How To Start A Doggy Daycare

Ask yourself why you want to run a Dog Daycare Business. What is your motivation? If the answer is simply "I really Love Dogs" or "I can't stand the boss I'm working for now and want to start something on my own" or maybe it's "I just want to be my own boss" you may not be ready for such an undertaking. Many people love dogs, but will that love sustain in a multiple-dog environment for 365 days a year? Being your own boss may sound great but are you truly ready to have the success or failure of a business rest entirely your shoulders? Aspiring dog daycare owners need a commitment and passion for taking care of all types of dogs and a clear understanding about the responsibility of operating a business.

You should be prepared for "the good, the bad & the ugly" Take some time to think about the following questions:

1. Do you enjoy interacting with people just as much as dogs?
2. Can you keep accurate records for billing and other required documentation for the business?
3. Can you handle the physical aspects of the Doggy Daycare?
4. Can you handle the paperwork for maintaining the operation?
5. Can you manage other staff members including the hiring, discipline and perhaps firing of employees?
6. Have you even been in a managerial or supervisory capacity in the past?
7. Do you fully understand the long hours and consecutive days that will take place at the facility?
8. Are you willing to stay overnight if boarding is offered and special circumstances warrant your on-site presence?

What makes you the right candidate?

Care History: Do you have a history of caring for dogs? You should be knowledgeable about caring for a pack of dogs, not just one or two at a time. Believe me there is HUGE difference.

Knowledge: It is very helpful to have some level of medical and technical knowledge about dogs and able to identify problem temperaments and canine illnesses as well as the corresponding remedies and protocols.

Understanding a typical day: Along with the capability to care for dogs you should have a good basic understanding about what goes on in a Doggy Daycare for 10 to 12 hours a day. You'll be keeping a vigilant eye on the dogs and occasionally may be confronted with a dog fight and disciplining dogs of all types.

Interpersonal Skills: In addition to qualifying as a doggy person you're going to need good interpersonal skills with dog owners - in other words, you must be a people person. This is very important because more of your business interactions will be with dog owners and their wide array of personalities. You must deal with complaints and multitude of personalities and attitudes. Keep in mind that your clients are only interested in their dogs - to an owner, her dog is the most important among all of the dogs enrolled in your program.

One of my co-workers brought an opened plastic bottle of diet soda into the daycare. When the staff member left the room to get a mop to clean up a mess, one of the larger Labrador Retrievers to decide to grab the full container of soda and play "keep away" with the other dogs. While the dogs were running after the lab with the plastic bottle hanging out of her mouth, the daycare attendant ran in to take it away. Of course the Lab thought it was a game and continued running! Suddenly her teeth punctured the plastic bottle, and we all know what happens to soda when it has been shaken - soda sprayed everywhere startling all of the dogs. We gave a LOT of free baths that day!

Yes Doggy Daycare is a lot of fun but it's a lot of work as well - Be Prepared!!!