I have been searching for ages for a border collie in south east england and now I have found a breeder not too far away but although I saw the mum ,I was not very impressed as she seemed very nervous of my children so we didnt get to stroke her although the dad was fine and friendly.The price concerns me also at £400.,is this too much?

Sounds like a backyard breeder to me. only interested in making money. if you werent impressed, my advice is to go somewere else. most backyard breeders do have both parents which isnt a good thing. it shows that the dogs havent been chosen to complement each other. you should ask the breeder why they breed their bitch. has she won shows, has she had all health checks, is she kc registered etc? a nervous dog shouldnt really be bred from although that could just be down to the protection of her puppies. ask yourself why you werent impressed and is it worth the risk of buying a puppy from a place you werent impressed with? from a reputable breeder, £400 is about right for this breed of dog.

For a well bred Border Collie where the parents have been hip scored and eye tested then around £350-£400 is about right. The pups should also have been eye tested before you buy them. If you are not sure on the dam don't buy a puppy. You say you are in the South East, if you are not too far from Ascot there is a Championship breed show with Border Collies on Saturday 6th September. There is another one in the New Forest on Monday 11th August, I do recommend going along and seeing the dogs and meeting the breeders. If you register and let us know if you want a pet or a working dog we should be able to point you in the right direction and give you the number of your local Border Collie Club who will hold puppy lists.

Sandra

Hiya
As Cassie said..It sounds very dodgy....I owuldnt go there.
Is there any reason why you cant travel further?
To find a good dog, sometimes you have to travel quite a distance. When we got millie, we drove to Southampton every week to see her before we were able to take her home.
I would recommend searching further afield. And avoid ads in the local papers where several breeds are mentioned..check it out fully before embarking on it.
email me and I can give you some numbers. Click on my member ID.
steph
x

Hmmm....I'm going to go against the flow here... the info I was provided from BC rescue was extremely enlightening regarding BC's and children. I was suprised to read they are not the best dogs with smaller children as can feel intimidated. I would start by checking what the dogs are tested for - are they from working stock? I know of a farmer here who has a litter, they are unchecked, but are from excellent working stock and he is asking £250 for them - which sounds more reasonable. Then work on the child problem - whats the dam like with the owners kids (assuming they have kids?)

Chloe :)

Chloe

As these people have children the worst type they could go for is from farm bred working stock. These dogs need an experienced handler and at least some type of work to do, be it agility or obedience. With small children running around there is always the tendency to herd and nip.
If it is for a pet then they would do much better with a show bred dog where a lot of the working instinct has been bred out.
I have had both in the past and a farm bred dog is not usually a very easy dog to live with in a suburban home.
I wish they would register and we could find out a bit more about their circumstances and hopefully point them in the right direction.
Sandra

I didn't suggest they had a working border - I only asked IF it was a working border they were looking at, and showed them a price example for an unchecked dog.

Edit to say: I wish people wouldn't jump to conclusions! :)

Yes BCs can have problems with children remember children even when they are well behaved move faster and make higher pitched noises than adults and Bcs are sensitive to these things.I dont necessarily agree though that a pup from strong working lines would make the best family pet as the working urges can be very strong and unless you work really hard to channel them then they can become a real problem .I would ask a lot more questions .Yes find out if they have had all the health tests required for the breed which are yearly eye tests and hipscoring you may find that they have also been BEAR hearing tested as this is becoming more common aswell.Does the breeder work show or compete in one of the dog sports with her dogs? Is she keeping a puppy herself?
As to prices you can expect to pay well that depends on whereabouts in the country you are as much as anything else.A Border Collie can cost between £50 (farm breed unchecked not well looked after) to £500 (hopefully health checked from top lines and well socialised) Good Luck they are wonderful dogs. Gillian

No matter what the breed, never buy from a breeder you have any doubt about. If the dam can't be handled and the pups are weaned, I would be worried. It is also true to say, unless it is a large kennels it is unusual to have breeding bitches and the stud dogs in the same household. Good breeders usualy look for the best possible mate for their bitch and know it is not likely to be the one in their back yard.

Just to get off the subject a bit, but i saw an advert in our local paper for labradors, it said puppies avaliable black £225, yellow £250 and brown £295! I know these prices aren't normal' but is it normal to charge more for different colours, and dcan you all colours in one litter?

There should be no difference in price between colours but unfortunatly in labs Chocs are very popular at the moment and are perceived as being 'rare' therefore your back yard breeder charges more on that basis. Money making scheme unfortunatly :(

And you can get all colours in one litter it the sire and dam carry the right genes.

Not always Jackie - my breeder is very well known, showing and breeding wise, and she uses her stud dog on her own bitches - which meant I got to see what good temperements they both had.