Long shot: Anyone Own/Operate a Dog Boarding Kennel?

[Country Girl]

The idea of opening a dog boarding kennel is something I have tossed around for several years. Dh is very supportive and has actually been encouraging it lately as a wonderful opportunity for the kids to have a real world learning experience of starting and operating a business. We aren't in a position to open anything immediately, as we are still living in China. However, it is something we are seriously considering when we move back to the States in 2 years. If we decided to go ahead with it, we may even begin building the infrastructure before we officially move back. It also gives us time to really do our reserach and figure out if we can make it work, what is involved, figure out any licensing, etc. So, that is why I'm coming here. Anyone ever run a dog kennel and would be willing to share your knowledge with me? I don't even know where to begin and I feel a bit overwhelmed.

 

Also, even if you've never run a kennel but have used one....... why did you choose the one you did? What do you like about it and what would you improve if you could? Any extra services that your kennel provides that really make it stand out for you?

 

Thanks!

Edited April 15, 2012 by Country Girl

[StaceyinLA]

I have often considered this myself since we have a lot of space here. I'll be paying attention to this thread!

[Jean in Newcastle]

I help my neighbor with her small in-home business. She has a room (built off of her garage) that has about 10 dog crates (large dog size). There is room if people want to bring their own crates - esp. if the dog is a small one. She has a fridge in the room for opened cans of wet food and for medicines. Clients bring their own labeled food and she has shelving for that. She also has a selection of old towels/blankets to line crates. She is often doing dog laundry to keep things fresh (esp. if there is an incontinent dog).

 

She has divided her yard into a couple of areas with chain link fences. This allows her to separate the big dogs from the little ones. Some aggressive dogs have their own schedule where they go out without any other dogs out there so that they won't bark and lunge at the fences.

 

She has a form that clients fill out with contact information and information on the dog, including a waiver that allows her to get veterinary care for them in an emergency. Many clients are repeat clients so they only fill this out once. Often clients are going on vacation where they have to meet airline schedules so she does have some early morning and late night drop offs and pick ups. If a client does not meet their schedule time (over an hour late or a no show) she has a small fee.

 

Dogs must have a bordatella (kennel cough) vaccine.

 

She has a business license in our small city. She pays the usual self employment taxes quarterly. Boarding dogs is a feast or famine type of business. Holidays are extremely busy. Do not expect to have your own holiday celebrations away.

 

She has had some disgruntled neighbors call Animal control on her for noise violations. She is hyper careful about noise and each time it has been proven that the barking was not from her business but from neighbors. But she is a target for complaints just because of her business. For some dogs she uses bark collars while they are with her so that they will not bark continuously and get her business in trouble. She has owner approval to do so.

[elegantlion]

I worked for a vet who did a lot of boarding, and I've boarded my dog before. Our favorite kennel was one way out in the country, with large run pens. My dog would get so excited to go there.

 

Anyway, some tips:

 

- Forget celebrating major holidays. These are prime boarding times and someone will need to be there to feed, water, and clean. When I worked at the vet I'd come in twice a day on Christmas or Thanksgiving.

 

- Lots of poo - if that bothers you, don't even consider it.

 

- Pets being boarded are often not of the same temperment they are at home. Cats can become mean, which means they bite. Dogs can get nervous and bite. I have scars all over my arms from "sweet little Fido" who never would bite a soul.

 

- Pets being boarded often have digestive issues. I would want a vet on call or staff to help with those situations.

 

- strict rules about vaccinations and proof of such. A round of kennel cough or a sick puppy with something like parvo can reek havoc on every pet there.

 

- check zoning requirements.

 

- Being strict on hours. At minimum you'll have to be open past regular business hours. The vet stayed open until 6 to accommodate workers. Also establish weekend hours. At the vet and kennel you could pick up on Saturday until a certain hour. We had no Sunday hours at the vet. The kennel would do Sunday if you called. Make sure to schedule your own family time.

 

- liability insurance - If Fido gets loose and bites a person or another pet, you want to be covered.

 

- dealing with the death of a pet. This happens. Either it was sick or something happened in the clinic, but a pet dies while in your care. How do you handle that?

 

- size and accommodations for all size pets. Decide if you'll take exotic pets. We generally would do cats and dogs only. For some special clients we did ferrets and a bird, but nothing else.

 

- tall fences. We had huskies for years. They could jump a six foot fence. Our last kennel had 10-12 foot fences with barbed wire on top. It would have taken wings to get over that fence.

 

- people skills!!!! Working with pets means working with owners. Kennel businesses are built a lot by reputation. One bad experience gets shared more than one good experience. I find pet owners to be only slightly less obsessed with their care than parents are with children.

 

Good kennels are wonderful. It's a definite lifestyle choice, because with living clients the business is never really closed.

 

Another option we've also used is a pet sitting service. Our kennel offered that too. Where someone will come to your home 1-2 times per day. It's obviously more expensive to the client, but also a needed service.

[gingersmom]

I take my dog to a kennel that has been run by the same family for around 50 years.

 

Its in a really nice neighborhood but in front is a vets office (convenient if anyone gets sick) and then there is a commercial building, then their house which is attached to the boarding facility.

 

Good location so the barking does not bother anyone.

 

They have kennels for dogs (small to giant size), cats and they have covered outside runs so no matter the weather the dogs can get out and exercise.

 

The parents are older now so the sons have mainly taken over (the father still does some stuff, mother used to be the receptionist). I know they also have additional employees who help out.

[itsheresomewhere]

My neighbor has her own boarding business. She only takes in a few dogs at a time. She has a nice client list and makes good money as a side job. The dogs are very pampered with her. As a treat for the dogs, she makes her own grain free dog treats. She has a list of environmentally, animal friendly cleaners that she uses for the clients to look over.

[Jean in Newcastle]

One more thing - I am very very selective in what dogs my children are allowed to help with. It doesn't have to be a "vicious" breed. Or even a dog that has been aggressive, though I don't allow them to have access to those. You don't know what perfectly nice dogs have had bad experiences with kids and will react badly to kids but not to adults.

[sparrow]

I worked for a vet who did a lot of boarding, and I've boarded my dog before. Our favorite kennel was one way out in the country, with large run pens. My dog would get so excited to go there.

 

Anyway, some tips:

 

- Forget celebrating major holidays. These are prime boarding times and someone will need to be there to feed, water, and clean. When I worked at the vet I'd come in twice a day on Christmas or Thanksgiving.

 

- Lots of poo - if that bothers you, don't even consider it.

 

- Pets being boarded are often not of the same temperment they are at home. Cats can become mean, which means they bite. Dogs can get nervous and bite. I have scars all over my arms from "sweet little Fido" who never would bite a soul.

 

- Pets being boarded often have digestive issues. I would want a vet on call or staff to help with those situations.

 

- strict rules about vaccinations and proof of such. A round of kennel cough or a sick puppy with something like parvo can reek havoc on every pet there.

 

- check zoning requirements.

 

- Being strict on hours. At minimum you'll have to be open past regular business hours. The vet stayed open until 6 to accommodate workers. Also establish weekend hours. At the vet and kennel you could pick up on Saturday until a certain hour. We had no Sunday hours at the vet. The kennel would do Sunday if you called. Make sure to schedule your own family time.

 

- liability insurance - If Fido gets loose and bites a person or another pet, you want to be covered.

 

- dealing with the death of a pet. This happens. Either it was sick or something happened in the clinic, but a pet dies while in your care. How do you handle that?

 

- size and accommodations for all size pets. Decide if you'll take exotic pets. We generally would do cats and dogs only. For some special clients we did ferrets and a bird, but nothing else.

 

- tall fences. We had huskies for years. They could jump a six foot fence. Our last kennel had 10-12 foot fences with barbed wire on top. It would have taken wings to get over that fence.

 

- people skills!!!! Working with pets means working with owners. Kennel businesses are built a lot by reputation. One bad experience gets shared more than one good experience. I find pet owners to be only slightly less obsessed with their care than parents are with children.

 

Good kennels are wonderful. It's a definite lifestyle choice, because with living clients the business is never really closed.

 

Another option we've also used is a pet sitting service. Our kennel offered that too. Where someone will come to your home 1-2 times per day. It's obviously more expensive to the client, but also a needed service.

 

:iagree: Lots of really good info here. I also used to work as a veterinary assistant and helped with the boarding facilities.

 

Something else to consider is that you will need to be competent in medicating animals, usually in pill form, but possibly with injections, in the case of diabetic pets. Our dog has Addison's disease and requires a daily dose of prednisone when she is boarded.

[ktgrok]

I've worked in vet clinics that boarded animals. Thoughts off the top of my head are zoning...that can be a real issue. Second would be the hours. Someone has to be there to feed/walk/water 365 days a year, even holidays. Keeping good paid kennel workers is hard. Insurance would be the next issue. that said, sure...neat business.

[celticmom]

:iagree: Lots of really good info here. I also used to work as a veterinary assistant and helped with the boarding facilities.

 

Something else to consider is that you will need to be competent in medicating animals, usually in pill form, but possibly with injections, in the case of diabetic pets. Our dog has Addison's disease and requires a daily dose of prednisone when she is boarded.

:iagree:If I were to leave our dogs at a boarding kennel it would have to be with someone who knew how to massage one of our dog's bladder to help him in that regard so that would be a useful skill as well.

[jrn]

Consider a top of the line alarm system. A local kennel burned to the ground with animals inside. The owner was devastated and didn't ever want to reopen, but finally did due to her clients urging. She now has the best security/alarm system ever.

[Country Girl]

Thank you everyone for the feedback, advice, and suggestions. The liability insurance and alarm systems are two expenses I hadn't thought of and will definitely need to factor in as we are figuring costs. You also all gave me some great ideas of services we need to make sure we are prepared to provide (minor medical care, etc.).

 

Our kennel would be out in the country, on approx. 30 acres of land. I realize the location will make it harder to draw clients, but I'm hoping to attract clients with larger dogs that are looking for an environment that will allow the dogs the chance to exercise, play, etc. I envision a setup with big indoor/outdoor runs that can open into a large, fenced in area that we will be able to let the dogs out into to run.

 

My biggest concern right now is how this will tie us down. We are pretty much homebodies, but one of the reasons we currently homeschool is so that we do have the flexibility to take advantage of opportunities as they arise. Our family is also spread out throughout the U.S., and we typically travel to see them a couple of times of year. Our current thinking is that we will have set times each year that we won't be open and use these as our family time. We figure that since most people vacation/travel at approx. the same time each year, we will miss out on those that travel during our down time, but that we should be able to build a base of regulars.

[SueinNC]

This was our favorite place to board our dogs: http://www.roomtorun.ca/

 

I noticed there are new owners now but I loved the set up and how there are individual runs that lead into larger play areas. There were levers and ropes on the inside to control each individual kennel's door to the different size outside runs. There was even a living room for the workers inside too. The lady would have a food trolley that she would push down the main aisle to feed the animals. There was a kitchen and bathing areas too. She also had water hose connections (and drains) for easy cleaning of each kennel and main areas. Each kennel had platforms for the dogs to relax on. You could bring your own blankets or use theirs. The building was also heated/ac.

 

One other point to add to the other poster's is dog abandonment. The previous owner said this happened a lot. People would board their animals and never come back for them. :sad:

[Country Girl]

This was our favorite place to board our dogs: http://www.roomtorun.ca/

 

I noticed there are new owners now but I loved the set up and how there are individual runs that lead into larger play areas. There were levers and ropes on the inside to control each individual kennel's door to the different size outside runs. There was even a living room for the workers inside too. The lady would have a food trolley that she would push down the main aisle to feed the animals. There was a kitchen and bathing areas too. She also had water hose connections (and drains) for easy cleaning of each kennel and main areas. Each kennel had platforms for the dogs to relax on. You could bring your own blankets or use theirs. The building was also heated/ac.

 

One other point to add to the other poster's is dog abandonment. The previous owner said this happened a lot. People would board their animals and never come back for them. :sad:

 

Thanks for the link to the kennel you use. It looks awesome and a lot like what I have pictured in my mind. She also has great information on her site about schedules etc. that is very helpful.

 

Abandonment is definitely an issue that we need to consider. I am aware of our state laws, but that still doesn't really help me know how I'd handle such a case. Knowing me, I'd be tempted to keep all of the animals abandoned:D.

[Lily of the Valley]

We take our dog to a kennel that has individual rooms for each animal with a door to a fenced outside dog run that he has access to at all times. We won't take our dog to a kennel that keeps the dogs crated, even though we do crate him at home. We had a very bad experience with a kennel like that when he was a puppy, and just won't put him through that anymore.

[Mama Geek]

Can I provide a couple of things not to do? I had a couple of bad experiences that made us not take our pet back to those vets.

 

Don't charge separate fees for walking a dog or letting them out of their pen to run. I would also include the cost of a quick bath with shampoo in the price. If there is some problem tell the client. If it is major give them a call, if it is minor just mention it when they pick the animal up.

[SueinNC]

Thanks for the link to the kennel you use. It looks awesome and a lot like what I have pictured in my mind. She also has great information on her site about schedules etc. that is very helpful.

 

Abandonment is definitely an issue that we need to consider. I am aware of our state laws, but that still doesn't really help me know how I'd handle such a case. Knowing me, I'd be tempted to keep all of the animals abandoned:D.

 

You're welcome! I just can't remember how she handled the prevention of abandonment (deposit, id, or cc and contact info, pick up scheduling, etc - just to get an idea of whether or not they fit the profile of abandonment.) Someone who is planning to abandon usually will avoid giving out any info.

 

I'd end up keeping them too! But, I would still bill the owner (following up with a lien on property if still refuses to pay)!

 

Another note on why I loved this place. The multiple pet discount if they shared a kennel. The owner allowed me to keep my pets together in the larger kennels at practically the price she charged for one with a little extra for food. We had six dogs at the time and divided them between two kennels. Then they all had play time together in the outdoor areas.

[nono]

Our current thinking is that we will have set times each year that we won't be open and use these as our family time. We figure that since most people vacation/travel at approx. the same time each year, we will miss out on those that travel during our down time, but that we should be able to build a base of regulars.

 

Our kennel is out in the country, and they plan 3 vacation weeks a year, published 1 year in advance. I believe they don't book more than 1 year out, so there's never any conflict. :)

[nukeswife]

In the various states we lived we always had a favorite kennel and are willing to drive up to an hour to make sure it's one we're comfortable with.

 

We prefer those that have dog runs with an inside area that opens to a long outdoor part that the dog is free to move about within. The inside part must be climate controlled because my Pug can't be ou in the heat of summer for long stretches, so he needs a place with A/C to come into when he gets hot. On top of having the indoor/outdoor runs, ours kennel takes the dogs out to a large fenced play area where they have a few small plastic pools in the summer and a ball launcher to play with them. I like that I'm allowed to board both my dogs in the same run. A big plus for me is that the owners and 6 of the staff live onsite. This gives me peace of mind in case of weather emergency or fire etc. I'm given the option of bringing my own food or using the one they provide and I like that even though I bring my own the one they provide is a high quality not the cheapest grocery store brand they can find. I'm also given the option of paying and extra $2 a day for an extra outside playtime/walk and the option of paying to have them groomed before I come pick them up.

 

Currently in VA we love the kennel we use and although we've had to move away from here for anywhere from 1.5-4 years at a time, they always remember us when we come back. They even noticed 2 years ago when we came in with only one dog because the other died of cancer that she wasn't with us and shared a few good memories and tears with us about her.

[StephanieZ]

We own a vet hospital that offers limited boarding -- we only offer it to OUR patients.

 

Consider vet hospitals when you are considering locations. We only offer boarding as a convenience/service to our clients, and we really don't need to make $$ off of the boarding itself. In fact, we don't track that profit center at all. We probably break even or make a little bit, but our main reason for doing it is the competitive benefit to retain our own clients. (We don't want them choosing a diff. hospital b/c the other hospital offers boarding.)

 

Sooo, maybe we bring in $40k/yr boarding, but that is only 5% of our gross income. We could reduce our boarding fees by 50%, way undercut a boarding facility, and "lose" money on the boarding no problem if we so chose to in order to retain our client base or drive "you" out of business.

 

Some vet hospitals use boarding as a marketing tool to not just retain and serve current clients but also to recruit new clients. Those hospitals might be willing to have "loss leader" boarding fees and thus be very hard for you to compete with. In fact, if you came into town and started up near a big hospital with big boarding, they could likely easily cut their fees by 50% for a year or two, just lone enough to make sure you went out of business.

 

Now, our hospital doesn't really care about boarding. We wouldn't do something like that to counter a simple boarding facility, in fact, we would welcome a really great boarding option locally (although we MIGHT compete energetically if a local HOSPITAL got really aggressive with boarding and was using it to recruit clients). But, every hospital is unique . . . and you could get run out of business quickly if a competitor with deeper pockets and other priorities chose to do so.

 

I'd also suggest being careful about setting up medical (vaccine, parasite, etc) requirements that are consistent with local norms (ask the local vets what they require for boarding at their hospitals) and/or consistent with AAHA and AVMA vaccination guidelines. We have one local boarding facility that is run by idiots and requires vaccinations that are not needed or medically advisable for our region. We try to steer clients away from that facility in order to avoid the medical complications that result from over vaccination.

 

If you can be friendly with local vets who do minimal or no boarding (there are plenty of those in certain locations, especially urban areas), then you could have a good referral base.

 

Offer safe facilities. Offer nice cat boarding (easy to maintain, quiet, labor is light), too. Indoor-outdoor suites. Playtimes. "Luxury" options. SAFE and quiet facilities. Sound proofing in among the runs to minimize the trauma to one dog of hearing other dogs bark all day. Great staff. Reliable staff. Awesome website. Webcams.

 

Most important, choose your location wisely. Convenient to (affluent) population base with little competition, and none that could easily bankrupt you if they are so motivated.

[StephanieZ]

I would be very careful about choosing to be closed EVER.

 

If you aren't available on Christmas, and the client has to try somewhere else, chances are good that they will go back to their "new" place next summer, too.

 

I think boarding is a 365 day/yr business unless you are doing it as a hobby and/or have very established clientele that will keep coming even if you turn them down.

 

Further, you need to have high capacity, b/c if you want to be at, say, 20 dogs/day capacity most of the year, you need to have room for 40-60 dogs/day over Christmas and other peak travel days. (Thx, Spring Break, 4th July, etc). Otherwise, you lose those folks who can't get in, and they'll go elsewhere and NOT COME BACK. So, maybe build 20 really nice fancy runs and another 20 simpler runs for over-flow (charge a bit less for those). Allow room for expansion if possible so that you can grow efficiently.

 

Expect to work long days over all high demand weeks if you do it yourself, or to need to have your staff work lots of hours at those times. You'll have to have staff available to work Christmas morning, etc. If you have hired help, begin from Day#1 to pay SUBSTANTIAL bonuses for high demand days (Christmas eve, day, Thx, etc). We pay our staff who do those shifts $50 PER SHIFT bonus on top of 1.5x holiday pay. So, they'll get 1.5 x $8/hr x 2hrs + $50 = $74 for a 2 hour shift (normal pay would have been $16) on Christmas morning and five other designated "**** shifts" over Thx/Xmas. If you don't do something llike this (pay more for horrible shifts), you'll lose staff very fast. We do not change our fees for these holidays, but if we were in the business of making $ boarding, we'd likely have more stringent deposit requirements for holidays and probably charge a surcharge to help cover the staff costs.

[hillfarm]

The boarding facility we used to use was a large, two story house in the "transitional" area of town. The owner maintained only a small kitchen area and a bedroom for herself and one for her daughter. The rest of the house was for the animals. The house had lots of rooms downstairs, each with a door to an outside run. There was a larger play yard that had a couple of those hard plastic kiddie pools (year round in Florida) and many toys and low structures. The owner would often hide a few treats and let a dog go out for a scavenger hunt if it was starting to show signs of boredom.

 

There were also cats and a separate cat yard, separated by both a fence and dense shrubs. The cats' rooms were upstairs.

 

Also upstairs, but in two different rooms, were climate controlled rooms for reptiles. She had one that was very tropical and humid, for certain species, and another that was very dry and arrid, for other species.

 

She also had a bird room, of which nearly half was partitioned off and filled with branches and bird toys and distractions.

 

She had a specific area where all grooming took place and another area that included their "Quick Care" medical area and an Infirmary area for any pets that needed to be kept quiet, under medical observation or isolated.

 

The daughter was a vet tech, who could provide at home medical care and who knew all the vets in the area and kept track of where specialists were for each species they boarded.

 

The biggest "draw" was that our big boxer loved to go there. It was easy to see that he didn't really want us to leave, but he was obviously torn, wanting to go play with all the cool stuff. When we came to pick him up, he always greeted us enthusiastically and then resumed playing until it came time to load him into the car. We always joked that we were going on vacation and the dog was going to camp.

 

BTW, when we picked him up, the owner offered us a look at his daily chart to see what he had been up to and that noted anything special or unusual that had occurred. She also had a Recommendations for Home sheet that included tips on helping him return to our normal routine with a minimum of fuss.

 

Another fun thing, she often let compatible dogs romp and play together and would take a few photos of our dog and his "friends" at play, photos of him splashing in the pool, of him being groomed, of him lounging on the couch with her some each evening to watch tv, etc. to show what he had done with his vacation.

[Susie in SWVA]

Our daughter and her husband do. Here is their website - http://www.time2pawssc.vpweb.com. I am sure she would love to correspond with you about it. They are also on Facebook. She is a member of some petsitting/boarding organizations that might be of some help to you. They are looking into expanding into "doggie daycare".

 

Susie in SWVA

[Jean in Newcastle]

It really depends on how much of a business you want this to be. My neighbor boards dogs as only one way of earning income so she does not need to have tons of clients all the time. She does go on vacation - scheduled for "off season" times. She trades with me for free boarding of my dogs in exchange for helping her out at times when she has schedule conflicts. She doesn't try to compete with larger boarding businesses or even the vet's boarding. Instead, she capitalizes on what she can offer - more personalized service, a homelike atmosphere (easy since it is her home!), and individualized dog training. But like I said earlier in the post, this is not her only income and that makes a huge difference.

[Country Girl]

Thank you again to everyone who has contributed ideas and advice. I am excited to see if this is something we can go forward with, and you have all given me some great things to think about as we plan what our kennel would look like.

 

If we do this, I really want to open a kennel that becomes a place our clients feel good about leaving their dogs at. We aren't looking at this as a major income source for us, but rather something I can do as a hobby and the kids can use as a learning opportunity. Of course, it would be great to make a little money from it:D, but I'm not concerned about having to be competative in the market. I really just want to build a client base that is made up of regulars that feel almost more like family. I know how hard it was everytime I had to leave our dog at the kennel, but it was always comforting to know that the family that took care of him while we were gone really cared about his well-being.

[Laura Corin]

What I like about it is that it is on a large farm and the dogs get enormous walks twice a day. They come back fitter than they went.

 

Laura

Edited April 18, 2012 by Laura Corin

[Country Girl]

What I like about it is that it is on a large farm and the dogs get enormous walks twice a day. They come back fitter than they went.

 

Laura

 

Thanks for sharing the link Laura. It is a lot of fun to see the different kennels that people like and what makes each one unique.