Five Ways to Make Money if You Love Pets
By David G. Mitchell, May 24th, 2009 | 17 Comments »
Yesterday, I got a dog. We named him “Peter’s Lucky Biscuit” and he is adorable. That’s him in the photo to the left. Biscuit is a pure bread labradoodle. We had to get a pure breed because we needed a hypoallergenic breed that would be more likely to be compatible with our son’s allergies.
We love our son and he has always wanted a dog. Indeed, he did all of the research on hypoallergenic breeds and made a very compelling case for getting either a doodle, a Portuguese Water Dog or, my favorite, a basenji. We loved every aspect of the labradoodles that we met, except the price tag. We met with two breeders and both told us the same price — $2500!
The breeders we met had one thing in common. Dog breeding was a “second job.” In each case, both the husband and wife had day jobs and the dogs were their second source of income. Both breeders also involved their children and turned breeding into a family activity — one that pays really well.
The breeder from whom we purchased our Biscuit has dogs who have had litters in each of March, April and May. She has already sold all of the puppies from the April and May litters — fourteen puppies at $2500 each. Admittedly there are some overhead costs for food, toys, veterinarian bills and stud fees, but a huge portion of that $2500 per animal is profit.
Our breeder told us that she and her husband sat down with their two daughters six years ago and had a family meeting. They considered whether this is something that they wanted to do together. They unanimously agreed that they did. They purchased two breeding doodles and did a lot of research. They have not looked back since. The younger daughter, now 13, is in charge of photography and the breeder’s website. The elder daughter, now 17, does a lot of the care giving for the puppies and she must do a good job of it — she just bought a new Volvo convertible with cash that she earned caring for puppies.
I’ve learned a lot about animals this month or two, some of it unpleasant, but most of it wonderful, and I have learned that there are a lot of ways to turn a love of animals, or at least an interest in them, into ways to make money. Here are a few animal businesses that you can operate from your home:
Become a Breeder: Whether you breed cats or dogs, there is money to be earned in raising healthy, pure breed animals. If you own your own home, you can certainly earn more than enough to pay your annual mortgage with one litter per year. Raising puppies can be a lot of work but it can also be amazingly rewarding. Our breeder told us that the joy she gets from putting a puppy in a good home makes her feel wonderful for days, even though it is hard to see her “babies” leave her house.
Become a Groomer: In my community, there are several mobile pet groomers who will groom pets from a van in the owner’s driveway. She charges anywhere from $50 to $150 per hour depending on the services that are required. There are pet grooming schools in all 50 states. If you love animals and like to be out and about during the day, pet grooming is a great way to earn a living.
Become a Dog Walker: If you live in an urban area, many professionals do not have time to walk their dogs, especially on weekdays. Dog walkers can earn up to $30 per hour and sometimes even more. All you need is a means of traveling to the dogs and a way to advertise your services and you can set yourself up as a dog walker.
Become a Pet Sitter: When pet owners travel, they do not want to worry about their pets. Pet sitters will visit a pet regularly during the day, feed and water the animal, take the animal for walks, and generally look after the pet while the owner is unable to do so.
Become a Pet Chauffeur: Many pet owners, especially the elderly, are unable to take their pets to veterinary appointments or other appointments (and to be honest, I really cannot figure out what those “other” appointments might be). Pet chauffeurs are drivers who will take pets to those appointments so that the owner does not have to find a way to do so.
Are you an animal lover? Do you already work with animals? Do you have experience making money with animals?
If you love pets, you will not breed them nor will you buy them from a breeder. As an animal rescue volunteer, I urge you to adopt from shelters or save the ones offered as “free to a good home”.
I have one friend that paid quite a bit for pedigreed dog. They figured on possibly recouping some of the costs in stud fees ’cause he came from a REALLY good line. Instead, the dog has cost them a fortune! It appears that he had about as much bad luck as a dog could have as far as medical problems and, because he’s primarily a pet, they’ve spent a fortune in vet bills.
I tend to agree with Steph that adopting from a shelter or rescue organization is a much better way to go.
The walking, grooming, sitting ideas are pretty good. A lot of people are reluctant to put their pets in kennels, if they have to go somewhere, and, if they know someone who’s reliable to do it, would rather have someone “sit” their dog.
Please, do not encourage backyard breeders. There are too many wonderful pets already out there waiting for homes.
A Labradoodle is not a purebred dog. It is a cross between a Labrador Retriever and a Poodle. You paid $2500 for a mixed breed dog, and you probably could have found the same cross at an animal shelter. Perhaps you should have gotten a Basenji after all, my last SHOW QUALITY basenji was only $600.
I am torn on this. I hate the term “back yard breeder” because EVERY breeder started out small, at home, in the “back yard” and it’s unfair to label. Research is so important. The first thing we acquired when buying our new house was our Australian Shepherd, Patches, that we got from the Humane Society. My next dog, Finnegan, is a pure bred, champion line, Doberman. We got him from a breeder. I look at him every day and wonder what kind of pups he’d have. I also look at him every day and I want to cut his danglers off myself. He’s a handful of boundless energy and awesome. We have adopted 1 dog, and 4 cats, and when picking my purchased dog, we picked very carefully. I could easily breed Finn and sell the pups for 15-1800 easily. But I won’t. Why? Because he’s my dog, not my cash machine, and 2nd, you have to be a special person to own a Dobe. I can’t keep puppies long enough to research each owner because I’d end up owning them all.
It is impossible to have a purebred (not bread) dog if it is a mix of two different breeds. I think you got really really taken on this price for a new cutesy named mix breed.
I’m interested in being a pet groomer. There are quite a lot of people who own dogs in the neighborhood. I have no idea to where they have taken their pets, but nowhere around here. It seems to be a good business idea.
There is a place for responsible breeders in the pet world. People with allergies and small children need to be careful. But for the rest of us, there is nothing better than being the forever home of an animal that was unwanted.
Wow, $2,500.00 for just a mixed breed smack-dab in the middle of a HUGE recession…. Hmmmm….
I thought we were saving money here, not spending it foolishly.
Well….
We got the best dog in the whole wide world from our local Humane Society several years ago and he only cost us $75.00 and that included his shots, micro-chip I.D., a nice leash and collar, and his dog license.
We were told that he was going to be “put down” within the next couple of days because he had been there for too long of a time. I could not imagine destroying such a wonderful pet!
He is so loving, gentle, and smart!!
He was already house-trained.
He does not bark. He does not chew.
If he has any fault it is only that he sheds a little, but I would be willing to wake up every morning with a mouthful of hair for him! NOW THAT’S LOVE, LOL!:)
And… since we’re on the subject:
PEOPLE! SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL HUMANE SOCIETY!
IF YOU CAN’T ADOPT, GIVE A DONATION OF YOUR TIME – BECOME A VOLUNTEER.
IF YOU ARE ABLE GIVE A CASH DONATION. DONATE A BAG OF DOG/CAT/RABBIT/ETC. FOOD.
DONATE OLD BUT USABLE BLANKETS. ETC.
THEY ALSO USE A LOT OF NEWSPAPERS.
YOU CAN EVEN BECOME A FOSTER PARENT FOR PETS!
Well, I didn’t mean to turn this into a J.L. Marathon, but it had to be said.
Happy Memorial Day!
I have 2 labradoodles and I got them both for free from petfinder.com. Both of my labradoodles came from breeders who thought they were going to make a bunch of money selling these crossbreeds and make some money. They ended up being stuck with these dogs and couldn’t sell them. Do yourself a favor. Save your money and rescue a dog who would otherwise be killed. There are 10 million dogs and cats killed every year in shelters because there are no homes for them. Breeding more dogs is foolish, irresponsible and compounds this very sad problem.
I suppose another way to make money would be as a dog trainer. Depends on your passion, skills, and whether you have the patience dealing with owners
Working with the animals would be the easy part!
I think our dog has contributed (ROI) to the family by barking whenever someone comes to the door – even though he is very sweet and loving – strangers have no idea!
I think it was irresponsible to recommend breeding dogs and cats for income when approximately 6 million healthy dogs and cats are euthanized yearly in the US simply because there are not enough homes for them. There are too many irresponsible, backyard breeders and puppy mills with horrific conditions.
I agree with some of the others that have commented about the breeding thing. I personally am shocked with your decision to recommend others to become a breeder. It is very selfish to make money off of your pets and it most certainly does not help pet overpopulation! Shelter dogs and cats can be wonderful animals as well, and animals that are bred can have serious problems.
On my local news, they keep showing story after story about dogs and cats that are abandoned because of the foreclosure crisis. Surely it would be inhumane to bring more animals into the world (especially for mere money) when there are animals dying for a good home.
Here’s another thought I had:
I wonder how many dogs that are euthanized in the US come from backyard breeders?
If you want to breed a creature for profit, breed exotic fish. Yeah, the initial outlay can be more, but you don’t see too many “abandoned” Hawaiian Dragon Moray starving or dying by the side of the road.
(The reason I picked the Hawaiian Dragon Moray is because one is currently selling on ebay for $799.)
Wow, I completely agree with everyone who mentioned about the immorality of many breeders. How can someone support breeding cross breed dogs, and if not, ANY kind of dogs? There are so many crossbreeds/mixes at your local animal shelter dying for a home, and yet there are those who continue to populate more dogs for a horrific price… Selfish, selfish people…