People clearly love their pets and are willing to spend on them. In fact, they are projected to spend $99 billion this year on their beloved pets. Perhaps this is the year to start a doggy day care business.
Owning a dog requires unconditional love; however, it also means having added responsibility.
For starters, what do you do with your pooch when you need to go to work or an event?
Enter doggy day care, which promises to look after your furry friend until your inevitable return.
Many dog owners regularly take advantage of doggy day care services for various reasons. Maybe their dogs make too much noise due to separation anxiety, or they have no backyard and thus bathroom breaks, or simply because they feel bad for leaving a living being alone for 10+ hours per day with nothing to do and no one to watch them.
The good news for you is that, especially if you already own a dog, you might be able to easily turn this need into a home-based business.
Today, we’re going to run down the steps of starting a doggy day care business from home so you can find out for yourself if you have what takes to run a profitable business.
How To Start A Doggy Day Care Business From Home
Although the steps you’re going to take are detailed here, I highly recommend reading this blueprint on how to start a dog day care business for a more thorough step-by-step guide.
1. Check your local ordinances.
Before you start caring for any dog, check your city/town or county ordinances for limitations on home-based businesses.
Due to residential/commercial zoning laws, some residences are restricted from conducting any commercial activity on the premises. Other cities/towns restrict how many pets you can house under your roof.
The best way to know exactly what you can and can’t do is to contact your local government.
Even if your city/town/county has no rules pertaining to a dog care business, your homeowners’ association may not allow you to operate such a business due to concerns about noise, smell, pet waste, bites, street traffic, etc.
In short, don’t spend any money or too much time on your dog day care business until you find out if having such a business is even possible.
2. Make sure you have what it takes.
To be able to run a business, it’s certainly a given that you need to have at least a high school degree or a GED, business management skills, communication and customer service skills, and time management skills.
But what specific skills do you need to be able to operate a doggy day care?
What Does It Take To Run A Doggy Day Care?
- Pleasant, friendly demeanor — Both dogs and humans need to be able to connect with you and build trust.
- Physical stamina — Dogs aren’t statues. You’ll be feeding them, running after them, playing with them, cleaning up after them; it can be exhausting. Make sure you’re able to do it.
- Medical training — Accidents and emergencies can happen; you’ll need to know how to deal with them. Get training in dog CPR and first aid, and set up contacts with a few local vets in your area for more serious emergencies.
- Doggy sixth sense — You don’t need to be Cesar Millan, but knowing how to observe and read dog behavior and body language is a definite must.
If you have a degree in an animal-related course, such as animal science, veterinary technology, and the like, you’re already at an advantage.
If not, then try and find a gig as a pet sitter or dog walker, or volunteer at an animal shelter, animal rescue group, or a veterinary clinic.
3. Create a business plan.
Doing your homework and your research before you start will be what makes or breaks your business.
Creating your business plan and determining the scope of your business will inform the rest of your decisions when figuring out how to start a doggy day care. Here are the important aspects of your business that need to be included in your business plan.
Facilities
- Air conditioning
- Separate areas for small dogs and large dogs
- Feeding area
- Play area
- Rest area
- Outdoor area
- Kennel (for when a dog needs to stay overnight unexpectedly)
- Livestreaming (optional, but a huge advantage over your competition)
Services
- Define your operating hours (most operate 7am-7pm on weekdays)
- Playtime
- Outdoor time
- Meals
- Naptime
Costs of starting a doggy day care
- Insurance (business, property)
- Facilities
- Supplies
- Licenses and permits
- Advertising and marketing
- Website
Factors to consider when pricing
Generally, doggy daycares charge between $18 and $32 per dog per day. However, you’ll want to do more research before you come up with a figure. Consider the following:
- What your local pet owners can afford
- How many dogs you can accommodate
- What services you can offer
- How much you need to collect each month to be profitable
Consider offering different rates for half-day, daily, weekly, and monthly membership plans, offering discounts when dogs stay longer.
You can also consider offering a family rate for those who have more than one dog.
4. Obtain a business license and insurance.
While there is currently no federal licensing requirement to open a doggy day care, states and counties may require that you purchase a dog care license.
The license itself cannot be purchased until your dog care facility (i.e., your house/apartment) passes an on-site health inspection.
Such an inspection determines if your facility is free of physical dangers (e.g., poisonous plants, jagged fences) and toxic chemicals that may harm the dogs in your care.
It also determines if you are able to follow proper sanitation procedures to prevent disease transmission among the dogs in your care.
You should also purchase business liability insurance, which protects you from suffering large monetary losses should a dog be injured or die while in your care.
Finally, to protect your home and personal belongings from dog-induced monetary damage, you should talk with your homeowner’s insurance provider about obtaining additional coverage.
5. Purchase your supplies.
Now, you’ll need to get everything you need to provide the best care to your dog clients.
Doggy day care supplies you need
- Food and treats
- Food and water bowls
- Kennels
- Beds
- Leashes
- Toys
- Blankets and mats
- Indoor and outdoor fences
- Cleaning and disinfecting supplies
- First aid kit
Know where you can scrimp and where you need to splurge to get higher quality.
For instance, blankets, mats, and toys that are disinfected, you can get from dollar stores. area dog shelters and humane societies often have stockpiles of such items, which for whatever reason they cannot use.
However, you’ll want to spend on high-quality food, sturdy fences, effective cleaning and disinfecting supplies, and a complete first-aid kit.
You should also assess and address any potential dangers in your backyard like poisonous plants and jagged fences, as well as the chemicals and tools you store in your garage.
6. Advertise your dog care business.
Next thing to consider is getting the word out to your potential customers about your business.
The main thing to do is to create a website that showcases your doggy day care business, including the services you offer, rates, and special deals and promos. This website serves as your business’s home on the internet.
Advertising on social media is another way to spread the word on your business. You can pay for targeted ads to local pet parents in your vicinity.
Posting flyers at area stores is another way to attract local attention, or you might consider advertising your services through some newspapers. Don’t forget to ask for customer referrals in exchange for a discount on a future visit to your doggy day care.
Consider how you might attract hesitant dog owners. Maybe you can guarantee certain daily activities like one long walk a day, a visit to the local dog park, or several hours of playtime.
Some doggy day cares install video cameras in the play or feeding areas to livestream to their websites, enabling owners to log on to these websites through a special link and watch their dog throughout the day.
7. Vet your customers.
Nothing will shut down your fledgling doggy day care business faster than dogs coming home from your doggy day care with an infectious disease or injuries from a dog fight.
When accepting a new dog client, have the pet owner fill out a contact information sheet, with their names, address, phone number and email address, emergency contact numbers, as well as these same details for their veterinarian.
This information sheet should also include health information for the dog: breed, color, height and weight date of birth, allergies and sensitivities, previous injuries, whether or not they’ve had complete vaccinations for their age, whether or not they’ve been spayed or neutered, and whether or not they’re able to socialize with other dogs.
Aside from these information sheets, it’s advisable to conduct an interview with both pet owner and the dog present so you can actually assess the dog’s temperament with both humans and other dogs.
You might even consider a trial run wherein the dog receives some extra supervision and one-on-one time with you.
Once you have that dog at your facility, introduce him to a test dog in your care that is known to be non-aggressive.
See how the two dogs interact and if the visiting dog tries to dominate the other dog or even bite it. Doing these tests ahead of time will save you the headache of having an unexpected dog fight break out.
It’s also a good idea to have clear, explicit contracts in place to protect both you, your dog clients, and their pet parents. Outline the exact services you provide, what you don’t provide, what you’re not liable for, and what is expected of pet owners.
Include the terms of payment, authorization for you to get emergency medical care for the dog if necessary, pet owner’s liability for property damage and/or physical injuries to dogs or humans done by their dog, and authorization for you to provide special requirements, diet, or medication that the dog requires during their stay in your day care.
Having these interviews, trial runs, and contracts in place will help protect your business and ensures that your customers, both humans and dogs, have nothing but positive experiences in your doggy day care.
8. (Gradually) expand your services.
If you find that running a doggy day care is both profitable and rewarding, you may want to offer additional services.
You may want to offer bathing and grooming services to add a level of care. Maybe you want to hire a dog trainer to provide obedience training services.
Opening overnight stays is yet another service you can offer.
Selling pet products is another way you can expand your business and add more income. Dog accessories, toys, clothes, diapers, food, and treats are just some examples of items you can put up for sale.
For every new service you offer, always draw up a business plan and figure out if the additional expense of employees, facilities, supplies per month, and other costs will translate into greater income.
Also consider additional permits and licenses you’ll have to get, especially for training and overnight services.
Start your doggy day care business today!
A home-based business makes sense in light of the new normal. Hopefully, this step by step guide has been helpful to you in deciding whether to start your doggy day care business soon.
