If you have an interest in pet care and would like to start a business of your own, you may want to think about opening your own doggie daycare. Doggie daycares are becoming increasingly popular–and with the growing demand for this type of service, it can be a very rewarding one to get into. Here are the steps you need to take as well as some important things to consider if you think this might be the right business for you.
A Passion for Dogs
In order to operate a doggie daycare business, you must be a dog-lover and possess certain personality traits that are suitable for pet-care. Patience, kindness, and confidence are important characteristics for a person to have when dealing with different doggie personalities–if this doesn’t sound like you, it might not be the right business to get into.
Previous Experience
In addition to a passion for animals and their care, it helps if you have some previous animal care experience. Pet-sitting, dog-walking, volunteer work at a local animal shelter, or the care of your own animals will give you a good foundation to build upon. Potential clients will want to feel comfortable leaving their pets in your care, and previous pet-care knowledge and experience will help you establish the credibility and trust necessary to make your business successful.
Establish a Business Plan
Like any other business, a doggie day care should start out with a solid business plan to back it. You will need to figure out what your start-up costs will be, and approximately how much it will cost to maintain your business each month. Once you’ve determined those costs, you’ll know what kind of funding you’ll need, if any. Work closely with an accountant or business consultant to make sure you’re on the right track–the choices you make in the beginning can make or break your business in the long run.
Besides determining costs and funding, your business plan should include establishing hours of operation, prices for your services, the need for additional staff, an emergency plan (for both pets and care-givers), business insurance, and licenses required to operate your business. Ask your insurance agent what types of insurance your business should have and check with city officials to find out what kind of licenses you need to operate a doggie daycare in accordance with city and state laws.
Location
Choosing the right location is critical for a doggie daycare. Dogs can be noisy–and this is something you need to consider when looking at possible locations. A daycare out in the country is optimum, but if you are looking for property in town–be sure to think about neighboring residents and businesses and how the noise will affect them. The building you select should have several rooms so that you can separate animals when you need to. The rooms should be large enough for the dogs to roam around in and contain comfortable accommodations for sleeping, playing, and eating. The facility should have proper air conditioning and air-flow to ensure the comfort of the dogs that will be in your care. Some dogs may require an occasional bath, so be sure there is a “wet area” for you to bathe them when you need to. Your doggy daycare should also provide plenty of outdoor space for animals to exercise, socialize, and play. Designated outdoor play areas should be adequately enclosed and offer both sunny and shady areas so that the dogs will be comfortable in various weather conditions.
Comforts and Supplies
After you’ve selected the perfect location, you will need to fill your daycare with all of the comforts and supplies necessary for the overall health and happiness of the dogs you will be caring for. Dog beds, toys, food and water dishes, brushes, extra leashes and collars, bathtubs, pet care products, cleaning products, waste removal products, and medical supplies are just some of the things you will need so that your daycare is ready and stocked for your many doggie clients. Although most pet owners prefer kennel-free daycares, you should also have several kennels available in case you need them. Make a checklist so that you have everything ready to open your doors for business.
Acceptance Policy
When you’re ready to start caring for dogs in your daycare, you will need to have a policy in place for acceptance into your facility. All dogs should be vaccinated–suggested vaccinations include rabies, kennel cough, distemper, and Hepatitis Parvovirus–and should be spayed or neutered. For further information on vaccines, consult with a veterinarian. Provide an application for dog owners to fill out that includes the owner’s name and complete contact information, the dog’s name, the dog’s health and vaccination history, the name and number of the animal’s veterinarian, behavioral habits or concerns, and any special medical care the dog requires. If an animal is brought to you that you are unable to care for, be honest and upfront with the owner about your concerns. Your safety, as well as the safety of your staff and other dogs in your care, is of the utmost importance. If a dog has a serious medical issue, behavioral problem, or is not up-to-date on vaccination requirements, it’s too risky for you to accept that pet into your care.
Advertising Your Business
Print up some colorful fliers and brochures complete with the services offered, hours of operation, location, and contact information and ask if you can display them at local pet supply stores and animal clinics. If possible, add pictures and positive client testimonials to your brochures–they may leave a lasting impression on someone that picks one up to look at. Have plenty of business cards on hand as well, and ask satisfied pet owners to hand them out to friends and family that may be interested in your services. Word of mouth is the best form of advertising–it’s free and it speaks volumes about your business practices.
A doggie daycare can be a fun way to make money running a business of your own. If you love dogs and have what it takes to care for them on a regular basis, a doggie daycare might be just the right venture for you to get into.
I would love to start a dog walking business. Not really interested in a kennel- but love dogs and love to walk them. Thanks for the advise and tips for the future.
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Event Photographer, That is true…. if you love dogs, but don’t want to offer daycare services, dog walking business is a great idea! I will put together an article about it soon!
I have thought many times about having a pet sitting service but just never pulled the trigger on it. I recently lost my dog sitter and really haven’t been able to find a new one that I trust. I just can’t bear putting my doggies in a kennel (nothing against them!), I just can’t do it. Thanks for the tips!
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I wanted to comment that your article was well written. I especially liked the section on business planning and having an acceptance policy. I think it is essential to have an acceptance policy to show clients that you are in the business for the right reasons. It isn’t about having as many dogs in a room as possible. It is about: quality, cleanliness, and ensuring the dogs are happy. Obviously, there are many other ingredients to a successful dog daycare.
I just started a dog daycare in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The dog daycare is called the Boston Dog Company and it actually opened today. In reference to your article I think emphasizing the need for developing a comprehensive business plan is very beneficial. Even if you don’t write out a formalized business plan, at least getting down some of the key points will help you hold yourself accountable for your business progress.
I would love for you to give any advice on my newly opened Boston area dog daycare. If you need any more information about the Boston Dog Company please visit: http://www.BostonDog.Co or http://www.BostonDogCompany.com.
Services we provide include: dog daycare, dog walking, dog training, and pet sitting.
I am especially interested in any ideas on creating unique elements for the dog daycare. I also have a retail side with pet food, accessories, and supplies. Almost all my products are made in the U.S I think this is a great way of ensuring higher standard for dog products. Thank you for any suggestions you can offer. If you want to make any additional suggestions regarding my website that would also be helpful.
Thanks
If you’re not a dog-lover there’s no way you’ll make it in this business. I have a friend that opened a dog training facility and he’s doing great now. But he’s been a dog owner since forever, when i first met him he already owned 3.
And this is how you get to work with passion.
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Hi
its a really helpful site for us. This is site in which we learn something easily.
thanks,
for any type of animal care business the person has to be the animal lover from heart and not just for the sake of making profit.
When I started putting up a dog business and setting up online. I see to it that I have enough resources to last for months on keeping the business alive. I also see to it that I do this out of my endless love to grooming pets and taking care of them. I got a lot of good points in this post. Thanks!
Hello,
Thanks for this information i just wanna made a company but i don’t have any name but from your article i read that name…. The dog daycare is called the Boston Dog Company …….
Thanks for this. I will share this with a friend very interested to start his own doggie daycare business.
I guess animals aren’t for me. I’m really scared with animals more specifically with dogs. But I know that some of them are not pretty scary.
Don’t forget getting the right tools, specially for grooming various dog breeds, including getting the right dog clippers!
It is always better to have enough budget when you starting a business and you need to create your own business plan and strategy on how to promote and develop your business.
Verry Good information, it would help a lot, cause my Brother and i want to open a Dog Daycare Business thank you so much it would help a lot .
This is very interesting business. I love dogs, actually I have a dozen of dogs that’s in my home right now mostly with different breeds. I bring them to vet every two weeks and it’s hard that I’ll bring them all to vet which is far away from our home. This came from my mind before and I was thinking of having a daycare business for my dogs as well as for my neighbor’s dogs. The location is quite hard to finalize because I was looking for a location that’s within the policy but preferably near our home. Well, thanks for all these ideas. It really made me realize that I should have a daycare because the number of dogs is growing, well I love all of them.
“A Passion for Dogs”
You should need to be passionate in handling dogs in order for you to operate a doggie daycare business because handling animals is quite stressful is you don’t have enough patience and kindness towards them.
I will agree with what Sussy says that if you have dog passion, you can easily handle dogs because you already know how they interact and how that animals behave..This site is great…
Thanks
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Dog beds, toys, aliment and baptize dishes, brushes, added leashes and collars, bathtubs, pet affliction products, charwoman products, decay abatement products, and medical food are just some of the things you will charge so that your daycare is accessible and abounding for your abounding doggie clients
Hi I know it’s not doggy dwy care but a friend of my sisters financed her wat through university with her dog walking service in the evenings and weekends. She did really well with it. She was actually sad to give it up when she left uni. She handed it over to someone else when she left hope the new girl made a success of it as well but I don’t know if she did. The main thing is you just have to be reliable and a good time keeper.
Thanks lee
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Verry Good information, it would help a lot, cause my Brother and i want to open a Dog Daycare Business thank you so much it would help a lot .
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Hi since I left the comment above I got in touch with my sister she contacted the girl who is now doing the dog walking service. She said there is now 3 of them doing it together and they are easily earning enough to get themselves through uni. So what a success.
Thanks lee
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A friend of mine has recently started a dog walking and dog grooming business and to be honest I can’t believe quite how much in debt that type of business can be or should be. things like GPS collars and as you said fully air-conditioned treatment salons and even places for the dogs to stay to remain comfortable. is cost her an absolute fortune but I’d definitely say it’s the best doggy hotel, and dog walking service that I know of in the area. Fantastic information on such a new type of business which is becoming more popular.
Dog walking and dog grooming can be enjoyable as well as profitable if you manage to get together both things. If you love dogs and don’t have other options, dog walking may be really cool.
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