do you consider dogs as homestead job

Sometimes, you can find a good solution. I have a friend who raises smooth collies and labrador retrievers. (As others have said, there isn't a lot of money in it due to the costs of quality care!) Anyway, she donates her unwanted dogs to a charity that trains guide dogs for the blind. The charity gets the dogs for free and provides the medical care and training. A blind person ends up receiving a much-needed assistant for less than half of the cost of obtaining a guide dog the more traditional way.

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There is no profit in breeding pets if you provide for them well. That is the point. She just asked if anyone had considered it.

You can always find a home for puppies. Even if you have to give them away, you can always find a home. I can't imagine anyone with a heart killing a puppy rather than simply giving it away if they don't sell it.

If you go to the barter or pet forum here on this very site you'll often see people with a similar advertisement:

2 year old dog with hip dysplasia, near blind, diabetic, food sensitivities, and kid aggressive. Free to a good home.

My neighbours raise Labar-doodles as a business. They are a poodle-lab cross, which are apparently good for people with allergies. Consequently they can get a good price, and they ship them all over, as I guess there is a demand.

I know it is profitable for them, but it is not their only source of income. The dogs seem well cared for, but I don't think they have anywhere near 40 animals. I am thinking more 6-10, but I haven't been there lately.

I would say there is nothing wrong with this as a business, provided you give good care and you are selling an animal that can command a premium price, like a speciality breed - I think if one was breeding for your average pet, the margins would suck, and people should really get those from the shelters.

You are so brave to post that. LOL. You have no idea what kind of criticism can come. (((Hugs))) in advance just in case anyone is unkind about your comment.

Shipping is another issue. My cousin shipped her puppies, but I would never do it. Of course she sold a lot more than I ever did. I love puppies, so I have had a few litters from my pets, but never sold them professionally. I don't know how anyone can afford to do that.

there is more profit in small dogs, generally speaking. I have bred poodles for years and never had a C-section. Good reproductive health is hereditary, and generally speaking, dogs from large litters will produce large litters. I used to groom for other breeders, and had the luxury of selcting my stock from lines I had known for years, seen what they produced, knew which were problem free, what sizes and colors were in the backgrounds, temperaments, even down to patellas and bite several generations back. I mostly bred sound, healthy, sweet tempered poodles in a wide variety of colors, with good teeth, good coats, no allergies, pretty faces, and I live where there is $, so they all sold. The prices varied usually from $600-1750 per puppy. My vet costs were extremely minimal past initial testing. Vaccines I did myself, other than rabies. I groomed them myself, and they were house dogs, so other than opening the door and having a small herd fan out in the yard to poop instead of just one dog, it was not that much extra work. They had a room of their own to lounge in, complete with A/C and cable TV, which I kept turned up loud so they wouldn't bark at every noise. I never had to euthanize or take to the pound an unwanted puppy. Sometimes I would sell one for $300-400 just to unload it before they got big and gangly. Sometimes I gave puppies to friends or friends of friends... I always kept a full time job though, and doubt I could fully have supported myself on just puppy money, even when the economy was rolling. Right now I still have dogs but have not bred in over a year, almost a year and a half. I have a vet close by that is very reasonable. Emergency C-section, if I ever need it, is only $400. I haven't needed it. Most of my dogs had four to five puppies per litter, a couple would have eight or so. All good milkers, good mamas, one would get mastitis a lot and had to be hand milked out every day to prevent/fix it. People don't like to visit when you have a lot of dogs, and you don't get to go anywhere, because there is always something needing tending to. Get ready to be pinned down to your place, 24/7 and then there is the cost of advertising, the flakes, the people wanting you to come down on your price and have never even seen your dogs, just go go go all the time taking care of those dogs. I have never shipped one, but I did have my sister fly one over to Denver once for a customer. Made the buyer pay her round trip plane ticket to take a teacup little girl on the plane to her new home. Buyer was happy to pay it. There are people who REALLY WANT their little dogs and will pay $ for it, but you will earn every penny of it, let me tell you.

Breeders who are in the category stated by OP are not in the same category as above poster, onthespot. They do not study genetics, breed obviously poor quality dogs, and don't care what happens to the puppies. You find these puppies over the internet (if your credit card is good, you are a good dog owner) and in pet stores. That is the only way you could move this quantity of puppies. 90% of the Boston terriers in rescue are from puppy mills. I just fostered one that was a breeder and it was an ugly situation, complete with mange and pyometra. The papillons I've fostered have been from The Hunt Corporation, where they breed dogs with owner possession ( a condition where the dog is sweet and great until hitting maturity then becomes a bipolar Cujo).

So, to answer your question, no I would not.

Actually - no, you cannot always find a **GOOD** home for a dog. A cute 10 week old puppy, perhaps, if you give it away (but that has it's problems) But an older puppy that you may have been running on, thinking it was show quality and then you realise it isn't - no. Most people want a puppy to be as young as possible and as cute as possible. After that - no takers.

My friend has just placed the last of three Chihuahua puppies he had. The sire was a very good champion, and the dam had points towards her championship. He thought that the one male he held back was top show quality, but he developed an underbite as he grew. Not a bad one, but enough that he would never have shown him, and certainly never wanted to breed to him. He had him neutered (as was proper) and it took him several months to find a home for that dog. He didn't even get the cost of the neuter back, let alone all the care that had been put into him

Mary

I can get a small dog spayed or neutered for $50 around here, regular price. If I had to pay the vet prices I hear about here on the internet, I'd just go into sticker shot with the first vaccine. The vet I use mostly, the ones that do C-sections are reproduction specialists. They specialize in Bulldogs and there are always nearly half the waiting room is filled with bulldogs. People ship their dogs from all over the country to have them seen by this vet for high risk pregnancies, and planned c-section. I just totally lucked out that they are about 20 minutes from me.

I have never had problems finding a home for a puppy. But I am not trying to overcharge and become rich off of dogs either. I have always had a waiting list.

I totally agree. We have 16 dogs, all strays/rescues of one type or another. Only one is registered...came to us that way. If we hadn't taken him, he would have been taken to the pound. We also have nine cats. Hubby and I agree that we are at our limit. I'm home 24/7 to care for these animals. No way could I give quality care to 40 plus dogs, even if my husband were home 24/7 to help. There's no money in it.

My sister and BIL are backyard breeders. I do NOT know why they continue to do this and talking to them is like talking to a brick wall. They do NOT give quality care to their animals, they do NOT recognize that they don't and they are NOT making money. More often than not their dogs escape the kennel and they end up with a litter of mutts. Some of which they have sold as purebred dogs...they are even able to get papers on them! All they do is register them on line!

There is no way I would buy a dog from a breeder. There is no way I would ever advocate the practice either. NO WAY.

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For several years I raised dogs for a living. I didn't have a large number of dogs, just high priced ones. My dogs were know all across the U.S. and in many other countries. There was always a waiting list for my puppies and a grown dog would average $8000-$10,000.
I worked, trained, and showed my dogs.
My vet lived close to me and charged me very little for her vet care. I always gave her name for a vet when I sold a dog. If there was a problem with a dog and she couldn't cure it her vet bill was zero.

There is a way to make money and take very good care of your dogs. Just many people do not know how. They choose a breed that has health problems, don't choose healthy dogs, do not let their dogs be know in a large enough area, and choose poor quality dogs.

I get calls everyday from people wanting trained young adults not everyone wants a puppy, the fact is there are far more people who want dogs for pets than who are going to buy and eat live chickens! if you are not passionate and knowledgable its better to do something else ,but people are spending more on pets today than any other time. its possible to make money but there are lots of expenses and its a lot of work! but if you love dogs its a fantastic stay at home job!

We have Golden Retrievers that my wife trains and competes with in agility, obedience, tracking and hunt tests. We stud our males out about 3-5 times a year depending on the quality of the females looking to breed. Our average stud fee is around $800-1000 for a dog that’s an AKC Master hunter and has a couple titles in agility and obedience. Our dogs carry all the current certifications, hips, eyes, heart etc. with DNA on record with the AKC. The puppies are usually in the $1000-1500 range depending on what the female has accomplished. We always screen for health issues and make sure their certs are up to date.

I figure that to make that 4-5K a year it probably costs us about 10K in fuel, entry fees, motels, and vet bills, not to mention training time. We’re definitely not into it for the money.

One of the people with have repeat breedings with is pretty much in the same boat. She’ll have a couple litters a year, 7-10 puppies a littler which usually go for about 1000-1300 a piece. Sounds like a lot of money, but by the time you take out vet bills, stud fees, entry fees, gas, motels etc. she’s basically paying for her hobby of running dogs in trials. I have yet to see a puppy go unsold, and usually litters are pre-sold before being born.

I think of these dogs as niche type breedings, not “back-yard” breeders or puppy mills. The puppies usually end up with hunters, or people in the agility, obedience circuit.

Chuck

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That's why I said "sole purpose." Had a feeling I would be misunderstood, there are many breeders of high quality purebreds. Where maybe they make a profit, maybe they don't. Regardless I'd say those breeders are the minority of all breeders out there!

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Wise enough to know I'll never be wise enough to know it all

I wrote this poem several years ago when I was a small breeding kennel, before downsizing. Please consider it before getting involved in "dog breeing" It is a lot of work with a lot of dedication. If you aren't willing to give up sleep, recreation and money I would advise NOT going into it. There is a right way and a wrong way.

I am a breeder. My food receipts for a family of 7 and my dog food bills match. My electric bill has tripled, my water bill has doubled. It is I, a breeder, who when my fridge quit, saved the dog meds and let the food go bad. My feet find the way to the kennel before I have even grabbed a cup of coffee in the morning and the kennel is the last stop before bed. While my friends are on a cruise to the Bahamas and my family meets for Christmas I am home delivering puppies. I haven't had a real vacation in 7 years, but maybe soon. All plans are made around heat dates, whelp dates and vet dates. I shower and 10 minutes later my grand kids say I smell like a dog. My clothes are all stained with fecal matter, urine, afterbirth or bleach. I have to remember to clean my shoes before church. Most of my friends breed dogs. Who else can you call at 3am for support? Who else has the experience I sometimes need, the med I sometimes need, or just an uplifting word I sometimes need? Who else would understand how it feels to have invested hours and hours and hours in a weak puppy to lose it? Or the joy in investing hours in one that lives? I have slept on the floor beside a litter until the cruicial 2 weeks have passed. I have bottle fed a litter of 12..feeding every 2 hours and it taking 90 minutes to do for weeks at a time. I have learned to be proficient at micro chipping, vaccinations, sub q fluids, bottle feeding and tube feeding. My Vet knows me by my first name. The Vet knows my children. The Vet knows my grand children. My Vet knows it was I who added on the wing to the Vet Clinic. I am a breeder. It is to me that 63 days takes on new meaning still excited by every new life. It is I who delivers all my pups, towels and heat lamps on ready. Happiness and sadness sometimes intermingled. Even though it increases my work load, I look forward to the 10 day stage when eyes open, and puppies begin to emerge from the helplessness of newborns. Puppy breath, a first bark and a heart of exploration. I am not uneducated, unemployable, illiterate or lazy as some Animal Rights folks would imply of breeders. I am a conscientious lover of animals and I have found my niche. I am a breeder.And although I feel no shame there is a part of me that feels the need to hide from powers that could come to invade my home and take my dogs...maybe for finding a mild infraction, a leaf in the water dish? A kennel not yet cleaned for the day? A rash I am home treating? I tell my children and grand children to hush, do not tell others we are dog breeders, and I wonder when did breeding puppies go into the same secret place as criminal activity? I am a breeder and I am not cruel, dumb, uncaring or criminal. I am not raking in money while sitting on my butt. Every penny I make I earn through blood, sweat and tears. My greatest joy is a healthy puppy and a wonderful home. The cards of thanks and the pictures of my puppy with its new family is the fringe benefits of my efforts. I am an animal lover, nurse, midwife, heavy laborer, customer service representative, and marketer. AND I am a breeder.

I thought I made it clear that the dog was no longer a cute 10 week old puppy when my friend decided not to keep him. Selling him for way less than the cost of the neuter is not - IMHO - overcharging and it is decidedly not a way of becoming rich off his dogs.

Mary

As you can see, we raise pekingese. No, they are not a "homestead" job. But the Pyranese do a homestead job themselves - they protect the livestock.

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I'm an environmentalist, left wing, Ron Paul loving Prius driver with a farm. If you have a problem with that, kindly go take a leap.

Thank you so much for posting this... as truer words were never spoken. As a breeder myself, each line of your poem struck a chord in my heart.

In addition to all the things you mentioned, there are also so many more aspects, that people never begin to imagine, when they take on this 'job'.

I would never encourage anyone to do this 'for the money'. It's a job better left to fools such as myself.

(Again, thank you LaMoncha for posting this. I hope everyone reads it twice.)