Dog kennels?

businessdit

One of my mates is toying with the idea of setting up a dog kennels business in Dublin west. (looking after dogs while owners are on holidays etc)

He has a premises lined up which has some space around it. It would be a small operation with space for only 15 or so dogs.

Wondering if anyone thinks this is a good business to get into? I am quite surprised as I didnt think there was much of a market for this type of offering - as anyone I know who has a dog just leaves the dog with a relative or next door neighbour when going on holidays.

What do guys think of this? I will pass any advice to him off boardsies.

winnie the poo

yeah, I thought about doing this before as I have a bit of farmland where I live. Never went through with it though. Its a massive market, def a profit to be made if you like animals but slow to build up a client base I guess. People will want to build up a level of trust with you or get a recommendation from a friend or family member before they left their dog with you. But I always guessed it would be easy enough to set up, very straight forward on where to advertise yourself too ( pet stores, garden centres, vets, dog pounds) Never found out what sort of licences one might need though and insurance. Best of luck with it and keep us posted on how you get on.

Cedrus

You're looking at €10-15 per day for small dogs, maybe double for big dogs, so if you're full you'll be taking in between €150 to 450 a day. The dogs need to be walked for about 1 hour on average, no-one can manage 15 dogs who don't know each other, so that'll take 4-5 hours. Mucking out and feeding will take another 2 hours. Reception and collection would probably average about an hour a day, but stacked towards the weekends (when most people go on holidays), and you better make sure it's not a madhouse when owners arrive, and the run is clean and dry for their beloved pet. Build up a good reputation and you'll have a business, but dogs won't lie about a **** kennel, they can't give details, but a dog owner will know if their dog has had a bad time and the bad rep will spread like wildfire.

Graham

Do a search on boards, there's a few posts on the subject. The ones about licensing and planning permission could be particularly useful.

sawdoubters

yo away from residential area a the bark 24/7

will the council allow it

businessdit

winnie the poo wrote: »

yeah, I thought about doing this before as I have a bit of farmland where I live. Never went through with it though. Its a massive market, def a profit to be made if you like animals but slow to build up a client base I guess. People will want to build up a level of trust with you or get a recommendation from a friend or family member before they left their dog with you. But I always guessed it would be easy enough to set up, very straight forward on where to advertise yourself too ( pet stores, garden centres, vets, dog pounds) Never found out what sort of licences one might need though and insurance. Best of luck with it and keep us posted on how you get on.

Thanks Winnie the poo for the good marketing advice

businessdit

Cedrus wrote: »

You're looking at €10-15 per day for small dogs, maybe double for big dogs, so if you're full you'll be taking in between €150 to 450 a day. The dogs need to be walked for about 1 hour on average, no-one can manage 15 dogs who don't know each other, so that'll take 4-5 hours. Mucking out and feeding will take another 2 hours. Reception and collection would probably average about an hour a day, but stacked towards the weekends (when most people go on holidays), and you better make sure it's not a madhouse when owners arrive, and the run is clean and dry for their beloved pet. Build up a good reputation and you'll have a business, but dogs won't lie about a **** kennel, they can't give details, but a dog owner will know if their dog has had a bad time and the bad rep will spread like wildfire.

Thanks cedrus for the financials, I agree customer service and woof of mouth are key here

businessdit

Graham wrote: »

Do a search on boards, there's a few posts on the subject. The ones about licensing and planning permission could be particularly useful.

Thanks graham-

Can't seem find these posts could you so kind as to share?

What does everyone else think about the noise levels? So far most feedback is positive, are we agreed that in the right location this is an in demand service?

Gloomtastic!

The majority of dog kennels are outside Dublin, in the countryside, because of the noise problem. You'll also need to sort out where you are going to dispose of the dog waste - lots of it! CityBin or Greyhound will only accept household levels of waste. That will probably arise when you look for planning permission.