Prices on a good pup??
First of all a good pup is a seperate topic in itself!! Some guys think a pup that simply brings there birds back is a good dog. Others think a dog that can run a 500yd blind, immaculate ob, great eyes, and an outstanding pedigree is a good dog. In a nut shell a good dog is in the eye of the beholder.
Health clearances are a must. I have seen dogs that are EIC affected show no signs of EIC what so ever. One of the dogs is an HRCH and 1 pass short of a MH. The dog is only 3 yrs old and I have no doubt in my mind he would be a GRHRCH if the owner had time to run him. Personally, if the owner decided to breed him(which he wont) I would be first in line for a pup, affected or not.
Prices and pedigree are a percentage game. Obvisously, the better the pedigree the more you pay. I dont care if you have a Lean Mac X a Top 10 producing bitch, they can still produce a turd. The percentage is less but it can still happen. A breeding with a non title no pedigree bitch and sire can produce some great dogs but the percentage is less and a higher percentage of getting a turd.
My dog is a prime example of this. I, like a lot of people, had no clue what they were looking for in a pup. I looked at the price tag and that was it. I got extremley lucky...I paid $400 for a pup with no health clearances out of a JH bitch and a no title Sire but a GRHRC father. He is running amazing cold blinds at 18 months and his career as a hunting/hunt test dog is looking very promising. Without those health clearances those his future health is always on my mind until I get those tests done.
There are a ton of pet peeves I have about breeders(now that I know what im looking at) IMHO alot of them are just misinformed or are breeders who just require the dog to bring the bird back to them. Doesn't make it right but it happens, its guys like Mark L and Dean's job to argue this crap on forums in hope some potential breeder might see this and think twice about it if he doesnt have tests done. So good stuff guys!!
Price should not matter when you are looking for a pup. Its simple...be an educated shopper(unlike me) and know what you are looking for because some breeders are uneducated. Any pro in this country will tell you they have trained dogs with pathetic pedigrees and have ran them in the biggest venues.
Thats my opinion on dog prices but I have a feeling I missed some of this thread because I never saw the OP's question.
PS...
Another one of my pet peeves is when "breeders" advertise a litter and say the dam or sire will have a better title in the future. They don't know that...hell the dog could die tomorrow(god forbid) or the dog may not have been trained worth a damn and has reached its max potential. Sorry, that was a vent
I've seen it a lot lately.