PETS business

Have read that there is no "pet culture" in Ecuador but many American and Canadians ex-pats and we love our pets

ODAN, after all your flailing around I think you may have actually hit on something worthwhile, finally.

In Quito we did see many families out with their pets, mainly smaller floofy dogs. And I don't remember seeing much in the way of pet accoutrements in Ecuador. This may very well be a developing market worth looking into. People will often spend money on their pets they wouldn't spend on themselves.

And when we lived in eastern Europe many westerners arrived arrived with pets, most of them were accustomed to having services like dog groomers and such, available on craigslist or in any pet shop in the west. But it did not exist in eastern Europe in any way. Poodle and shi tzu owners for the first time had to shampoo and groom their own dogs, most of them had never done it before. Cat litter was almost impossible to find, and when it was hunted down it came from France and cost a fortune.

Yes, I think the pet market in Ecuador does exist and is underserved. This really could be a very good idea. 

gardener1 wrote:

ODAN, after all your flailing around I think you may have actually hit on something worthwhile, finally.

In Quito we did see many families out with their pets, mainly smaller floofy dogs. And I don't remember seeing much in the way of pet accoutrements in Ecuador. This may very well be a developing market worth looking into. People will often spend money on their pets they wouldn't spend on themselves.

And when we lived in eastern Europe many westerners arrived arrived with pets, most of them were accustomed to having services like dog groomers and such, available on craigslist or any pet shop in the west. But it did not exist in eastern Europe in any way. Poodle and shi tzu owners for the first time had to shampoo and groom their own dogs, most of them had never done it before. Cat litter was almost impossible to find, and when it was hunted down it came from France and cost a fortune.

Yes, I think the pet market in Ecuador does exist and is underserved. This really could be a very good idea. 

Thanks Gardener.... As profession i am a designer but looking to settle in ecuador.. ets and farming is my hobby.. so may be wil choose as a business!!

You think its not a good idea??

ODAN overall reading your posts I don't think you know what you're getting into. But if you have a bit of money for a startup I will say again, I think the pet market in Ecuador is underdeveloped and underserved, and there is a lot of room for innovation and improvement.

Everywhere in the world people love their pets. It is a fledgling market in Ecuador and would seem to have some opportunity for expansion.

You should go there, try to connect in the business and with the people and see what you think.

I think it's a better hedge than bracelets or baskets or sweaters.

gardener1 wrote:

ODAN overall reading your posts I don't think you know what you're getting into. But if you have a bit of money for a startup I will say again, I think the pet market in Ecuador is underdeveloped and underserved, and there is a lot of room for innovation and improvement.

Everywhere in the world people love their pets. It is a fledgling market in Ecuador and would seem to have some opportunity for expansion.

You should go there, try to connect in the business and with the people and see what you think.

I think it's a better hedge than bracelets or baskets or sweaters.

Thanks for ur input!!

If you like to farm then am assuming you would either buy a piece of land and build, or a house already with a little bit of land. Wouldn't do anything right away, but if this does work, and as you build a clientele might what to consider the option of building a small kennel on the property if there seems to be interest. Probably wouldn't hurt to try and find a supplier of things like heart worm medicine, flea and tick medicine/powder etc., and see if you can get a good price. Imagine your clients would purchase directly from you.

j600rr wrote:

If you like to farm then am assuming you would either buy a piece of land and build, or a house already with a little bit of land. Wouldn't do anything right away, but if this does work, and as you build a clientele might what to consider the option of building a small kennel on the property if there seems to be interest. Probably wouldn't hurt to try and find a supplier of things like heart worm medicine, flea and tick medicine/powder etc., and see if you can get a good price. Imagine your clients would purchase directly from you.

Thanks Jrr for your input!!!

I think there's a big market for pets and pet services in Quito. There's a dog grooming place about 4 blocks from my apartment, and there are tons of dog and cat owners here. Outside of Quito, there's much less of a market, as people consider their dogs and cats to be a bit more disposable. I bet a doggy daycare would do well here and cost very little to start, as you wouldn't have all the difficult regulations to deal with. There's lots of pets for sale here.

Edit: I remember seeing lots of well cared for dogs in Otavalo as well.

Odan,

I just had an idea from another post.... there are no laundries or laundromats. I realize for a laundromat the investment would be too much... but you could start with a laundry and gradually buy machines.

I miss my local laundry in Salalah.

All the best.
Judy

Judee wrote:

Odan,

...there are no laundries or laundromats...

Um... what? There's a laundromat every couple blocks in my neighborhood. I'm yet to find a town, even a very small town, where there wasn't some sort of laundry service. I just paid $1.50 to have my laundry done.

jessekimmerling wrote:

I think there's a big market for pets and pet services in Quito. There's a dog grooming place about 4 blocks from my apartment, and there are tons of dog and cat owners here. Outside of Quito, there's much less of a market, as people consider their dogs and cats to be a bit more disposable. I bet a doggy daycare would do well here and cost very little to start, as you wouldn't have all the difficult regulations to deal with. There's lots of pets for sale here.

Edit: I remember seeing lots of well cared for dogs in Otavalo as well.

Thanks Jesse for your input... I am considering Quito, cuence and guayquil.... but i am just watching them on net and blogs.. and tryng to get intouch the people there.. what i feel like there are lot of retired american and canadians are living there and most of them having pets.... though what i get ecudorians theirselves are not much into pets but most of expats are.... so further more as u added that in pets business dog daycare could be a better idea.... so involving into pet business can be their accessories to i want to make some beautiful small dog houses also. and their accessories available....
I think mostly people are in pet animals and not birds?? back in my home countries I have persian punch faced cats....

I am not sure that what are the prices of the cats and dogs there.... i need to see rather i can have pairs there and breed them locally or i need to import?

I request most of the expats there to put there sugessions and what normally they require for their pets speciall living in ecuador?

Sorry, Jesse I read in a post that there were no laundries.... sorry! when I read that I thought bingo... there's a business.

SO SORRY.

There  are also people who might want you to go into their own homes to feed or walk dogs(cats while they are away rather than board them. Where I live it cost $15 to $25 per day for this service. You don't need any investment and could advertise for free in Cuenca on Gringotree.com. Probably you would need references. Is there are similar free site to advertise on in Quito Jesse?

suefrankdahl wrote:

There  are also people who might want you to go into their own homes to feed or walk dogs(cats while they are away rather than board them. Where I live it cost $15 to $25 per day for this service. You don't need any investment and could advertise for free in Cuenca on Gringotree.com. Probably you would need references. Is there are similar free site to advertise on in Quito Jesse?

Thats a good idea!!!

ODAN, don't be confused by the opportunities in the pet market.

I believe the opportunities are in skilled services, goods, and supplies. Just about anybody can put a dog on a leash and take him around the block and Ecuador echoes with ooodles of such people, but it takes practice and training and equipment and a skilled hand to turn a ratty shi tzu into a thing of beauty.

Ecuador abounds in unskilled labor. It lacks skilled groomers and trainers and the manufacture/import of useful usual pet supplies.

It is hard for first world people who are so used to having cheap -stuff- and where labor is the biggest expense, to understand economies where stuff is expensive and raw labor is cheap. It is the exact opposite of what they are accustomed to. But it is indeed the case in much of the world and in Ecuador.

Were you to go into the pet need business in Ecuador, you would want to look at areas which require skills uncommon in the area and services which hard to find--pet grooming, training, boarding, pest treatment, etc. Perhaps in tandem with a veterinarian, also in short supply in Ecuador. As well as products hard to find like effective flea/parasite treatments, travel containers, animal beds and carriers, quality pet food, all that sort of thing. I hardly remember seeing any of those products or services anywhere in Ecuador.

It's an emerging market. Being on the front end could well be lucrative.

We'll be taking our cat to Ecuador and he is allergic to flea bites. I'm betting that the specialized med he takes to ward off fleas (Revolution) is not available in Ecuador. Not being able to access this treatment down there is a big BIG problem for us. Think of all the money you could make accessing this med from somewhere else and selling it to us in Ecuador. We would make you rich.....

Judee wrote:

Sorry, Jesse I read in a post that there were no laundries.... sorry! when I read that I thought bingo... there's a business.

SO SORRY.

No worries. I think I read the post you're talking about, the one that said there are "no coin laundries" in Canoa. That is true. Most laundries here are not coin operated, they are full service. You just drop off your cloths. I found one coin opp laundry in my neighborhood in Quito. Strangely, it was more expensive than the full service laundries.

I think it would be a mistake to assume your only clientele would be expats. In Quito there are a lot of Ecuadorians with money and a lot of pet owners.

jessekimmerling wrote:

I think it would be a mistake to assume your only clientele would be expats. In Quito there are a lot of Ecuadorians with money and a lot of pet owners.

Ahan good and great!!

gardener1 wrote:

ODAN, don't be confused by the opportunities in the pet market.

I believe the opportunities are in skilled services, goods, and supplies. Just about anybody can put a dog on a leash and take him around the block and Ecuador echoes with ooodles of such people, but it takes practice and training and equipment and a skilled hand to turn a ratty shi tzu into a thing of beauty.

Ecuador abounds in unskilled labor. It lacks skilled groomers and trainers and the manufacture/import of useful usual pet supplies.

It is hard for first world people who are so used to having cheap -stuff- and where labor is the biggest expense, to understand economies where stuff is expensive and raw labor is cheap. It is the exact opposite of what they are accustomed to. But it is indeed the case in much of the world and in Ecuador.

Were you to go into the pet need business in Ecuador, you would want to look at areas which require skills uncommon in the area and services which hard to find--pet grooming, training, boarding, pest treatment, etc. Perhaps in tandem with a veterinarian, also in short supply in Ecuador. As well as products hard to find like effective flea/parasite treatments, travel containers, animal beds and carriers, quality pet food, all that sort of thing. I hardly remember seeing any of those products or services anywhere in Ecuador.

It's an emerging market. Being on the front end could well be lucrative.

We'll be taking our cat to Ecuador and he is allergic to flea bites. I'm betting that the specialized med he takes to ward off fleas (Revolution) is not available in Ecuador. Not being able to access this treatment down there is a big BIG problem for us. Think of all the money you could make accessing this med from somewhere else and selling it to us in Ecuador. We would make you rich.....

Great Input gardner.. i am getting +ve more and more

I love your smoking cat Gardener 1

Have the same problem with my cat. I ordered one year supply (for less) from canadapharmacy.com.. Also there is 1-800-PET-MEDS.

There are no COIN LAUNDRIES, meaning "do it yourself" kind of laundries, like back in the States. There are a lot of laundromats though, used mainly by people that earn much more than the average salary, those are places where you leave your clothes (specially the ones that need dry cleaning)  to have them washed and ironed. This is NOT the same thing as a coin laundry, where you take care of your own clothes and have to wait until they are dry. Laundromats are not for the blue collar, working class Ecuadorian. I couldn't afford that service on a regular basis.

michelealzate wrote:

There are no COIN LAUNDRIES, meaning "do it yourself" kind of laundries, like back in the States. There are a lot of laundromats though, used mainly by people that earn much more than the average salary, those are places where you leave your clothes (specially the ones that need dry cleaning)  to have them washed and ironed. This is NOT the same thing as a coin laundry, where you take care of your own clothes and have to wait until they are dry. Laundromats are not for the blue collar, working class Ecuadorian. I couldn't afford that service on a regular basis.

There are coin laundries in Quito. There is one 4 blocks from my house. It's more expensive than the full service laundries, but it's very busy, probably because many people want to use their own soap or make sure their laundry gets done just the way they like it, but they don't own a machine. I go there for that reason when I need to wash blankets and things that are too big for my washing machine. I am taking a guess here, but I think the coin laundry is so expensive, because the special coin operated machines cost way too much in Ecuador, and the parts are hard to get and expensive as well.

Gardener 1, I have a feline leukemia positive cat who's like my child. We are so behind in veterinary care here that we don't even have access to feline leukemia vaccines. Go figure, giving there are a lot of cases of FeLV positive cats among the strays. Mine was a rescue cat, he's doing well but I had to divide my apartment in two to keep him and my other cat  separated because I don't want my healthy cat getting the illness. I could protect my other cat if we had access to the vaccine, but that's just plain impossible. If you have a pet with a serious illness, I don't recommend bringing them here. Stay were you can find proper treatment for your pet.

Here in Guayaquil, there's only ONE veterinary clinic that does X-rays, for example. We don't have access to several lab tests that could determine FeLV or FIV exposure or infection more effectively. We only have the ELISA test available, and the cost is $60 dollars. I would love to see an expat opening a veterinary clinic here, someone who would have all the necessary equipment to make correct diagnosis and work in a professional way, which is a hard find in this country. That would be a growing business for sure. The clinic that I mentioned with the x-ray machine get the most patients here, there's no competition and pet owners get easily frustrated by the lack of proper care.

michelealzate wrote:

Gardener 1, I have a feline leukemia positive cat who's like my child. We are so behind in veterinary care here that we don't even have access to feline leukemia vaccines. Go figure, giving there are a lot of cases of FeLV positive cats among the strays. Mine was a rescue cat, he's doing well but I had to divide my apartment in two to keep him and my other cat  separated because I don't want my healthy cat getting the illness. I could protect my other cat if we had access to the vaccine, but that's just plain impossible. If you have a pet with a serious illness, I don't recommend bringing them here. Stay were you can find proper treatment for your pet.

Here in Guayaquil, there's only ONE veterinary clinic that does X-rays, for example. We don't have access to several lab tests that could determine FeLV or FIV exposure or infection more effectively. We only have the ELISA test available, and the cost is $60 dollars. I would love to see an expat opening a veterinary clinic here, someone who would have all the necessary equipment to make correct diagnosis and work in a professional way, which is a hard find in this country. That would be a growing business for sure. The clinic that I mentioned with the x-ray machine get the most patients here, there's no competition and pet owners get easily frustrated by the lack of proper care.

Photo of full service pet place (with x-rays) just around the corner from my house. I took this this morning walking back from breakfast.

There sure is a big difference between the way michelealzate describes life in Guayaquil, and what I experience and see in Quito. I'm starting to wonder if she is just a habitually negative person who can't help but paint a gloomy picture, or if it's that Guayaquil really is that backwards and terrible.

Good for you, but I live in Guayaquil! It seems that Quito has been making much progress than us.

Dear Jessee, no offense but I have lived in Ecuador since the day I was born, and also had the chance of experiencing different countries and cultures, so it's very hard NOT to compare. I don't like Ecuador and I'm not trying to hide it, I'm not happy living here but not because I'm a "negative person". It's because of the bad experiences I've had since I moved back to this country. You can ask me about my bad experiences abroad, and my list wouldn't even get to 2. If you don't like reading what I have to say, please skip my comments and don't even bother. I'm sure there's other people that might apreciate them so they will consider things and weigh in their options and possibilities before making a life changing move. You come from a first world country and everything here in Ecuador might look very "pintoresco" until someone breaks into your house of harm you or your family in any way, without laws to protect you and your loved ones or justice being served. I wouldn't make the same decisions you're making -judging from other posts and pictures you have shared-, I guess I'm longing for the life you take for granted back home while you dream of living like a fisherman in an impoverished sea side town.

I really hope that your experience in this country will be much better than mine, but if my personal experience sounds too bad for you, maybe you don't want to see the reality in this country or maybe the reality hasn't hit you just yet, giving that you're a foreigner and might perceive things differently.

I came to this forum because I wanted to share experiences, not fairy tales of beatiful Ecuadorian people that will never rip you off or try to take advantage of you, or a crappy system that doesn't serve anyone but the wealthy.  I'm glad that you have money to invest and that your background and personal opportunities have given you better tools to succeed in life, travel and invest in real state or businesses, but that's not the reality of the majority of people, those nice Ecuadorians that you cross on the streets, some of them begging for a few pennies on each stop light.

Why don't you visit Guayaquil and see for yourself instead of giving a lousy portrait of me as a person, you haven't met me yet to be able to give such a statement of me.

True, michelealzate, I don't know you, and I've only spent enough time in Guayaquil to know that I don't like it there. Just as your experiences in Ecuador are negative and the USA seems like a wonderful place to you, many of us from the US have had a really difficult time there. My personal experience is this... In the US I was drowning in debt. I had a house that was worth 1/3 what I owed on it. My monthly expenses where about $6000. When the economic downturn hit I was out of work for 2 years. I had to take a job in Afghanistan to make enough $ to escape the American dream/nightmare. I've been living outside the US for 4 years now and seen many places that fit my lifestyle far better than the US.

Again, I don't know if it's that you are negative, or if it's just that you are living in the armpit of Ecuador. My perspective is not based just on the expat experience. My wife is Ecuadorian (I just got married). She loves it here. She has no desire to move to the US. She is not a wealthy Ecuadorian. Her family is middle class. She was struggling as a single mom, so she took a chance, sold her car, and used the money to start a business. The business didn't make her rich, but it provides enough for her to live a middle class lifestyle in Quito and help support her parents. Her father worked in the US, but returned to Ecuador and prefers life here. To me, it looks a lot like what the American dream looked like 50 or 60 years ago.

If your situation is so negative, do something to change it. If all you want to do is spew negativity, don't be surprised when other people start to view you as a negative person and speak out about it.

Jesse, we all have different life experiences and expectations. The intent of this site is for each individual to express their opinion and for readers to see both sides of reality.   

Let's let everyone voice their own opinion unconcerned about being attacked because their view perhaps differ from ours.

fdmcg wrote:

Jesse, we all have different life experiences and expectations. The intent of this site is for each individual to express their opinion and for readers to see both sides of reality.   

Let's let everyone voice their own opinion unconcerned about being attacked because their view perhaps differ from ours.

Do you feel that it's reasonable or honest to describe me saying that I don't know if this person is just negative, or if it's just that Guayaquil is a really bad place as an "attack?"

Jesse, I believe referring to Michele as "negative" for sharing her opinions in unnecessary. You made a comment on another topic accusing those with less than glowing comments on Ecuador as not wanting other gringos to move to Ecuador.

Lets let readers interpret individual postings on their own.

fdmcg wrote:

Jesse, I believe referring to Michele as "negative" for sharing her opinions in unnecessary. You made a comment on another topic accusing those with less than glowing comments on Ecuador as not wanting other gringos to move to Ecuador.

Lets let readers interpret individual postings on their own.

OK, we have a difference of opinion. I don't feel like your representation of my comments is accurate, but I assume the participants in this forum are intelligent enough to make up their own minds about these issues. Perhaps we should all just drop it and get back on topic.

Jesse,
I think your comments were fair... and something to consider.

Compared to all the other negative and inappropriate "stuff" I think your an innocent.

Furthermore there is no one who goes to more trouble to help others than you.

I have been very offended by many things posted but I have NEVER found your comments out of line.


There is such a thing as "fair comment".

Judy

Thanks Judy. To a certain extent my attempt to put some of the negativity into context was motivated by my wife who was upset by some of the negative comments about Ecuador and wanted me to "do something" about it. I don't think anyone in this thread intentionally posted anything untrue. To me it just looks like a case of different people having very different viewpoints and experiences.

She shared some of her story with me on another post. Everyone has a "sob" story including me. The point is not to become bitter, negative or get trapped in "victim" mode. My advice to her was to learn to bloom where you are. The grass can seem greener on the other side. From your other post it sounds like you lived quite luxuriously for peanuts in NC.There must be SOME nice places and nice people in Guayquil "arm pit" or not. There are some very horrible cities here, out of control gun violence whether its rampant gang violence in Chicago or LA that kills innocent bystanders or massacres of elementary school children in affluent communities like Newtown, Conn. Today there was another school shooting rampage in a "nice" little town in Nevada(ONLY three dead not bad!)  Not to get political but the US have been described as having a "gun culture" and mental illness is considered epidemic in the US.  Perhaps a lot of not yet expats can understand why. Research shows that Latin American people are considered the happiest in the world from the poorest to the wealthiest.

There was a news video showing a bunch of spooked Canadian tourists at a gun rights demonstration at the Alamo in Texas where its legal to openly carry shotguns,long guns, including automatic weapons. I'm originally from New England so it's still hard to wrap myself around Western mentality sometimes.

I have no illusions about Ecuador having read these and other blogs and formed my OWN opinion. You can't compare third world countries to the so called developed, or industrialized nations. (The small particle pollution in a norhern Chinese city today couldn't be measured because it exceeded the scale). They had to practically shut down the city because visibility was so poor) In many ways we are not so "civilized" as we think we are in the US. Government corruption is legalized by the government can't be any worse in Ecuador.

Right now I'm living in a "nice" neighborhood in the capitol of Oregon. Beautiful white granite state buildings, mall with cherry trees etc. Probably looks better than Guyaquil. We are the meth capital of the west coast and all that goes with that. Now heroin is becoming a BIG problem because it's so cheap. Have never seen such blatant racism in my life. I'm losing my beautiful home,gardens etc. Just fine with me Definitely want to simplify my life. Absolutely would give anything for a funky little apartment in Canoa right now and not put up with another dreary winter of short days and gray skies. We'll see when I get there. Hopefully Bank of America won't figure out a way to rip me off for for the $3K I'm supposed to get for staying in the house and if this deal goes thru I'll get there sooner. They've screwed a LOT of people for a LOT more so I don't worry, this is just chump change for them.

Not to preach but you are never "trapped". There are always choices if you look for them.Whether its what you do, think or feel. You're thinking has a direct affect on how you feel. That's why I stay as positive as I can no matter how bad things might seem. I try to see all things I can be grateful for, starting with a roof over my head and food on the table and there are LOTS of people who can't say that.

You make your own destiny Michelle. It's all a matter of perspective.

Forgive me all for long post. To get back on topic-What do you think is the best way for ODAN to ship stuff for my dog to the coast. Should I think about opening a pet store in Bahia?

Sue

Hi all,

Please note that our main aim and ambition is to help people who want to live abroad, wherever they are in the world, and wherever they would like to live

It would be really nice to keep a good spirit of mutual help please

Thank you

Maximilien
Expat-blog Team

Sorry to get so off topic but it has been noted by myself and others a certain trend of negativity on the Ecuador Forum about the expat experience or potential experience.

Back to the pet services topic. We adopted a cat today from a place called PAE. They're non-profit, and have offices in many parts of Ecuador. They charge a $20 pet adoption fee that covers the cost of spay/neutering, vaccinations, and deworming. They have the flea/tick medication drops some earlier posters had asked about, but not the Hartz brand.

You can find them pretty easily searching for "cat or dog adoption" and "Ecuador" in Spanish on google.