My name is Landon Hutchison, residing in Harwood, Missouri. I wear many hats, but my most notable ones being an AKC Professional Handler, Kennel Manager, Basset Hound Breeder, and owner of Duke Marketing Agency. I manage my parent’s kennel, Bar H Farms, who breed Basset Hounds under the “Bar H” prefix. Puppies from my personal breeding can be distinguished by the prefix addition of “Duke’s”
Written By: Landon Hutchison
As a boy, I was deeply immersed in the cattle and western horse industries. I had quite the successful career in the rodeo industry from junior high through my early years of college. It was during this time that the dog bug bit me and took over. My story in dogs officially started at age 17, after acquiring a job at a local commercial kennel. I took the job simply to fund my rodeo career and fulfill my deep love for dogs. I did everything from feeding, cleaning, whelping and rearing puppies, as well as helping them market their litters. This job was not for the faint of heart, but it taught me many valuable lessons about the dog industry.
After some time as a kennel hand, my parents, Gavon and Tammy Hutchison established their kennel, Bar H Farms. They asked me to help market their litters and help in the daily care of dogs. Little did I know this would lead to me managing the kennel, birthing my professional handling career, and breeding my first litters. So many doors opened and continue to open from that one opportunity, that I am so thankful for.
Growing up in the cattle and horse industries, I realized that the only way for a business in animal production to succeed was to either add value to the product that you’re offering or sell a lot of that product. After being around very large kennels, I knew that I did not want that for myself. While most of those kennels had exemplary facilities and produced great dogs, I personally did not want to keep so many dogs at a time. We would rather keep a smaller number of hounds and place others with trusted coowners to continually grow our genetic pool. We did not want breeding to be a full-time occupation, but rather something we did on the side, for enjoyment. However, no matter the size of the business, it must support itself, even if it is a labor of love. We decided to start showing our dogs. This route would take us on a journey that we never could have imagined.
As we started to gain information regarding dog shows, we contacted a great family friend, Brenda, who has shown dogs for many years and would become my first mentor. I first contacted her, inquiring about showing a bitch for me and a dog for my parents. After countless hours on the phone, Brenda continued to encourage me to show the hounds myself. She told me of an upcoming show at Purina Farms in June. After much deliberation, I entered and began my journey in dog shows. I only knew Brenda at this show and I was so nervous. I had been on some of rodeo’s biggest stages and had never felt nerves quite like these. Long story short,
I showed the dog and the bitch, both having success and getting me my first win pictures. At this show, I made some great friendships and met my next mentor, Pam. Pam took me under her wing and we traveled many miles alongside each other. That weekend at Purina Farms flipped a switch in me and I never looked back. As time went on, I made even more friends and connections, one being Matt. He gave me a multitude of great insight on breed specific grooming and presentation and has allowed me to travel with him on multiple occasions. I will forever be thankful for the connections that I have made and the knowledge that they have passed on to me over the years.
This would not be a proper article covering my career in dogs, if GCH CH Terra D’Orfili Tandem was not included. Tandem’s story started as a simple inquiry to his breeder, Antonella Bonacossa, of Terra D’Ofili Basset Hounds in Italy. We had some of her lines in our Russian sourced hounds and wanted to amplify that line. After almost two years of deliberation and countless messages, she informed us about an upcoming litter. I will never forget that spring day that my parents called me to the house for a meeting. Antonella had sent us pictures of the prospective puppies, the first picture I saw was of Tandem. I quickly exclaimed, “I don’t care what you do but we need Tandem!” He had “the look” and was such a stunning boy.
While Tandem is young, his career has been outstanding. He finished his championship at the Kentuckiana Basset Hound Specialty in Louisville, KY after making a clean sweep at the supported entries prior, he followed that up with a Best of Breed win the day he was moved up. He finished his Grand Championship just days later at the supported entries in Jackson, TN, with 5 – 5 point majors. He then won an Award of Merit at our National Specialty the following summer and as the curtain drew on his very limited campaign, he was AKC’s #16 Basset Hound.
While I have had the opportunity to show many dogs of my own, my parents, and my clients over the years, he will always hold a very special place in my heart. We are eager to see how his offspring will do in the future.
I and my parents are proud members of the Basset Hound Club of America, as well as the Mid-South Basset Hound Club. Our membership in these clubs has opened our eyes and opened opportunities in the breed. This opened doors for us to converse with other breeders, see their dogs, and build the style of hound that we personally wanted. Our goal with the basset hound is to breed a healthy, driven, well-moving hound, that has excellent type. As breeders, we recognize that the basset hound is an athletic, hunting hound. It is not an overdone, stuffed animal that cannot move and has no drive. The basset hound must be able to move with ease. While they have an easy-going temperament, they must still possess the drive to do what they were bred to do, hunt!
Regarding health, the breed was thankful to see more health testing in 2022, as the MPS-1 and Lafora tests were introduced. While we are all thankful for new tests, it has taken some dogs out of the genetic pool and has thrown a wrench into many breeding plans. One final thing that we have been working towards is keeping maternal ability in our lines. The bitches that cycle regularly, breed easily, whelp and rear puppies well, those are the building blocks to a successful program. This maternal ability can be difficult to find in the breed, however we are thankful to have developed bitch lines that possess this quality. While it was tough to let go of beautiful bitches that did not possess that maternal ability, they went on to find great success as companions and other venues outside of the whelping box. While dogs will always be a part of my everyday life, my daily occupation is Duke Marketing Agency. This journey is one that I am wildly passionate about. I have always loved the marketing aspects of business and am so thankful to share my expertise with those who can benefit from it.
I have been able to help people think differently about their marketing and shed a new light on proven offerings. A large portion of my clientele has been breeders, specifically with web design projects and marketing consultations. My years of knowledge in dogs, horses, and cattle, paired with my technical marketing knowledge has helped immensely in fulfilling my clients needs. While working with some of today’s marketing masterminds and studying in college, I quickly realized that the industries that I loved, were years behind in their marketing practices. I specialize in organic marketing practices and building strong brands that my clients can prosper from for generations. I pride myself in offering a full-service marketing experience. We do it all from creating rich content, managing social media, web design and maintenance, and everything in between. My goal is to provide a transparent and effective service for my clients to get value from.
The times are changing. USDA Animal Care, a unit within the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, administers the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). This federal law establishes requirements concerning the transportation, sale, and handling of certain animals. To enforce this law USDA Animal Care uses Inspectors throughout the country providing unannounced inspections. These inspections are regularly posted on the web for the world to see.
Join advertising and marketing guru Dave Lapp, with Fuze Design, as he takes on the hard questions about this subject. This is part two of a continued series of articles dedicated to Branding, Marketing, and Web and Social Media Development. Although slightly different in nature than previous Panel Discussions, with only one expert per part, this one is worth spending some time with.
The simple truth is that most people are either “dog people” or “cat people.” Even if they own a few of each, they may feel like they prefer to spend time with one over the other.
If you aren’t sure if you are one over the other, here are some reasons why dogs are better than cats!
