Dog day care centre....

I'm looking to set a dog day care centre up soon.

What I'm looking for from you lovely people now though is:

Does anyone currently use one? And/or used to use one?
---> what do you like/dislike the most about the one you use/used to use?

How much would you pay or do you pay?
(Based on say half day - 8am-12:30pm or full day 8am-6pm, for example)

What qualifications/experience would you expect staff to hold?

What services would you expect to be offered, e.g.
---> additional services charged for seperately such as grooming, training, microchipping, etc?
---> anything else?

If you have a dog (or more than one) and work all day, what sort of price would get you to consider it for even just a few days a week, given the difficult financial times we're all in? Also those who use a dog walker, would you consider dog day care even just a few days a week if it could match or nigh-on match the price you pay for your dog walker?

Where would you expect to see adverts? (I know this varies from area to area - but what do you take most notice of - leaflets through your door, your free local papers, your local papers that you pay for, free ads mags that get pushed through your door, radio or pet magazines?)

Anything else you can think of that you might like to suggest or ask about, please feel free and hopefully there'll be something I'd not thought of before

If you do think of any quirky or clever names, please also feel free to suggest them!

I'm not wanting to give my area away so granted, names could be tweeked to tie in my area/town but again, what are your thoughts on that - say <town> Doggy Day Care Centre (does what it says on the tin but then it is a mighty long name and quite wordy) but then I don't want a name that is too obscure! Tricky, tricky!

I have used one. I would say it is important to consider why they are sending them, in terms of how the dog gets to daycare. If the dog has severe separation anxiety, for instance, they must be either collected by the daycare centre before the owner leaves for work, or dropped off by the owner, because in the gap between the owner leaving home and the daycare collecting them, they could do a massive amount of damage. But some dogs will sleep quietly until collected. If they are being picked up in a vehicle, you need to know it is secure and that the dog is properly tethered. In terms of finding one, I would look on the Internet and expect to find one with a very informative website. Then I would want to visit, and meet the people, and know what their views on dog training and discipline were. I paid £25 a day, but it was very hard to afford.

Thanks Suzanne2, much appreciated.

That is a hefty sum of money. Do you mind me asking if you used one daily - for full days or part days - and was it Monday-Friday or just the odd day here and there?

Also why do you now not attend?

Thanks again!

I have never used one, but I would consider it for my 8 month old springer (wouldn't for my GSD as she is dog aggressive).

I would use it mainly for socialising my dog with other dogs, as you don't get much chance when out walking, as people seem to be busy and just want to hurry past and get the chore of walking their dog over an done with rather than allowing them the chance to play.

I would expect the staff to be very knowledgeable and to only use positive training methods and no harsh treatment. As someone else has said I would want to see the centre first, to make sure that it appears safe and secure and meet and talk to the staff.

Price I guess will depend on where in the uk you are. Here in the north west a competitive price for full day (8-6) would be around the £10 to £15 mark. I would not pay more than this.

Also I would consider that not everyone works 9-5 m-f, so if you considered wider opening hours you might attract customers that could not use most of your competitors. I.e people starting work at 8am or finishing at 7 or 8pm.

Good luck if you decide to go ahead.

i helped work in one for a month. they charged £25 a day and that was from 8 till 3 and they were picked up and dropped off too.

we had different compounds outside, a big garden and then a huge enclosed field. they were also taken out for walks.

I use one on a weekly basis. I saw their Van driving through our local village and looked up their details for their website. They are a lovely local couple - for me a love and understanding of staffies was very important and they have 2 of their own so was perfect for me. They have their own private land for the dogs with a sand school to play agility things with them, are building a pool, have converted stables for when it rains and the area is securely fenced and the dogs have the run of it.

I'm not sure what qualifications they have....I think the lady has some but thats not really of massive importance to me. Its more the way they interact with the dogs and what facilities they have. They are always very flexible for me which I like too.

They pick up and drop off Zulu in their van, have a limited amount of dogs a day and do group walks with them and have heaps of toys. One day Zulu was the only dog left there in the evening and my husband went to pick him up and because it was raining he was allowed into their house and he was sat chilling on their sofa as if he was their own. And thats lovely I think!

They have a special Wednesday rate which is £10 for the entire day including pick up and drop off (we live close by). If for some reason I need to change that day then I could do and still pay the same as a "one off" sort of thing.

Thanks everyone, very much appreciated.

Keep the comments coming!

Wow, £25 is steep. Especially for 3pm close too, I am amazed that people are willing to pay that sort of price for such an early finish. The vast majority stay open til 6pm from what I can see to enable people to pick their pooches up on the way home from work.

Does anyone use one or know of one that allows unneutered dogs/bitches? This is something I keep coming back to - how to get around this. Of course they couldn't mix with one another for obvious reasons but I don't feel comfortable point-blank refusing them as clients. I'm thinking dividing the space up so they can still be allowed to join, obviously with the stipulation that bitches stay with bitches or neutered males.

Equally, a seperate young puppy area would be ideal.

Any more ideas or experiences?

I used one for Selkie when she started howling and the neighbours complained, She was 14 and was incontinent so she couldn't be left inside or in a crate, she could get out to wee, but needed instant access or would end up making a mess.

I dropped her off at 8.30 and picked her up at 5pm. As she was so old, she was kept in a kennel and run and only let out into the enclosed exercise yard with other oldies for an hour at lunchtime after the boisterous dogs were put into their kennels for a rest and a snack. The place I used had a block of 12 heated kennels with access to individual outdoor runs, a high fenced enclosed exercise yard, a low fenced bigger paddock for dogs that could be trusted not to jump 3 ft fences and the staff took the dogs out on a walk if required (I opted out for Selkie, she just needed somewhere warm to lie and sing).

The kennels were clean and the owner was lovely with Selkie. He had animal care qualifications.The place was insured and they had insurance to walk the dogs as well as they also had a dog walking service. I checked the kennels were warm and the dogs there when I visited were happy and clean. There were never more than 15 dogs and always 2 staff on hand.

I paid £8 a day, he charged £12 for overnight (+£2 for two dogs who could share a kennel). He will not take aggressive dogs, or Kismet would be staying with him. Though as she is getting better and I can request she is not allowed to mingle in the group play sessions I might ask if he will give her another trial.

In an ideal..

I would pay up to £15 a day if someone collected and dropped off. I could not afford more than that. I would appreciate a text or email during the day to let me know all is well, a picture would be lovely. If I were to run my own day care I would set up a webcam with a password for people to check in on their dogs whenever they wanted. I would want to see insurance for the kennels and for the staff. At least one member of staff with animal care, management or behaviour qualifications.

Thanks magpye, much appreciated.

The price you paid sounds much more reasonable, especially for the fully day.

I love the idea of having a webcam that clients could log in to see if they wanted to. I agree, I would want a text or email too so thats already on my list of ideas but I hadn't thought of the webcam idea so I will add it to the list. Fab idea!!

How did you find the centre you used, magpye?

Curious to know the best route of advertising - splash out the big bucks on launch or just pre-launch on a big advertising campaign such as radio or big newspaper ads or dog magazine ads. Or spread it out more over a longer period of time in the smaller publications?

Obviously social networking sites would be used heavily also alongside.

http://www.eyespyfx.com/index.php

Really easy way to set up a webcam

I drove past him on the way to work and saw the big banner on his fence. His place os on a nice main road.

Also saw him at a stand at a local fun dog show, posters in local pet shops and in the local paper... He didn't need more than that. He was full and had a waiting list.