How to properly breed dogs for sale? What do breeders need to know?

Dog breeding as a business is one of the most popular entrepreneurial ideas today. Although just a couple of years ago such a thing was of interest only to people who really loved dogs and were interested not only in breeding them, but also in training them. Often, such citizens do not put money as their main goal, but to enjoy the process itself, and profit for them is a side effect.

Now the situation has changed somewhat - this business has many prospects for ordinary businessmen who want to open their own profitable business. But even they will have to immerse themselves in the field completely, study the intricacies and nuances of caring for dogs.

How I became a dog lover

My name is Lyudmila, age 41, I live in the suburbs of Kherson, in a picturesque place. Nearby are the Dnieper floodplains, and of course the Dnieper River. I have a large house in which I live with my family - my husband, son and nine English bulldogs.

I never planned to create a nursery; there was no talk of getting a dog at all. Everything happened spontaneously, consistently, but not from the kennel, but from the fact that fate gave us a wonderful dog, the best in the world, smart, tactful, kind - I don’t know how many epithets I could say about him. The boy's name was Holmes. He recently passed away, and I have not yet recovered from grief and sorrow. Thanks to him, I fell in love with this breed, Holmes became the first swallow in my nursery, the father of my first bulldog children, and also my teacher and inspirer.

In 2003, my family and I went to the Arabatskaya Strelka to relax. My little son was only six months old, and this trip to the sea was the first in his life. That same evening a dog wandered onto our veranda - it was Holmes. He didn’t look very good, thin, lethargic, covered in some kind of thorns. Of course, we gave him something to eat. I can’t remember what happened next without tears - the boy came up to me, licked me and looked at me like that... I realized that I couldn’t help but take him home, this is my dog ​​and leaving him in this boarding house would be beyond my strength.

I found out from the owner of the establishment that the dog was brought by vacationers at the beginning of summer, they themselves left, and left him behind. So he walks around the territory, begging. At first he ran around looking for his people, but then he resigned himself.

Details

Often dog breeders, having tried their hand at home breeding, having completed all the necessary documents and having received recognition for the quality of their litters in RKF clubs, begin to think about creating their own kennel.

The process is not quick, and the matter itself is far from simple, but if you feel such strength and responsibility, then you need to start with the following actions:

Decide on the breed. It is very important to form a mono-breed nursery, or choose similar breeds. For example, collies and shelties get along well with each other. Another advantage of such a kennel is that, seeing related but different dogs, the buyer may change his mind about buying a large collie and choose a miniature sheltie, or vice versa. An important factor for choosing a nursery breed is your direct knowledge of all the nuances of working with the breed. The price for puppies should not be the deciding factor.

When planning to open a nursery, please note that you must be the owner of at least one female suitable for breeding according to the RKF. With males, the situation is simpler; for good quality litters, it is better to rent males for breeding, and also have your own for exchange with other nurseries on a contractual basis. This system is beneficial for the kennel's gene pool.

You, as the owner of the nursery, must have a documented veterinary, zootechnical or canine education. This does not necessarily have to be a higher education; it is allowed to undergo special training programs from the RKF and FCI with the availability of the appropriate documents.

The opportunities that a purebred dog offers you

At that time we lived in a two-room apartment, but my husband was finishing the construction of the house, all that was left was just a little cosmetics and furniture to be delivered. I understood that it would be hard for me, a dog, a small child, but we returned home together - Holmes snoring at my feet.

Pedigree is serious

A mark was discovered on the dog, and it became clear that he was not an ordinary guy. An accident forced me to study his pedigree; on a walk we met a wonderful girl - a bulldog. The owner said that she plans to breed her soon, and that if we don’t mind, then she would like to see Holmes as her groom. But there was one condition - the documents must be in order, since the dog is a show dog, and the puppies need a pedigree.

Using the brand, I found the breeder and called him. From the photograph, he determined which litter the dog was from and to whom it was sold. Through a local club he helped me restore my documents and pedigree. He also explained the situation, how Holmes ended up abandoned. It turns out that the owner died, and his son and daughter-in-law simply left him while they were on vacation. The breeder contacted them, but they refused to communicate.

How my puppy business started

We received our first puppy, also a boy, who was exchanged at another kennel for two girls. At that time, I had my first plans for creating a nursery. I didn’t work, my son was growing up, I had a lot of time. I decided that I would start with these two bitches, and if everything worked out, I would expand my business. The husband promised to help financially if the need arises.

But the girls still needed to grow up, and I suffered a lot with raising them. They turned out to be so fast that sometimes my nerves gave way. While they were little, they cried for their mother, fortunately Holmes helped a lot - he slept with them, licked them, and by the age of three months the girls began to gnaw everything that came in their way, including my legs. But nothing, I coped with it, severity, affection, everything was there, by the year I became well-mannered and cultured ladies. We missed the first heat, and mating took place on the second. Holmes was over the moon, as was I, when she found out we were expecting puppies.

Is it difficult to sell puppies?

She looked after them like crystal vases. Vitamins, feeding, maintenance, everything was the best. My dogs lived in the house, I immediately decided that there would be no cages or enclosures. We were observed at a local clinic, everything was going well, but closer to the birth I found a veterinarian who would perform a caesarean section at home. The fact is that English bulldogs cannot give birth on their own due to their special body structure; the bitch may die if she is not helped surgically.

General information

Here are the basic requirements, after meeting which you can begin taking further steps to become a breeder:

1. You are the owner of a bitch that has permission for breeding from the Russian Canine Federation;
2. Your dog has a whole package of documents confirming its pedigree;
3. Your bitch is no more than 8 years old;
4. The female and male have a conformation rating of “very good” or more at a certified RKF or FCI show.;
5. If you are the owner of a working class breed of dog, fitness for service tests must be passed.

If the above requirements are met, you can already breed dogs. After completing all the documents of the parents, after receiving the litter, you can contact your regional RKF club to obtain all the documents for the puppies, as well as make a breeding mark and draw up a certificate. The act indicates the breeding name of the puppy, which will appear in all documents of the dog as the main one.

INTERESTING: almost all clubs use a system of alphabetical distribution of names in litters.

If you are a beginner breeder, have tried your hand at so-called home breeding, but want to turn your passion for dogs into a full-fledged business, then you should start forming your own kennel.

In this matter, it’s worth starting with the “factory prefix”. This is a combination of letters, which can be an abbreviation with a beautiful decoding, or any word that is meaningful to you, but it will be included in all the club names of puppies from your dogs. To do this, you need to contact your regional RKF club with an official application and paid fee. Once officially approved, all subsequent litters from your dogs will receive a "factory prefix" as part of the name on the paperwork.

INTERESTING: puppies with a “factory prefix” are more expensive than just puppies from a breeder with documents.

How much does breeding purebred dogs at home bring?

Everyone was fed by their mothers; I didn’t have to spend money on complementary food, which is very expensive for puppies. All my dogs ate only natural food; I didn’t even try giving them dry food. By two months the puppies were dismantled. By that time they were feeding on their own and were already beginning to show character. I sold the boys for $500, and the girls for $400. By agreement with the buyers, it was decided that they would take care of the paperwork; I only provided the parents’ pedigrees.

My business was not legal, I did not buy a license to run a nursery, which simplified things a little. Of course, the canine services could have attached themselves to me, but three adult dogs are not a kennel yet.

The proceeds from the first litters amounted to more than six thousand dollars. The profit inspired me, but the moral factor depressed me a little.

It was too hard to part with the kids, crying after each one, and then calling the new parents a hundred times. I warned them that if they couldn’t handle it and decided to give it away, then let them take it to me - I’d return the money and take the puppy. No one returned them, everything went well, but I didn’t stop supervising them, and the new owners asked for advice.

Business expansion

I came to my senses a little and went to the Kharkov nursery to get puppies - I needed more girls for my business. There were options to take one-year-old females, but I didn’t dare. It is not known what cockroaches adult dogs may have, or what hidden diseases they may have. It’s better to educate yourself than to correct who knows what. The English bulldog is a very difficult breed, the character is still the same, not everyone can cope with it. They are almost impossible to train, or rather, they don’t want to. The Bulldog needs to be understood and negotiated with him, otherwise he can have a fun life.

I bought one and a half month old girls for $300. The color was a little different from mine - they were all red and white, but I took the brindle ones, these are also in demand. It took me a year to raise the young animals; I also did not breed adult bitches, since after a caesarean section a break is needed for the dog to recover normally. Some people don’t do this, they use it to the fullest, and by the age of five the dog can no longer give birth, and they get rid of it. I learned a lot of scary things about this business. What can we do, there are a lot of cruel people in our society, unfortunately.

The timing coincided that almost at the same time all my girls went for a walk, the interval was about a week. Holmes had to work hard. By that time he had become so portly and overweight that sometimes he had to help - there is such a practice when mating. I thought that Holmes should be put on a diet, since the loads are too heavy for him, weighing up to 40 kilograms does not contribute to conception.

Difficulties of working with dogs

Like last time, all the bitches ended up in a position, but one of the young girls got into trouble. She was bitten by a snake while walking. From our house to the river there is no more than five hundred meters, and sometimes snakes appeared on the site. But the poisonous viper crawled in for the first time. And it had to happen that just at that time we found ourselves next to her. The girl felt bad, she was out of breath, and spent almost a day on an IV. We lost the puppies, but the dog survived. I was upset, although I understood that until that time everything was too good.

The births followed one after another, I didn’t sleep for almost three days, I had to call my mother for help, because besides the dogs I also had a child and a husband, and there was absolutely no time left for cooking. What kind of food was there, there was no time to take a shower. After the last birth, I breathed a sigh of relief, but was overjoyed early.

One of the young bitches, after anesthesia, did not want to feed the puppies. She had milk, but she showed aggression towards the babies, and I did not dare leave her alone with the puppies.

For several more days I struggled with her postpartum depression (it turns out that this happens in dogs too), fed the puppies formula, and placed them with other mothers. But my cuckoo decided to change her mind and accepted the puppies at the next attempt, as if nothing had happened. Finally, I was able to get some sleep.

Many dogs - many problems

Two months later I calculated the profit - almost 10 thousand dollars.

Five of my puppies went to Spain, two to Germany, the rest to different cities of Ukraine. I didn’t really look for buyers, I advertised, and they got in touch. Word of mouth worked successfully. I gave my clients the opportunity to choose a puppy, watch adult dogs, and learn something. But most of all they liked the fact that they could see the parents of their future children and know in advance what they would grow up to be. My husband joked that it was time to open a hotel, since some people stayed with us. This didn’t bother me, the house was huge, and I had nothing to hide.

What do breeders do with older dogs when they can no longer be bred?

Again there was a year break, and again my family was replenished with three young ladies and one male. Holmes did his job well, but as the years passed, he grew fatter. After active walks, the guy was breathing heavily, which means his heart was failing. I didn’t want to risk his health, so I had to take care of my partner. There was no question of a replacement, but he could use some help.

I was afraid that the dogs would start fighting, but Holmes turned out to be so wise that he did not react in any way to the antics of the impudent young man. And he resigned himself and realized that he had chosen a stupid tactic in behavior. Sometimes the ladies allowed themselves all sorts of liberties and sorted things out not always tactfully. One even had to have her ear sewn shut. There were all sorts of cases, even I got it when I pacified them.

I decided that I was knitting the first two girls for the last time - the third stitch would be their last. But keeping them in such a huge family was difficult for me. Therefore, I began to look for good hands for them. You can judge me for this, but if you look at it, I didn’t want anything bad for the dogs. And I found families for them such that the girls ended up with loving and caring parents. Naturally, no one was going to knit them, and for this there is a certain procedure when drawing up a contract.

MYTH No. 6

"Clipper is the best carrier"

Breeders claim that the best means of carrying an animal is a clipper. I'll challenge it! The clipper is suitable, or rather necessary, for traveling on an airplane or train, where it is fixed under the seat of the passenger in front. The rules for transporting animals oblige you to have a frame, solid carriage, with a solid bottom, and completely closed. BUT! This does not mean at all that you should always transport your dog in a clipper both around the city and when traveling short distances. In the city and when walking around the shops this is terribly inconvenient and very difficult for the owner. The clipper causes severe curvature of the vertebrae. And in the end it’s not beautiful, women will understand. When traveling in a car, your pet will be much calmer and more comfortable in a special backpack. And when traveling by metro, the pet will be extremely grateful to its owner if he holds it close to him in a bag or sling, hugging and calming him. After all, being among the crowd below, where the owner is not visible, where others are kicking and pushing the clipper, is very scary! This is especially stressful for puppies! After such “fun trips”, your baby will perceive any trip as hard labor and bullying. The psyche will be disturbed, the puppy may begin to pee. Calming the “child” and establishing a positive attitude will be extremely difficult in the future.

"Puppies in a scary clipper, behind bars"

“A satisfied and calm dog in the arms of the owner in a sling bag”

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Over time, my small business grew into a nursery

A separate house was set up for the dogs at the far end of the yard - there were too many of them for our living space. Only Holmes and one other young lady remained with us. She was the most wayward and often got into fights with her friends. The dog's house consisted of three separate rooms and a kitchen where I prepared food for them. The room was heated, so the dogs were comfortable. They walked all over the yard, we often went out to the river, but only on leashes and in turns.

I sold the next litter for 15 thousand dollars. Half of them went abroad, now I contact new families via Skype. I try not to lose sight of any of my pets. Everyone's fate was quite successful, only the boy changed owners twice - things didn't work out in the first family, and the second couldn't cope with him either. But in the third everything turned out to be fine.

Over the entire period that my nursery has existed, the net profit amounted to up to 50 thousand dollars, I spent up to 20 thousand on food, doctors, medicine, and all other related little things.

Maybe for some this amount does not seem sufficient, but for me this is a real opportunity to earn money, and on top of that - to do what I love. I myself do not treat my activities as a pure business. I get a lot of pleasure from my dogs, I adore them all, I worry about each one as if I were my own children.

Arrangement and inventory

First we must create all the necessary conditions for the life of dogs and their subsequent breeding. You should start by creating enclosures and boxes on your private territory.

For a comfortable life, a dog will need 4 sq.m. in the enclosure, taking into account the fact that most of the time she will be walking around the territory. We need four enclosures because we will have three bitches and one cable. In addition, we will need to buy toys, collars, leashes for everyone and spend money on vaccinations if necessary.

As a result, the costs for breeding purebred dogs will be as follows:

The emotional side of business

This year there was a terrible loss - Holmes died. He left quietly, in his sleep. I knew this would happen someday, but I didn't want to think about it. He lived a good life, giving us so much love and happiness. Now I can confidently say about the biggest disadvantage of my business - separation. I mean not only death, but the fact that you have to give away the puppies, but you also become attached to them. He’s still just a baby, but he’s already a character, he doesn’t like something, he has his own preferences in nutrition. He leaves for someone else’s family, and then you wonder if his habits will begin to break.

I am not going to stop my activities, everything is working out for me, and I have become a real dog handler. People come to me for consultations, and I help many people correct their pets’ behavior. I go to the veterinarian only during childbirth; in other cases, I successfully treat dogs on my own. Not to save money, I just know much more about my dogs and problems than doctors.

Sales channels

The level of profit and the feasibility of breeding dogs will largely depend on the entrepreneur’s ability to find potential buyers. The most effective advertising methods will be the following:

• advertising in the media;
• participation in regional, federal and international exhibitions;
• through friends;
• on the recommendation of clients;
• advertising on transport;
• placement of advertising on posters, signs;
• posting advertisements;
• Internet promotion (the most accessible and easy option is maintaining and developing your own page on social networks).

The more dogs a breeder sells, the more opportunities for promotion he will have.