Black Lab

[jhisaac]

Hello All,
My apologies up front for stretching the "gun/hunting related" rules. (I figure: Black Lab => bird hunting => shotgun => close enough?)

We have a black lab "puppy" we are trying to sell. He is almost 1 year old, neutered, pure-bred/AKC papered. What price should we expect for him?

He is a fine dog and not defective in any way, but we have realized that we don't have the time to give him the attention and training that he needs. (I know I should have been smarter going into this, but I was remembering the lab we had when I was a kid. Apparently my folks kept him on doggy valium.)

So, for our sanity and the good of the dog, we are selling. We asked $300 since we paid $350 and have had him neutered, plus shots. Is that unreasonable?

(I know this isn't necessarily the place for an ad, but if anyone is in the Newberg, OR area....)

Thanks for your advice.
Jason

 

[Kingcreek]

I Don't think you're likely to get $300 for your 1 year old Lab. When you buy a Pup you are paying for potential- based on well established heredity (in a perfect world). With a 1 year old that has not been introduced to the right things at the right time- some of that potential is lost or at least harder to develop. The sunday classifieds and the pound usually have a bunch of dogs fitting your description.
Sorry, just my opinion and probably not what you would like to hear. It's a shame about the dog.

 

[El Rojo]

Donate him!

Sounds to me like some nice family who needs a good pet might enjoy him. You might just have to take him as a tax write off. Or, just keep him around the house as a family pet! We just had to bury our 14 year old black lab a few weeks ago. He was a great dog! He didn't hunt so well for the last 6 years or more, but a great dog anyway. Now we have to rely on our squirrelly yellow lab and his whole purpose in life is to chase his ball back and forth across the yard until he passes out from exhaustion. You gotta love labs, so why get rid of him?

 

[Kingcreek]

El Rojo makes a good point. Just because you may have bought him in haste doesn't mean you should unload him in haste.
If you want to contact me privately, I'll offer what advice I can to help you out if you want to try to keep him. You owe him that much, don't let him down.
BTW, my only credentials are 30+ years raising and training retrievers. Not an expert mind you, but I do have some experience. He might not be as bad as you think and he might grow up a little and be the pet you wanted.
Is it possible that that wonderful dog you remember from your childhood was no different than this one at this age?
Jeff
jwjohndc@inw.net

 

[Zorro]

Actually the Labrador Retriever is the only predator that the North American Frisbee has.

 

[jhisaac]

Zorro, in that case, I better sell him. I don't think that my father-in-law (a frisbee rancher) would forgive me if Adam got into the frisbee herd.

Kingcreek, I don't mind not getting the answer I wanted. If you don't know what to expect, you won't be disappointed.

El Rojo, I enjoy labs also and have no doubt that he'll make a good pet for someone.

Kingcreek, I feel I have already let him down. We were caught by surprise at the amount of time he requires. The reality of our lives is that much of that time would fall on my wife and she doesn't have the time he deserves. I feel like I barely have enough time with our daughters and my wife. I only have a few hours between work and the girls bedtime and I won't spend it with the dog. I make a point of playing with him after the girls are in bed every day, but we aren't able to work out all the puppy energy he has. I have talked to my folks and Joe (the lab we had as a kid) was mellow from day one. We got him as a young puppy also. By the way, I haven't just been watching him hoping he'll magically fix himself. I have taken him to obedience lessons I he learned a bit, and I learned a lot. We have spoken to other people who know dogs for advice. But, (without enumerating my numerous character flaws), he isn't going to get the time he needs. If we didn't have any kids, that would be a totally different story. He isn't some psychotic dog, he does keep the cats on edge so he is good for something.

Thanks for everyones advice and opinions. Thanks especially to Kingcreek for offering offline help. We are going to continue on with the plans to sell.

Jason
jhisaac