[quote author=jaspers mom
So far, everything with me has been a rescue, way back to my first dog out of a trash can given to me by my grandfather when I was five. That's why I am in sticker shock now. We are looking for a puppy because my kids have been raised with seniors and I want them to have something that has many years of play. It's not all altruistic, I miss playing, too.
P.S. My first dog was foraging in the trash, not dumped, but sad all the same. She was awesome (and newly pregnant, to our surprise).
I understand the puppy-thing. I wasn't even sure I could handle a grown-up dog, and now that I've had Einstein for awhile, I'm getting itchy for a puppy, too. His breed is SOOOOOOOOOOOO cute as puppies (as if any aren't, right?). I have so much respect for whoever it was the raised him I would like to have the experience of training a puppy, too. Einstein is so well behaved!
One thing I know about spinones is that whenever a breed is used in a movie (I think it was the Neverending Story?) their value goes up . . . and I believe the puppy-mills go nuts churning them out, too, which means you'd have to be very careful about which breeder you buy a puppy from. And also why the prices are so high for a reputable breeder.
The prices I've seen for South Russian Ovcharka's (which is a very rare breed I'm finding out) is anywhere from $1500 to $2500. On the other hand, because Einstein was in a foster home (and god knows where he was before he was turned in to the shelter), his medical bills have been high, so I guess it works out to be pretty close in cost no matter which way you go.
Einstein has built my confidence and I guess that's why I would be very happy to have a puppy. Plus, the older I get the better my mothering skills become! (JK) (My youngest moved out recently, and I'm finding that after looking forward to this day most of my adult life, now I crave having someone to lavish attention on -- not to mention the husband-thing got really old.)