Hello Rich.
Yes you are correct there is a lot of Dog Clubs in Belgium but not all are soley for GSDs, In my city Sint Truiden which by the way is the smallest city in Belguim has four dog Clubs but only one GSD Club in Runkelen about 8 kms from my place this club is affiliated to the Belgium GSD association for Competitions and in this club they do all the works in teaching the dogs There is a couple of People who help novices like me with the Pup, they do not like to do too much whist they are young, just the socialising and getting used to the basic commands.
I also agree with Angelique and Susan, of course there must be and is excellent GSDs in the USA, the top Breeders there are not fools by a long way. and just because a dog is imported from Germany does not automatialy make it a better propostion. the people who think that in the USA and want a dog bred direct from Germany is as i said in a recent post a Snob, because that is what snobbery is to say to another person my dog comes from Germany, and is german bred yours is not the same, a load of hogwash in my way of thinking
I will tell you one thing, it is more difficult to get stuff over here for the dogs than it is in the USA. if i thought different i would not be paying double to get it over to me here in Belgium, when i mean double its not the cost of the products but the freight charges make it that way

I recall a few buyers of my pups asking me why they were so cheap, I thought well I could charge you double, after all the mother was "imported"

I just gave away a Schutz2 male(showline)2 1/2 years old, that was given to me from a guy that imported this dog 9 months ago for $7300 total.
This dog was terrible on the field and his bite was worse than the pups we have in the club.-long story short- This guy could have bought a trained dog here in the state, maybe have spend the same amount of money here BUT would have seen the dog prior and it would have been a working line.Instead it was a purchase sight unseen and a nightmare at the airport and ended up giving up the dog. sad IMO.Sad for the dog and the buyer.
I ended up GIVING the dog to a retired couple in Oregon that wanted a dog as a companion.

Angelique,

You read more into my post than I said. I said European lines, not European imports. I bought my dog from an American breeder who breeds German Working line dogs. Hans was bred and born in America by an American breeder.

It is my contention that European working line GSDs, bred in America, go for a higher price than American line GSDs.

But now I know how to get a rise out of you

Rich

Hi Rich,
Actually I was not replying to what you have written but simply making a statement about prices and why...
I just happen to reply under your name sorry if it looked like I was replying to your statement but I really was not replying to anyone specific but just making my own statement wildly,lol
yes that subject can wake me up in 2 seconds

 Quote: steve patrick

Hi
I hope you guys do not mind me posting this question, but can you tell me why GSDs are so expensive in the USA. Over here in Belgium i can get a very well bred GSD Pup for half the price of yours over there in fact My Fredrick is half the price of a few i have noticed being sold in the USA,
Steve

Didn't read the rest of the thread so dunno if this has already been said, but theres alot of factors and possible reasons depending on which breeder and the circumstance of the breeding. Some of which...

1. The cost of the breeding to take place to begin with. For example, my 2 pups came from a litter where the female was bought in germany and bred to a stud there. So there is the cost of the female, a stud fee, a cost of the boarding between the time the female was purchased and came into heat and then shipped to the US when they were sure she was pregnant.

2. The number of puppies in a litter. If you have 2 puppies in a litter and the litter cost you $4000 to breed due to whatever circumstances, the puppies need to be $2000 to get your costs back.

3. Weeding out the people that won't take care of their pups. If you advertise GSD pups in the newspaper for $500 then you will get every dumb redneck in the area with $500 trying to haggle down your price to $350 to buy a puppy that lives chained up in the back yard. Every reputable breeder I know will not negotiate their price to people they do not know very well and they will set their prices higher just so they know that the people buying the pups are willing to put money into their pup, vet care, diet etc.

4. Demand... price goes with demand and availability. There really aren't THAT many good working line GSD's being bred in the US. Sometimes it seems like there is, but when you actually get into looking for a breeder to find a puppy, and then a breeder who actually has puppies coming available within 12 months from lines that you like and a breeder that knows what he is doing, it starts narrowing down your options. Just because it is from the US doesn't mean it sucks, and just because it's from Germany doesn't mean its great. But breeding is not quite as common as it is in Europe. I will bet that most clubs in Belgium, Germany and Holland have someone in the club that breeds dogs. In the US there are not that many clubs and there is not always someone in the clubs that breeds, and there are alot of breeders that don't work their dogs but just like the $$$.

Then there's always the value of what a breeder believes their pups are worth. A "why would I do all this work when I get nothing out of it?". It might seem greedy to some, but when you have been around even 1 litter, the amount of work involved is extensive. There are people who charge $150/hour to do things that are less time consuming and involved than raisin a litter of puppies, especially if it is a large litter. You are up at all times of night, you are constantly cleaning puppy pens and whelping boxes and cleaning kennel runs. Imagine a litter of 10 puppies, there is someone pooping at any given moment!

In Europe the value of a puppy is not high because they are more readily available and there are more hobby-breeders rather than commercial breeders. I know several commercial breeders in Europe that will sell puppies to the US for $3000 but sell locally to people they know for next to nothing. On top of which, the pick of the litter gets sold locally for peanuts and the crap goes abroad for $3000.

Hi Mike
i do not understand why you ask me if i had read the rest of the thread, i was the one who orginally asked the Question i am a bit miffed by this bit
Steve

Steve, I think Mike was saying HE did not read the rest of the thread...

Yeah I didnt read the rest of it because its 5 pages long n I am busy cleaning crates and kennels from 3 sick dogs today

Mr Arnold ( Mike)
Perhaps you know the meaning of the word Miffed, In England it means suprised, but it is the way we say it just as you people from the USA from time to time come out with words which have a different meaning to me although they are in the English Language, Plus the fact i do not go on Forums that much and still need to pick up certain points of excatly how they operate.
One last thing I wonder why you address me as Mr Patrick in your posts when you are replying to me, You do not do this to anyone else
i note you are the only one to do it perhaps i have offended you in one of my posts without me knowing it.
I did reply to you the last time as Mr but to be honest i was just doing the same as you did and being sarcastic, but that is not at all nice and it was uncalled for on my part, but you have done it again so why is it needed