So, this is the first time since the creation of The Dog Journal that I have allowed myself to talk about the impact that Covid has had on the way we sell puppies. Why? Because I’m tired of hearing breeders laud Covid as the “golden era of selling puppies” that will probably sadly never come back.
Written By: The Dog Journal
Think about it, during Covid, all one had to do was raise a puppy with four legs and a tail, and the puppy found a home for an overpriced number. Quality didn’t really matter. You could be doing everything right, but the breeder next door that only wanted to make a quick buck could sell the same number of puppies for as much as you could, and without putting any of the hard work into breeding quality. Today, quality matters. You set yourself apart by the work you put into your breeding program.
Think about it, during Covid, all one had to do was raise a puppy with four legs and a tail, and the puppy found a home for an overpriced number. Quality didn’t really matter. You could be doing everything right, but the breeder next door that only wanted to make a quick buck could sell the same number of puppies for as much as you could, and without putting any of the hard work into breeding quality. Today, quality matters. You set yourself apart by the work you put into your breeding program.
Unfortunately, over Covid a lot of bad transactions were done, and a lot of new puppy parents were misinformed and not properly educated about how to care for a puppy. This led to a lot of puppies or dogs ending up back in the breeder’s hands, in rescues, or just simply unwanted. That wasn’t fun, and it seems like puppy parents and prospect puppy parents are taking more time to do the proper research before making a commitment, which increases the odds of long-term success by a lot.
According to the experiences we personally are having, as well as the successful stories we hear from other breeders, if through this crazy time of Covid, you as a breeder stayed true to your commitment of quality, and bred for health, temperament, and happy customers, your customer base has grown more loyal. Current and prospect puppy buyers become much more loyal when they can see your commitment to why you do what you do, versus just “selling a puppy.”
In 2012, when I first went to work with the USDA Animal Care, I would visit breeders throughout the country, and I would ask them what they did to rehome the dogs when they were done breeding. You would be amazed at how little rehoming was being done. I would ask the question why these dogs were not rehomed?
Did you ever wonder why someone you know got so lucky? Have you
ever thought “if only I would get so lucky?”
In fact, being tough competition is all about being nice to work with, friendly, and honest. Getting nasty like the story of the guy with the Google ad robot in this
call is not
