Consider a Cash Crop
(Page 3 of 7)
May/June 1972
By Dorothy Lockard
Beware of taking just any giveaway, though. If you're going into the dog business to make money, don't get waylaid by a mongrel . . . no matter how cute. Mongrels eat as much as purebreds and the money goes only one way . . . OUT. Registered purebreds bring money IN.
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Of the purebreds, I've found that a medium-sized breed is the best bet. Tiny dogs have only two or three puppies per litter . . . and they often have to be delivered by Caesarean. The stud fee and vet bills can easily eat up your potential profit. It's so easy to become attached to individuals in a small fitter too . . . "OK, we'll keep Butch, but next time we sell every pup". Wanna bet?
On the other hand, the very large breeds often whelp huge flocks of pups . . . too many for the mother to properly nurse. The books say to drown all over seven. Can you do it? If you can't, you'll be worn ragged trying to feed the mother and babies enough to keep them healthy.
You'll also quickly learn that it's more than twice as difficult to find customers for ten new dogs than for five . . . especially if the area's already flooded with puppies produced by females of the litter or two you sold last year. A neighbor of ours wasn't able to sell all the babies whelped by her Great Dane. Now her house is full of the animals. Just seeing that they each get a daily romp is quite a chore. Large dogs need large exercise.
The answer is a medium-sized breed that whelps four to seven pups without a vet's help. Best of all—especially if you have children—is a dog with good disposition and sturdy conformation. Pups can receive a lot of abuse from kids so you might as well stack the odds in favor of your dogs early in the game.
I'd say that feeding a medium-sized dog should cost you less than a dollar a week. If you have small children, their leftovers will do a pretty good job of maintaining one canine. Just go easy on starchy foods like potatoes and watch out for bones that could splinter and tear a dog's intestines (no bones for my bowsers except for the huge ones the grocer gives me free). And make sure your animal or animals have enough water. A crockery container in the kitchen, basement or under a shady tree (always within easy access of your canine crew) will keep that water cooler and fresher than metal or ceramic pans.
We seldom notice the cost of dog food when we buy groceries except for the last 14 days before pups leave us at six weeks of age. The canned milk, baby cereal and hamburger I feed them three to five times a day does add up then . . . but we already have deposits on the whole litter by that time so I don't mind.
If you keep a lot of dogs, you might qualify for the "breed er's plan" offered by some dog food companies and the occasional vet. It's worth inquiring about. I buy Purina Dog Chow in 25-pound bags, save the circles on the sacks and—once or twice a year—mail the emblems to Purina for a one-cent-per-pound refund. My veterinarian also gives me reduced rates on his services.
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