(CN) Dog lover breeds a successful business

[Guest guest]

CHANGING FACES

by Alice Yan

Oct 14, 2007

Sunday Morning Post

 

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Shanghai entrepreneur Jiang Wei owns a breeding kennel in Jiangsu

where he has raised more than a dozen Tibetan mastiffs. The Anhui

native tells Alice Yan about his fondness for the breed, renowned for

its size, wild nature and ferocity.

 

How is your Tibetan mastiff business?

There are about 15 dogs on my farm, aged from one to four years old,

all of which were bought from Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in

Qinghai province . I built the kennel in Wujiang , Jiangsu, because

it is forbidden to raise large animals in Shanghai and I happened to

find a remote countryside garden here. I hire one old farmer to feed

the dogs every day, and I commute from Shanghai to the farm to have a

look at my dogs twice a week. I sell pups each winter and spring, as

well as charge other Tibetan mastiff owners who want to send their

dogs for breeding. I price a pup at between 6,000 to 50,000 yuan,

which is much lower than what they cost in Beijing, where several

Tibetan mastiff breeders have formed an alliance to lift up the

trade. People buying Tibetan mastiffs are entrepreneurs based in

Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang , and they want to own the dog to show

off their wealth.

 

Why is a Tibetan mastiff expensive?

They are actually guard dogs raised by Tibetan herd families to

protect their sheep. It can fight against any other bigger and

powerful species, and dares to bite anything - no matter how hard

that material is. I remember about three years ago when I visited a

family in Qinghai to select dogs, eight Tibetan mastiffs severely

chewed up my jeep. The rear-view mirrors were not only smashed

completely, but also one connecter to the car was almost bitten off.

The dogs are also loyal to its owner and will take on anyone showing

hostility to the owner. Prices have soared dramatically over the past

four years. At a Tibetan mastiff fair in Qinghai this summer, more

than 70 dogs were bought at the price of at least 1 million yuan. I

heard there were two highly-pursued Tibetan mastiffs worth more than

20 million yuan each and to breed with either of them costs about

300,000 yuan. Those expensive dogs should have good genes and have a

qualified appearance. We industry players think a Tibetan mastiff

looks beautiful when it has a big head, a wide mouth, eyes slanting

down towards the side of the face, a well-proportioned body and wide

breast. It doesn't matter whether it is tall or not. I think they are

so expensive due to speculation. So more and more people have become

interested and joined the market.

 

What are your hopes for the industry?

I hope the trade becomes more regulated and normal than its current

overheated state. I've heard that many Henan pig farmers have

switched to raising Tibetan mastiffs, lured by the huge profits. They

said a pig could earn them just hundreds of yuan, but a Tibetan

mastiff would bring more than 10 times as much. Other beneficiaries

are herding families in Tibet and Qinghai, who are even encouraged by

local governments to raise the dog and quit farming.

 

How did you get into the industry?

I graduated with a bachelor's degree in 2002 and worked as an agent

selling commercial property and later pharmaceuticals in Shanghai.

When I first saw a picture of a Tibetan mastiff in 2004 I was deeply

attracted to it, even though I had never kept a dog before. I can't

help buying a beautiful Tibetan mastiff as long as I have enough

money. To date I have spent more than a million yuan buying the dogs

for my garden. My parents and my wife said there was something wrong

with me for making such an investment.

 

What are your plans for the future?

Since my childhood I had wanted to set up my own business. Recently a

list of the mainland's 100 richest people was issued and I hope to be

among them one day. I will migrate to Canada next year because I like

the sound social benefits there. In the future I will return to China

to do business and I will still be able to live a good life with my

pension even if my company goes bust. Of course I will try to keep

one or a few Tibetan mastiffs.