Raising Puppies As A Hobby Breeder

Discussion in 'Self Employment' started by Yvonne Smith, Mar 13, 2016.

  1. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    I love animals, and for several years, I raised and sold puppies and enjoyed it immensely. This would not be something that just anyone might want to do; but if you love puppies, it is a great way to make a little extra money and do something you enjoy at the same time.
    I think that you would have to have a large kennel facility if you were planning on making enough money to support yourself, or even supplement retirement income; but just a few small dogs running around the house can give you some extra spending money.
    It does involve a lot of work, since you have to care for the dogs, and they will also need a lot of bathing and grooming, especially when they are long-coated puppies.
    I had my own website, and advertised the puppies with the free online advertisement classifieds, and usually had all of the pups sold by the time they were at weaning age.

    As the pups were growing, people who had reserved a puppy would come and visit their pup; so by the time the puppy was old enough to take home, it was already familiar with its new family'
    Many people sent me pictures as their puppies grew up, and I loved seeing the happy families going home with their new puppy in their arms.
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  2. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    I don't have dogs but I do know that I'd much rather get a dog from a hobby breeder than from a professional breeder or rescue center because, although there is a feel-good factor of getting a dog from a shelter, they charge more than the puppy mills used to charge and the conditions are too often no better. Mostly though, you don't know what you're getting. Since they want to you to keep coming back to them, the breeders are unlikely to be willing to sell you a dog that hasn't been spayed or neutered, and that's a decision I'd like to make for myself. With a smaller, hobby breeder, you're more likely to get a socialized dog.
     
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  3. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    That is all SO true, in my opinion, @Ken Anderson ! Somehow, when puppy mills got such a bad name (which they deserve); hobby breeders just seemed to get added into the designation, and many people thought that anyone who raised puppies and didn't have an AKC approved kennel had to be a puppy mill.
    I have bought rescue dogs from puppy mills, and it is terrible what some of those poor little dogs go through. One place that I saw had the dogs in cages that were like rabbit cages, and had 3-4 dogs in each cage.
    One Yorkie that we got went in circles everywhere she tried to walk for months because of living in a cage all of her life, and never being able to walk in a straight line. How she loved having her own home and a back yard that she could run and play in, and bit by bit, she learned to trust us, and also to be able to run and play without just spinning in circles.
    Our dogs lived inside/ outside and were treated like family members. They sat in our laps, and slept curled up at my feet. The puppies were handled from birth, so they were well socialized by the time they were old enough for people to take home.
     
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  4. Bonnie Thomas

    Bonnie Thomas Veteran Member
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    I commend you on being such a wonderful dog breeder Yvonne.
    But reading that last part of your post, my only problem (IF it was ME) ..I would have such a hard time letting go. I'd be a wreck, and heartbroken over and over again!
     
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  5. Ruby Begonia

    Ruby Begonia Supreme Member
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    What a rewarding hobby! If I could ever retire, that's what I'd like to do, but like Bonnie said, to let them go would make me sad.
     
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  6. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    Most of it is a mindset, about letting them go. Since I usually had the puppies sold within the first week after they were born, I was just the "babysitter" so to speak. I sent emails and pictures to the new owners every few days, and the people who lived close enough to drive to the house and see them would usually come once a week or so .
    While the puppies are always cute, I lavished my love on the parent dogs (especially Chipper, of course), and didn't let myself get attached to the puppies.
    We had talked about raising puppies again, but Mr. Chipper is too old to be a daddy any more, and if I had another male dog in the house, Chipper would be devastated at the least, and possibly hurt if they got into a fight.
    But I thought I would mention it here in the working from home part of the forum; because it is something that a person can do and make some extra money if they enjoy doing it.
    Some of Chipper's pups sold for $500; and most of them for at least $400; so it can definitely be a blessing when you have puppies for sale.
     
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