Ford Motor Company makes cars, trucks, and SUVs. Bakeries sell bread, bagels, scones, and cookies, while serving coffee. Joanne’s Craft Store sells supplies for crochet, scrapbooking, and sewing, to name a few. When a company, like Joanne, starts with fabric and then adds additional, related-but-not-the-same products, this is called a product-line extension, or often shortened to line extension.
If all these companies are adding, should you take on a second breed or a second size?
When you study business, you look at well-established businesses and see what they are doing. Big companies don’t do things that don’t make sense. Even when they sell things that are so cheap they don’t make much money, there’s still a purpose: maybe it got you in the door, maybe you’ll buy your other items there because you’re already there, maybe they’ll bait you with it and upsell you to a better product to fit the same need, making a greater profit. Big businesses have all the statistics and data to make these decisions. So if they’re doing it, should we?
I get asked this question from time to time: should you have two breeds? Should you get the bigger size or the smaller size? Maybe you have moyen size and are considering adding miniature. Maybe you are asked if you have a similar breed to yours a few times a year, and are wondering if you’re leaving money on the table because you only have the one breed. Should you?
At face value it looks good: diversification. But does it work that well? Unfortunately, it doesn’t.
The problem with diversification in dog breeding
Let’s look at what it takes to run two breeding programs. It’s not just the additional dogs, but let’s start there. Let’s say your numbers suggest you should be breeding about 48 puppies per year, for your breed there are an average of 6 puppies per litter, meaning you’ll need to have 8 litters per year to get your numbers. Breeding back-to-back, you’ll need 4 females to make this happen. You’ll probably want two studs.
If you went with a second breed of similar size, same litter average, then, based on having two breeds, you’ll need to split your dogs so that you have two females and a stud for each breed. Seems simple enough, right?
Well, let’s see. That would only allow you four litters per year of the one breed, which means, if you lose one litter–either it doesn’t take or it’s particularly small–then you’re down 25% on that part of your breeding program. It might mean that you are now at risk of losing a buyer who wanted that breed, but who will now have to wait upwards of 6 months to get another puppy from you.
If, on the other hand, you had all the same breed, then you’d have another female due fairly soon and you could bump them over. The same goes for different sizes. If they really want a mini and all you have are moyens, well, they are unlikely to want to go with a different size. Yet, if all your dogs are the same, then it’s much easier.
From a complication stand point, consider this. Having studs at your home with different breeds increases the likelihood of an accidental cross-breeding. These are tough to sell, are harder on your reputation, and rarely will bring in the kind of income your intentional breedings do.
In addition to the difficulty of having only two females bred to a male, you’ll need a new stud quickly once you retire your females and replace them with their daughters, because you won’t be able to use your current stud, as he’s their sire. So now you’ll need to figure out if you’re going to rehome that stud and get another, or how you’ll work that.
If you had your two unrelated studs, with your females, you’d have a few generations with those males before you had to turn over and bring in new blood. For example, you could breed two females to stud A and the other two females to stud B. Then, if you wanted to breed the daughters, you could breed them to the opposite stud. This allows you to get two generations of breedings before you’d need to get new stud blood. It’s a lot easier, especially since studs can breed a lot longer than females.
You can see a similar problem with sizes. You might be able to use one stud for breeding a mini and a moyen size, but this can lead to inconsistencies in what you’re producing. Chances are you’ll want a smaller stud and a larger stud, so you’re back to the same problem you have with having two breeds.
If you’re noting these extra complications, you might start noticing that running two breeds or two sizes is not really a new line-extension of what you offer. Rather, it’s an entirely separate breeding program.
In truth, the line-extensions are new flavors, colors, patterns; but a new breed isn’t an extension of the breeding program you have, it’s an entirely different product, a product where you’re going to pick one or the other.
Why do line extensions work for big companies but not for dog breeding?
You might be thinking, “But wait, Ford has cars, SUVS, and trucks, so why does that work?” Well, it works for a few reasons. For one, you are likely to have a little brand loyalty, so that means that if your mom had a Ford minivan, then you’re more likely to buy a Ford truck. Just the same, it’s also important that we consider our vehicle needs change over time. For example, we might want the fuel efficient vehicle if we are in college, since we can’t afford much gas, and parking a small vehicle on campus is much easier than a large truck. Yet then we might later want a truck for work or hauling, or we might want an SUV when we have kids. These are all reasons to buy the different line extensions throughout your life. If you had a Ford first, then you’ll be more likely to go back to the same salesman and get your next Ford.
This doesn’t really apply to dogs. If you buy a GSP from me, chances aren’t great that later on down the road you’ll want a Rat Terrier. Even with close breeds like a Labrador and GSP, you’re not going to want a Labrador, then later on in life want a GSP. It doesn’t really work that way as a standard practice. I also don’t find many people who say, “Wow, I love my standard Poodle, now I’ll get a Toy Poodle.” Are there exceptions? Of course! People and their needs change, but there isn’t a standard, natural progression from one breed to the next. Really, for us breeders, we are tackling a need within a breed. It’s our job to be the best at that, not to anticipate their change in needs from our original breed.
This was a major problem I had when I brought on the Rat Terriers. I thought the people that wanted a GSP would also want a Rat Terrier because I loved them. But that really wasn’t the case at all. To date, I have sold only two sets of GSP and Rat Terrier pairs; as in the same family purchased one of each breed from me.
The real line extensions are colors, patterns, and maybe even sex. My GSPs can be liver, a chocolate color, or they can be black. If someone comes back for another dog, they may want a different color, pattern or sex. Sometimes they want a solid liver after getting a roan dog. These are the real line extensions. The great thing about these line extensions is that they are variety without compromising drive, temperament, or structure. I can get them in my breeding program and, if one pattern isn’t available, it isn’t a deal breaker. It’s still the same Ideal Puppy Buyer.
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It Requires a Second Ideal Puppy Buyer
That’s the key difference that I want you to take away from this podcast episode: when you have a second breed or a second size, you are essentially creating a separate Ideal Puppy Buyer.
This is the problem: a separate Ideal Puppy Buyer. When you have a separate Ideal Puppy Buyer, you have a separate business. You’ll need branding that will appeal to each Ideal Puppy Buyer, so you’ll need two brands, you’ll probably need a different logo, you’ll want a separate style of copy, the words you choose will be different, maybe different fonts, and you’ll definitely want a separate website for each breed because you’ll be confusing search engines trying to use one website to do both things.
The same goes for social media. You’ll need an account for each breed, maybe one for each size, as the people who are only interested in one will be likely to ignore your posts that aren’t relevant to them, which ultimately hurts you in the algorithm. This means that, in order to do it right, you’ll have twice the work.
Having two means doubling your marketing time invested. I know that’s the number one complaint I hear from breeders, “There is so much to do with social media and email marketing, I don’t know how to get it all done. I’m overwhelmed.” Now, double that work load with two breeds. It’s a lot. Can it be done? Sure, people can do anything if you want it, but it isn’t easy. The question I have is, is it worth it? Is it worth all the complication, extra work, and extra dog management to have a second breed?
Want to know the embarrassing truth? I had my Rat Terriers on my German Shorthaired website for 6 years and hardly ever sold them. Google saw my GSP site as simply that and the Rat Terriers got glossed over. It wasn’t until I separated the websites into two different ones this past January, and created a separate Google Listing for the Rat Terrier program, that I finally saw some traction in my Rat Terrier SEO. It takes about six months to start getting noticed by Google after creating a business listing, and having 5 reviews really helps. This combination with my website now gets me traffic for my Ratties.
It is a lot more work, though, having two sites.
The benefits of just having one breed in your dog breeding program
Alternatively, with one breed, you only have to do all that once. You only need one website, one Google Listing, one branding setup. All of your dogs are the same breed, so it’s simple. An oops litter still produces you a purebred. If a litter doesn’t take, you can just bump them over to the next litter. If you want a little more income, you keep another female from your lines and add her litters to your puppy total. If you are struggling to sell pups or want to take a break, then skip a few heats with some dogs. You have so much flexibility when you only have one breed.
As you get better with this breed—you’re known for it—people will come a farther distance to get one of your dogs. You’ll be able to increase your price. And, you’ll have created all the educational support pieces for your buyers: you’ll have an email series, maybe a puppy guide, you’ll have everything dialed in.
This is where the money is made in dog breeding: getting specific within your breed, being the best in that niche, and taking great care of your buyers. You’ll be marketing to a specific puppy buyer, and, because you’ve done the work to speak directly to that one Ideal Puppy Buyer, you’ll not be wasting a bunch of time talking with people who aren’t a good fit for your dogs, because your marketing will have already sorted them before you talk with them; people who aren’t a good fit will figure that out without talking to you.
Are there any times when it makes sense to have a second breed or size?
For the most part, it will make the most sense to have one breed, and, if you want to increase revenue, you increase the number of dogs or the price. I’ll caution you that increasing the number of dogs does not always increase revenue, BUT that’s a podcast for another day.
There are a few times where having a second breed will make sense. Let’s discuss those few instances.
First off, you might be in the middle of already having two breeds. I know, for me, with both the GSPs and the Rat Terriers, I wonder, would it make sense to downsize and go with one? The truth is, I love the Rat Terriers just a bit more than the GSPs. For me, they’re easier to manage, they’re just as loving, and it’s a lot easier having 3-4 Rat Terriers in the house than 3-4 GSPs. Having that said, my GSP program is MUCH more established. I have hundreds of dogs out there, hundreds of satisfied owners who come back for a second dog or who refer their friends to me. On top of that, the litters are larger, and they make more money, plus my facilities have been built for them. So, from an ease of process, the GSPs are definitely better for me as a business, BUT I love the Rat Terriers, so I’ll probably keep both. I know, full-well, this is a choice as a combination of practicality, but also love. If I didn’t love the Rat Terriers, then it wouldn’t be worth it. They don’t produce for me like the GSPs do. Don’t get me wrong, I love the GSPs, too, but the Rat Terriers stole my heart in a whole different way.
If you’re stuck with two, you can always figure out where the profitability is as well as the ease. I’ve worked with many breeders who have two breeds, and one is always easier than the other in one way or another. It gets hard when one is easier in management, whelping, or puppy rearing, but the other is easier for marketing, or something where you aren’t heavily weighted in one direction or the other on which breed is better. In this instance, I’d say, you need to solve for the thing that’s missing, and then determine which breed makes the most sense to keep, IF you want to downsize to one for simplicity.
In my opinion, the easier the dogs are to breed and whelp, the easier it is to be profitable, because you’ll have simplicity and consistency, even if they sell for slightly less. I’ve seen that I take home more money than many breeders, despite selling fewer dogs and having a lower price. The difference? My dogs are consistent and my profitability is high. My cost to produce a puppy is very low because I have everything set up, and my dogs don’t need vet care to produce puppies.
The other reason you may want to have the second breed or variation is because it’s required as a feeder for your main breeding program. Maybe you breed a doodle and you need to occasionally breed the purebred lines to keep your lines going. In this case, it does make sense to keep the second breed, but maybe in a limited capacity. You’ll need to weigh out if it makes sense to outsource or keep in house those replacement breeders. I’m a big fan of retaining your bloodlines, so maybe the best bet is to use your own mama dogs, but retain daughters from them using stud service from an outside stud. You then wouldn’t need to manage another stud, just use him for the one time he’s needed. This is more work than owning your own stud as far as the breeding is concerned, but less work because you don’t need to manage him within your program.
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Do you think it makes sense to have two breeds, or narrow it down to one? What did you actually do? Are you torn and need help? I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to book a free 30-min strategy session with me and we can discuss your program and your needs.
You can schedule the free call at honestdogbreeder.com/strategy
Thank you for listening to another episode of the Honest Dog Breeder Podcast, with me, your host, Julie Swan. Thank you for letting me be a part of your dog breeding journey with you. If you’ve found this podcast helpful, I’d love it if you could leave me a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, thank you so much, and I’ll see you in the next episode!
