Dog Charming; Behaviour Consultant & Trainer
0419 905 466
  • Home
  • About
    • Qualifications, Methods & Ethics, Membership
    • Guarantee
  • Behaviour and Training Solutions
    • Initial Consultations/Hourly Rate
    • Puppy Set-Up
    • Discounted Training Package
    • Problem Behaviours
    • Let's Get Started
  • Videos
  • Testimonials
    • Diesel's Behaviour Change Video
    • Dancer's Nail Clipping Video
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Links

The Business of Designer Dogs Part 2: The Power of a Name

21/2/2014

2 Comments

 
PictureElfador
In Part One of this series I talked about "designer dogs" and the reason for giving them fancy names. Now I'll give two powerful examples of how changing a name increased consumer demand dramatically.

Not convinced there's power in a name?

Example One

Wally Conron, puppy-breeding manager of the Royal Guide Dog Association of Australia in the 1980's, describes why he renamed his poodle x labrador puppies. No one was interested in them until: 

"By eight weeks of age, the puppies still hadn't found homes. Frustrated and annoyed with the response to the trio of cross-breeds I had carefully reared, I decided to stop mentioning the word cross-breed and introduced the term labradoodle instead to describe my new allergy-free guide-dog pups.

It worked – during the weeks that followed, our switchboard was inundated with calls from other guide-dog centres, vision-impaired people and people allergic to dog hair who wanted to know more about this “wonder dog”. My three pups may have been mongrels at heart – but the furore did not abate." (1)


You brand your product. It sells.

Wally Conron also mentioned his concerns after coining the name "Labradoodle":

"I quickly realised that I’d opened a Pandora’s box when our next litter of ten labradoodles produced only three allergy-free pups. 

I began to worry, too, about backyard breeders producing supposedly "allergy-free" dogs for profit. Already, one man claimed to be the first to breed a poodle- Rottweiler cross! 

Nothing, however, could stop the mania that followed. New breeds began to flood the market: groodles, spoodles, caboodles and snoodles. Were breeders bothering to check their sires and bitches for heredity faults, or were they simply caught up in delivering to hungry customers the next status symbol? We’ll never know for sure.

Today I am internationally credited as the first person to breed the labradoodle, but I wonder, in my retirement, whether we bred a designer dog – or a disaster!"  (1)


PictureMala-Way too cool for YOUR-ute
Example Two

One rescue centre's adoption campaign used the very principle that a name sells to increase adoptions of abandoned dogs. They gave designer names to the dogs. No two names were the same, each dog was a unique “design” just waiting for a forever home. They had a subsequent increase in adoptions.  It was a win-win-win situation for all involved;
  1. the adoption centre saved a dog, received income and more space to save more dogs,
  2. the dog got a new forever home, and
  3. the adopter got a new family member at a reasonable price.
Now that’s where I applaud clever marketing.

In Part Three of this designer dog series I'll talk about where our dogs actually come from. It may shock you.

Hear Wally Conron interviewed here.

See Wally Conron interviewed on the Project (from 19.00 - 22.35) - I had to post the whole video.

(1) Read Wally Conron's labradoodle story here.

NB The links I provide contain valuable information but do not imply that I agree with all content in its entirety.


Special thanks to Eileen, Talia, Kelly & Traci for the photos of "Designer Dogs" for this blog series

2 Comments
binary broker link
17/6/2014 06:42:41 am

We help you compare binary options trading accounts & binary brokers to find the best binary option trader account for you.

Reply
read link
17/6/2014 06:44:40 am

Binary options reviews, binary options brokers ratings and more from the Brokerage Capital is a binary options trading platform located in Nicosia, Cyprus.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    RSS Feed

    Author

    Sonya Bevan is an avid dog lover with a Bachelor of Science degree in physiotherapy. This combination lead to seeking science based information on how to teach dogs and she commenced further study to complete a Diploma of Canine Behaviour Science and Technology. Dog training is both a science and an art. When based on solid principles of behavioural science,  teaching also allows creativity when applied to each unique dog. Most of all, it should be fun for both participants and a way to bond with these special animals we love so much.

    Archives

    June 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2017
    May 2017
    December 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    May 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

    Categories

    All
    Behaviour Change
    Dog Behaviour
    Dog Body Language
    Dog Etiquette
    Dogs And Us
    Dog Training
    Ethics & Dogs
    Husbandry
    Introducing Dogs To New Experiences
    Puppies
    Scout The Assistance Puppy
    Turbo The Foster Greyhound

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.