Need Help From Dog Lovers - re: Kennels
 

Hello everybody (and hello to all your beautiful pups too!)

I am looking for suggesions or advice for an idea of mine - and the only place to look for these suggestions are straight from the source - dog lovers!

I am currently a Business student in university. When i am finished my degree, I would love to encorporate my love for dogs with this knowledge.

I have come up with an idea, but there's no one better to help with this idea than dog owners themselves.
I want to start up a dog boarding facility. This won't be just your regular dog kennel, with wire runs and a daily 10 minute walk... I want to create a 5-star luxury boarding facility for dogs.

My ideas thus far are as follows:
- Individual ROOMS for each dog, each with access to a large outdoor run. These rooms will be like the ones in your own home, roughly 10 by 10 feet.
- 2-4 acres of SECURELY FENCED outdoor play area, complete with built in pond for the dogs who love the water
- Optional add-ons to your dogs suite such as: Couch, TV, 24 hr Live WebCam
- Free daily e-mail report (complete with photo) to each dog's owner to give some peace of mind
- No segregation of dog's breed or breed size - all dogs treated equal (except that smaller dogs will be exercised at a different time than larger ones)
- Temperament evaluation of all dogs prior to acceptance into the resort
- Maxiumum 20 dogs at any one time
- Owners will have the option to have their dogs exercised with other dogs, exercised without other dogs, or both (no price difference). All dogs will recieve lots of one-on-one play and cuddle with a person.

- Price will range from $35 to $45 CDN per night, depending on the season.
- I plan on going to professional dog training school before I attempt this business.

So now that you got a bit of an idea of what I'm thinking... what do you think? Any additional suggestions? What else would you like to see at a facility like this?

There are only a few boarding kennels for dogs in my area, but all are the traditional ones. I think my dog would be much more comfortable in a different environment, which is where this idea came from.

I've attached some examples (thanks to 3D Home architect) of what I've got in my head:
One image of the interior dog suite area, one of the exterior, and another of an indiviual suite.

Once again, any suggestions are appreciated.
Thanks!!

First, it sounds like a great idea you have going!! Some of the things that I would consider if I ever boarded my dogs are:

1. large dogs vs. small dogs. I actually think that some segregation is important. My small dogs love all animals, but when a big dog comes up to them, they get scared. It's not even the presence of the larger animal, it's the bark. We have neighbors with large dogs and when they bark at night, mine run for cover.

2. (and I"m sure you thought of this) verification of vaccines, including Kennel cough. This is one of the major reasons, I don't think I will ever board my little dogs. I don't think there is enough checking to make sure that all the dogs are well vaccinated.

3. having two dogs myself, I particularly would look for a two dog discount or the option to put my two little ones in the same suite.

Just a few things...hope this helps and I wish you the best of luck! I think it's great that you are taking what you love and trying to incorporate it with what you do for a living!!:thumbup:

Thank you for such a quick reply.

The desire for 2 dogs to stay together in a single suite (with a discount) seems to be a priority from a few different discussion groups, and I have no objection to it, so thanks for that :)

As far as dog segregation, all dogs will be kept separate (unless there are 2 dogs in a suite together). If the owner agrees, their pup will be exercised with other dogs of similar size.

Vaccines are (of course) important, and kennel cough (bordetella) will be required. I'm thinking of also requiring dogs to be on tick/flea preventatives.

Any more suggestions are welcome :)

Love your idea and I love how well thought out it is :thumbup: :)

WOW! Are you hiring? and when will you open? haha

Will this be a doggie daycare too? A place where busy people can bring their dogs for excercise during the day?

I have taken Simon and Hallie to 2 different daycares (that are also boarding facilities) where they play all day. What each of those have done is have an "interview" to see how the dogs interact with others. So that could be an idea if you want to offer a daycare option. The charge is $20 per day per dog but they do offer a multiple pet discount of 10%.

I think the most important aspect of any boarding facility is interaction and truly pet friendly people. When I looked at facilities the first thing I wanted to see was someone on the floor playing with Simon and Hallie. I want them to be treated as well, if not better, than what I give them.

I think you have an amazing idea and plan. What are other boarding facilities in your area like? Would you be competitive or completely original in your ideas? I'm so excited for you and wish you the best of luck!

Thanks for the support :) It really helps

I haven't decided if I would offer doggie daycare as well, it's definately something I'll have to look into. Thanks for bringing it up.

I currently live in the Canadian Prairies, but Vancouver, BC is an attractive option. Tons of animal lovers (my kind of city!) but very expensive real estate.

As far as loving animals.. it's just what I do :rolleyes: Giving them some love is always my first reaction when I see dogs. They're my life. My only concern in opening a business like this is that I NEED to find people that love the dogs as much as I do. I have a feeling that I'll have a pretty tough screening process to any applicants.. lol.

So far, I've posted this question onto a few different breed forums.. Lab, Golden Retriever, Pit Bull... but I wanted some small dog owner input as well :) I've gotten slightly different opinions on whats important from the different groups, but there are a few underlying ideas as well, which have helped a lot.
Some concerns have been:
Pit Bull Forum - the need to be able to handle dog-aggressive dogs & temperament testing upon entrance.
Golden Retriever Forum - cleanliness (shedding & unhoustrained dogs)
Lab forum - multiple dog discounts, cleanliness

Any more concerns are definately welcomed!

I didn't want to bore everyone with the small details in the first post.. but since you're all reading this far, I'll give some more of the specific details of the facility:

- Human grade dog food made on site - 1 complimentary meal per day. The other meal will be a high quality commercial dog food. (Owners are, of course, allowed to bring the dogs food from home if they like)
- Lots of treats! Human grade liver treats, also made on site. (my dog goes nuts for these)
- Flooring will be a rubberish material, for comfort and sanitary reasons
- Skylights throughout the building - to bring in the light!
- People are free to visit and check out where their dog will be staying prior to booking

I'm also thinking about offering some sort of cheaper ($10-$15) introductory trial rate for anyone who wants to leave their dog in the facility for one night, just so that the dog can spend some time in the facility before the owner leaves for a week or something, and the owner can be sure the dog will be happy and cared for.
Any opinions on this?

I love all of your ideas. I thought about starting a boarding for dogs someday, won't be anytime soon though because it takes alot of money to get started. Here at a local boarding place for dogs they have all of what you have mentioned plus grooming and makeover and luxury message and bath. Other than that I think you have just about everything. Good luck, I hope it all works out for you!!!

It sounds great!

Check out Buddy's Daycare for any info that you might not have - I wish they had a webcam!

http://www.everydog.com
good luck!

The place we took our babies to out in Petaluma was really nice and their big draw was the "first night free" for all first time guests! It earned them more business! They printed it in their yellow pages ad and it really made them stand out!!! Who passes up a free night??? Nobody!

I love all of your ideas!!! I think you'll do very well with it!

I personally LOVE the web cam idea.

My only thing about ever boarding my dog would be wondering if they were ok.... I would love to be able to see them for myself....

Crystal

You have some great ideas by the way

There is a place called Cozy Inn Pet Resort and Spa that I take Max and Abbie for grooming. It is also a boarding facility. It's REALLY nice--definitely 5-star in my book. It's in a suburb of Pittsburgh so it has a country-like atmosphere surrounding the resort for nature walks and other outdoor activities. There are also indoor pools, spa treatments, etc. I've attached the site if you need additional ideas.

http://www.cozyinnpetresort.com/

Be sure to have the volume up on your computer so you can hear the zen music in the background :D