I'm a big fan of the pet day care business, also referred to as doggie day care. In fact, my very active Jack Russell Terrier attends a local doggie day care facility several times a week. Keeping her busy and happy is extremely valuable to me. Especially because I work from home and having her constantly begging to play makes it hard to get any work done, to say the least.
Actually, there was a time not too long ago when I was seriously considering starting my own pet day care business. Aside from the fact I couldn't find an affordable or appropriate location, I quickly became aware of the HUGE investment of time, if not money.
Owning and operating a pet day care business requires LOADS of hours.
Remember, most people will be dropping off their precious pets before work and picking them up on the way home. That means you have to be there BEFORE people head off to work as well as AFTER they come home.
12 - 14 hour days are not uncommon.
If I haven't talked you out of it yet, well, then maybe you do have the "Right Stuff.
Here's some additional information and resources to help you decide and then open and operate your own successful pet day care business.
Enjoy!
STARTING A DOGGIE DAYCARE BUSINESS
If you're seriously thinking about starting your own pet day care business, commonly referred to as "Doggie Daycare", than this informative DVD is a "must see" first stop.
This is a well-produced DVD that takes an inside look at several doggie daycare facilities that are up and running in various towns and cities around the country. Interviews with the owners and useful checklists will give you an unblemished and un-hyped view of this potentially lucrative and fast-growing business. The owners discuss their varied backgrounds before getting into doggie daycare, what attracted them to the business and some of the pitfalls they encountered along the way as well as their success stories.
PLEASE NOTE: This DVD is a great eye-opener to help you visualize yourself in this business. But it does not come with the detailed documentation and step-by-step information that you would actually need to open a pet day care business. That information would better come from more detailed books and literature. But the less-than $50 investment is totally worth it as a critical first step.
More Pet Day Care Business DVD Details Here
LEARN ABOUT ANIMAL BEHAVIOR
If you're seriously considering opening your own doggie day care business you'll need to know how to manage a pack of dogs. Knowing the signals to look for can prevent fights from breaking out. It's much better to stop fights from happening in the first place than to have to break them up.
If you're interested in getting a more formal education in animal animal behavior Wheaton College has some useful course descriptions, links and resources to explore.
ANIMAL STUDIES
CONSULTING SERVICES
Dog Day Afternoon
Dog Day Afternoon is a Florida-based pet day care business owned and operated by Emily Schlansky since 1999. For $39.95, this doggie day care primer is written by a knowledgable insider who knows the ropes from the inside out. In fact, on their own website they go on to say this regarding their own consulting plan: "It is not a turn-key, franchise packet (that's why it's only $39.95!) but it will aid you in the development of your own successful doggie daycare enterprise."
I would agree.
VISIT DOG DAY AFTERNOON FOR MORE DETAILS
Pet Care Business Consulting
Pet Care Business Consulting (catchy name, eh?) offers a variety of consultation services on their densely worded website filled with microscopically small fonts. If you can get through reading the mounds of materials you'll see they offer a variety of webinars and actual one-on-one coaching services that are hyper-targeted to the doggie daycare and kennel businesses. This site makes for an interesting read with a batch of offerings for kennel and doggie daycare startups. No mention of fees or prices, though. ADVICE: ask a lot of questions, find out exactly how much things cost and what you get and check the Better Business Bureau before plunging in.
Pet Care Business Consulting
CENTRAL BARK DOGGIE DAY CARE FRANCHISE
Central Bark Doggie Day Care is based in Wisconsin with six franchises there and one in Florida.
A franchise might make a lot of sense because you won't have to reinvent the wheel. But it's not cheap: Central Bark charges a $35,000 franchise fee just to teach you the ropes. Plan on spending an additional $90,000 to over $180,000 to get setup with ongoing royalties and advertising fees for the life of your business.
CENTRAL BARK DOGGIE DAYCARE FRANCHISE
CAMP BOW WOW
An investment in a Camp Bow Wow doggie daycare franchise will generally range from $60,000 to $80,000. Start-up costs will range from $250,000 to $500,000 (including your initial investment). The franchise fee, all of your equipment, deposits, training, supplies, initial marketing, advertising, and working capital for your first year of operation are included in your Camp start-up costs.
One great feature about this franchise opportunity is the use of webcams to allow dog owners to login and watch their dogs over the Internet anytime they want.
CAMP BOW WOW
