Breeding Dogs for Fun and Profit

 Breeding Dogs for Fun and Profit

 

   DO YOU like dogs? Do dogs like you? Then why not turn that liking into dollars? Why not combine business with pleasure and raise dogs? Perhaps no business offers better opportunities for making money in your spare time or to develop a national reputation in your field. For instance, Mrs. Harold Cluxton, of Chicago, regarded as one of the most successful breeders of Russian wolfhounds in America, started her kennels as a hobby. It was not until Mrs. Cluxton was given a very fine pair of Russian wolfhounds by a friend living in Canada that she decided to establish her own kennels. She became intensely interested in the breed and studied everything she could find on the subject. She subscribed to all the dog magazines published both here and in England and even went so far as to study the Russian language, so that she could read what had been published in that country on wolfhounds. She has carried off nearly all the prizes for wolfhounds in most of the shows, and has obtained as high as $5,000 for a single dog. One of the nice things about breeding and raising dogs is that you can start with as little as $100 capital. True, you cannot get a “blue ribbon” dog for any such sum, but with a little shopping around and good judgment you can get a likely bitch for that amount in a number of popular breeds. First of all decide upon the breed on which you intend to specialize and get a registered bitch of the best blood lines possible. The bitch should be healthy and should not vary in type from the breed she represents. In other words, if the breed is supposed to be heavy of bone, select breeding stock with this characteristic. Check up on the breed carefully and find out the main points upon which the animals are judged, then try to get as many good points in your breeding stock as you possibly can. If possible, purchase stock from a line in which there have been blue ribbon winners as this gives you a good selling point to talk about to prospective purchasers. As in every business, there are hazards in dog raising. Worms and distemper take the greatest toll of puppies, but both can be controlled if the breeder is careful. At the beginning it is wise to invest money in the services of a good veterinary to handle the first few litters, to worm the puppies and take care of any other problems with which you are not familiar. This will, of course, cost you extra money and must be figured in your overhead. In addition, you will need the services of a veterinary to guard your kennel against distemper. Every breeder who wishes to protect himself, as well as his customers, against losses from distemper, has his puppies inoculated against this dread disease at the proper time. If you take chances with this disease, you are sure to regret it as the expense of bringing even one puppy through it is considerable. So many times the veterinary cannot save the dog and then the expensive treatments, plus the loss of the dog, will eat up your profits. If you like dogs, you probably have attended the dog shows and know something about the various breeds. Of course, the most popular dog appears at the dog shows in great numbers. One year it will be the German shepherds (commonly called police dogs), another year, wire-haired terriers, another year Airedales or Scotties. Then there are certain breeds that never seem to go out of style. Over a period of time these have been the Boston bull terrier, the Pekingese, and the cocker spaniel. Certain types of hunting dogs are always popular. The setter (both English and Irish) is favored by those who never shoot game as well as by the sportsman. The German shepherd has been another unusually popular dog, but as he is not quite suited to city life his popularity is beginning to wane. For the city type of home and especially for those who live in apartment buildings, the following dogs are the most suitable, due to their size and their adaptability to city life: Boston bull terriers, French bulldogs, dachshunds, wirehaired fox terriers, smooth fox terriers, cocker spaniels, Scottish terriers, Irish terriers, the Pekingese, the Pomeranian, the sealyham, miniature schnauzer, Japanese spaniel, and the Yorkshire terrier. For the suburban home, the dogs just listed and the following are the most suitable breeds: English and Irish setters, Irish water spaniels, the springer spaniel, Airedaleterriers, collies, Dobermann Pinschers, German shepherds, Dalmatian hounds, chowchows, German schnauzer (medium size), pointers, beagle hounds, Gordon setters, bull terriers, and bulldogs. For the large estate or farm, the following dogs may be added to those listed for the suburban home: Russian wolfhound, Irish wolfhound (the largest of all dogs), St. Bernard, mastiff, Great Dane, Newfoundland, Labrador retriever, Shetland sheep dog. If you are in a section where there is considerable hunting each year, the following hunting breeds may sell well: Springer spaniels, Irish water spaniels, beagle hounds, rabbit hounds, coonhounds, deerhounds, foxhounds, Labrador retrievers, English and Irish setters, pointers, Llewellyn and Gordon setters. Regardless of the fact that in your locality there may exist a market for the larger breed of dog such as the St. Bernard, mastiff, Great Dane, etc., the beginner may do well to cultivate another market in which he can sell the smaller breeds. The reasons for this are obvious. You need a large amount of ground to maintain kennels for the larger breeds, and the food bill for these breeds is an important item in your overhead as you will realize once you have seen a St. Bernard eat. Raising dogs naturally entails a great deal of work—kennels must be kept immaculate to ward off disease, the dogs must be brushed and combed, their food must be carefully prepared and they must be fed at regular periods. When ill they must be segregated and carefully tended not only for humanitarian reasons but for financial reasons also. The dam must be cared for especially at whelping time and the puppies must be given a great deal of attention. Then there is weaning which means more work. However, if you really like to handle dogs, all this work will be interesting and therefore not drudgery. For advertising you will need to have some cards printed for prospects who come to see the pups, the local paper should carry your advertising, and every merchant in your vicinity should know that you are a breeder of Scotties, Bostons, or whatever breed you intend handling. An advertisement in the Sunday morning edition of the largest circulation newspaper in your city, or if you live in the suburbs or country, the nearest large city, will often bring prospects. Be sure to include your telephone number. Many small breeders raise dogs as a side line and manage a full-time job also. In this case, someone else in the family must have the routine care of the dogs. One interesting example is that of a laundry driver in Chicago who worked six days a week for one of the largest laundries in the city. He and his wife lived in a little cottage on a three-acre place on the edge of town. Both of them were unusually fond of dogs and hunting. Having purchased a fine English setter for their hunting trips they decided to put him at stud. The charge made for this was $25 and in addition they received two male puppies from the litter, each of which sold for $35. The dog was bred again at the same charge and two pups again were sold for $35 and $40. With this money, they purchased a cocker spaniel of good blood lines and placed him at stud. The first two pups they received, a male and a female, sold for $35 and $30, respectively (the female usually brings a lower price than the male puppies). Later a female cocker spaniel was purchased which came from a blue ribbon line and the litters from this pair sold from $35 to $45 a puppy. Fresh eggs from his own chickens, rich milk from a near-by farmer, careful feeding and plenty of sunshine gave his puppies good bone and muscle and shining coats. They practically sold themselves “on sight.” Naturally, his customers were told about these puppies when they were available and many orders were received through their “word-of-mouth” advertising. A friendly arrangement with a “training school” for hunting dogs gave him some good leads and at the same time provided the school with the names of those who had made recent purchases of puppies.