That might be the stupidest thing I have ever heard. I sell my dogs for a lot so I get better buyers. Instead of actually talking to perspective buyers you jack the prices up. This is an issue I see with Mastiff breeders. They feel that Mastiffs need to be owned by people with a lot of money. We live in Rural Nevada. I have trained and worked dogs for Schutzhund. My wife was raised in a family that bred dogs. We have acres of land for the dogs to have fun on. We have a great relationship with our vet. We are ideal dog owners... but I don't feel I would treat a $4000 dog better than a $1000 dog. I see the person asking $2600 for a pet quality dog as being the greedy breeder; I don't understand how when someones dogs are less expensive they are, "in it for the money" and not responsible.
This breeder might end up being a bad breeder but the low price of her dogs alone does not make her bad.[/QUOTE
"Stupid" is an inflammatory word. You seem to have some very negative feelings regarding Mastiff breeders...that I don't happen to agree with you on. Why come here asking for opinions if you are so hostile to what is offered up? I did not know the breeder you were talking about personally, so I went to look at her website...There is not one mention of any testing done...that alone would send me on my search in a different direction to look for as healthy a pup as I could find; Testing for Mastiffs:
Hips/Elbows - either certified by OFA or PENNHIP
Eyes - CERF exam by an opthomologist, DNA test for Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA)
Heart - Cardiac examination
Cystinuria - DNA test
The above tests would be considered the minimum acceptable. However there are several other conditions it is recommended to test for:
Thyroid - certified with OFA
Eyes - DNA test for Canine Multifocal retinopathy (CMR)
Patellas - certified with OFA
Degenerative Myelopathy - DNA test
I also suggested that a reputable breeder would not take credit card payment online without first checking out a prospective home for their pup.
You seem to have a real issue with the price that breeders ask for for Mastiffs....Mastiffs are not cheap dogs. They are expensive to own and very expensive to breed, and reputable breeders only breed to better the breed...not to put down 8 litters a year and sell quantity over quality. I could go on and on, but I don't think you want to hear it. I wish you good luck in your search for your Mastiff