Have you ever felt like you would like to meet with other dog breeders in the industry and fellowship? Do you wonder if you’re missing out on cool innovative products and services? Would you enjoy listening to others share ideas and tips on how to help you raise your best breeding practices?
Well, if this resonates with how you feel, you need to attend next years breeder expo located at the Solanco Fairgrounds in Quarryville, PA. This expo is sponsored and organized by the PAWS group, and this year’s event attracted people from all over the country, from Maryland to Illinois and beyond.
This is an annual 2-day event that is absolutely packed with all kinds of fun stuff. This year the event kicked off on Friday morning around 8:00, where over a 100 people met at Solanco Fairgrounds, and then got in a few big buses and spent most of the day driving around touring kennels and shops. Unfortunately, I was not able to make the kennel tour this year, and I definitely feel like I missed out. Some of the highlights on this tour were a stop at Pequae Lane Animal Houses, where the attendees got to see and experience what goes into building a kennel, commercial and noncommercial kennels that with cutting edge setups and amazing ideas, and just a lot of ideas and innovation floating around. If you are interested in building or upgrading your facilities, the $50.00 fee that is required for this tour could be the cheapest fifty bucks you ever spent.
Upon arriving back at the Fairgrounds, the crowd of dog enthusiasts were greeted by a cloud of smoke, coming from a chicken grilling pit. Chicken BBQ, a loaded salad bar, ice cream and pie, and more was fed to the crowd on Friday evening, and right after the meal, the live auction began.
The crowd disbursed at around 9:00 on Friday evening, and rejoined on Saturday morning rested and well caffeinated. Throughout the day on Saturday the attendees got to sit in on various different seminars and workshops. I personally was very impressed with the speakers that were present. A lot of “outside the box” information was shared, and the speakers had a way of captivating the crowd and simplifying the message.
Glendon and Mac from A Heart for Puppies shared a very powerful speech geared towards customer interaction and how to make the puppy buying experience relaxing and fun for your potential customers. One quote Glendon mentioned that I hope I never forget was what he tells his potential customers. “I would rather not sell you a puppy and wish I did, than sell you a puppy and wish I didn’t.” You could definitely feel the passion these guys had for helping other people be successful in business and life.
Harvey Fox shared the importance of having a lawyer represent you in any kind of interrogation by law enforcement. Many innocent people have been fined and even imprisoned for crimes they never committed. The reason they were convicted? They politely answered investigators questions. When law enforcement comes knocking there is only one safe thing to do and that is to firmly tell them that you will not answer any questions without a lawyer. Anything you tell law enforcement officers can and will be used against you in a court of law. The legal system was not created to be navigated alone without the help of a lawyer. Harvey is not an attorney and the above should not be considered legal advice but he can connect you to an attorney.
Jonathan Lawler, from the Punk Rock Farms came all the way from Indiana to share his story about an earth-shaking documentary called Puppy Mill that he is creating. In this documentary he explores some of the myths behind kennels and how the animal rights activists are deceiving the public for their own personal gain. According to the interest they are generating and the demand for this documentary, it’s got the makings of being one for the books! Jonathon is a strong advocate for dog breeders and he is working to improve the public perception of Amish dog breeders in particular.
Another very impressive part of this year’s event was the vendor line up. I am always amazed at how much innovation that gets created and developed and designed from one year to the next. Browsing these booths and asking the vendors a lot of questions can pay dividends.
By the way, this whole event was very child friendly! The staff behind this event does an amazing job at including the next generation of dog breeders. This year there was a big old obstacle course for the children (which was being used heavily both days) as well as a bounce house, and I believe they also had a few children’s contests and games spread throughout the event.
There really is just too much that happened at the PAWS expo to get it all on paper, and that’s why you need to mark your calendars for next year’s event, which is on August 18th and 19th. In conclusion, if you’re at an event like this and everything flows smoothly and goes well, it’s just hard to appreciate the hard work and energy that goes into making this happen. I want to take this opportunity to extend a heartfelt thanks to the PAWS board, event committee, food committee, and everyone involved.
Now, in this issue, we’re going to see if the people that support the program would actually pay more or choose a puppy coming from a program like this over one that does not. Please remember that there are lots of other good reasons to keep becoming more ethical and stepping up our game, but in this article we are talking only about the monetary gain that can happen.
The Dog Journal Customer Care: Addressing the Puppy Mill Stigma In my Breeder Coaching I often get asked by breeders on what to do when
Held at the Allentown Fairgrounds in Allentown, PA, from Friday, Feb 2, through Sunday the 4th, this event had something for everyone who loves pets, from snakes to dogs to cats and more.
