All a matter of what purpose your dog is going to serve, i.e. some animals are bred for specific tasks. My favorite breed of dog is bred to herd pigs, but while I have no pigs to herd, I simply like the coloration and temperament of that specific breed. $300 for a male puppy, $450 for a female.
Some people pay big bucks for a specific breed of dog as a status symbol. Which seems retarded, but hey life is about choices. If someone wants to pay several grand for a dog, no skin off my ass.
I think how a dog is cared for is twenty times more important than how much one pays for it. We have a pure bred JRT, I paid $150 for it, long story, don’t ask and she is worth every penny. Would I pay for another one in the future? Depends. I really like JRTs, but I go more for a dog’s intelligence and temperament than its actual breed. This one just happened to be a very sweet and smart dog. My JRT seems ten times smarter than my last pig herding dog, but then small dogs are somewhat smarter than big dogs, and less clumsy as well. And easier to care for. I never liked little dogs until I got my JRT, and it really changed my opinion.
That’s enough, this is turning into a novel.