The Dog Merchants: Inside the Big Business of Breeders, Pet Stores, and Rescuers

by Kim Kavin

Overview

In what promises to become an "Omnivore's Dilemma" for dog lovers—breed devotees and adoption advocates alike—The Dog Merchants is the first book to explain the complex and often surprisingly similar business practices that extend from the American Kennel Club to local shelters, from Westminster champions to dog auctions.Without judging dog lovers of any stripe, The Dog Merchants makes it clear that money spent among these dog merchants has real-world effects on people and canines. Kavin reveals how dog merchants create markets for dogs, often in defiance of the usual rules of supply and demand. She takes an investigative approach and meets breeders and rescuers at all levels, shedding much-needed light on an industry that most people don't even realize is an industry.Kavin’s goal is to advance the conversation about how all dogs are treated, from puppy mills to high-kill shelters. She shows that a great deal can be improved by understanding the business practices behind selling dogs of all kinds. Instead of pitting rescue and purebred people against each other, The Dog Merchants shows how all dog lovers can come together, with one voice as consumers, on behalf of all our beloved companions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681774046
Publisher:	Pegasus Books
Publication date:	08/15/2017
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Kim Kavin is a widely published award-winning journalist, as well as a volunteer worker dedicated to fostering puppies who have been saved from high-kill shelters but who have not yet been adopted. She lives in Long Valley, NJ, where her hobbies include cooking, wine tasting, and hiking local park trails with her dogs Blue and Ginger.

Table of Contents

List of Abbreviations vii

Introduction xi

Chapter 1 Setting the Base Price 1

Chapter 2 Luxury Packaging 24

Chapter 3 Branding, By Breeding 44

Chapter 4 Freelance Producers 64

Chapter 5 Big Production Companies 82

Chapter 6 The Mega-Distributor 97

Chapter 7 Marketing the Message 115

Chapter 8 Industry Waste 136

Chapter 9 The Upstart Competitor 153

Chapter 10 Repackaging and Rebranding 175

Chapter 11 Lemons Versus Steals 192

Chapter 12 The Genesis and the Future 214

Chapter 13 Smart Shopping 232

Chapter 14 Consumer Intelligence 253

A Note About Spay/Neuter 267

Acknowledgments 269

Bibliography 273

Sources 287

Index 297

About the Author 304

Editorial Reviews

We must be their ally, their voice. The Dog Merchants shows you that the way to start is to be a conscious consumer.

Robin Layton

Riveting, informative, and important. Kavin brilliantly explores both sides of every issue in a surprisingly even-handed manner, while steadfastly remaining a passionate advocate for the dogs caught in the middle. 

Teresa J. Rhyne

A deeply researched, entertainingly written, incredibly thorough journey into the murky, confusing, and poorly policed world of breeders, buyers, and sellers of dogs. Read it before you pick out your next puppy. 

Josh Dean

That Kim Kavin sees questions where the rest of the world sees everyday life is what makes her a great reporter. That she gets answers—disturbing, unexpected, yet ultimately hopeful—is what makes The Dog Merchants such a necessary and compelling read.

Jim Gorant

Kavin’s journalistic approach to the subject offers a balanced analysis of a impassioned subject, and her hands-on approach to research enhances her credibility. The insights into the commercial side of pet adoption are eye-opening, and even the most devoted dog advocates will likely find food for thought in these pages.

Shelf Awareness

Pets play a unique role in human emotions. Furry friends are so beloved that dogs are, according to Kavin, an $11 billion a year industry. But behind portions of this mammoth business lie some shady practices. Kavin investigates these practices to ask where our pets come from.

The Chicago Tribune

Fascinating. We are dipping into a world largely veiled to the consumer.  If it shines some light on the shadowy, largely unregulated dog industry, I'd say that's worth five stars.

The Washington Post

A devastatingly clear-cut exposé. That Kavin manages to accomplish so much without tugging too hard on readers’ emotions is only one of the surprises in this megaton bomb.

Booklist

Should be required reading for anyone interested in owning a dog—whether that be via adoption or purchase from a breeder.

Parade

02/22/2016
Journalist and volunteer foster care owner Kavin (Little Boy Blue) takes on the industry of dog breeding and selling, interviewing puppy mill operators, hobby breeders, shelter operators, dog auctioneers, and others—all of whom swear they prioritize the welfare of the dogs they deal. Kavin portrays some businesses in a negative light, especially those immersed in breeding and showing purebred dogs (Kavin himself owns two mixed breeds). This undermines the stated goal of “mov the conversation forward so that all dog lovers can understand exactly what we are buying into.” The book will inevitably raise the hackles of breeders who believe they are being depicted unfairly. But those who are breeding and raising dogs responsibly will find validation in their endeavors—and consumers seeking to buy or adopt dogs will benefit from the information Kavin has gathered as they make their decisions. (May)

Publishers Weekly

"A devastatingly clear-cut expose´. That Kavin manages to accomplish so much without tugging too hard on readers’ emotions is only one of the surprises in this megaton bomb."

Booklist

★ 02/15/2016
The common theme among breeders of registered American Kennel Club champion dogs, large-scale commercial "puppy farms," backyard hobby breeders, dog rescue groups, shelters, dog auctions, and pet stores? Money. Kavin, a journalist and author (Little Boy Blue), presents a fascinating journey that begins with her attending a dog auction in Wheaton, MO, then on to tours and inspections of a wholesale distributor of dogs to pet stores, mostly Petland. The author doesn't shy away from the horrors of filthy, overcrowded puppy mills; she also covers the myriad kinds of rescue groups, from well-organized types to sketchier one-person operations posing as legitimate organizations. She takes on shelters with the same sharp eye, pointing out the challenges they face. Also discussed is the influence of the annual Westminister Dog Show on breed selection and Internet sales, in which buyers simply point, click, and pay without ever seeing a puppy. The book's primary focus is an investigative examination of the business practices of dog sales, and it is clear that Kavin's intent is for conscious consumers to use their pocketbooks to force all breeders to produce healthy dogs that are ultimately good family members. VERDICT Essential reading for all dog lovers, this balanced work will become the standard on this topic.—Susan Riley, Mamaroneck P.L., NY

Library Journal

2016-03-08
A hard-hitting exploration of the idea of "dogs as a product." Freelance journalist Kavin (Little Boy Blue: A Puppy's Rescue from Death Row and His Owner's Journey for Truth, 2012, etc.) compares the experience of attending America's biggest legal dog auction to what it might be like watching orphaned children auctioned based on looks. To compound her outrage, her own beloved mutts, whom she thinks of as family, would be considered worthless. The recognition that, "like that big case of meat in the supermarket, [the auction dogs] are ultimately a product" inspired her to investigate the $11 billion global market. Kavin estimates that "some thirty million pet dogs are brought home around the world each year." To think of one's dog as a product to be bought and sold for profit is repugnant to pet lovers, but for the author, it also opens the possibility of using collective bargaining power as clout to force a higher standard of their treatment, using "the only language everyone in the dog industry understands: the language of money." Despite the size of the industry, many of the worst offenders are "small players in the big global web," and our cumulative decisions as consumers are important. It's clear that Kavin has meticulously researched the industry, and she notes that in terms of salability of a particular dog, appearance usually matters more than temperament. "The majority of breeds…were developed just like today's Louis Vuitton scarves or Jimmy Choo shoes or Fendi clutches," she writes, in order to "visually announce a person's economic standing." Televised competitions compound the problem. To counter this, Kavin helped launched the website dogmerchants.com, an encyclopedic database that will serve as a "repository of information about pooches and the people who sell them." A scathing indictment of an industry run amok; belongs on every pet lover's bookshelf.

Kirkus Reviews