A dog breeding business operator interacts with a golden retriever and her healthy puppies in a clean kennel.

How to Start a Dog Breeding Business Smoothly

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What to Expect From This Guide to Starting a Dog Breeding Business

This guide walks you through the key decisions and practical steps involved in starting a dog breeding business. The bullets below highlight selected areas, not everything inside.

Inside the guide, you will find:

  • Startup steps: Follow ordered steps from choosing a breed and checking zoning through licensing, health testing, funding, and pre-opening confirmation.
  • Industry interviews: Read interviews with experienced breeders who share how they started and what advice they give newcomers.
  • Common questions: Get answers on litter registration, limited versus full registration, EINs, importing breeding dogs, and keeping a day job.
  • Daily reality: See what a typical day involves, including the parts owners often enjoy and the parts they find hard.
  • Business fit: Weigh your motivation, household support, and tolerance for uneven income before you spend anything.
  • Risks and warnings: Review warning signs around federal licensing, property use, veterinary support, and cash reserves before you commit.
  • Financial planning: Learn how break-even logic, startup cost categories, pricing, and funding come together using your own local numbers.

Start with what a dog breeding business involves, then work through whether it fits your life.

Starting a Dog Breeding Business With Clarity

Dog breeders plan litters, screen dogs for health, keep records, place puppies, and handle the legal setup behind all of it.

Some operations stay small and home-based. Others grow into larger kennel setups that may trigger added licensing and inspection rules.

Your offer usually centers on puppies, registration support, health records, and pedigree documents.

Placement terms can also vary, such as limited or full registration.

Your setup choices affect far more than your workspace. They shape your licensing path, facility needs, paperwork load, and the homes you can serve.

Starting narrow usually serves you better than opening with too many moving parts at once.

A narrow start means one breed, one clear standard, one veterinarian relationship, and one solid record system.

The numbered steps below follow the general startup steps for any business, adjusted for dog breeding.

Is a Dog Breeding Business a Good Fit for You?

Fit is not just about liking dogs. It depends on whether you can build a structured operation around them.

Before you think about names, websites, or puppies, ask whether you want the daily life that comes with owning a business.

A dog breeding operation can look simple from the outside, but the first months ask a lot of you.

You need patience, paperwork discipline, calm decision-making, and enough personal stability to handle uncertainty.

Do you enjoy detailed health records, veterinary scheduling, contract work, sanitation, and screening households for fit?

Can you handle pressure when things do not go to plan?

Passion helps, but it does not replace preparation.

Passion can keep you steady when the days get tiring, when costs rise, or when a decision takes longer than expected.

You can read more in how passion affects your business.

Ask yourself once, and answer honestly: “Are you moving toward something or running away from something?”

Starting only to escape a job, prove something, or chase quick income can put you on weak footing.

Owning a dog breeding business also changes your lifestyle.

Income may come in uneven waves, and you may have less flexibility than you expect.

Family support matters, especially if you plan to operate from home or host visits.

Household support also matters when part of your property will go to kennels, fencing, whelping space, and cleaning routines.

For a clearer sense of ownership tradeoffs, review these points to consider before starting your business.

Only talk to owners you will not compete against, such as breeders in another city, region, or service area.

Firsthand owner insight is useful because those owners have lived the experience, even though each journey differs.

Prepare questions before those conversations, such as:

  • What part of the daily routine surprised you the most?
  • What did you have to set up before the public ever saw your operation?
  • Which first decisions changed your costs the most?
  • What would you confirm with local agencies before spending money?

You can get more value from those conversations by reading inside advice from real business owners.

What Are the Pros and Cons Before You Start?

Dog breeding offers real advantages, but costs, rules, and paperwork can outgrow your plans.

You can begin on a small scale, and in some locations you can run the operation from home.

A narrow breed focus can help you stand out, and a strong health-testing process gives your operation structure from the beginning.

Costs can rise quickly when veterinary needs, testing, fencing, facility changes, or emergency visits enter the picture.

Rules can shift depending on your setup, where you operate, and how many dogs are involved.

Paperwork is larger than many people expect, especially if you use registration programs and keep detailed placement records.

You can keep operations simple only if you make simple choices on purpose.

Red Flags Before You Start

Pause or change your plan if federal licensing, property use, or your cash reserve is still unresolved.

Reassess before you commit if any of these apply:

  • You have not confirmed whether federal licensing applies to your sales method.
  • Your property use is still unclear.
  • You have no realistic reserve for veterinary surprises.

Dog breeding also carries conditions that exist no matter how you execute.

Breeding is time consuming and occasionally heartbreaking, and veterinary complications can raise costs and demands on your time.

Treat these conditions as planning context, not as automatic reasons to quit.

If any red flag applies, pause to verify more, change your model, or reconsider starting.

A Day in the Life of Running a Dog Breeding Business

Your day centers on feeding, cleaning, health checks, and records. The mix shifts as each litter moves through its stages.

Owners feed and water the dogs, clean and disinfect housing, and watch each dog for signs of illness or injury.

When puppies arrive, you also weigh and record each puppy’s progress and keep the whelping area warm and clean.

Whelping can begin at any hour. You keep your veterinarian’s number and your local emergency clinic’s number close in case something goes wrong.

Beyond the dogs, your day includes records, veterinary contact, supply orders, and registration paperwork.

Puppy inquiries also fill your day: you answer questions, screen households, and send paperwork to the families you choose.

Your days change with each stage: pre-breeding health checks, pregnancy, whelping, nursing, weaning, and placement.

Planning, health testing, and paperwork fill the stretches before a litter arrives.

What owners often enjoy:

  • Watching a litter arrive and grow, from whelping through raising puppies
  • Meeting the families who take your puppies home
  • Hearing updates, photos, and milestones from those families over the years

What owners often find hard:

  • Whelping stress and emergencies, which can call for a Caesarean section or quick veterinary help
  • Raising puppies is a full-time job, and the extra feeding, cleanup, and training leave little free time
  • Screening families and staying responsible for each puppy for life, including hearing bad news

Does this daily rhythm sound satisfying to you, or draining before you even begin?

Step 1: Choose Your Business Model and Placement Method

Your model starts with where you operate: home, a property with kennel space, or a larger commercial setup.

You can stay solo for a long time, or add help later for cleaning, kennel work, transport, or office tasks.

A practical startup model is often a solo owner with outside professional support.

That support can include a veterinarian, emergency clinic, laboratory, accountant, and insurance agent.

Your sales method also shapes your regulatory picture. In-person placements differ from sight-unseen sales or wholesale activity.

That choice can decide whether federal licensing becomes part of your plan.

Some breeders focus on companion homes. Others build around show, sport, or working homes.

A few use co-ownership or breeding-rights arrangements.

Pick a model that fits your property, your breed knowledge, and the documentation you can manage.

Breed choice, property type, and the size of your setup affect almost everything that follows.

A larger kennel setup can change licensing, zoning, insurance, cleaning routines, and capital needs.

The number of breeding dogs you keep at opening also moves your costs quickly.

When one decision touches costs, workflow, and the public experience at once, slow down and test it from every angle.

Step 2: Define Who You Will Serve and What You Offer

Your buyers fall into specific groups, not one broad public.

You may serve pet households, show or sport homes, or working-dog homes.

Some buyers want documented health testing and pedigree records.

Each group asks different questions. One family may focus on health records and temperament.

A sport home may care more about pedigree, structure, and placement terms.

Staying vague about your buyers makes your website, contracts, and screening process harder to build.

Set your customer profile first. Then match your inquiry form, waiting list, and communication style to the homes you want to place with.

At opening, you offer puppies and a process.

Your offer usually includes:

  • Breed information and health-testing disclosures
  • Litter records and registration support
  • Microchip or identification details, if you use them
  • A puppy packet
  • A written sales agreement

A generic startup approach fits this field poorly. The public sees the puppy, but the system behind that puppy carries the operation.

If your records and documents are weak, your opening is weak.

Step 3: Validate Demand Before Spending Money

Validate demand for your breed, your standards, and your placement approach before you spend money.

Do not assume demand just because people like dogs.

Look at how many similar litters are offered in your wider area. Check how quickly they are placed and what questions households keep asking.

Use local supply and demand research to structure your checks.

Test whether your planned standards match what buyers expect.

Buyers of some breeds expect health screening and registration support; others care more about temperament, communication, and pickup logistics.

If demand is weak, oversupplied, or built on terms you cannot support, stop there.

Better to learn about weak demand before you buy stock, build kennels, or start a website.

Step 4: Build the Skills You Need Before Opening

You need breed knowledge, comfort working with a veterinarian, and the ability to follow health-testing recommendations.

Clean records for each dog, each litter, and each placement take steady discipline.

You also need practical business skills, such as:

  • Screening inquiries
  • Handling deposits
  • Organizing contracts
  • Keeping payment records
  • Separating business transactions from personal ones

If you feel weak in any of these skills, address that while you are still planning.

The goal is not perfection. The goal is to open with systems you can maintain.

Step 5: Check Zoning and Property Use for Your Address

Sometimes you can breed dogs from home and sometimes you cannot, depending on zoning and local rules.

Local rules that can limit a home-based operation include:

  • Zoning and home-occupation rules
  • Limits on animal numbers
  • Signage and noise limits
  • Rules on customer visits
  • How your property is classified

The zoning check is one of the most important in the startup process.

A home-based setup can look fine on paper and still fail at the zoning desk.

Ask your local planning or zoning office whether dog breeding is allowed at your address and what conditions apply.

Mention planned building changes, fencing, or customer traffic when you ask.

Settle this before you sign a lease, start construction, or buy major equipment.

Changing direction on paper is much cheaper than changing it on a property.

Step 6: Set Up Your Legal Foundation

Start by choosing a business structure, then handle your state filing, Employer Identification Number (EIN), and any assumed name filing.

A sole proprietorship can fit a small, low-asset setup, but it does not separate your personal assets from business debts.

An LLC generally protects personal assets, so it may fit better if you add kennel buildout or employees.

Settle your structure before you sign major agreements, and confirm the choice with an attorney and a tax professional.

For more detail, see this guide to choosing a business structure.

If you form an entity, file with the state before you apply for your EIN.

If you will use a name that differs from your legal name or entity name, you may need an assumed name filing.

Use the same name across entity records, tax records, and your account setup, because bank staff may compare them.

Skipping any of these filings can create friction with banking, contracts, and local licensing.

Step 7: Check Taxes and Employer Accounts

If you will have employees, check federal employment tax duties and the state registrations tied to withholding and unemployment.

Some dog breeding operations start solo, while others add help for cleaning, kennel work, office tasks, or transport.

Sales tax is another item to verify. Whether puppy sales are taxable depends on your state and sometimes your local setup.

Do not guess about sales tax. Check your state tax agency before you take deposits or final payments.

A sales tax check keeps your pricing and records correct from the start.

Step 8: Verify Licenses and Permits

Your licensing path depends on your scale, sales method, and facility, so verify each level before you open.

Smaller setups stay simpler, while larger ones can trigger added rules.

At the federal level, check whether your planned activity falls under United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) rules.

Sight-unseen retail sales and wholesale activity can matter here.

The APHIS Licensing and Registration Assistant is an online tool that helps you determine whether you need a federal license.

State and local rules may require a business license, a breeder or kennel approval, or both.

Verify these items with the agencies tied to your location:

  • Secretary of State for entity filings and name registration
  • State tax agency for sales tax and employer accounts
  • City or county business licensing office for local licensing
  • Planning or zoning office for property use approval
  • Animal control or agriculture office for kennel or breeder rules

For a general overview, review this guide to business licenses and permits.

Step 9: Plan Startup Costs and Operating Capital

List every cost you expect, price each one locally, and separate one-time costs from monthly costs.

Dog breeding rarely produces one neat startup total.

Startup cost groups usually include:

  • Breeding stock
  • Health testing and veterinary visits
  • Facility setup, fencing, and kennel buildout
  • Licensing and registrations
  • Feed and sanitation supplies
  • Insurance
  • Website and brand setup
  • An emergency reserve

Costs move sharply with breed, bloodline goals, property type, and the number of dogs you keep at opening.

Fencing, kennel buildout, and major site changes can also change your totals.

Bringing in breeding stock from abroad adds transport and import rules, which the FAQs below explain.

Public fee schedules exist for some items, including certain registry fees and some health-screening submissions.

A federal animal welfare license carries its own fee when that license applies.

An all-in national startup figure is not dependable enough to use as a planning shortcut.

Plan operating capital separately from startup costs, because monthly expenses continue before puppy income arrives.

Add up your recurring monthly expenses and count at least one year of them when you size your reserve.

Your reserve should also cover veterinary surprises, facility work, and timing gaps between expenses and puppy placements.

Your break-even point is the sales volume where income equals costs, with no loss or gain.

Fixed costs, such as insurance and loan payments, stay the same no matter how many puppies you place.

Variable costs, such as feed and supplies, rise and fall with the number of dogs and puppies.

Divide your fixed costs by what each puppy sale leaves after variable costs to estimate how many puppies you must place.

Litter size is only confirmed late in pregnancy, so test your math with smaller litters and slower placements.

Slow months and no-sale stretches matter too, so check whether your reserve can carry you through them.

Use profit and revenue estimates to organize your own local numbers, not national averages.

If the math does not work, change your model, reduce your dog count, or delay starting.

Step 10: Set Your Pricing

Dog breeders usually set prices per puppy, but the method behind each price matters.

Breed demand, pedigree, titles, documented health testing, registration status, and placement terms can all shape the final price.

Some breeders separate limited and full registration terms. Others use a deposit-plus-balance structure tied to the contract and pickup timing.

Decide what each placement includes and confirm your sales tax treatment. Contract terms and paperwork follow in Step 19.

Test each price against your break-even math from Step 9.

Pricing first and defining your offer second builds the operation backward.

For more detail, see this guide to pricing your products and services.

Step 11: Line Up Funding

Most owners fund a dog breeding startup with savings or other personal sources.

Some owners also look at family support, bank financing, or Small Business Administration (SBA) loan options through participating lenders.

Before you apply for any loan or investment, ask each lender or investor which documents they require.

Start drafting your business plan while you finish the earlier steps. The Business Plan section below pulls the pieces together.

The better question is how much runway you need before litters produce steady cash flow.

Income can be uneven, so plan for testing delays and veterinary surprises.

Leave room for facility work and timing gaps between expenses and placements.

A steady cash cushion usually does more for you than a big public debut.

For loan basics, see this guide to getting a business loan.

Step 12: Plan Health Testing and Veterinary Support

Review the health-testing recommendations for your breed before you acquire or breed any dogs.

Those recommendations can include different screening types, and they often shape both your startup budget and your timeline.

You also need a veterinarian involved from the beginning.

Your veterinarian supports decisions such as:

  • Prebreeding exams
  • Vaccine planning and parasite control
  • Breeding timing and pregnancy checks
  • A whelping plan that says when to call in an emergency

Look for a veterinarian familiar with your breed who is reachable when emergencies happen.

If your operation falls under federal regulation, you may also need an attending veterinarian and a written program of veterinary care.

Treat veterinary planning as a core step, not a box to check later.

Weak veterinary planning spreads into cost, credibility, and compliance.

Step 13: Set Up Your Space and Equipment

Your physical setup needs secure housing, safe containment, cleaning space, storage, temperature control, and a separate whelping area.

The setup also needs feeding stations and a place to isolate a dog if needed.

Equipment usually falls into a few groups:

  • Housing and containment: kennel runs, indoor pens, crates, gates, and secure fencing
  • Whelping and puppy support: a whelping box, washable bedding, towels, liners, and a puppy scale
  • A heat source set to a safe temperature, since puppies cannot move away from heat that is too hot
  • Sanitation: disinfectants for animal spaces, gloves, waste containers, and laundry access
  • Records: storage bins, a printer or scanner, and a digital or paper record system
  • Identification: a microchip scanner, if you use microchip identification in a regulated setting

If federal licensing applies, your facility also needs to support inspection preparation, veterinary oversight, and recordkeeping.

Set up the space for calm daily work, not just for opening-day photos.

A layout that looks tidy but slows down cleaning, feeding, or record access will wear you out fast.

Keep your equipment list tied to your actual opening model, since a small home-based setup and a larger kennel operation need different gear.

Step 14: Set Up Registration, Identification, and Records

If you will use American Kennel Club (AKC) registration, set up that system before you need it.

Litter registration, individual puppy registration support, and sire requirements all affect your workflow.

The FAQs below explain who can register a litter and how limited and full registration differ.

You also need a clear identification method for each dog and puppy.

Microchips, collars, color coding, or file numbers can all work if they fit your setup.

Every record should connect to the correct animal without confusion.

Build folders for dog records, litter records, health records, placement records, and payment records from day one.

That habit can save you hours later.

Step 15: Open Business Banking and Payments

Open a separate business bank account before you take deposits.

You may need to show an EIN, entity documents, or assumed name records, depending on your bank and structure.

A sole proprietor may be able to use a Social Security number instead, so confirm with your bank.

For account basics, see this guide to opening a business bank account.

You also need a clean payment process.

Decide these payment points before you open:

  • How deposits are handled
  • When balances are due
  • What receipts you issue
  • How refunds work in your contract

Payment confusion creates trust problems quickly.

Decide how you will track every dollar tied to a litter, from screening costs to registration costs to final payment.

Step 16: Choose Suppliers and Service Partners

Your startup leans on a small group of outside providers.

Your main providers usually include:

  • A veterinarian and an emergency clinic
  • Health-testing providers
  • Feed and sanitation suppliers
  • Crate and kennel equipment sellers
  • Any registry or microchip service you use

Some accounts are simple retail purchases. Others need business contact information, billing records, dog identity details, or registration information.

Lead times and minimum orders vary by vendor, so check them before you count on anything for opening.

Pick partners for reliability and fit, not just price.

A cheaper supplier does not help if an item arrives late or support is poor when you need it.

Step 17: Choose Insurance Coverage

Separate coverage required by law from coverage that is simply wise to carry.

If you hire employees, workers’ compensation may be required under your state rules. If you use titled business vehicles, commercial auto coverage may also be required.

Beyond that, many owners look at general liability, property coverage, and endorsements tied to animal-related risks.

What is available depends on your insurer and your setup.

Ask an insurance agent direct questions based on how your operation will actually run.

A home-based setup, a separate kennel property, and a larger commercial facility do not carry the same risk picture.

For more detail, see this guide to business insurance.

Step 18: Set Up Your Name, Brand, and Website

Choose a name that is easy to say, easy to spell, and consistent across your entity records, website, and email.

Once the name is cleared, register your domain.

Core brand assets can stay simple:

  • A logo
  • A clean color and font direction
  • An email address tied to your domain
  • Good photos

Build these assets while you are still planning, so you are not scrambling to explain your operation after people start asking questions.

Your website does not need to be flashy, but it does need to work.

Your site should explain your breed focus, how households can inquire, and how your placement process works.

Add the records or disclosures you provide so buyers know what to expect.

Support your workflow with simple tools:

  • An inquiry form
  • A waitlist process
  • A page about health testing
  • A short explanation of registration support
  • A contact path you can manage promptly

A weak website does not just look unfinished. It can also attract the wrong inquiries and create extra back-and-forth.

Step 19: Prepare Your Forms and Contracts

Prepare a sales agreement, deposit terms, a health-record packet, and a simple inquiry or screening form before you open.

If you use waiting lists, build that process before the public starts reaching out.

Match each promise to a document:

  • If you promise registration support, show how that will happen.
  • If you promise certain records at handoff, design the packet in advance.
  • If you plan to microchip puppies, show where that information will be documented.

Spell out conditions such as limited registration in your written agreement.

Write the paperwork while the operation is still quiet to reduce pressure later.

Step 20: Plan How You Will Reach Your First Customers

Your first buyers will find you through a clear breed focus, a working website, and a calm inquiry process.

Think about who your first buyers are and why they would choose your program over others.

Registration support, health-testing disclosure, and a calm inquiry process can shape trust more than flashy promotion.

Before you promote anything, confirm that:

  • The site is live
  • The inquiry form works
  • The contract is ready
  • Your records support what you promise

A big push before everything works only creates noise you must clean up later.

Step 21: Confirm Everything Is Ready Before Opening

You are ready to open when your legal checks, facility, veterinary support, records, payments, and paperwork are all in place.

A clean opening is not about perfection; it is about having the essential parts in place when the first real demand arrives.

Use this checklist to test whether your operation is ready to open. If an item is unsettled, fix it before moving forward.

  • Breed focus, customer type, and placement model are clearly defined
  • Federal licensing question has been checked for your sales method
  • State and local licensing checks are complete
  • Zoning and property use are confirmed for your address
  • Entity filing, assumed name filing, and EIN are handled as needed
  • Sales tax and employer accounts are verified where required
  • Veterinarian and emergency clinic relationships are in place
  • Breed-specific health-testing plan is complete for your breeding stock
  • Housing, fencing, crates, pens, bedding, and cleaning setup are ready
  • Whelping equipment and supplies for the first weeks of puppy life are on hand
  • Dog records, litter records, health records, and payment records have a clear system
  • Registration workflow is set up if you will use it
  • Your cash reserve covers veterinary surprises and slow stretches
  • Bank account, receipts, deposits, and final payment process are tested
  • Sales agreement, deposit terms, and inquiry form are ready
  • Website, email, domain, and contact channels are live
  • Labels, signage, and visitor flow are checked against local rules
  • A small test run has been done for inquiries, paperwork, and payments

Business Plan

Draft your business plan as you complete the earlier steps. Finish it once your cost, funding, pricing, and break-even inputs exist.

Your plan pulls together what you learned in each step.

A practical plan for this business brings together:

  • Your breed focus, customers, and placement model
  • Legal, tax, zoning, and licensing checks
  • Facility, equipment, and veterinary plans
  • Startup costs, operating capital, and pricing
  • Funding sources and the documents each lender requires
  • Break-even logic and slow-period risk

You may be asked for a business plan, so confirm each lender’s or investor’s requirements before applying.

Explain how many puppies you must place to cover fixed costs, using your own local costs and prices.

Show how veterinary visits, testing, and facility costs affect what each puppy sale leaves after expenses.

Show how you will cover slow months, no-sale stretches, and delayed placements.

If you need a template or format, use this guide to write a business plan.

Opening-Day Red Flags

Delay opening if your veterinarian, health-testing plan, records, contract, or payment process is not ready.

Stop and reassess if any of these gaps remain:

  • No veterinarian is ready to support the operation
  • Breed-specific health testing has not been planned
  • Your records are weak or incomplete
  • You have no written contract
  • You have no clear payment process

Small gaps connect to one another, and one unresolved issue often turns into three more.

Delaying your opening beats opening with structural problems you already know about.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to own the sire to register a litter with the AKC?

No. AKC registration options vary depending on whether you own the sire, the dam, or both dogs.

Both parents must be AKC registered and of the same breed for the litter to be eligible.

If you own only the dam, the sire’s owner takes part in the litter application.

Put the stud fee and registration terms in a written contract before breeding.

AKC does not settle disputes over breeding contracts.

What is the difference between limited and full AKC registration?

Limited registration means the dog is registered, but no litters it produces can be registered.

As the litter owner, you choose the type when you register each puppy. If you check no box, full registration is assigned.

A dog with limited registration cannot enter breed competition at licensed or member dog shows, but it can enter other events.

Only the litter owner can change limited registration to full later.

Explain these terms to buyers in your written sales agreement.

Do I need an EIN if I am a sole owner with no employees?

Not always. The IRS says you generally need an EIN to hire employees, operate a partnership or corporation, or pay certain taxes.

Banks often accept a Social Security number from a sole proprietor, but ask yours before you apply.

An EIN is free from the IRS, so avoid sites that charge for one.

What should I check before importing a breeding dog?

CDC requirements depend on where the dog was vaccinated and which countries it visited in the six months before entry.

The CDC Dog Importation Navigator shows which requirements apply to your dog.

A dog that is not vaccinated against rabies will not be allowed to enter if it has been in a high-risk country.

Dogs imported for resale face additional USDA requirements, so confirm with USDA whether your plan falls under them.

Settle import rules before you pay for a dog or arrange transport.

Can I run a dog breeding business while holding a full-time job?

Possibly, if you can cover whelping and the weeks that follow.

Your veterinarian can narrow the whelping date if breeding timing was done beforehand, which helps you plan time off.

Without breeding timing, the whelping window is wider.

A mentor who can help during whelping is worth lining up before you breed.

Interviews With Experienced Dog Breeders

These interviews let you hear how experienced breeders started, what they advise newcomers, and what breeding asks of them.

Kym Burch-Ryan, AKC Breeder of Merit

Kym Burch-Ryan, an AKC Breeder of Merit, explains how she got started with Australian Shepherds and what she looks for in puppy buyers.

Her advice for novice breeders, including studying the breed standard and testing every dog, gives you a practical learning checklist.

Read the Interview

Nancy Sedlacek, AKC Breeder of Merit

Nancy Sedlacek, an AKC Breeder of Merit who breeds Portuguese Water Dogs, shares how she started and how she screens puppy buyers.

Her advice shows the commitment: a mentor, a veterinarian available when needed, and responsibility for each puppy’s life.

Read the Interview

Susan Speranza, Breeder and Owner-Handler

Susan Speranza, a breeder and owner-handler in Vermont, shares how a mentor shaped her start and what she advises owners who want to breed.

Her advice for people considering breeding focuses on knowing the breed standard and learning breeding, whelping, and newborn puppy needs from an experienced breeder.

Read the Interview

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