I had a retriever a few years ago, unfortunately she had to be put down by the vet because of cancer in her leg and I wouldn't let her suffer.  I now feel ready to start again but am unsure of prices for pedigree bitches (not to breed from).

A friend's labrador (pedigree) is pregnant by her retriever (pedigree) and the friend is now asking £550.00 per puppy.  Surely this is an awful lot of money..............

Is this a good price for a crossbreed of would I be better off looking elsewhere?

Please help

Freda Christodoulou

That is what I paid for my pedigree Irish Setter so no I wouldnt pay that for a cross breed.  Did your friend have all the health checks done on her dogs such as hips and eyes ?  if not you would be better off going to a breeder who does all the health checks on their dogs at least you will know what you are getting :)

£550 is on the higher side of average for a pure-bred labrador bitch (certainly of working breeding) with both parents having been health screened.

With this cross, if both parents are health screened and healthy (by no means the same thing), have good temperaments and are trainable then they will probably make nice pets. They're expensive though!

I presume when you say Retriever you are talking about a Golden retriever? (A Labrador is a retriever.) As crosses go a Golden X Labrador is a good cross. It is the dog of choice used these days by the Guide Dogs For The Blind. So saying, £550 is way over the top! There is nothing wrong with cross breeds but the price should reflect the fact that they are not pedigrees. My first dog was a cross and he cost me 5 shillings! 25p in todays money At that time a pedigree dog was selling for around £7-50

Regards, John

For £550 I would expect a pedigree dog from health tested parents who were excellent 'proved' examples of the breed.
Archer

If your serious about having a Lab or a Golden Retriever I would contact the relevant breed clubs and find a good breeder who will be having pups from parents with a whole 5 generation pedigree of low hip scores and eye testing and still expect to pay the same, perhaps a fraction more but a good breeder will have a mould..as has been said you will know what your getting.
Personally I don't think £500-£600 is a high price to pay for a show or working bred Labrador,
if people only knew the heartache, blood, sweat and tears etc etc behind a good line.