I am sure you have heard the saying “Never judge someone until you have walked a mile in their shoes.” This is beneficial advice. Seeing the world from someone else’s perspective often helps us understand what they do why they do it. This truth applies to just about every aspect of life – even in breeding and selling puppies. 

Have you ever thought of the fact that selling puppies means you will interact with people of different cultures and backgrounds in life? If you are Amish selling puppies to English customers, there most likely will be quite a different cultural background. There could also be a variety of other socio-economic backgrounds and differences between the breeder and the puppy customer. 

So why is this important? Because we all make assumptions on how things should operate and when people engage us with a different set up assumptions that do not make sense to us, we judge them. It is easier to see the world from our own perspective and therefore we judge others who come to us with a different perspective. 

What does this have to do with breeders? Every breeder has assumptions and expectations of what the puppy buying/selling experience should be. Every puppy customer has assumptions and expectations of what that should be. When those assumptions and expectations do not match, confusion and distrust can occur. In the context of selling a puppy, when this happens, the best-case scenario is that you, the breeder, do not get the sale. The worst-case scenario is that your name gets smeared by the puppy customer. 

As a serious breeder, you realize that this cultural exchange cannot be ignored. It must be addressed if you are going to have success. Growing a successful breeding business means learning what cultural differences exist and to understand and allow for them so that there is a relationship of mutual respect and not one that ends up in judgment. What in your puppy buying process do you assume and what “policies” do you have in place that are based on your assumptions? Are they right or fair? Do they need to be changed or forgotten? Understanding how your cultural perspective shapes your assumptions and processes is paramount to developing happy and life-long puppy customers.