Guard dog

These photos made me laugh for a good 2 minutes.  Sexy... maybe by 1987 standards.... lmao!

http://www.harrisonk9.com/html/women.cfm

 You are going to know more about these dogs than I do.  Are they worth $30,000?  The judge took the dog to resell.  The millionaire owes a car manufacturer about $80 M.  I don't know if it even retrieves pheasants.

They are not worth $30,000.  Anyone can get a dog with the same or BETTER pedigree for $800-$3500 (lower end working lines, higher end show lines) for starters.  These estate & executive dogs are status symbols.  Most of them do not have enough training to pass a Schutzhund 1, which certainly does not cost $30,000 to train and earn the title unless you are spending decades trying to get your Bichon to pass.  You can do a hands-on weekend long seminar with some of the best trainers in the world for under $1000.  Come, sit, heel, down and stay are not "advanced" obedience commands.

If you need a PPD, buy one with a great pedigree (awesome working line dog will run you maybe $2000 MAX even if you import it from Europe), develop a great bond with the dog, and do the training yourself.

I cannot say, since I have no way of evaluating their training and I don't follow GSDs in that market.  Their range is relatively in line with what is advertised for such dogs, tho.  But are THESE dogs worth it, I don't know.  The price goes up with the training investment on an already good pedigree, you're not paying for a pedigree worth $30,000, you're paying for the proven abilities that have been instilled by the training.  This is not a dog you buy and intend to work up to a level.  This is a dog that comes ready to perform its job and requires tune-ups only.

To give you a point of reference, this site shows you how they break down their pricing for their dogs.  http://www.protectiondogs.com/protection_dog_pricing.shtml  They break it down between executive protection, family and estate protection, and then for competitive performance dogs (SchH), and Conformation dogs. 

miranadobe

I cannot say, since I have no way of evaluating their training and I don't follow GSDs in that market.  Their range is relatively in line with what is advertised for such dogs, tho.  But are THESE dogs worth it, I don't know.  The price goes up with the training investment on an already good pedigree, you're not paying for a pedigree worth $30,000, you're paying for the proven abilities that have been instilled by the training. 

To give you a point of reference, this site shows you how they break down their pricing for their dogs.  http://www.protectiondogs.com/protection_dog_pricing.shtml

Yes, the price range is not any more than all the other "executive" dog providers, but IMO every single one of them is hogwash.  The pedigree is simply NOT worth that much.  If you like show lines, you can get puppies out of the VA1 German Sieger dogs for less than $5000 no problem (even imported from Germany).  If you like working lines, even better, you can get puppies out of the WUSV, BSP, FCI world champion dogs for under $2000.  The training these dogs have is not worth the difference.  A total novice can train a dog to a higher level for a fourth as much.  Not to mention, most of these dogs are not coming from "proven" working pedigrees, they are highline show line dogs.

Liesje

The pedigree is simply NOT worth that much. 

You're not paying for puppies or pedigrees here.  You're paying for a tuned "machine" (not that I think of dogs as machines, hence the quotes) and the investment of training that has already been done.  The kinds of people who buy these dogs range from folks who know something about training their dogs, but more often the ones who know NOTHING about the training - they have paid someone else to instill all of this into the dog - hence the price tag.  Think of the GSDs that Britney Spears bought for her estate - she knows nada about training such dogs.  She's never going to go out and buy a good import for $5000-$6000 and do the training herself.  She's going to go to a place like this and pay for the work to have already been done (at least from her perspective).

Liesje

The training these dogs have is not worth the difference. 

Edit, for example - these dogs are from $35,000-$65,000 (Shaquille O'Neal and Steven Seagal own dogs from here):  http://www.protectiondogs.com/personal_and_executive_protection_dogs_for_sale.shtml

I understand, I just don't think you are really getting that much worth of training on the dog, at least not from what I've seen/heard.  The only other explanation is status symbol, the dogs are arbitrarily worth more simply because of how they are marketed (same thing happens with west German show line GSDs, one breeder will charge $3500 and another $1200 for the *same* pedigree).  Also, I think the attitude that a dog is going to lay down his life for someone who doesn't care or have the time to do any training themselves is a bit silly.  The best GSDs as far as their ability as street dogs are really hard knock dogs that take some extremely skilled handling.  Otherwise they are just an expensive dog with a lot of training, or an accident waiting to happen in the hands of an apathetic, inexperienced handler.  Brokering GSDs is big business but these people are not well respected among breed fanciers and those who truly dedicate their lives to good training and street work.

 yeah i looked at those pics and thought "hey! my dog can do all that!!"

"A lady's K-9 is alert and ever vigilant to the needs of a single woman or mother. He becomes not only security but also your partner and best friend. He is considered a member of the family."  - *coughs*

anyway i agree .... people who get these dogs probably dont think about doing a lot of things for themselves.... they see a price tag, read the label, and bring it home and expect everything to work as seen on tv...

 this is one story that always sticks in my mind when dogs like this are talked about

http://books.google.com/books?id=tEvKa78L0G0C&pg=PA94&lpg=PA94&dq=mike+nesmith+german+shepherd&source=bl&ots=PKgCi3PN-7&sig=4nDu3BKAsVuSTtxpkUSPm4JcNTY&hl=en&ei=OICFS7ZFkbWUB-X0vNMB&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CAgQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=mike%20nesmith%20german%20shepherd&f=false

basically yeah... its worth what you are willing to pay. just like some kind of car with all the bells and whistles. even though this dog is a dime a dozen with people who train them themselves... these harrison guys are probably banking on the rich people to want push button convenience.

Liesje

The best GSDs as far as their ability as street dogs are really hard knock dogs that take some extremely skilled handling.  Otherwise they are just an expensive dog with a lot of training, or an accident waiting to happen in the hands of an apathetic, inexperienced handler.  Brokering GSDs is big business but these people are not well respected among breed fanciers and those who truly dedicate their lives to good training and street work.

Liesje, Imagine if you got paid $$ for each and every hour of training and work you do with your dogs--that's how these companies set their prices, is my guess. (I know that's not how most people here think about this, but I think that is how the corporate/for profit crazy corporate world probably looks at it. Me, I've worked in the for profit world a grand total of 3 months in 30+ years, so I'm not too good at understanding that way of thinking :-)

What do the police departments that have K-9s (or not) on the force think about all this?

Frisby is probably correct. sounds more like logged hours, plus blood line, plus bells and whistles(what the dog can do)

all i can think is.... poor dog!! 

I live in MPLS and I know who the person in question is that got this dog for his wife.   He wanted all the biggest and best of everything.  This is how he got into HUGE trouble. 

My guess is that he doesn't know squat about dogs in general....some good salesman pitched the idea of this superdog...and was able to get a lot of money out of this guy on image alone.

I have no idea who has the dog now, but I do hope he/she is being well cared for and will end up in a good home.

 Really have to hope whoever has the dog knows the stop command.

 no freaking kidding!!

One of two things will probably happen... call me a fatalist if you want.. but its either going to go BACK to the seller .. or get put down because its such a dangerous weapon. if it goes back to the seller then chances are it will be sold all over again.