Why are Showlines generally priced higher than Working Lines?? - Page 3

Because everything is more expensive.  Good breeding dogs ("good" as far as what show people are looking for) can be five or six figures.  Most ship dogs - even to other continents - for training and titling so there's that expense.  Shows and handling fees are not cheap, that adds up for someone actively campaigning their dogs.  People are willing to pay more for SL puppies it seems.  I'm not talking about suckers paying like $7500 for a puppy, but most SL puppies are about $2000-$3500 it seems.

Well why do more SL breeders send dogs overseas for training.

Yeah they can be trained to title, they are at least capable of that.

Gotta say though, I have seen a bunch and a very high percentage have to be built up painfully slowly.  Seeing this first hand I think it is crazy, the extent they have gone through just to set a foundation.

And lots of people have been fooled by the "best of both worlds" trick statement.  When they see the WL and SL side by side a lot of them get a bit disapointed with what they are stuck with and attached to.

I would bet that their are more SL peeps getting WL the next time than the other way around.

And this comes from uneducated people being sold by the SL breeder.

Great thread Sonya! VKGSD's - makes sense, thanks. This is what I was trying to get at without breaking down the two lines for their generalized faults. I'm in love with this breed in general, and would rather not contribute to the demeaning of either line that I know many breeders on each side work hard to maintain to the standard of.

Troublelinx - I'm not well versed on any of that, but I would think its because of the higher standards in training overseas and the resources available? And perhaps that these facilities overseas are more knowledgeable in the guidelines for training a dog to reach top levels? In turn, making that dog even more valuable here in the states? Just my thoughts...

This just gets funnier by the post.

I have it on good word that SL dogs poot pixie dust.

This may be why they are so expensive

I will preface this, for those who do not know, I have show lines. My thought on why SL pups cost more really boils down to one thing and one thing only, money grubbing breeders. The MAJORITY of SL  breeders do NOT breed to obtain their next dog for competition.(By competition I mean dog sport not running around a ring.) They breed to make money. They pay large sums of money for a "TOP QUALITY" show line stud to breed to every single mediocre bitch they have in their kennel. This costs money!!! Look around at some of the self proclaimed "Top Breeders" how many of them actually train and title their own dogs? How many litters do they produce a year? Are any of the studs that are used dogs they bred and titled themselves? How many of the females they are breeding did they train and title themselves? or are they breeding untitled females who sport an SG show rating? Or are the majority of their bitches ones they imported already "titled"? All of this costs money. You can't make a lot of money breeding if you only charge $1500.00 per puppy.

I am still shocked and freakin' amazed that the general public will pay 2500.00+ for a puppy! When I have inquiries about a litter I have and the prospective buyer finally asks the question "how much for a puppy?" and I tell them "1500.00" it always surprises me when they ask "what is wrong with your dogs that the price is so low?"  Maybe if I charged 2500.00 a puppy, I could call myself a "Top Quality Breeder". Then again, I prefer to breed to produce my next dog so I can continue to PROVE my breeding program. I won't be rich in money, but I will be rich in ways that count.

BTW, I have yet to see a SL puppy that was purchased for 2500.00+ that was worth the money. A puppy purchased for that kind of money better chit gold bricks!

i think a contributing factor .. and i don't mean what i am going to print in a critical way but there is substance to this .. the standard calls for a noble, regal  looking canine for the GSD ,,, the fact of the matter , and i mean this as a percpetion of the average every day person , even though ' beauty is in the eye of the beholder ' .. many working line dogs .. are just plain and simple ,  an unaesthetic , unpleasent dog to look at [ they are ugly looking ] . NOW don't misunderstand ... I am not , myself saying they are .. to repeat .. the perception of beauty in the public's eye  is that they are. i have proven this to myself : upon seing my jeck noricum , yasko farbenspiel . larus v. batu progeny  [ and many others of VA show lines about 22 others ]  .. people in the street would walk up to me and ask for a pup from them not even knowing whether or not i was a breeder !! they most often didn't even ask for the price of a pup !!! that is how aesthetic . beautiful people percieved them to be .. AND they were taken back also by the structure itself/ movement !!!..  when i was with   a number of working lines .. those dogs barely even got a look from people . the interaction was : well a plain ol GSD .. they had no inclination to the unsung valuabled contribution they had to offer .. after all .. in their minds .. a GSD is a GSD , /right? .. we on the forum know differently !! so money talks , baloney walks .. catch if you catch can .. in the humans mind .. money is money - to my dissatisfaction the GDSD is a commodity to many ... a means to an end and  many will take advantage of the uninformed , not all in life , but many !! !!!!  just a cruel fact - it's life .. .. we know here on the PDB : looks alone does not make a dog ..       PS...  for the record , BTW i am not in the GSDs for the money , the fame, or glory .. i don't make my living in the canine world .. i appreciate and love BOTH the show & working lines alike .... besides , my financial mentors told me at a young age .. don't ever invest in something you have to feed.

This is great-almost as good as raw vs. kibble!

Rin Tin Tin was sable, not black and red saddle. Dumb comment.