Most Popular Dogs in Austin, Texas 2010

1. Labrador Retriever
2. Golden Retriever
3. Yorkshire Terrier
4. German Shepherd Dog
5. Boxer
6. Dachshund
7. Bulldog
8. Miniature Schnauzer
9. Poodle
10. Doberman Pinscher

Most Popular Dogs in Atlanta, Ga. 2010

1. Labrador Retriever
2. Golden Retriever
3. Boxer
4. German Shepherd Dog
5. Yorkshire Terrier
6. Dachshund
7. Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
8. Shih Tzu
9. Doberman Pinscher
10. Bulldog

Bog Breeding Online

With dog breeders now offering puppies via the internet, puppy mills and other bad breeders have only heightened the need for a good quality dog breeder website that’s shows you are reputable and responsible.

While I make dog breeding sites, there something that needs to be addressed:
Dog breeding is a business where profit can be made, however, a good breeder does not focus on that nor is it what is important. Selling animals is a huge responsibility, and deciding to sell online is an even bigger one.

Like in an interview, a good candidate can mess up their chances of being hired by not being prepared or looking professional. Ace your chances by making sure your have your bases covered. If not for youself, but for your puppies and the potential families they are going to spend a lifetime with.
Because you are going to get visitors to your site that in or out of your area or state, learn the laws regarding shipping and transferring animals across state lines. From airlines to trains, learn the rules and guidelines for how animals are transferred.

If you are not experience breeder, wait until you have more experience under your belt before doing so. Doesn’t mean you can’t have a breeder website, just don’t use it as a means to sell, but showcase only. You don’t need to use a breeder website to sell, only to showcase, especially if you intend to sell in person or locally only.

I love to make sites for breeders – but I have turned down clients if I felt they were not reputable.

How do I Market My Puppy Cam?

If you decide to put your pups the proverbial web stage, just having your puppies online is simply scratching the surface of how you can use your online puppy cam to market your kennel. Here are some ideas:

1. Email previous customer and let them know when you have a new litter being showcased on the camera. You should always collect your customers email address, and this is one of the ways to use them. They will certainly check it out, forward it to friends to view their pups furry relatives online and perhaps remember the day they brought their new family member home and want to get another one!
2. Post on message boards. Who doesn’t love looking at puppies! From pet lovers to breed specific message boards and blogs, posting a link and a screen shot of the pups can drive traffic to your dog breeding website and camera.
3. Post on classifies. Sites like craigslist always have a pet section where people post on available pups for adoption or sale. Post a link with a picture to drive potential visitors to your site.
4. Not just for puppies. Use the camera to show a virtual tour of your facilities or do a questions and answer about puppies, breed or your kennel. This is great if you are connected to a breed group or organization.
5. Connect with other breeders who specialize in a different breed and work together. Share a stream and work together to build a larger audience and establish yourself as a expert. If you breed a Chihuahua, connect with breeders of other toy breeds and work together to establish yourselves as experts on toy breed.

With these ideas, you can set your self apart among the pack…or in this case litter.

Being a Responsible Dog Breeder

Being a dog breeder is tough. Being a responsible dog breeder is EXTRA tough. As a breeder responsible, reputable breeder your job is to find the RIGHT home for your puppies. You are providing a new family member, a friend and a companion to your customers. From protection, to love companionship, or service, your puppy can provide a lifetime of love if given to the right family.

Placing your puppies in the right home, you are extending the life of your business, brand and reputation. Families pared with the right puppies are more likely to keep in touch with place they purchased, refer your kennel to other people, or purchase an additional puppy from the same place.

This isn’t an easy task. Finding a family that is a good match is only half the problem. Making sure the family continues to be a good match is another story.

Want to Start a Puppy Cam? Pt.2

As stated the other day, streaming your pups can be lots of fun and rewarding, but before you jump onto ustream or another online streaming site, lets look at some more tips:

Lights, camera, puppy!
If you are only putting the camera on during set times, make sure to say the showtimes on the site so they know when to tune in.

Tick tock.
Make sure you have the time. Following up to visitors, and updating the page can be time consuming. Make sure you have the time and energy to maintain it.

Safety First.
For those who have breeds who have a tendency to be stolen, take the necessary measures to make sure visitors don’t know when you’re streaming and not home.  If you’re a breeder who like to stream 24/7, even when you are not home, someone can use that to their advantage and come to your kennel when your not there and puppy nab.

Streaming is a great way to reach our to new customers who are not aware of your kennel, and those who have purchased a puppy from you before. Just make sure like any marketing plan, it does require time and effort to make it effective.

In my next post: how to market your puppy cam.

Want to Start a Puppy Cam? Pt. 1

When the Shiba Inu Puppy Cam became all the rage in 2008, this opened up a new way for breeders to showcase available puppies or perhaps the kennel as a whole.
For breeders, I do think this is a great idea, but before you jump onto ustream or another online streaming site, lets look at some tips before you do so:

What you see is what you get.
When streaming online, keep in mind the camera shows what you put in front of it. Nothing makes visitors mad when you see dog playing with old food and poop. Many breeders show themselves cleaning up on camera. Your visitors will use this as a gauge to see how clean your kennel is and the camera adds extra accountability.

Puppy mills.
Many puppy mills actually use cams to make their locations seem nice and friendly, only showcasing a small clean area. Try to show different locations throughout the month to showcase the whole kennel. Since streaming sites usually store each stream, visitors can go back and view various locations.

Talk it out.
Making sure you set your self apart by talking to visitors who visit the stream on a regular basis. Create a relationship with your visitors. When they are ready to buy, you will already have a connection and relationship established. They also become great referrals for those who are looking to purchase a puppy. Ustream has a chat area right next to streams and a message wall. Make sure to follow up.

More streaming tips to follow!