Hey MstrHntr, Go check out my website
http://southwestadventures.tripod.com and see what kind of dogs Dawg and I run. You will see black ones, brindle ones, blue ones and red ones. I've even run a walker or two. I think I've posted it too many times but I've got a list of "Ed's Dogs". It contains the names of over 40 dogs, some pups and some grown dogs I've bought over the past 4 years and thier fate.
While I can't put a price on walking up to a tree that my dogs are howling around, then looking up to see fur in the branches, I can come pretty close with a look at my current financial situation.
Over the last 4 years I've spent over $11,000 on dogs. I sh!t you not amigo. One of my favorites was a plott named Dan. He was a game catcher and cost $2,000. By game I mean mostly bear and lion but the sucker would bay up an elk in an instant. He was baying a bear last spring in Utah and took a paw to the shoulder. I sold him for a pup trainer to a guy from NM for $600. My best dog was $2,500 and he isn't much for pressure. Got rolled by a bear when he was young and learned not to get too close. He will rig a bear as well as any dog I've seen. If he dies, I'm done for. I've got 3 dogs right now that are good. My good dog and others that he has trained for me that I got as pups.
As for the tracking/shock systems. You'll spend more money in gas looking for dogs over a month than these will cost. I've spent $2,200 on tracking systems and have two boxes and 6 collars right now. For the shock system, I've spent $700 and have 1-1/2 systems right now. (I lost my transmitter for my tritronics pro 200) I don't go into the woods with dogs without that.
Don't look for breed, find a lion hunter and buy his 8-10 year old dog and one yearling dog that acts like it wants to hunt. The older dog will teach the younger dog and you should be able to get into them for $2,500 or less for both.
Dawg and I have 4 pups out of the same litter. They are very different dogs. I have one in AZ and she is great. He has 3 and I've had to hide all his firearms so he doesn't blow his head off at times. DON'T SCREW WITH MORE THAN ONE PUP AT A TIME. I know the kid on "Where the Red Fern Grows" did but he didn't wear any shoes either.
Ed