month actually. He came home at 16 weeks. It doesn't hurt to ask.

Comment by Beth on March 21, 2012 at 3:06pm

Beware puppy mills!   They will sometimes "stage" puppies in home and on farms that are actually mill pups, but the whole litter (or those not sent to pet stores) is sent off to someone's house for placement, to pose as "home-raised" puppies.  Yet another reason to look for show lines (for breeds that don't often do real work any more), or working lines (for dogs--- gun dogs, border collies, GSD's, etc) that still do work.   "Pet" bred puppies are sometimes mill puppies in disguise.   I'm saying that because that sounds really cheap for even backyard breeders.  By the time you pay a stud fee, worm, feed, vaccinate, vet-check etc, it's hard to even break even on minimum care at $350 per pup.

Comment by Kaley and Ravioli on March 21, 2012 at 1:54pm

like i mentioned above, all i know right now is there are akc registered red and white pups for $350-400. i  haven't called yet to get the more important details, but i'm not making my decision until i've talked to the breeder and i am satisfied with what i hear from this breeder. obviously i will want to go see where the puppies are being raised and ask all kinds of questions about socialization, health, vaccines, and the like. i've been preparing myself for a year and a half for the day i would get my corgi puppy, and i'm well versed on the red flag signs of the breeder. i'm just hoping that everything will work out with this one and my search will be over! one can dream, right?

perhaps i should have been a bit more clear about the boyfriend thing. right now i live at my boyfriends apartment with the exception of perhaps one or two nights a week due to the fact that i hate living in my current place and it is falling apart at the seams practically (hence why i'm moving!) so although the puppy will technically be at my boyfriends apartment and not mine, i will still be with the puppy the entire time. there is no way in hell i would let my new puppy stay somewhere else without me because that would mean my puppy would bond with that person instead of me and that would also mean i wouldn't be there to instill the good training habits i want. i am also the one who has been reading all the puppy books and knows what to expect and do with a new puppy and he (any no one else i know) hasn't. since i alone am the only one who knows what to do and what not to do and knows how to handle a puppy, i am not letting anyone else but me take care of it at this critical stage in the puppy's life. 

another thing, i've apartment hopped many times in my life (and this time it's permanent for a few years). i'm moving down the road and my family is going to help me move. my family is from out of state so we always move everything out and everything in in one day. by the end of the day every single box is unpacked (i don't have much stuff). 

i hope that eases your mind a bit, and i appreciate the concern. =)

Comment by John Wolff on March 21, 2012 at 1:23pm

I can see you're excited.  I hope everything works out, too, but hope ain't a plan.

Don't be in too much of a hurry to jump.  Great decisions made in haste seldom are.  Do your homework; research this breeder thoroughly.  "AKC registered" doesn't mean much.  A well-bred $1500 dog is maybe overpriced, but still worth a helluva lot more than 5x a poorly-bred $300 dog -- but, that said, many mutts from the pound are superb dogs, I see them every day. 

Look at Joanna Kimball's blog (Blacksheep Cardigans, Ruffly Speaking) and Wendt Worth Corgis;  I believe thay have some good stuff on evaluating breeders.

The "ad in the newspaper" raises questions.  Why would a good breeder need to place an ad?  I'd think a reputable breeder would have a waiting list by word-of-mouth.  Just wondering.

This 1-month hiatus is a problem.  That's a very important time for you, puppy, and your relationship.  If the breeder will hold the pup, that's OK, but it means you're dependent on the breeder for all the training and socialization that the puppy needs.  It could work out well (we got Gwynnie at 6 months; I'm still not sure why they kept her that long).  I do NOT at all like the idea  of giving puppy to your BF at this crucial time, and I do not think a good breeder would want that or even allow it (if I were a breeder, it would be a huge red flag).  If the breeder acquiesces to this arrangement, I'd say that's a black mark against the breeder.  I'd expect a good breeder to say, "...maybe next time... get settled, come back when you're ready".  Furthermore, you're going to have the stress of moving AND a new puppy all at once?  A puppy is a huge project.

I suggest pleading with the landlord for a 3 week exception.  They won't be happy about it, but they might say yes.  Although this could be extremely expensive if your place has carpets; puppies are hard on carpets.  The puppy damage could way exceed what you'd spend on that $1500 pup.

BTW, at what age is the breeder separating the litter?  If 8 weeks, many consider that too early (we got Al at 12), so if the breeder keeps the pup until 11-12 weeks, that's fine, AS LONG AS the breeder has time/commitment to provide the socialization, human contact,  and training the puppy needs.

Repeat, I do NOT like the BF puppy-sitting idea.  He might be a great BF, but puppy needs YOU during those first 3 weeks away from home in a strange place. 

Relax.  Patience.  Rome wasn't built in a day.  Breathe deep.