I want to start a puppy breeding business.
Wonderful — let's start a puppy breeding project. Before I set things up, can I ask: what breed are you thinking about, and roughly what scale — a small home operation with one or two breeding females, or something larger?
I want to use Akita as the primary breed but maybe also include some American Bullies.
Got it. Let me capture that as:
Does that match what you intend, or did you mean both at the start?
That's right. About 2 breeding females to start. Located in rural North Carolina.
Got it — small home operation, two Akita females to start, North Carolina. I've set up the project.
For a business at this scale you'll typically need to think about: zoning and permits for North Carolina, AKC registration for the breeding stock, health certifications and a veterinary protocol, contracts and deposit handling for buyers, and a kennel facility plan. We can shape any of these as we go — you don't have to tackle them all at once.
Want me to draft a kennel facility plan first based on what you've told me, so you can see the shape of how this works?
Yes please.
While that's drafting — quick thought. You mentioned soil moisture thresholds in your FarmGuard project last week. If you're thinking about irrigation scheduling for the kennel facility's outdoor runs, the same data might be useful. Want me to bring it across?
Here are the breeding records I've been keeping.
I've captured your breeding records — 14 litters across 2024 and 2025, mostly Akitas with two Bullies in late 2024. The notes about line A's temperament issues stand out to me — that seems worth flagging when we get to breeding decisions. Anything I should be reading differently?
That's right. Line A is the one I'm most concerned about. Also uploading my draft operations manual — most of it is borrowed from a template, but the procedures and staffing plan are ours.
I've read the full manual. Here's what I found:
- Your specific staffing plan (Section 4): two full-time handlers, one part-time vet tech, schedule rotations.
- Your sanitation procedures (Section 7): the modified protocols for the indoor whelping room.
- Your record-keeping conventions (Section 9): the litter ID format and the photographic documentation standard.
- Sections 1–3 (introduction and standard kennel principles): widely available.
- Sections 5–6 (general nutrition and exercise guidelines): standard.
- Section 8 (basic veterinary care intervals): standard schedule.
- Section 7 refers to "Procedure 7B" but I don't see 7B in the manual. Was this an oversight, or is 7B kept somewhere else?
- Section 9's photographic standard mentions weekly photos for the first 8 weeks, which is more frequent than the 4-week interval most kennels use. That's a deliberate choice on your part?