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First off I'd like to say i'm a newbie. I've been on here literally day and night since i've signed up, reading everything possible! I've chosen to start my kennel off with showing/breeding the GSD. As I read more and more of the forum, i've noticed that numerous people have had or are having issues with making money or trying to maintain what they have etc. I DO NOT want to end up being one of those that find myself struggling and having to sale off all my sessions day in and day out. So, i've come here in hopes to get some ideas from some of you veterans out there. My main focus right now is figuring out a good custom food ration for my dogs.

What food rations do you use for puppies that you intend on showing? What food rations do you use for adult males/females that are being used for showing?
What food to maintain them with?
What food for my breeders?

Thanks in advance!!!

Hello! I'm glad to see that you have done and are still doing your research First off, it is hard not to lose money if you are showing, but food management and puppy sales help a lot! Stud fees, too, depending on your breed. In GSDs, I think you will be okay as long as you budget accordingly!

This is what I do for my kennel, and it works fairly well as I have never been in debt (knock on wood lol). If my balance is decreasing quite drastically, I sell sessions and cut back on showing, but it normally isn't too much of an issue. I have about $4000 in this account and $3000 in my other premi and that is with having breeds that are not very active in sales/stud fees:

For show puppies, I do a 1777 ration up until they are all 20s in everything but obedience (since food doesn't make a difference there). For my breeds, that is around 12-14 days. Once sessioned, they go onto Pet House for Pups until 14 days and then Pet House for Adult Dogs from there on (I don't see a difference between PH for Show Dogs vs. Adult Dogs, so a couple pennies make it a better deal).

For studs not being shown, they are put on Old Boy immediately because their condition does not affect puppies.

Broods are put on a 1711 ration as puppies (or whenever they are decided to be broods) up until their condition is up to 20. After that, PH for Adult Dogs again.

It's not that difficult, but you do have to keep an eye on all of your dogs' rations so that one dog is not on a high quality food longer than needed. Good luck!

Em

Thank you for the response and clearing that up for me, that helps alot. I've got 3 dogs i've purchased to start my kennel. 2 pups which are now on a 1777 ration and 1 adult male on PH for adults to maintain.

I've read through some other forums and notice variations others have used as far as custom rations and it seems that everyone always leaves off the medicine/vaccines. What's the reason for this?

First off, I just want to say that you're setting yourself up to succeed by asking around and learning the game

Medicines and vaccines don't appear to play a role in the game, which is why it's often left out.

I sometimes keep it in but it's really just superstition.

The real key to earning money is being aware of the income/outcome ratio. While I've been playing a relatively short time, I have managed to stay above $2000 at all times.
Set your salary/session setting to all sessions, unless you're going away for a week or something. If you don't log in you will still receive a salary but you won't be able to sell sessions. So if you aren't able to log in and sell sessions, you'll make more money with salary.

I would never try and show more than two dogs at once, maybe three, unless you can afford to lose some money.

If you are trying to show two dogs, they will each need 3 sessions every day (initially) which is 6 session per day.
This leaves you 6 more sessions. If you sell all of the extras, you make $30 for the day (the session price rarely changes)

Be sure your food costs stay below whatever you are receiving for sessions. You may also need to factor in showing costs.

Right now my food cost is 46.01 and I sell 9 sessions each day, which gives me $45. If I lower the rations slightly, I'll be making a slight profit.

For food, feed OldBoy to male dogs who aren't going to be shown. Puppies inherit condition only from the mother.
I keep my broods on oldboy because I have several broods but I only show a few pups, which means it wouldn't be worth it for me to put all my broods on high quality food.
For your kennel it's probably a good idea to feed your broods something better, I'm not really sure what the typical ration is.

I hope some of that made sense. If you have any more questions feel free to ask!

Actually..no. Brood bitchs as puppies will be at condition 20 by the time they whelp with this formula. As puppies, give them 1141. At day 14 turn to adult condition.

Show puppies, Start at 1777 until the coat and muscle turn 16 then stop sessioning. Coat will turn first. The coat and muscle will turn 20 before day 14.

Food, even at $8 is still cheaper then sessioning unneedly

We session the condition of the brood to 20 so that the above formula will work to get a puppy in show condition at14 days.

Eta..after the show dog has reached 20 across the board, there is some debate on how the continued sessioning helps in shows. IMHO after I get to 20 I feed 1444 until 30 days. Just in case. , but I do stop sessioning.

I have maintained a green balance for ..gasp.. Three years now. With the help og the very rare win, puppy and stud purchase


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Last edited by Studio Dogs on 12/8/2013 1:11:35 PM

The medi/vaccine will boost the ration if you miss a couple of days
like on vacation, or internet dies..you know, the unthinkable!

Thanks for all the help. I feel confident that I have a much better understanding in finding a good balanced meal plan thanks to you guys. I appreciate all the feedback.

I have different kennel runs based on what I need to feed the dogs. For example, brood puppies are in a different run than adults so I can switch the feed at an appropriate time.

Also making sure to always have dogs for sale and breeding for good studs will help. Some of my premium accounts have 3000+ and others have less than $1000 depending on what I've been doing in that account.

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posted by Studio Dogs
The medi/vaccine will boost the ration if you miss a couple of days
like on vacation, or internet dies..you know, the unthinkable!

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I'm relatively new myself and I'm not quite understanding you, Studio Dogs. What do you mean by miss a couple days? Kennel assistants handle sessioning and dogs are fed automatically so do you mean if you forget/can't change the food to the adult formula at 14 days?

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posted by linlin23

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posted by Studio Dogs
The medi/vaccine will boost the ration if you miss a couple of days
like on vacation, or internet dies..you know, the unthinkable!

---

I'm relatively new myself and I'm not quite understanding you, Studio Dogs. What do you mean by miss a couple days? Kennel assistants handle sessioning and dogs are fed automatically so do you mean if you forget/can't change the food to the adult formula at 14 days?

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you're right. I don't use that feature. So I guess vaccines are truly unnecessary.

Why is his coat condition/muscle tone stagnant? Doesn't food affect this? He is on 1/7/7/7 food.

www.showdog.com/dog.aspx?id=12970692

Heritage,

He's 16 days old. He should be on an Adult formula starting at 14 days.

In addition, until coat and muscle get to about 16 or 18 (I'm not sure of the exact number) you must also session "Grooming" and "Exercise". After they get to "18" they will continue to go up with the "Adult 1777" but they will go up faster with both good food and sessioning.

Condition is dependant on food alone.
Coat is dependant on both food and sessioning.
Muscle is dependant on both food and sessioning.
Obedience is dependant on sessioning alone.

Welcome to ShowDog and good luck.

Thank you so much for the help I looked around but couldn't find it.