Today high in retrievers with strong winning bloodlines carry a hefty price tag,with that said bird dogs are big business,breeder I have now Imet thru dokken kennels 15 years ago,had a 45minute interview via phone call then another 3 hours in person to see if I was worthy enough to have one of they're pups,normally a 6 month wait even today,breeding adult blue ribbon pairs give us a 24 month guarantee on hip's ,eyes and elbows,had one pup I had to put down at 18 months as he had cluster seizures,he was fine up to 1 year,litter mates were clear,vet suspected possible brain truma in the field,still at 18 months it was a heartbreaking decision like what lunk went thru,you've bonded,trained your pup,in my case my pup's live in the house,a family member,so my breeder gave a replacement pup which took several months to get but she kept her word,as she is a field trial judge still today so she maintains a good reputation.