Knowing where our breeding programs started and what results we have now helps to direct our emphasis and efforts for improvement. A kennel survey seeks the longer term answers from your clients about how your dogs really turned out as adults - how they rate you and the health and happiness of the dogs you produced. There is the potential to discover unexpected physical or emotional traits exhibited in your animals. You might redefine your criteria for breeding, screening or vaccination. Ask your questions in a clear and concise way.
Typical queries have to do with health, behavioural or customer-service issues.
Clearly establish the dog's identity on the answer form, so you can compare males to females, or traits from given litters or 'lines' of dogs. Make the total number of questions manageable, since you will have to tabulate the results. Excessively long questionnaires also cost more money to reproduce and mail. Having decided what you wish to ask, you now must determine what 'target' you wish, and can afford, to survey. Perhaps you should then aim for owners of dogs produced within the last two years - and 100 surveys.