do you consider dogs as homestead job

[coup]

i know some folks that raise small dogs for profit,,,they have 40some females and some studs...they are registered and have been doing this for years...they sell pups for $350. they also stud out dogs.they groom dogs also,,they make more money than any cattle man i ever knew.....

do you consider this a homestead job? would you do it?

how many here raise dogs or cats big time?

[pancho]

Originally Posted by coup

i know some folks that raise small dogs for profit,,,they have 40some females and some studs...they are registered and have been doing this for years...they sell pups for $350. they also stud out dogs.they groom dogs also,,they make more money than any cattle man i ever knew.....

do you consider this a homestead job? would you do it?

how many here raise dogs or cats big time?

At one time I raised dogs. It is hard to make any money with normal dogs.
To make money you will need to specialize. With show dogs you will need some champions or at least a champion stud dog.
With hunting dogs you need some real hunting dogs and be able to show how they hunt.
Livestock protection and herding dogs will need to be able to do the job and you should be able to show the customer.
Small house dogs can be sold but the market varies quite a bit.
Personal protection dogs take a lot of training and you can't tell if a puppy will be able to do the job.
Watch dogs are a dime a dozen, you can pick up one at the pound.

[MaineFarmMom]

Originally Posted by pancho

Livestock protection and herding dogs will need to be able to do the job and you should be able to show the customer.

I'm looking for a farmcollie pup. I'm disappointed in the number of farmcollies out there that don't live on farms. Farmcollie is a description of certain types of dogs, not a breed. I've passed over several breeders because they can't demonstrate any kind of farm/homestead working ability in their dogs. It's a good thing I'm not in a hurry to get a pup.

I've had a puppy mill dog. I took him in as a rescue from another country. He was the best poultry dog I've ever worked with but his puppy mill breeding caused a very short life. He was bilaterally deaf and had epilepsy. We worked well with those issues but had him put down because of aggression when he was three.

[ceresone]

It's a pitiful thing to do. Sorry, but the inspections are a joke, in Missouri anyway, and the Dogs are raised in deplorable conditions.
Believe me, I DO know what I'm talking about.
I wouldnt advise anyone to do this..

[CountryWannabe]

I show dogs. When I raised them - yes, I got respectable prices for them, but you can believe me when I say that I spent a lot more than I ever made in selling puppies. To raise dogs ***PROPERLY*** is a costly and time consuming effort. One C-Section will cost more than you will sell the litter for in a Toy breed (and they are not infrequent, even with careful selection)

Also bear in mind the rapidly-rising amount of legislation that now covers dog breeding in pretty well every State. In order to comply with all the rules you are going to have to spend a tremendous amount up front before you ever see a dollar from a puppy.

Mary

[SFM in KY]

I raised/trained/showed dogs for almost 20 years. Some years I showed a profit, more years I did not. The one thing that worked in my favor was that a friend and I had a joint business ... we took dog supplies, plus my artwork ... to the dog shows as well as ourselves and the dogs. We made a profit with the sales from the booth at the shows and I often ended up with one or two commissions to do a dog portrait, plus the other sales.

The only people I knew during those 20 years that made any significant profit from dogs as a "business" were those that had another business that produced income from sources other than the sale of puppies. Some people were professional handlers, being paid to show dogs for the owners, some were groomers with a grooming shop in the town where they lived, professional photographers, etc.

[Patt]

Absolutely not! The only animals we raise here are ones that can be eaten if not wanted. We take 100% responsibility for every animal we produce here, can you do that with the literally 1,000's of puppies you will produce? Look at the facts and please, please do not add to the misery!

It costs U.S. taxpayers an estimated $2 billion each year to round up, house, kill, and dispose of homeless animals. (USA Today)

Over 56% of dogs and puppies entering shelters are killed, based on reports from over 1,055 facilities across America. (National Counsel on Pet Population Study)

An estimated 5 million cats and dogs are killed in shelters each year. That's one about every six and one half seconds. (The Humane Society of the United States) Millions more are abandoned, only to suffer from illness or injury before dying. (Doris Day Animal League)

In six years one unspayed female and her offspring, can reproduce 67,000 dogs (Spay USA)

http://www.billfoundation.org/html/cold_hard_facts.html

[edcopp]

Many cultures on the planet eat dogs and cats. This practice may be coming to a neighborhood near you sooner than you think.

As for the operation of raising dogs being a homestead job, sure.

Would I do it, no. It is not what I want to do.

[thimblethepig]

40 some females and some studs selling puppies for 350 sounds like a puppy mill?? Around here we consider 600 dollars the backyard breeder price, if you want to make money on dogs you must invest in top quailty bloodstock get every genetic clearance and be knowledgable and passionate about whatever breed you chose, there is a market for high quality dogs is is not uncommon for people to spend 1500-2500 for a high quality puppy its better to deal in quailty not quanity and not have making money be the main criteria

[starjj]

Totally against it. I can't see having that many dogs and being able to give them QUALITY care. I have toy poodles. I bred my dog once which resulted in a C-section. No way did I even cover the price when I sold ONE of the pups. I ended up keeping the other one because I was just too darn picky about finding a buyer that I approved of. The other pup I sold to a woman without registration papers because I felt she would give it a good home. I learned my lesson and even if I had good luck and a easy birth I wouldn't do it anymore. It just goes against everything I think is right and wrong about the business. Too many dogs in shelters dieing everyday and if your looking for a purebred they have those too.

[mekasmom]

The truth is that if you have adequate vet care, you never make money breeding, especially toy breeds.. The vet care costs more than you ever make on puppies. People who make money self-vet most of the care, or just don't give vet care at all, and depending on your opinion on that, it might change your position on the idea. I have never made money on puppies, but lost a lot. Of course I have never had more than four breeding females at a time, and that was just more lost money for multiple females. I cannot imagine how much money I would loose per year if I had as many females as you mentioned.

I personally have nothing against breeding dogs. But honestly, I have always lost money on puppies. Vet costs are very high if you provide for the dogs adequately.

[greif]

puppy mill...puppy mill

[whatrset]

My wife and I raised miniature doxies for 6 years. We had 20 females and 6 males and sold our pups from $250-$800 depensding on the genetics. We bought in for quality but sold our pups for less so as to target middle class average Joe clients. THe most money we made in a year was 20K, but we typically only made 4-5K profit while working our tails off.

If we had been paying for all of our vet care, we would not have made any money, but since we self vetted we were able to get ahead. I would not go back in the biz b/c of the heartbreak of loosing pups/adults, the fickleness of the market (people will eat before buying a pup), and expense of doing it right.

We lost our business after Hurricanes Gustav and Ike wiped out our market areas. We were stuck with adults and pups. I had to give dogs away to find them homes, and it was hard to do b/c they HAD to go. THis meant that homes and poterntial owners couldnt be vetted as stringently because I had to vote with my wallet. THat is NOT a good feeling.

[Ernie]

I breed chickens and sheep. I can eat the culls. What do you do with dogs who just simply won't further the breed?

I don't have pets, even though I have two dogs. I have a herding dog and a guard dog. Both of them were bred for specific purposes and both of them fulfill those purposes well. Yet I'm assuming that if you were to breed dogs then sooner or later you'd end up with culls. You'd also have to do something with the ones that you simply can't get rid of.

[deb]

Originally Posted by coup

i know some folks that raise small dogs for profit,,,they have 40some females and some studs...they are registered and have been doing this for years...they sell pups for $350. they also stud out dogs.they groom dogs also,,they make more money than any cattle man i ever knew.....

do you consider this a homestead job? would you do it?

Owning and operating a puppy mill is not a homestead job. It is not anything I would ever consider doing

deb
in wi

[whatrset]

Originally Posted by Ernie

I breed chickens and sheep. I can eat the culls. What do you do with dogs who just simply won't further the breed?

I don't have pets, even though I have two dogs. I have a herding dog and a guard dog. Both of them were bred for specific purposes and both of them fulfill those purposes well. Yet I'm assuming that if you were to breed dogs then sooner or later you'd end up with culls. You'd also have to do something with the ones that you simply can't get rid of.

Shhhhhh we mustn't talk about such things. (Compost)

[ErinP]

Originally Posted by coup

i know some folks that raise small dogs for profit,,,they have 40some females and some studs...they are registered and have been doing this for years...they sell pups for $350. they also stud out dogs.they groom dogs also,,they make more money than any cattle man i ever knew.....

do you consider this a homestead job? would you do it?

how many here raise dogs or cats big time?

What you're talking about is a puppy mill.
Many states already have regs. against them. Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri, on the other hand, are very puppy-mill friendly.

I like to think people are getting more and more selective as the years go by and avoiding puppy-mill/pet shop pups, but I don't know.

To be sure, no responsible breeder would ever have that many dogs. Being a pet, a dog needs to be socialized with people from the days it's born. That's not possible with those quantities of dogs.


BTW, culled dogs that won't work, can be spayed/neutered as sold as a pet.

[rean]

There are many books on Amazon regarding responsible dog breeding. Not all dog breeders run a puppy mill.

[SunsetSonata]

A person of honor would not intentionally breed pets for the sole purpose of profit when there are thousands of quality pets being put to sleep every day. Doing so reflects on one's character, IMO.

[ErinP]

Originally Posted by rean

There are many books on Amazon regarding responsible dog breeding. Not all dog breeders run a puppy mill.

Of course not.
But in the scale the OP is looking at, as well as the obvious knowledge of their "chosen breed," (that is, Profit) a puppy mill is most assuredly what is being considered.

I won't say it's a reflection of the OP's character (seems a bit harsh, IMO), just that they aren't thinking this through.