Our Doxies

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I will sell puppies with full AKC breeding rights for an additional $250.  Think of it this way, you can buy puppies that are AKC and then your puppies will be AKC.  They cost a little bit more....  BUT, an AKC puppy and a non-AKC puppy costs the same to feed and for the medical care, but your AKC babies will sell much more quickly and for a lot more money.  Typically for $600-1000 more.  So, for a typical litter of 4 puppies you will get $2400-4000 more for an AKC litter.  Isn't that worth the little bit more investment up front.  My gals generally give me 5 litters.  So, an AKC female will generate $12,000-20,000 more income than a non-AKC female.  Just simple math, for the $500-600 extra up front.

People say but its so hard to sell those puppies you fall in love with.  Well, two things.  First, I don't name them.  Yes, they sometimes get "names" for advertising, but I don't use those names unless its a baby I'm planning to keep for my breeding program.  Second, I hear the stories of the families they are going to, the beloved pet that passed and this puppy is replacing, the holes in the heart from the human family members that were lost and this puppy is helping to heal, the emotional support this puppy will provide to the broken people they are supporting.  The tears of joy I see when I place the puppy into the arms of these new families.  The wonderful pictures I receive as the puppies grow  That is where I get my pleasure.  Also, by the time a litter is 8 weeks old, and they have been wrestling in poop and there is no way I can keep them all corralled and clean, they need new arms to love them.  

Learn to do your own medical care.  A lot of this is easily done yourself and vet bills are really expensive and will eat up your profits really quickly.  You can buy all the wormers on Amazon and easily learn to diagnose worms and worm those dogs yourself.  I give the puppies their first three vaccines.  The vaccines can be easily given by you and you can buy the vaccines without a prescription and do them and the microchips yourself.  The only one you can't do (but in PA you can do it if you are a licensed kennel on your own dogs) is the rabies vaccine.  Surgeries you will need help with.  My first C-section was needed on a Sunday afternoon and I had to go to one of the big emergency hospitals.  It cost $6000.  The next one was on a weekday and cost $1500 at my usual vet.  Have some money set aside for emergencies.  They will happen.

You have to be prepared with the legal stuff.  It can get you in big trouble if you don't.  In Pennsylvania if you have more the 25 dogs on your property in one calendar you have to have a kennel license with the state.  If you don't, the fines are huge.  You have to pay sales tax on the sale of your puppies.  Each puppy you sell, whether its one a year or 50 a year.  You need to know the state laws about health guarantees.  You need to have written paperwork for your buyers when you take deposits and a contract signed with your buyers when you finalize the purchase of the puppies.  I have my kennel as an LLC, I don't want the chance of anyone suing me for my house, just for the business.  You need to know how to handle the income for tax purposes.  I do it as a Schedule C business, which means you pay a lot of taxes, you are self-employed.  So be prepared to do quarterly estimated taxes.  This stuff is really important.  Learn the paperwork and be prepared to spend time on it.  I spend as much time on paperwork as I do on the dogs themselves.

The rule of thirds.  Basically, be prepared for 1/3 of the money to be used to invest in the business, new dogs, upgrades to the kennel, washing machines, etc.  1/3 of the money goes to operating expenses, feed, vet bills, kennel help, akc fees, taxes.  The last 1/3 you can be prepared to see in your pocket.  It can go either way a little more or a little less, but this is a good rule of thumb at the beginning.

I invite visitors to my property.  Very few of them actually come into my kennel.  There is a reason for this.  First, folks like to see their puppies, if for no other reason, as a reassurance that I'm not a scammer.  I also find that the puppies like to visit their families and get their scents before the day they go home.  So come and see me.  It makes sense for everyone.  BUT, don't bring me diseases.  When the dog warden comes he/she always puts paper covers on his/her shoes before coming into the kennel.  Every one of them, every time they come.  They won't come in if they don't have the covers.  I really appreciate that.  I don't want germs from the other kennels they have been at.  If a visitor wants to see Mom and Dad of their puppy I have a couple of choices.  One, I can put Mom and Dad outside and they can see them in the outside play yard from outside the fence.  If I let them in my kennel I ALWAYS ask and make sure any and all dogs at home are up to date on all their vaccines.  I can't afford to have anything brought into my dogs.  Just makes basic sense.