Why does kennelling cost so much?

dokzrus

I have two lovely old dogs, aged 12 and 15. Kennels in and around Wexford Town charge 20 euro per night for the two of them. This is a desperate rip-off especially as they share a kennel and they only eat dry food once a day.

There must be a cheaper way of kennelling dogs. 3 weeks holidays this year is looking like 400+ euro just for kennelling. There must be a better way.
Any ideas?

scudzilla

dokzrus wrote: »

I have two lovely old dogs, aged 12 and 15. Kennels in and around Wexford Town charge 20 euro per night for the two of them. This is a desperate rip-off especially as they share a kennel and they only eat dry food once a day.

There must be a cheaper way of kennelling dogs. 3 weeks holidays this year is looking like 400+ euro just for kennelling. There must be a better way.
Any ideas?

20 euro for both of them? that's pretty reasonable, If you find a kennel that your dog loves and the people running it are great then it's WELL worth the price....and more

DamagedTrax

take into consideration

A. the cost of running a kennel (extra bills, wages, food)

B. its a business. people need to eat and to eat they need to make a profit.

20 euro a night for 2 is very reasonable. i pay 15 a night for 1 and im happy to do it.

if you can afford a 3 week holiday then you can obviously afford the kennel. if you cant afford the kennel then you should probably cut back on your holiday spending or find a free dog sitter.

Cherry Blossom

Running boarding kennels doesn't exactly jump to mind as a money earner for those that do it tbh. After the costs of building the kennels, cleaning, insurance, making sure the dogs are exercised sufficiently (time!) etc. I would imagine that what they are left with out of €20 is barely pocket money

dokzrus

oooh nasty. I don't begrudge anyone making their profit. Just looking around for ideas for a cheaper way - nothing wrong with that right? Be nice and don't begrudge me a family holiday once in while.

scudzilla

dokzrus wrote: »

oooh nasty. I don't begrudge anyone making their profit. Just looking around for ideas for a cheaper way - nothing wrong with that right? Be nice and don't begrudge me a family holiday once in while.

Nobody's begrudging you anything, you said that 20euro a night for 2 dogs seemed expensive, it was pointed out that it wasn't.

You got any friends who would look after them for you?

DamagedTrax

nobodies begrudging you anything and no offence is intended im just giving you the truth, that your dogs welfare and safety should come before any holiday because if you find a kennel for a fiver a night, its probably only worth a fiver a night.

dokzrus

Look guys, I appreciate your observations (well, some of them) - I wouldn't be asking otherwise. I do think it's a lot of money even if the kennel I currently use is nice and the owners sound. One dog would cost 10 euro - 2 dogs in the same kennel is no major extra cost to the operator (a bowl of food only) but is double the cost to me.

I simply thought somebody might have a cheaper way of kennelling dogs - you know, maybe a dog shelter might kennel dogs for some extra income? Not a bad idea if there are no insurance issues. Dog shelters (like the private one I got my younger dog at 12 yrs ago) are run by dedicated dog lovers. I would have NO intention of leaving my dogs with a muppet who will mistreat them.

DamagedTrax

some dog shelters do kennel but the ones i know of are a fair bit more expensive than you're currently paying.

falabo

€20 per day for both dogs is very reasonable, if the place is decent.

It's not a rip-off as prices have been clearly mentionned to you before even entering a contract (verbal or written)

falabo

dokzrus wrote: »

One dog would cost 10 euro - 2 dogs in the same kennel is no major extra cost to the operator (a bowl of food only) but is double the cost to me.

.

so if you had 10 dogs would you expect them to share a kennel and only pay €10 per day ?

Delancey

DamagedTrax wrote: »

some dog shelters do kennel but the ones i know of are a fair bit more expensive than you're currently paying.

Perish the thought that I may sound unkind or even ' snobbish ' but it strikes me as unwise to kennel pets along with rescue /shelter animals - I would be concerned at the risk of possible cross infection ( vaccinations notwithstanding ) ?

DamagedTrax

Delancey wrote: »

Perish the thought that I may sound unkind or even ' snobbish ' but it strikes me as unwise to kennel pets along with rescue /shelter animals - I would be concerned at the risk of possible cross infection ( vaccinations notwithstanding ) ?

the rescues (that i know of) that kennel run the 2 in seperate premises with a different set of workers.

dmg10

I think the OP's question is actually a valid one despite others choosing to do the usual judging many on this forum seem to do first. Comments on the OP's holiday and affordability are kind of out of order.

To answer your question, my kennels charges 10eur a night for a medium size dog. (nothing wrong with these kennels before anyone says 'that's too cheap, must be something wrong'!). I recently asked about a 2nd dog as I'm looking to get one and the price with them sharing would be 15eur... which I think is a fair way of charging. It really shouldn't be twice the cost if they're sharing as it leaves another run free for another lodger. Yes ok, they both still need walking, I bring my own food. But they still have the option to charge full price for the free run that in theory you are paying for in just doubling the charge. But kennels like any other business can structure their price plans however they want even if they seem fair or not.

It also depends what end of the country you are in I guess. Dublin direction does seem to be more costly.

Other options, I know around where I live there's someone who will come in twice a day to look after them for 15eur which is fine maybe for overnighters but for longer spells I'd still be inclined to put them into kennels I think.

Ps. Used a kennels Wicklow direction once, was recomended to me, lovely place but on the phone when booking was told it'd be 20eur for the night (one dog!) cause it would need cleaning etc after. I had no choice so didn't argue it at that time and on collecting and paying she says 15eur not realising she'd quoted me some inflated price and the 15 was obviously the normal price. Bit irritated I was that someone would do that but anyways.

Kash

My kennel (in rural Clare) charges 15 euro a night per dog, and because both of them will share the same sleeping area, he doesn't charge for the second dog.

The kennel is excellent, the dogs love it, so I'm happy to pay it when necessary.

But, the kennel is a last resort. I would normally ask someone to look after them. My parents are usually happy to do so, as are quite a few of my friends (providing I bring back some duty free booze )

Then I do the same for them when necessary.

DamagedTrax

dmg10 wrote: »

I think the OP's question is actually a valid one despite others choosing to do the usual judging many on this forum seem to do first. Comments on the OP's holiday and affordability are kind of out of order.

how so? if you are going away for any amount of time you need to factor in petcare costs. OP is getting a great deal if kennels are good. how is it out of order to say that? or should we all just keep opinions to ourselves and placate people with what they want to hear rather than facts?

Whispered

The way we look at it is if we can't afford the kennel then we can't afford the holiday. Because of the fact the kennels would cost us an extra hundred or so for a week away we're staying in Ireland this year and bringing them with us. This is not a dig at the OP because obviously he's planning on getting a kennel and just wants to see if there is a cheaper way of doing it.

I love the kennels we use, it costs 15 for 1 dog and 25 for the 2. I know that my dogs are getting the very best of care and I'm 100% happy that they love it there. I'm sure there might be cheaper places but I couldn't enjoy a holiday if they were in a kennel I'm not so sure about.

OP that honestly seems like a reasonable price, especially if you're happy with the kennel. What price were you hoping for? If you got a price for 2 dogs PER NIGHT then call the kennel and ask for the price for 2 dogs for multiple nights, it might be cheaper.

Millem

dokzrus wrote: »

I have two lovely old dogs, aged 12 and 15. Kennels in and around Wexford Town charge 20 euro per night for the two of them. This is a desperate rip-off especially as they share a kennel and they only eat dry food once a day.

There must be a cheaper way of kennelling dogs. 3 weeks holidays this year is looking like 400+ euro just for kennelling. There must be a better way.
Any ideas?

I can see your point, some kennels Reduce the cost for shared occupancy. The kennel I use in Dublin is €15 each regardless of how many share. I always factor this in before booking my hols so if my other have thinks he may have found a 'bargain' weekend away I always include price of kenneling.
For me it is €45 a night but I don't mind as he is very lenient on drop off and pick up times, if I come home early he doesn't charge for extra days! I know they are 100% safe and secure and have no worries so it is worth the piece of mind. There is a irish website that you can do a swap where someone minds your dogs and then you
mind theirs, No money changes hands. It is not something I would recommend though!

ISDW

dokzrus wrote: »

I have two lovely old dogs, aged 12 and 15. Kennels in and around Wexford Town charge 20 euro per night for the two of them. This is a desperate rip-off especially as they share a kennel and they only eat dry food once a day.

There must be a cheaper way of kennelling dogs. 3 weeks holidays this year is looking like 400+ euro just for kennelling. There must be a better way.
Any ideas?

I can't see in this that the OP says that the kennels isn't giving a multipet discount, just that its €20 for the night for 2 dogs sharing a kennel. It may well be €15 a night for a single dog.

If you're a dog owner - any animal owner in fact - the cost of looking after the animals when you go on holiday has to be factored in.

Maybe consider the minimum wage, and just break the cost of looking after the dogs for one day.

Going on how a good kennels would work, the dogs will get at least 1 hours supervised exercise a day. Feeding should be supervised, so again, if fed twice a day, thats another 10 minutes? Giving the dogs attention during the day, apart from the exercise, a good kennel again, at least another hour a day. Cleaning the kennel each day - 15 minutes for whilst the dog is there, probably 30-45 minutes when the dog leaves, for the deep cleaning needed before another dog arrives. Washing the dog's bowls, beddings etc when it leaves - 20 minutes.

Add in the cost of electricity, rates as it is a business, disinfectant, insurance etc etc. So for €20 a day, the dogs would take around 3 hours of work a day, broken up into different parts of the day and different jobs. Lets say the overheads equate to €5 a day - that leaves an hourly rate for the person working with the dog of €5. Wow, what a ripoff.

I put 12 dogs into kennels regularly, I have a great relationship with the owners, and they give me a good deal, but it is a cost that I have to think about when I need to go away. I prefer them to go into kennels as I know they are safe there, and they all jump out of the van and pull me towards the kennel block, so I always know they are happy there. To me, its worth every cent for the peace of mind.

The suggestion about using a shelter, there are some that have boarding facilities, but most are so full of unwanted dogs, and are struggling to keep their heads above water, that they can't afford to free up any space for boarding, and when you break down the costs, its not that helpful financially.

ncmc

The OP does say in post number 8 that it is double price for shared occupancy, which I do think is a bit unusual. However, €10 per dog per night is very reasonable. I have used a few different kennels and they are normally €14-15 for one dog. So even though the OP is not getting a discount on the second dog, €20 for two is still a really good price. I don’t understand how the OP thinks it is ‘a desperate rip-off’ as they say in their first post, it is a business, there is massive cost in building a good kennel, add in rates, electricity, heating, food, insurance and then of course wages…. How cheap does the OP think they should be charging???

I prefer not to use kennels when I am going away for 2 weeks, it’s nothing to do with the money, but just that my dog is quite a nervous girl and it takes her quite a while to settle in. My in laws now take her, she absolutely loves it over there, she has company all day, sleeps inside at night and gets two walks a day. It’s like a holiday for her too! I think put the feelers out if any friends or family that would be willing to do it. Maybe you know someone who would do it for a fee? I have looked into alternatives to kennels for my girl as I always like her to have a lot of one on one attention, and kennels are by far the cheapest option unless you can get family to mind them.

deandean

We get a friend of the family to house-sit when we're away, he looks after house things in addition to our dog. It works well.

The only major cost is re-stocking the drinks cabinet!

orchidsrpretty

Some kennels will give a discount if you are going to be leaving your dogs for weeks. Double the price for two dogs is a bit of a rip off but as stated 10e per night is cheap! Do you have any friends/neighbours that have dogs? Where they mind yours and you mind theirs?

cocker5

€10 per dog is very cheap IMO..

My home stay kennel cost €20 per night (i supply his treats / food) and its €36 for two dogs...

so €20 for two IMO is still very cheap

boxerly

cocker5 wrote: »

€10 per dog is very cheap IMO..

My home stay kennel cost €20 per night (i supply his treats / food) and its €36 for two dogs...

so €20 for two IMO is still very cheap

36 euro per day for 2 dogs ?Thats seems very dear :)I know a lady who minds dogs,18 euro per day for 2 dogs,12 for 1

RubyGirl

boxerly wrote: »

36 euro per day for 2 dogs ?Thats seems very dear :)I know a lady who minds dogs,18 euro per day for 2 dogs,12 for 1

Prob good though if the dog is staying in the minders house rather than a kennell?

Millem

boxerly wrote: »

cocker5 wrote: »

€10 per dog is very cheap IMO..

My home stay kennel cost €20 per night (i supply his treats / food) and its €36 for two dogs...

so €20 for two IMO is still very cheap

36 euro per day for 2 dogs ?Thats seems very dear :)I know a lady who minds dogs,18 euro per day for 2 dogs,12 for 1

I find the cost varies hugely with 'home kennels' everyone I have come across (bar one) is someone earning a few extra bob they do not have a kennel license or have proper insurance and IMHO that is how they are so cheap! (they don't have huge overheads a 'kennel' would have). My vet even said there has been a huge number of people leaving in cards including teenagers offering this service! The only place I found that seems to be "proper" business in Dublin is safe hands pet care but you can only leave your dog with them if you use them as a walker, and they charge €25 for one dog and €35 for two per night. I have 3 large labs and I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving them in a place that isn't a "proper" business. (after the disaster i had previously from a certain "home boarding" that shall rename nameless!)
I would love positive dog trainingl/dri to do the boarding like creedons!

ISDW

Millem wrote: »

I find the cost varies hugely with 'home kennels' everyone I have come across (bar one) is someone earning a few extra bob they do not have a kennel license or have proper insurance and IMHO that is how they are so cheap! (they don't have huge overheads a 'kennel' would have). My vet even said there has been a huge number of people leaving in cards including teenagers offering this service! The only place I found that seems to be "proper" business in Dublin is safe hands pet care but you can only leave your dog with them if you use them as a walker, and they charge €25 for one dog and €35 for two per night. I have 3 large labs and I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving them in a place that isn't a "proper" business. (after the disaster i had previously from a certain "home boarding" that shall rename nameless!)
I would love positive dog trainingl/dri to do the boarding like creedons!

As far as I'm aware, there is no such thing as a kennel license in Ireland yet. There is a general license, which kennels get, but this is just a dog license allowing you to have a multitude of dogs on the premises, if you have a lot of dogs, its cheaper than having individual licenses for them all - they cost €253.

Millem

ISDW wrote: »

Millem wrote: »

I find the cost varies hugely with 'home kennels' everyone I have come across (bar one) is someone earning a few extra bob they do not have a kennel license or have proper insurance and IMHO that is how they are so cheap! (they don't have huge overheads a 'kennel' would have). My vet even said there has been a huge number of people leaving in cards including teenagers offering this service! The only place I found that seems to be "proper" business in Dublin is safe hands pet care but you can only leave your dog with them if you use them as a walker, and they charge €25 for one dog and €35 for two per night. I have 3 large labs and I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving them in a place that isn't a "proper" business. (after the disaster i had previously from a certain "home boarding" that shall rename nameless!)
I would love positive dog trainingl/dri to do the boarding like creedons!

As far as I'm aware, there is no such thing as a kennel license in Ireland yet. There is a general license, which kennels get, but this is just a dog license allowing you to have a multitude of dogs on the premises, if you have a lot of dogs, its cheaper than having individual licenses for them all - they cost €253.

That is the license I am talking about the general one. It covers an unspecified number. Is there a rule that over a certain number of dogs you must have one of these licenses?

ISDW

Millem wrote: »

That is the license I am talking about the general one. It covers an unspecified number. Is there a rule that over a certain number of dogs you must have one of these licenses?

Not as far as I'm aware, its just cheaper if you have a few dogs.

If someone is looking after dogs in their own home, I imagine they would only have one or two in at a time, so would (should) insist on having the dog licence being shown at the same time as the vaccination card when the dog is dropped off. As long as a dog has a licence, theres no provision in law to say that someone else can't look after the dog at another address. The same applies to boarding kennels really, members of the IBKCA I believe get a general licence as good practice, but there is nothing in law to say they must. Again, if kennel owners ask the owner to leave the dog licence when they drop the dog off, if the warden calls, they have a valid licence for that dog, so are complying with the law.

Boogiewoogie

I looked into whether I needed a General Licence when I first set up as a pet minder and the warden told me that only premises where there were 20+ dogs kept at any time would be issued a general licence. Below that number the dogs would need individual licences and that I must be able to show a licence for any and every dog on my premises regardless of whether I owned it or not. Not sure about commercial boarding kennels but I'd presume the same rule applies regarding licencing.

ISDW

Boogiewoogie wrote: »

I looked into whether I needed a General Licence when I first set up as a pet minder and the warden told me that only premises where there were 20+ dogs kept at any time would be issued a general licence. Below that number the dogs would need individual licences and that I must be able to show a licence for any and every dog on my premises regardless of whether I owned it or not. Not sure about commercial boarding kennels but I'd presume the same rule applies regarding licencing.

I was never told that, I just sent a letter off to the GPO with a cheque, and asked for a General Licence, I was never questioned on how many dogs I had. The dog warden did call out to me once, and I just showed him the general licence, he never asked how many dogs I had there. Usual story I suspect, no national policy.