How to Organize Life and a Busy Breeding Business

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Life’s demands can pull us in many different directions, and adding a dog breeding business increases the stress! But it can also bring so much joy, fulfillment, nurturing, and love- bringing out the best in us!

So how can a dog breeder manage the difficult parts? What help exists to balance life’s many demands?

(Wondering what demands are included in raising a litter of puppies? Learn more here)

Policies and Procedures- Keeping Yourself Sane!

The first step to organize your dog breeding business- and your life- is to decide and record all your breeding program’s policies. These will be easily accessible for you to keep things straight, and easy to send to a potential client!

You can quickly and easily share all necessary information with anyone who is interested in your breeding program- answering all their questions at one time… saving you time and effort.

A few things to consider adding to your policies:

• How much do your puppies cost? Does the price include breeding rights?
• How many litters will each female have?
• What ages will parents be allowed to breed- both male and female?
• Are your males available for stud services? If so, what is the price? Do you ship semen? Do you offer a free rebreed if the female does not get pregnant? When is the stud fee to be paid? Do you accept pick of litter instead of a fee?
• What contracts will puppy owners sign- purchase agreement, spay/neuter contract, health guarantee, stud contract?
• Are families allowed to visit the puppies? Any conditions on visits to keep puppies healthy/prevent spread of germs onto your property? Any conditions on the age of puppies when families can visit?
• What transportation, if any, do you provide to help get puppies to their new families?
• Do you accept deposits or reservation fees to hold a puppy? Is the deposit refundable or not?
• What communication will be available to a puppy family after they reserve a pup and before the pup goes home? How often will the breeder send pictures/updates?
• What should a family do to prepare to bring your pup home?
• What kind of a start to life do you provide to each puppy? Do you do Early Neurological Stimulation, Early Scent Introduction, Desensitization, Startle Recovery, etc? (You can learn how to do all of these through the educational materials provided in our Whelping Kit)
• Your preferred contact method and location

Your Sires and Mothers- Advertising the Backbone of your Breeding Program

Document #1- Create a handy document with all the information that a client would ever want to know about the parents of a potential puppy (or the sire if they want stud services).

At the touch of a button, you’ll be able to send them everything they could ever need, answering all their questions with little effort on your part.

I would recommend including on this document:

• parents’ professional pictures,
• scanned registration paperwork/pedigree,
• genetics testing results,
• OFA testing results,
• breed,
• color,
• weight/height,
• sex,
• temperament traits,
• titles/championships/certifications,
• the dog’s birthday,
• for a male, a semen analysis and brucellosis test
• Any other important information for a family to know about the parents

Remember to really show off here! This is a great way to advertise how exceptional your dogs are- and therefore how amazing the puppies will be!

Having this document ready in advance will decrease your stress and time demands when families ask about your pups.

Document #2- I recommend a second document just for you that will keep track of all the events in each of your dogs’ lives. A master document that will track everything you need so that you can view it easily and quickly to get the information that you want.

What should be included on this document?

• Date of health testing and when they expire,
• date of brucellosis testing and when they need to be done next,
• any medical events,
• date of vaccinations/deworming and when they are due next,
• date of each heat cycle and when to expect the next one,
• date of each breeding,
• date of ultrasounds/xrays including notes on if the female is pregnant/how many pups are expected,
• date that litter is born- including notes about the puppies (how many, what colors, what sex, etc),
• date of retirement from breeding.

Need to remember when your female’s cycle should come along? Got it in seconds!

Need to remember if the female needs her vaccinations updated before breeding? Easy to find out!

When the Puppies Arrive- The REAL Chaos!

Use our Step by Step Guide to Raising a Litter of Puppies to prepare before the pups are born.

Be prepared with our Whelping Kit which provides vital tools to prepare for emergencies as well as important information to help you during a puppy’s first 8 weeks of life- all in one convenient and easy place.

The charts included in our Whelping Kit will decrease so much stress and keep things running smoothly. You’ll find:

• Questions to ask the vet before labor begins in order to prepare for potential emergencies- plus a handy place to store emergency vet contact information (let’s face it- if there is an emergency, you’ll need this info fast!!),
• A shopping list to be sure you’ve thought of everything the pups and moms will need (including a recipe for treats to stimulate mom’s milk production),
• A temperature chart to help identify when mom will have her puppies,
• A whelping chart to track the time, weight, gender, collar color, and markings of each pup as they are born,
• A chart to record and plan bottle/tube feeding if a puppy isn’t nursing on his own (a real life saver since bottle feeding means lack of sleep!),
• A daily weight chart for the puppy’s first weeks of life (the newborn phase has its own challenges!),
• A weekly weight chart for the puppy’s later weeks (weight gain is a great indicator of health),
• A chart to keep track of the new families’ contact information (with anywhere from 1-15 families to keep track of, this is so handy),
• A vaccines/dewormer record to keep track of your puppies’ vet needs.

But that’s not all! Any old whelping kit can include these basic organizational charts. Our whelping kit has more help for you to increase your knowledge and provide a better start to life for your babies.

The Whelping Kit includes these advanced aids for you!

• Weekly Development notes to help you anticipate how your pups’ needs will change over time,
• A how to cheat sheet for Early Neurological Stimulation Exercises,
• A tracking sheet for each pup’s responses to Early Neurological Stimulation Exercises,
• A how to/tracking sheet for Early Scent Introduction,
• A how to sheet for Desensitization Exercises.

Literally everything you need and many bonus materials for additional help, stress relief, preparedness, and confidence!

Tips and Advice

As I’ve managed my own dog breeding business for many years (including during the time that I raised 3 young children), here are a few other tips for you!

• Stop and enjoy the puppies. They grow so fast, and each stage is special for different reasons. Enjoy each one!
• Let go of the money. That’s not where joy comes from, it’s not what breeding is about. Letting go of the money means reduced stress and pressure.
• Find true relationships with the puppies’ new families instead of just clients. They are family now- not just a customer.
• Put first things first- and more often than not, that means your family first and your puppies second. That’s ok! Even when it comes to a list of things that the puppies need- focus on what needs are more important and let the rest fall away until their due time.
• Remember that you’ve got the whole day. Very few things must be done right at this exact moment. Let the day’s activities take the day instead of trying to pound them out quickly.
• Take a break when you need it. You are important too!
• Notice when you have a success, and celebrate it! Otherwise, we’re just spinning our wheels for nothing!