How to Start a Dog Breeding Business
Are you planning to start a dog breeding business? Over the years, dogs have grown from being just a domestic animal to an integral part of human life. The population of dogs globally has increased proportionally to the increase in the human population.
Dogs are usually regarded as man’s best friend; they are the most loved household pet. According to reports, half of the world’s population has a dog or loves to have one as a pet. People have different reasons for keeping dogs at home. Some of the reasons are companion purposes, security reasons, fashion, and many more.
The increased demands for dogs across the globe have made the art of dog-breeding, a lucrative and profitable business to venture into. Read on to learn the steps to take in starting a dog breeding business.
What is a dog breeding business?
Dog breeding is the planned mating of pedigree dogs that correspond to a specific breeding goal (e.g., body type, performance, health), in the expectation that the desired characteristics and traits are inherited in the offspring. Dog-breeding is aimed at fostering the appropriate reproduction of ideal dog companions for society.
Dog breeding business is the business of breeding dogs professionally for the primary aim of making a profit. Starting a dog breeding business requires more than just love for dogs; it requires that one has detailed knowledge on how to start and manage a dog-breeding business.
In this article, I will look to answer the questions of how one can start a dog-breeding business.
Why start a dog breeding business?
If you are looking to start a new profitable business, you should consider starting a dog breeding business. The demand for dogs has grown drastically over the years. This sole reason has made the need for dog breeders increased across the world; this makes it a great business to consider venturing into.
Regardless of the type of dogs you want to breed, there is undoubtedly a market. If you are interested in breeding companion dogs such as the Hoodle poodle, Chihuahua, etc. there is a market for that, especially for women. And if you choose to breed guard dogs, such as German Shepherds, Rottweiler’s, Dobermans, Pit Bulls, etc. there is also a market for that. With the rapidly increasing crime rate around the world, the demand for security dogs has also soared.
The essence of this article is to provide you with a detailed guide on how to start a dog breeding business not just for passion for dogs, but as a source of income.
Step to take when starting a dog breeding business.
Looking for a complete guide on how to start a dog breeding business?
Search no further, in this article; I will reveal a step-by-step guide to start a dog-breeding business even if you have no prior/technical knowledge on dogs,
Market Survey & Study
Like with every other business, the first step to take when starting a dog breeding business is to conduct a market study and competitive analysis to verify whether it’s feasible to start a dog-breeding business.
Carrying out a thorough market study on the dog breeding market will provide you with information on the main trends of the market and helping an original positioning and in correlation with the expectations of potential customers.
The market study should answer the following questions:
- Is there a viable market for dogs in the locality?
- Are there opportunities to create a dog breed?
- What are the trends in the dog breeding market?
- What are the most popular dog breeds in the region or locality?
- What is the price of each breed?
- What are the specifics of each?
- What is the demographic profile of people who buy dogs (income, household size)?
- How many dog farms are there around where you want to install yours or around your home (if you do it at home)?
- What are the breeds of dogs offered in nearby breeding?
Having answers to this question will allow you to differentiate yourself from the competition, inspire you the farms’ type that works best, and understand what does not work in the dog breeding business and thus avoid making the same mistakes made by dog-breeding business owners.
Creating a business plan
A business plan is a key and crucial element of any business creation. It synthesizes your plan to create a dog breeding business to present it in a professional and detailed way.
Your business plan will allow you to check the viability of your business creation project and present the business objectives to potential investors or banks when you plan to secure financing for the business. Therefore, it must be clear, precise, and pleasant to read, and above all, make them into supporting the start of the dog-breeding business.
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In a simplified way, a dog breeding business plan consists of two parts:
- A written part used to present the overview of the business and convince its advantages.
- A financial part is highlighting the need for financing and the profitability potential of the business.
The success of your dog breeding business depends in part on the success of your business plan. You can look for professional consulting agencies to help you in drafting a detailed business plan.
Register Your Business
You should register your dog business in order to give it a legal status. You need to determine the legal structure of your dog breeding business. It can be a sole proprietorship, partnership or a limited liability company. Each of these has its pros and cons. For instance, if you register the business as a sole proprietorship, you will have the full control of the business. It is the easiest and cheapest way of structuring a business. However, at the same time, you will bear the whole risk of the business. If you don’t want to do it alone, you might consider partnership. Partners in a partnership are collectively responsible for all business debts and profits, and also have full control of the business. For a limited liability company, the company is seen as an artificial body that is separated from the owners; it can sue and can be sued. Unlike sole proprietorship and partnership, owners are not personally responsible for business debts and liabilities of the limited liability company.
Register With Tax Authority
It is important that you register your dog business with relevant tax authorities both at state and federal levels. As an entity, there are certain taxes your business should pay. Also, if you hire staff working for you, you need to deduct tax from their salary which you are expected to remit to the state tax authority. Doing otherwise will be seen as tax evasion. Of course, this has its own legal implications.
Open a Bank Account
It is important that you have a bank account for your dog breeding business. Even though you have a personal bank account, you still need to open a separate account for your business where you can lodge all your revenues. Also, you should make all the expenses relating to the business from the bank account. This makes you more accountable. At the same time, it will be easier for you to source loans from the bank when needed. Furthermore, having a bank account makes it easy for your accountant to prepare the financial statements of the business.
Read Also: Importance of Bank Reconciliation
Government guidelines for dog breeding
Anyone interested in dog breeding must have a clear understanding of the regulations and guidelines set up by the government authorities in their locality. Professional breeders must register with their ministry of Agriculture and adhere to the mandatory guidelines of practice for operating a dog breeding business in most countries.
Also, you would have to receive a license from the appropriate authorities to provide the dog business with the legal backing to operate in the country. Visit the local authorities in your locality to complete this process.
Choosing the breed of dogs to breed
It is essential to choose the right breed to breed when starting your business because, regardless of whether it is profitable or not, it is good to know the race you intend to breed, this will help in you building a stable relationship with the dogs and understanding of their traits and characters. Also, when choosing the type of dog to breed, it is essential to take into consideration the facilities you have in place because, of course, it is not the same to breed Maltese as a Labrador.
Also, it is often advisable to see which breeds are in fashion and which are the best sellers, since it will be important when one wants to sell them in the market. There is no better breed; they are all excellent, according to each person’s time and needs.
It is essential to know the characteristics of the chosen breed thoroughly; I would say that this is one of the fundamental factors to consider when starting breeding dogs. You must know everything about the race you want to breeds because ignorance is the main cause of failure in the dog breeding business.
Location of the farm
An essential step is to find a place for your dog breeding. Several factors, such as spaciousness of the farm, proximity to the access road, human labor, and others, must be considered when choosing the location of the farm.
The location of the farm must be large enough to accommodate several dogs and a wide space for them to exercise, and for recreational activities.
Also, the location of your farm must be accessible by roads and transport and visible to your future customers. Choosing a farm in a remote place is not a wise step to take when starting the business.
Finally, if during your market study, you observed that there was a farm situated few kilometers from the location of your proposed farm, it’s advisable not to open your farm close to the already existing farm, you can choose another location kilometres away from there except the breed of dogs you will be breeding is different.
Human and material resources
The next step to create a dog breeding consists of evaluating the human and material needs necessary for the creation of your business, an essential step to develop a serious financial forecast.
Some of the material/equipment necessary for the creation of a dog-breeding business include kennel, food supplement, food supplies, and drugs.
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Marketing Plan
Implementing marketing strategies is vital to make your dog-breeding business known and build up a strong customer base. You can put up flyers in the waiting rooms of veterinary surgeries or clinics or near schools. You can link up with pet stores in your locality for potential business partnerships.
You can also boost your visibility with the creation of a website, the establishment of advertising, and a presence on social networks with beautiful photos of dogs, your breeding, and customer reviews. This will attract prospective customers to your farm.
Joining dog clubs and events
Another vital step to take when starting the dog breeding business is to join dog clubs in your locality and attend dog shows/events. This will provide first-hand information about the dog industry and learn from other successful dog-breeding business owners.
Joining these clubs and attending dog shows would allow you to network with other dog breeders in your locality. Networking with dog breeders will allow you to benefit from their experiences in the business.
Pros and cons of the dog breeding business
Dog breeding business, just like every other business, has its pros and cons. Therefore, when starting a dog breeding business, one must have an in-depth knowledge of the business’s pros and cons. In this section of the article, I will be sharing with you some of the pros and cons of the dog-breeding business in ensuring that you become successful in the industry.
Pros (Advantages of dog breeding business)
There are many advantages to starting a dog breeding business. Some of the pros include
- One of the pros of breeding dogs is the presence of the global market; you can easily place your dogs for sale using your website or social media accounts and export to customers in foreign countries depending on their demand.
- It’s possible to change some of the traits in offspring that were initially found in their parents, thereby breeding a desired breed of your choice.
- The prices for each puppy can vary depending on the breed and locality. This will, in turn, generate more profit for the business owner.
Cons (Disadvantages of dog breeding business)
The dog breeding business has a lot of cons. below are some of the drawbacks of the dog breeding business
- Breeding dogs as a form of business requires a lot of time and effort. It’s beyond buying dogs, their feeding, preparing them for mating, and the rest. You would be required to join dog clubs, attend club meetings and events in your locality, researching for new trends about dogs globally, taking the dogs for walk, socializing them humans, etc. This will not only make the business time consuming but very strenuous. Before starting a dog breeding, you must be prepared for all this and more.
- The financial commitment that comes with breeding dogs for business is high compared to breeding dogs for personal use. You will have to regularly take the dogs for check-ups at the veterinary clinics, buy their foods (which for most breeds are very costly), carry out several health tests regularly to ascertain their health condition and their likes. Also, you would have to provide money for the maintenance of their farms and kennels.
- The dog breeding business requires a lot of technical knowledge on how to breed dogs. To be successful in the dog breeding business, it’s vital to be equipped with the appropriate expertise on dog breeding. This involves knowledge of the genetics of dogs, their traits, foods, and others. Having the required knowledge will help in improving the type or breed of dogs you would raise.
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Conclusion
Starting a dog breeding business is not easy, I believe that this article will have achieved its goal: to make your task of breeding dogs business easier. The steps presented above are the main steps required to start a dog farm. This business can be stressful, but still, it can be financially and emotionally rewarding.