Is the weather having an impact on puppy inquirys right now. Seems to be slow for alot of breeders now.
Are area better ? Colors ? Are some adjusting prices with the economy ? I know this came up before but is it any better this week ? Trying to decide to breed or not.

I am in the NE and have had a lot of inquiries, mostly for yellows though.

No inquiries but no pups right now. I do know of others I would be glad to refer to but the weather is keeping things quieter.

As usual, every request here is for a yellow female. Guess what? I had a lovely litter born this Wednesday - one yellow female and NINE males. 5 blacks and 4 yellows. Oh my, please keep those referrals coming.

Not slow here....

I have a large litter on the ground now. All sold to good homes. I even have 2 on my waiting list for a litter in the fall.

Then again, I'm not in the areas that charge 1500 for a well bred puppy either.

I have been getting inquiries, but my pups are not due until next month and people don't want to wait. They want a puppy right "NOW"! I have to think that those are probably the clients I would rather not have. If they are so impulsive that they need a puppy right away. Will they be that impulsive when they get tired of the puppy and decide they don't want it anymore?

I agree, I like the people who are thrilled you are having pups and very willing to wait. And to the person who is just selling all they have, can I just ask, if you are pricing them say under $900. or 1,000 to $1,500 ? Like most ! I wonder about the economy also.

still getting inquiries in the north east, mostly for chocolate and yellow.

No problem selling mine in the NE for $1,500.00

In my area, could have sold a whole litter of boys, and only had 3.

Now that I know what I have and what's available, not too many calls. I am on the high end of our area's traditional price - $1000 - (and I have seen BYB's in our area getting that no problem. I would hate to have to discount, but I am still weeks away from needing them sold.

It really stinks knowing that others are getting yellow bitch inquiries when I have a couple that I would like to find homes for, but unfortunately the forum limits that.

Maybe those that have yellow inquiries and dont have puppies to fill the requests can post their email addresses?

Problem is most families do not want to ship. I cannot blame them. They want to meet the breeder, the dam,the pups before bringing one home. Why not post the are of the country you are in and an email address and maybe someone from your area of the country will contact you. I have no problem helping out and sending referrals to responsible breeders who are not 'high volume'.

I find more are driving to pick up pups these days. Or flying in and renting a car back home. I still have lots of familys from many states away. So might not be a problem. Not so sure about flying these days.

what is your price?

Flame suit on, but why in this economy are people breeding without homes for puppies BEFORE they're bred?

I visit websites and see litters listed amongst older puppy listings and makes me scratch my head.

Perhaps your market is just saturated.

Why, depends on if you are a 1/2 empty or 1/2 full person. Business for many companies (your day job) are way up and working lot's of overtime, others are average and others are slow. We have plenty of inquiries and make many referrals to our club members and bitch owners who use our stud dogs. The bigger problem I see is some breeder’s don’t know how to present themselves or how to present puppies to the right group of people who can afford to pay $900 to $1500 which I consider the well bred puppy range.

and how does one go about doing that then?

1/2 empty 1/2 full

There is way too much to cover or get specific in this post - you have challenged me to put this into a resource which I will develop and post later. Below are few bullet points and general thoughts.



It has been said that many people fear public speaking more than death itself. For some people I have met dealing with placing puppies is similar and talking about their program is rough too. I believe intensely that the majority of the breeders on this forum have a great passion and love for their labs and the breed and that needs to come through. remember you are not selling puppies you are helping people get what they want: a new member of their family, or helping someone realize a dream with a show project, or help them breed their own show prospect (stud service).



Passion

- tell your story (briefly) why are you doing this?

- show your love for your dogs and puppies.

Attitude

- if you believe the economy is bad and prevents you- it will

- you are the best person to say why your labs are the best or why your circle of friends are.

- the cliche "people don't care how much you know till they know how much you care" is true.

Internet Presence

- keep it simple, not too business like

- if you want to post on litter listing sights, look at the other listings, if they look like BYB, you don't belong there.

- if you post and all the callers think a lab should cost $400 - $600 it is the wrong list site.

- list on your lab club site, support your lab club.

Keep information up to date

- litters from 2009 or early 2010 do not show you care.



Helping others / circle of friends

- If you don't have pups and get a call, still help the family, answer questions and refer (circle of friends and stud users).

- When your litter is on the ground you will receive referrals.

- the cliche "nice guys finish last" is false - they finish with their friends.

Puppy families

- keep in touch, genuinely, when you do have new litters let them know- they may know others.

I agree 100%.



I half way agree. Yes, there are some sites I wouldn't be caught dead on, but there are others that I will advertise on even if some of the other "breeders" on there aren't what I would call reputable. Why??? Because my ad sticks out to people who know what they are looking for.

When I got my first Lab I found the breeder online. I searched for sites that sold puppies and found the one who looked the most reputable. Funny, because I hear breeders all the time say "I would never sell my puppies over the internet!!" like it's some horrible thing to cast a wide net.

In today's day & age, most people begin any serious seach online.

Before I placed ads on sites I approached things as if I was a serious puppy buyer. I googled what I wanted and found sites that appealed to me. I have a large litter on the ground right now. More than half of my puppy buyers found me online, and the only puppy I am shipping is to someone who was referred to me by their handler.

Personally, I love these economic conditions because only the most serious puppy buyers make it past the first 15 seconds of the call. It helps to weed out the ones who don't place value on health clearances and responsible breeding practices.

I am not disagreeing with you on certain sites. You will get calls. The area I am highlighting is your image and qualified puppy calls. If I have to field many calls for $400-$600 puppies I am wasting my time. I have never had a problem with qualified buyers looking at Jill's liter listings. If you have a web site you are on the internet- it is your image and reason for being in labs that is important. As far as placement, a great deal of our pups go to people outside our state. Never shipped. Sometimes we meet half way- longest distance 500 miles for each person.