i am in the military and dont make hardley anything for money and when i got started in this sport i did not realize how expensive everything is.. so my question to you is do you think this is a sport that is to expensive for the common working man (40,000 a year or less)
I'm a newbie and from what I've noticed the thing that may stop me from doing alot of Hunt Tests is the traveling. I can't really afford to travel much. Other than that it doesn't seem extremely expensive. We're picking up our puppy on August 28th and have been buying stuff ahead of time so we don't have such a big expense all at once after we pick her up. I'm a waterfowler also, so I'm used to some expense. You price goose decoys lately?
Never got into wacking a little white ball and then chasing it around all day! Never seemed to make much sense to me!! Baseball players at least have someone else chase the ball!!!
Now if you are considering the price of a dog, dog food, vets, other necessities too expensive then yes, you probably need to find a different sport to play. But training can be done on the cheap.
Its possible to do on that income, but you wont have any spending cash. figure at least 300 dollars to go to a HT, unless its close enough to your house to stay there. bumpers, ecollars, training program, gas in your truck out the wazoo, 40 dollar a sack dog food, bird launchers (which I cant afford yet), dog box in the back of your truck, big bucks for a well bred pup.
It depends on how many hunt tests you do in a year. I have run a total of 14 tests with 2 dogs of my own by the end of the fall season. $1,820 in premiums alone now add in the cost of gas, meals and motel rooms which is easily another $1,500 because my wife and I usually go together. And to think this is one of my lighter years.
Now add in $70 a week in gas minimum which is almost another $2,000, and the membership to Omega Farms which isn't a lot considering the number of days I use it.
That depends on a lot of things....
Cost of puppy
Vet and shots
Pet insurance which you can pay monthly...a must have.
Dog Food
Transportation costs...trials, training etc; plus your food and accommodation.
Training equipment...which should last a long time if cared for
Entry fees for hunt tests / trials
Camo or dark clothing if you don't have any
Training fees...trainer can drag it out and soak...in other words get a DVD/books
and do a lot of it yourself.
Not sure if I forgot anything.....anyone want to add?
Yep, can be costly...but as the person said, cheaper than golf!
Depends where you live and what you want to accomplish...
Being lucky enough to live where I can run 6-10 hunt tests and an equal amount of field trial events without having to sleep away from home, it is a lot easier for me than most people (from what I gather).
It's still not cheap... For instance, yesterday... 30 miles each way to training = $33 in travel + in this case, $25 for access to grounds = $58 for about 3 hrs training, not including ice and other essentials needed on the truck.
The grounds fee normally isn't there but the 30 miles each way quite frequently is during the summer when we need technical water and have none locally.
In the winter things are alot easier and cheaper since we have many pieces of land available close by to home.
The harder thing for me is gathering and maintaining the relationships needed to get the training advice and grounds access. I have been very lucky in this regard as well, because I'm not terribly skillful at it.
1 or two dogs, if you live in the right area can be doable. The biggest worry I have is my dog getting hurt and not being able to just retire him and take on another.
Retriever sports are as expensive as you want or need them to be.
If you get enjoyment from training and handling your own dog you will spend less (in dollars ) than someone who needs titles to be satified.
Some people enjoy training as much or more than competing. Remember it is suppose to fun.
If you are single, and making 30-40K a yr, you should be able to enjoy training, hunting, and hunt tests...under that, it could be a little more difficult...It really depends on what your 'priorities' are. LOL..
Now, if you have a family, I think it could be harder to really get into the sport...But not impossible.
$900 for the pup
$50 - used crate
$100 - bumpers
$10 - check cord (rope and swivel snap)
$8 - whistle
$175 - used tri tronics sport
$5 -cheap horse riding crop
$100 - primer pistol
$2 - white coat or shirt bought at salvation army
$20 - duck call
$20 - used dekes
$50 - miscellaneous other training supplies
add to that
$200-300/mo for gas to get to training grounds (for our gas prices $3.60/gal)
$50/mo for birds (training with live birds once or twice a week)
$40/mo for dog food (need to have good dog food)
$50/mo vet expenses (just save it up when you don't use it, cause you'll probably need it)
this does not include test expenses ....for me, a weekend double header (master or nahra senior) is about $325..gas, food, entry fees (for one dog).....
Depending on your particular goals, you should be able to make it work youll just have to use your personal time wisely and train when at all possible. I dont think that getting into testing is going to add to the bill a whole ton more other than travell and test fees than it would cost to have a well trained hunting dog, if you do most of the training. to own train and raise any performance dog isnt cheap whether your chasing around a pack of beegles picking up ducks or trialing an AA pointing dog. at least you dont hafta buy a trial horse.
Jim
bubba has it right on. you can do it in hrc ht's on $40k though if your single, dont have kids. and are creative. if you are married you can still do it, and remember getting a divorce will definitely not help. keep the dog/dog's in your name only just in case! lol
Just got out of the military mysself and it is possible to do it. Last summer I ran alot of tests, and even more the summer before, there are ways to cut costs, I prefer to do my own shots, and microchips, and try to do most of the training myself, but save money to send them to the pro when needed. I have also found the 1.25 bumper lasts longer than the 8 dollar bumper(always hit them with the lawnmower). TSC has 2.00 riding crops. HRC hunt test banquets have good tritronics collars for auction or raffle, or collar clinic. If you can be a tight wad you can get some good deals and keep cost down.
I guess military pay depends on rank and time though,but it does get better I can tell ya that.
My hat is off to you if you did all that while in the service. Depends on branch, MOS, I suppose, but I was gone so much, there was no way I could 'stay in the game'. Thanks for your service, and good luck on the 'outside'.
I voted yes it is a rich man's sport. But I guess I would need some definition of rich man. Can you do it on $40,000 a year, to be competitive in field trials, no, to be competitive in hunt tests, maybe. What I do know is, it cost a lot of money to play in this game, so be prepared, because once you are in, it has you hooked and you will spend the money.
I love the "depends what you want to accomplish" caveats in this thread .
Yes, it is a sport for people making over 40K per year (as opposed to "rich" people). Decently bred pups are expensive; training with Pros is expensive (especially if you put your dog on a "truck"); equipment (dog crates, decent whistles & lanyards, e-collar, starter pistols, holding blinds, 2-way radios, chairs & lunch box, etc.) is expensive; access to training property is expensive, at $75 a pop plus hotel fees, the tests themselves are expensive. Did I mention gas? Did I mention Vet fees plus health maintenance pharmaceuticals for heartworm, tick and flea control, vaccines?
There are outdoor events that are a lot less expensive: swimming, sailing (on other peoples boats), tennis, spending quality time with your dog (hiking, camping, fishing, hunting ...)
Do you know what rich people say? If you have to ask the price, you can't afford it.:twisted:
The bottome line is yes it is a rich man sport for the most part. It is just like anything though you will find some people that do it, have a good time and make wasy to make it affordable.
But to be competative with mulitple dogs you better have some money, specifically field trials. I noticed that even in little ole Iowa at the first trial I went to. At 30 years of age I was by far the youngest there. Most were in there late 40's to 60's and you could tell there were some big $ riding around.
I make well less than 40k a year and I get by just fine with training 3 dogs and running them in hunt tests. You do not have to go to every hunt test. There is no price for seeing your dog (your hard work) run at a test, plus the payment of addrenaline that you get running your dog. It is well worth the investment. Plus once you have the stuff Bumpers, leads, collars, ect. you will only have to buy minimal stuff each year. Also helps if you can get a buddy to start training with you. This way you can use each others stuff and you have someone to look at your training and give you help.
I think it's not impossible but it like most things in life, money makes it easier. There are plenty of cheap imaginative ways to train and still get good results. FT's might be a different story because the entry fees are higher but the basic premise is the same.
BTW... I couldn't vote on the poll because none of the options fit my point of view.
Many years ago, I lived in Brooklyn where I first learned to ride horses and took up fox hunting. Obviously, our stable was not what might be seen in a more rural area. However, we fielded 20+ riders every weekend during the season along with 40 hounds on a 650 acre estate in New Jersey. Many assumed that everyone must be rich. However, at least one of our riders called her horse "Overtime". She paid her expenses with one day of overtime work each week in her job as a secretary/clerk. Her daughters traded after school work in the stable for rotating rights to ride stable horses in the hunt each weekend. It may not be easy to do some of the things involved in competition, but if it is something you and your family love, ends can be made to meet creatively.
I forgot to add something on my reply which is #13.....I live in Canada which means 13% tax on everything. Just took one my young dogs to the vet this afternoon for his yearly shots plus heartworm test...total $160.00, on the way back to the ranch I picked up 2 bags of Enhance Pro Athlete...total $113.00,then to the gas station for $40.00 gas in the truck,which gives me less than 1/2 tank, medium size coffee and a plain donut $2.40.
Total money spent in less than an hour...$315.40 If I was still feeding Pro Plan Performance, add another $49.72 for 2 bags. Tomorrow, I hope to spend a little on me!!!!
Take into consideration,this doesn't happen every day, but take a little advice from most of us....always put a little cash in the drawer everyday or when you can.
I'm sure most of the guys out there would concur.
James
My husband and I make it work for about 50k a year between the two of us and we have three young kids. We don't have the time and disposable income that most of the people on here have but we love it and make it work. I also have 2 litters a year but I don't count income from that because there usually isn't much. I don't breed for the money, I breed because I love the dogs and love to produce the best puppies I can. Don't let anyone make you feel like you can't run with the big dogs. You can do anything you set your mind to!
10-12 years ago we were trying to run with a full time trainer (2 dogs with him full time) and we also had a good number of dogs at home. We thought we were going to show everyone how it was done. LOL. Well after 5-6 years of the sport and training bills and traveling expenses we ended up almost broke. So we took time off while the kids were in high school and college. We just recently bought a pair of well bred pups and are going to do it ourselves, if we succeed as far as titles great!! But if we don't that is fine also! This time I am going to enjoy it and not worry about "keeping up with the Jone's" . Best thing you can do is buy a well bred pup from a respectable breeder, do what you are capable of with lots of reading and listening, meet the people (most are excited to help you), and most of all "Enjoy the Journey" as life is too short.
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