Dog Daycare business Guidance

bob1577

Hi guys/gals I am looking for some advice or guidance from the valuable Irish public.

My sister is returning from USA after 30 years there. She has run a successful dog walking/boarding business there for 25 years. She wants to open a business here in Cork County, and I as the baby brother am trying to help her along the path, I have been doing plenty of research over the past few months and taking some courses etc.

Here is where I am, I have think she is best to have a place out of a town or village. Maybe a detached house with maybe 1/2 acres. ( Just worried about noise complaints ). Building maybe 3/4 big enclosed wired runs like say dividing up an acre into 4 sections and wiring off, big dogs, medium dogs, small dogs sections to prevent bulling and fighting. Spare section for maybe some buildings to house the dogs in isolation, bad weather or winter time etc.

My worry is if it is outside the town or village too far then it might mean a pick-up service, but inside the town might have noise complaints, don't know if a warehouse could be converted into a daycare and what the noise rules would be as I cannot find any info on this online. She will be hiring some part-time trained staff, we have a few people already lined up. Yes I know about insurance and we have a vet lined up to do calls in emergency situations.

Any ideas or suggestions to point me on a road where I can get more info or answers about laws, permits, more the legal side of things as I think i have most of the basics covered. Suggestions to whether you think in a warehouse in a populated area or away from the town might be better.

Any suggestions, advice, ideas would be very welcomed.

Thank you for reading BOB

tk123

Any I know of are / were in industrial estates. So not in the middle of town but easily accessed? Why not visit some of the ones in Cork and have a look at their setups.

salmocab

I would think for daycare near to a large town would be necessary.

friend of mine runs one in Dublin and it’s in a small industrial estate in the suburbs with a run behind it for the dogs.

Faith

Our dog goes to one like you describe - it's about 5 minutes outside a town, and that town itself is about 15 minutes from the city and from another larger town, so it captures a big catchment area. I'd say most people who bring their dogs there live more rurally rather than in the city, but I've heard of people travelling from the city. It takes us about 15 minutes to drive each way, and no pick up service is offered.

We love it because it, as you said, is basically massive secured fields for the dogs to play and run in. There are also indoor areas for resting and when the weather is bad. I'd personally hate to send my dog to an industrial estate-type daycare because it just doesn't sound like a pleasant environment. Our daycare owners have a detached house but they definitely have neighbours. I found a planning permission document online regarding the addition of boarding kennels and one neighbour objected due to noise concerns, but that objection was dismissed by planners as the neighbours were sufficiently far away.

lucyhere

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121617618#Comment_121617618

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121617618#Comment_121617618

Helpful.

bop1977

Here might be a good start:

https://www.localenterprise.ie/

bob1577

thank you to everyone who replied some good info there to look into.

I presume the planning will be on the planning offices of ireland.

Water John

Planning is with Cork City or County Council. Will she offer grooming as well?

bob1577

Thanks John, will give country council a call, ya I presume she will offer washing grooming. Maybe she can ask a local groomer to come onsite 1/2 days a wk depends on the requests for it I guess. At the beginning it will just be daycare as she will be doing it alone for first year, i would assume with a little help from rest of us when we can.

vandriver

At least up here in Dublin,groomers are scarce and you really have to book months in advance to secure slots.We book up the year for our 4 legged cost centre in Dec/Jan when the new diary is available at our groomers.

The canine financial black hole has,by far,the highest hairdressing bill in our house!

Charging a day rate for a groomers would seem like a good way to get started.

twiddleypop

I know you mention insurance but definitely check the costs before committing to anything or start thinking about pricing. Knowing Ireland, it is probably astronomical. Check the conditions of insurance for restricted breeds, a lot of professional dog walkers are not covered to walk them unmuzzled so it must be similar for daycare. Also remember that any cross of a restricted breed is considered restricted.

Make sure to have a rock solid, clear contract with the owners. The dogs you accept must not have ever shown signs of dog aggression or if they have, you cannot risk taking them unless you plan to have enough facilities to seperate them from the others. Contract should also state that they are healthy, never suffered from serious illness, must be spayed/neutered after 6 months/1st season.

I would also include a puppy area aswell as small, medium and large divisions.

Your sister probably has the experience to know that all dogs aren't suitable for daycare or that unfortunately some may have to be "expelled". I would just have clear rules and explanations for this scenario as some people are very protective and defensive of their dogs.

Employees should receive canine behavior training, basic first aid and learn to separate fights. Ideally they should be able to spot a fight before it happens.

Reach out to a few of the daycare in other counties, I'm sure they'd be happy to help if you're not setting up too close beside them. Visit a few if you can.

It's a massive project, fair play- but consider alternatives such as home visits, home boarding and walking. Definitely apply for all the grants you can if you are setting up- small businesses are expensive to set up and run.

I also think it would be worth her putting in a self service coffee machine. People that can afford doggy day care can afford coffee and will likely buy one to drink on their way to work after dropping the dog off. Sell dog treats, poo bags, collars and a few toys too but don't go overboard with stock you won't sell- just if you have space at the check-in/reception area make use of it.

If the intention is to run this Monday to Friday, consider finding some way to rent the space at the weekends. Many people with reactive dogs would pay to rent a private secure place for their dog to have off lead freedom. Put in floodlights and you could rent it out after the daycare has closed in the evenings. There are 2 spaces around Dublin such charging 15 per hour per dog for a private field rental. Say if you rented it for 7 hours Saturday and Sunday it would be an extra 210 per week. There is an online booking system and a code for the gate. One runs a daycare during the week and its constantly booked out. I regret telling so many people about it now 🤣. She hosts breed meet ups too which seem to be popular- bit risky throwing unknown dogs together so again, ensure to cover yourself with a waiver.