| Editor’s note: In the last issue of
BU, we printed a letter I had received from a college student in a nearby state, asking
for boxer breeding information for a project she was doing for her senior marketing class.
We invited our readers to "Be the Editor," and respond to the student’s
letter. The original student letter is reprinted below, along with a terrific response
from Connie Haywood, Boxers at Wit’s End, Davidsonville, MD. YOU BE THE EDITOR
by Connie Haywood
My name is _____ _____. I am a
student at Some Southern State University. I am doing a marketing project for my senior
marketing class on boxer breeding. The assignment involves pricing equipment, average
income, profit, supplies needed, what happens to sick dogs, where do you get your
customers and how do you keep them satisfied. I am e-mailing as many informed breeders as
I can to make informed decisions on my project. So any advice or price listings that you
could send would be wonderful.
********************************************************************************
Dear student,
Wherever did you get the idea
that the breeding of boxers would or could be a worthy subject of a marketing study????
"Marketing" infers an application to the world of trade or economic activity.
The breeding of boxer dogs is a labor of love, an effort involving, not the investment of
capital, but the investment of your very soul. My out of pocket pre-breeding expense is
often well over $1,000 by the time I have accomplished the health testing my conscience
dictates, the progesterone testing common sense dictates and the stud fee my breeding
program dictates. IF the breeding is successful, I will happily accept the quantity of
pups that God and my bitch give me. I have made it possible for this/these pup or pups to
be born, and they are my responsibility. It doesn't matter if they are flashy or plain,
show prospects or pets, white, brindle or fawn. They are my responsibility whether they
are healthy, hare-lipped or stillborn. I will praise God for those that live and cry for
those less fortunate. I will spend the first three nights sleeping alongside the whelping
box and the next three weeks hovering; and after all is said and done, the best one, the
one I could "sell" for the most money, I will keep or give away. How do you
place a value on that kind of commitment?
Equipment? I’d had four
litters before I invested in a whelping box. Prior to that we used a Big Bird kiddy pool
lined with faux-lambskin. We use lots of clean towels, a heating pad and a heat lamp in
the winter. You should have bottles and formula on hand for emergencies and tubing
equipment (just in case you have a very weak pup). You should surely be prepared (in an
emergency) to feed those pups every two to four hours. What if you lose the mother during
the birth? What if she has no milk?
Average income? None. Average
profit? None. On the rare occasion we come out a few dollars ahead, those dollars will be
spent on more health testing. Heaven forbid any should be left over to help with handling
and dog show expense! And what do you mean "what happens to sick dogs?" Give me
a break! They go to the doctor! What happens to a sick child? He or she goes to the
doctor! Is there a difference?
Where do I get my
"customers"? I don't get my "customers," they get me. Somehow they
find me, word of mouth I guess; certainly not the result of a satisfactory
"marketing" program. How do I keep them satisfied? Why would they not be
satisfied? If they’re lucky enough to have been chosen by me to offer their home to
one of my pups, they know and I know that anything that could be done has been done to
give that pup it’s best chance with life. Perhaps you should reconsider boxer
breeding as a subject for a marketing project in favor of an inanimate product more in
need of marketing strategy. How about a breed-specific computer pedigree program or a
quality dog food?
Connie Haywood
Boxers at Wit's End
Davidsonville MD
w1tsend@aol.com |
