Mood:  a-ok

Rob and I get calls from folks looking for hunt and show puppies, started, and finished dogs a lot.  Many times, newcomers want to know how much a dog of a certain caliber will cost so I thought I'd give you my thoughts on the subject.

Rob and I have been raising these dogs for a long time and we've seen flucuations in the market but still, there are some steadfast rules of thumb that seem to stay true through the good and bad times.  Ultimately, you get what you pay for-- I'll explain as I go.

First up:  Puppies!  How much should you expect to pay for an 8 wk old puppy? 

Well, if you are just looking for a redbone pup and have no interest in hunting or showing the pup, you will likely have a little bit of difficulty finding a pup.  Why?  Because coonhunters, in particular, will not sell to pet homes as a general rule.  This is because they do not breed for companion stock and therefore, the pups they create are bred with it's intended job in mind:  to tree coon. 

There are a few redbone kennels that seem to cater to a pet market.  My opinion is that those are NOT reputable breeders nor reputable breeding practices so their puppies shouldn't be considered.

Instead, if you are looking for a pet/companion puppy- I would look for a reputable CAMPAIGNING kennel and would likely concentrate on show stock as they will be bred with a little less instinct/drive and may be more suitable as a pet.

With that said-- costs of a companion puppy will likely be around $450-700.  A top quality show 8 wk old puppy will range between about $350-700.  A top quality hunting bred puppy will range from $350-800, sometimes $1000.

With any given litter, we generally give a price break to active campaigning homes.  This is because we understand how much time and money you will be investing to promote your Tree Rizin' puppy.

Keep in mind, that we generally retain more than one puppy from any litter that we are going to keep and once we thin those puppies back, "pick" puppies will generally cost a bit more than their littermates.  You are getting an opportunity to essentially "bump" ahead of everyone that bought a puppy before you and take one of our keepers.

Now- hunting prospects....  if the dog is "ready to start" (has had no formal training) or "lightly started", expect to pay between @ $500-1000 depending on the breeding.  If the dog is "well started"-- running and treeing steadily with other dogs and/or treeing his own coon occasionally:  $800-1200.  If the dog is running and treeing his own coon consistently:  $1500-2500.  For a competition quality hound (or a nice young finished hound), you should expect to pay between $2500-5000. 

Remember- you are paying for work that you did not have to put into a started or finished hound and at about $350/month training fees, you can see that buying a finished hound certainly has it's merits.

For a national quality show prospect that is of show age- expect to pay $750-1000.  For a proven show dog, you should expect to pay $1200-2000.  For a finished, highly campaigned show dog:  $2000 and up and a lot of times, these dogs/bitches will be sold with the breeder retaining breeding rights or a puppy back deal.

Everyone prices puppies and dogs differently.  I would expect that with the AKC market now a reality, we can expect that prices may see a break between full and limited registration and I would also remind those looking for a show pup to be sure that they are doing their homework.  Try to choose stock that is bred for dual purpose and show stock to keep the conformation where you want them.

For those looking for a pleasure hunting hound, look for breedings out of hunting bred stock rather than show stock.

Keep in mind, that the above guidelines are what Rob and I would personally be willing to pay for a dog of the caliber listed.  I hope you find it helpful as you search for the perfect dog for you.

Posted by Kat at 12:45 AM EST

Updated: Tuesday, 31 May 2011 8:06 AM EDT

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Mood:  celebratory

Happy New Year everyone!

This is the start of my new 2010 blog.  Today's topic:  Redbones in the AKC!  As most of you probably have heard by now, AKC has now fully recognized the redbone coonhound. That means we are no longer Foundation Stock and if you haven't registered your hounds with AKC yet, you will need to go through a bit more red tape to do so.  You still have time though so get to it. :)

 As the redbone hits the AKC show ring, I expect there to be many new people seeking out the "next big thing" much like the quick craze for the American Leopard when they hit UKC last year.  The difference is going to be that the "rush" is going to be for the show market.  I've already gotten many inquires for pups and young hounds from AKC folks looking to jump on the shiny new toy-- our redbone coonhounds.

I would caution those looking to get a redbone for AKC show to do your homework.  All redbones are not built for the ring just as not all have the gear to make nice hunting dogs.  You may find yourself shunned from many of the hunters if you approach them for a pup. 

Do your research for nice show and/or preferrably dual purpose lines.  You get what you pay for & what you have studied for. Not every "winning" dog can go on to produce top national quality winning dogs. A world champion redbone may only produce nicely if bred to the right stud dog or bitch.  Some bitches will carry even a mediocre stud dog.  Others will produce a few gorgeous puppies within a litter and the rest of the litter is average.   Actually, this is more than norm than to have a stellar all-star litter - and that goes for any breed.

 My best advice to you AKC enthusiasts as you are looking for proven show/ dual purpose stock is to look at as many photos and study as many pedigrees as you can and then make SURE that you check the track record of the breeder you are speaking with.  Don't be fooled by claims of having "nationally winning" stock without a win list to accompany that claim.  One national win doesn't make a top rate breeding program.

Specifically, you will want to know how many times (and what wins) a breeder has placed at Autumn Oaks (our biggest coonhound event of the year), Winter Classic (our second biggest event of the year), and the various World Championships.  Another great question would be how many overall wins have been achieved at National Redbone Days and American Redbone Days.  These are our biggest breed specialty shows so they will also help in gauging the quality of the stock you are looking at.

Beware the kennel that boasts big wins at Redbone Sectionals.  Many times they may have been the ONLY redbones AT the sectional so unless they can show the number of dogs beaten, I wouldn't put too much weight in those shows. 

The final gauge I would look at would be the various state level or "other" coonhound breed days placements.  I would want to know if those wins were at Purina Events.  The purina point events will bring in far more dogs than a regular state or breed event. 

Now that you have the show record- look at the build of the dogs in the kennel.  If the breeder doesn't have benched pictures of their show dogs- THERE IS A REASON!!!  Don't accept ground pictures where grass covers the feet.  THERE'S A REASON the feet are not being shown.  Any winning redbone show kennel will have many bench pictures of their dogs and undoubtedly many of those will be win pictures.

Don't be blinded by "color."  That's a rookie mistake.  Redbones come in all shades of red and although the deep dark red is attractive, I will take a dog built right over a dark dog any day of the week! 

Some conformation issues to be aware of in the breed:  aside from the obvious (good tight cat feet, a nice strong top line, no hocking or pigeon toeing, presence of both testicles, and a proper bite)- there are other issues to look for on the red dogs that come up in some "show" lines.  My biggest pet peeve is a dog with a front shoulder angulation issue. The front shoulder should lay back at about 45 degrees.  You will notice some dogs that look very front heavy.  Their chest will sit out in front of the legs.  This is a fault and should be avoided.  It's the one that I will not forgive.  I hate a dog with a bad front end.... that's part of their running gear!  Another issue would be a straight rear end.  The back legs of the dog should show nice angulation.  If you don't see nice angle, there's a reason.  For some, this fault is a biggie.  For me, I want nice rear angle but I will sacrifice that angle just a bit for a very nice front end.  I will never sacrifice a front end issue.  HATE IT!

Finally, temperament is a big key.  Over the years, I have seen temperament issues prevailent in some lines.  Rob and I will not use a dog in our breeding program regardless of how nice or how much winning he/she has done if the dog/bitch is timid or aggressive.  I haven't seen aggressiveness so much but have seen timidness and some lines are definitely more apt to throw timidness than others but if the parents of your impending litter are timid, do NOT buy a pup from that breeding.  That's the best advice I can give regarding that.

Well, I think I've given you enough to think about for the first 2010 blog.  I want to wish everyone a great show and hunt year.  Check back again for the next blog.

Next time I will talk about the price tag that *I* would expect to pay for a redbone of each caliber.

Posted by Kat at 6:56 PM EST

Updated: Tuesday, 31 May 2011 8:25 AM EDT

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