Do you think there is a market for this?

[Emmma]

Hello!
Due to my huge dislike of standards in pet shops I was thinking recently, do you think there is a market for me to set up my own "pet shop" at home, where I would breed all the animals myself, for temperament and health, and would it be unreasonable for me to ask all potential owners to answer questions on their potential animal's care, and ask them to prove they have suitable housing for the animal, and give them a care sheet on their chosen animal? I know this works with things like APH's, but I'm not sure if people would just go to a "regular" pet shop for hamsters/rabbits etc? Obviously it would be more expensive to buy the pet, but would you be willing to pay more, when you can see the animal's parents, and know it was bred to be healthy and friendly? Do you think this is a good idea?

[LavenderRott]

Honestly?

Not such a good idea. No matter how you dress that up - you are making a living off the uterus of your "pets". Not a very big step away from a mill type situation.

[luckypenny]

No, I don't think it's a good idea. Unless you are one, I would think there are enough ethical, responsible breeders who do thorough testing on their chosen breed of dogs and potential families .

Better to spend your energy on educating the public on the negative aspects of pet shop animals, no? And promote the adoption of animals through shelters and rescues while they have limited time before they are euthanized.

[Joeyjoejoe]

So if I'm reading this correctly, you want to become a breeder, but not limit yourself to any particular breed... or animal?

[Emmma]

I wouldn't breed ANYTHING, it would just be a few things, at any one time probably sticking to smaller rodent types, for example hamsters, rabbits, rats and guinea pigs.

[aslan]

Originally Posted by Emmma

Hello!
Due to my huge dislike of standards in pet shops I was thinking recently, do you think there is a market for me to set up my own "pet shop" at home, where I would breed all the animals myself, for temperament and health, and would it be unreasonable for me to ask all potential owners to answer questions on their potential animal's care, and ask them to prove they have suitable housing for the animal, and give them a care sheet on their chosen animal? I know this works with things like APH's, but I'm not sure if people would just go to a "regular" pet shop for hamsters/rabbits etc? Obviously it would be more expensive to buy the pet, but would you be willing to pay more, when you can see the animal's parents, and know it was bred to be healthy and friendly? Do you think this is a good idea?

Could you possibly have forgotten that you made this statement and when confronted decided to change your mind. If you MUST sell animals ( which i'm against) try going to a shelter or rescue and get them to supply the animals who are in desperate need of a home instead of creating more unwanted animals.

[allfurlove]

Originally Posted by aslan

Could you possibly have forgotten that you made this statement and when confronted decided to change your mind. If you MUST sell animals ( which i'm against) try going to a shelter or rescue and get them to supply the animals who are in desperate need of a home instead of creating more unwanted animals.

Great idea!

[Mat&Murph]

Am I reading this right?? We need more people to go and resuce not make more.

[Joeyjoejoe]

Originally Posted by Emmma

I wouldn't breed ANYTHING, it would just be a few things, at any one time probably sticking to smaller rodent types, for example hamsters, rabbits, rats and guinea pigs.

Okay. I see... So to answer your question, no I wouldn't recommend it, unless you want lots of additional pets and loose lots of money. The simple reality is besides dogs, some cat breeds and rare animals, there really is no market in this.

Your customer base is basically adults who get these small pets for their kids. Since the person paying for it isn't the one that takes care of the animal nor are they likely the one who wanted the animal in the first place, they likely won't see the value in paying more. I seriously doubt they are willing to take a questionnaire too... If they are raising children then taking a questionnaire to see if they would be fit to take care of small caged animals is insulting.

Also let's not forget that many of these caged animal purchases are impulse purchases. Operating out of your home and not having any foot traffic is a killer... but what makes it absolutely a money pit is there are always people giving away these animals for free!

[diandpat]

Originally Posted by Joeyjoejoe

Okay. I see... So to answer your question, no I wouldn't recommend it, unless you want lots of additional pets and loose lots of money. The simple reality is besides dogs, some cat breeds and rare animals, there really is no market in this.

Your customer base is basically adults who get these small pets for their kids. Since the person paying for it isn't the one that takes care of the animal nor are they likely the one who wanted the animal in the first place, they likely won't see the value in paying more. I seriously doubt they are willing to take a questionnaire too... If they are raising children then taking a questionnaire to see if they would be fit to take care of small caged animals is insulting.

Also let's not forget that many of these caged animal purchases are impulse purchases. Operating out of your home and not having any foot traffic is a killer... but what makes it absolutely a money pit is there are always people giving away these animals for free!

enough said!

[Melinda]

I think you'd be better off rescuing the cast offs of small breeds, rehabbing them and then finding loving homes to place them in instead of adding to the problem.

[Emmma]

That's a great idea actually, thanks for all the suggestions people

Would it be difficult to set that up, or are local rescue centers etc willing to offload so to speak the small animals they recieve? I'm considering going to uni to do pet behaviourism, so this could be a good thing in the future

[babymomma]

Well, How about you open a Pet supply store, With quility foods, toys, etc.. And try to use this store to educate your customers on puppy mills and petstores bad breeding habits.. Health issues with petstore animals etc.. And Try to convince your customers to buy GOOD quality food... Before opening a store, maybe talk to local rescue groups about how you want to help and have a booth set up, so a few rescue animals can come in daily with maybe a volunteer of the shelter as sort of a daily adoption drive thing.. Maybe after a while these rescues will trust you enough to pick up a few animals in the morning and show case them at your store, then when theres an interested "customer" you send them in the way of the rescue so they can fill out the applications and what not... As you cant just sell off a shelters rescued animal.. This process should ward off those idiots that arent dedicated. Cause if somebody thats interested in an animal, doesnt want to take the time to go to the rescue to adopt an animal that they "fell in love with at first sight" they shouldnt have had the animal in the first place.. right?

[.nanama]

everyone else has had great ideas! good thing you consulted before you decided to act... i'm so happy that you want to make a difference in animal behaviorism (my best friend is very interested in this too). i wish you luck with your rescue or pet supply store!

[Luvmypitgirls]

Well considering I have been the guardian of many "cast away" animals ie: bunnys, gerbils, hamsters etc over the years, not out of choice but compassion, I would say breeding "anything" would be a big mistake.

I agree with Babymomma, open a quality pet supply store and leave the breeding situation out of it.

I'm so sick and tired of caring for other ppl's "novelty pets", but I will never turn one away as long as I can afford to do something to help it.