Your Pup is the Reason We Opened My Ten Pound Hound Bakery
Tiny jaws, mouths and throats led us here
My Ten Pound Hound didn't begin with a business plan, a boardroom or a market-research department.
It began with little dogs who occupy a large amount of space in our homes, our routines and our hearts.
If you've ever shared your life with one, you already understand.
A small dog can weigh ten pounds and somehow command an entire sofa. He can require approximately fourteen inches of leash while behaving as though he personally owns the neighborhood. He can hear the refrigerator door open from three rooms away.
And he knows exactly where the treats are kept.
Why a Bakery for Little Dogs?
I wanted to create something specifically with smaller dogs in mind.
There are plenty of dog treats in the world. Walk down a pet-store aisle and you'll see enough bags, boxes, flavors, shapes and promises to make your head spin.
I wasn't interested in competing with all of that.
I wanted something simpler.
A good little treat. A sensible size. Made in small batches. Sold locally. Offered by somebody customers could actually know.
That idea became My Ten Pound Hound.
Meet Moe
No discussion of MTPH would be complete without mentioning Moe.
Moe is more than inspiration. He is also our unofficial head of quality control, although his standards are somewhat suspect because his evaluation process consists primarily of:
Receive snack.
Eat snack.
Request another snack.
Still, one must respect enthusiasm.
Moe also helped settle an important question as MTPH took shape: How small does a small-dog treat really need to be?
As it turns out, not itty-bitty.
Little dogs may have little mouths, but they don't necessarily need crumbs masquerading as biscuits. We landed on a smallish bone that Moe handles quite nicely.
Product testing concluded.
The researcher requested additional samples.
Keeping MTPH Deliberately Simple
We're beginning with one size and one flavor.
That isn't because we've run out of ideas. Quite the opposite.
It's because I believe there's value in doing one thing well before doing twelve things adequately.
So instead of launching with a sprawling menu, My Ten Pound Hound is beginning with the treat that started it all.
One bag.
One size.
One flavor.
One straightforward price: $12 for a 4.5-ounce bag.
As the bakery grows, we'll listen to our customers—the two-legged ones and, through their representatives, the four-legged ones—and see where MTPH should go next. We’re working to make things simple for you.
We're in no hurry to complicate a good thing.
A Different Kind of Small Business
We’re not trying to become a giant dog-treat factory.
We're a small local bakery, and that's part of the fun.
We open for orders twice each month. Customers order by Wednesday, I bake, and Saturday becomes delivery day.
Orders of three bags or more receive free local delivery within five miles. Smaller orders are always welcome for porch pickup.
This schedule allows me to bake intentionally instead of producing piles of inventory and hoping somebody buys them.
It also means you know when your treats were made and where they came from.
I like that, and I’ll bet you will too.
For People Who Are Crazy About Their Dogs
Maybe "crazy" is a strong word.
Then again, if you've ever rearranged yourself in bed because a nine-pound dog was sleeping comfortably across the middle, you probably qualify.
MTPH is for people who delight in their dogs.
People who talk to them.
People who know which neighborhood dog lives in which house.
People who understand that a walk can take twenty minutes even though you've traveled only two blocks because apparently every blade of grass requires investigation.
In other words, our kind of people.
Bonus points for you if you’re T-shirts are covered with dog hair.
Welcome.
My Ten Pound Hound is starting small on purpose.
I want this bakery to grow because your little dog enjoys the snacks and you enjoy doing business with us. Pleas tell another little-dog person, "You need to try these."
That's plenty.
So welcome again.
I'm Cyn, Moe is the taste tester, and together we're My Ten Pound Hound Bakery
We're awfully glad you found us.
And Moe would like it noted for the record that the next batch should be ready immediately.