Starting Up a Pet Business
So you would like to start your own pet service business?
I get emails and phone calls about this every week, so to save us all some time
I've put together general pointers below, with the hope that it will cover some of the questions you have.
RULES
& REGULATIONS FOR HOME BOARDING
 Here
in Hertfordshire there are no regulations set up for the type
of boarding I do (in the home) yet, but we are working on it
together with the local animal warden. There is however a rule
that says you can't have more than 6 dogs in your house at any
one time, or you'll have to apply for a building permission for
change of use of property.
My best advise to you is to contact your local council and the
animal warden, to find out what rules and regulations apply where
you live. Should you be looking at putting dogs in kennels on
your property, that is a completely different matter and something
you would also have to check with the local council.
This is what one of our advertisers has said about when she started
up: "When I was doing my research
into setting up dog sitting in my own home, I rang various sitters
in Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and some other counties. Everyone
I spoke to was very helpful, but only one sitter in Buckinghamshire
told me that I needed a licence from Bucks County Council to
run a dog sitting business. If someone sets up this type of business
in this county without a licence, they can be fined or
shut down. Environmental health at the council told
me that dogsitting is a "burgeoning cottage industry". It
is definitely worth checking with the local council what the
regulations are. I was very grateful to the dogsitter
that told me about the regulations, as I could easily have started
my business, advertising at vets and pet shops, and then had
a surprise visit from environmental health. All it takes is one
complaint from a disgruntled neighbour to set the ball rolling."
QUALIFICATIONS
There is no legislation on this, so unfortunately there are no
qualifications that have to be met. I have got 3 dog instructor
degrees (general obedience, competitive obedience and agility)
and 25 years experience of dogs, including dogs with problem
behaviours. Does that make me suitable for dog boarding and
doggie day care? I'm not so sure...
I think the important things to look at are personal qualities.
Are you a responsible person? Can you cope
in stressful situations? Can you protect the
dogs in your care? How much REAL knowledge about
dogs do you have? Do you ever go to seminars in dog
language and dog psychology or do you just love dogs a lot
and you've always had a dog? Is that really enough? How will
you know how to care for a Border Collie that chases motorbikes?
Or the Pug that collapses with breathing problems if walked too
far in the sun? What will you do with the terrier that is jumping
up/down up/down to get you to throw the ball for him? Can you
tell the difference between dandruff from a stressed dog and
the dandruff on a dog who's diet is poor?
YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES
 Pick
up the pooh, so the rest of the community don't
have to suffer because of you. You might know where the dogs
normally pooh, but the rest of the world don't, so pick up
that pooh or at least grab a stick and flick it away from
the pathway!
Safety of the dogs and individuals around them. Not
allowing 'your' dogs to pester people and/or their dogs in
the park, etc etc. Is he/she a chaser and you risk a traffic
accident by letting him/her off in a park with wildlife? Make
sure you query the owner about the dogs level of recall and
what distractions he can take/not take. 
Loosing
a dog in your care. Could you cope if a dog gets
lost while in your care and isn't found? I've lost dogs in
my care for up to 2 hours, when they've gone on a hunt, but
thankfully enough, they've always returned. A client of mine
lost their dog when he was out with his dog walker and Bob
Fox Terrier has been lost for over a year now. Can you
imagine what the dog walker must be going through, not to
mention the owners? To
find out what to do if a dog gets lost or stolen, go to the
lost dogs page.
Feeding and eating issues. Make sure you are aware
if the dogs you care for have an allergy to something or a
tendency to eat stones/plastic/socks or other items that could
be dangerous to them. Does the dog have any guarding issues
around food?
Click here to download an excel
sheet as an example of a contract you could use when taking
on boarding dogs.
NEUTERED OR ENTIRE DOGS?
I take on both neutered/spayed and entire dogs. On the rare occation
that an entire dog has caused problems with the other dogs
in my care, I have advised a neutering, but if they mix well
with the other dogs, I don't see a reason for turning them
away.
The one thing I find is more of an issue with entire males than
with neutered males is the marking (weeing on walls, plants,
bags, etc to put their scent in your home). I have had a fair
amount of neutered dogs that mark indoors too, but it happens
more frequently with entire males, especially if a dog has marked
indoors previously OR if you've had a bitch on heat in the house
recently.
When I've got a bitch in season boarding here, I first make sure
that I don't have any entire male dogs in care at the same time.
WILL YOU TAKE ON DOGS WHO NEED SPECIAL
CARE?
 Puppies,
older dogs that can't cope with being run into, dogs with injuries
or illnesses, epileptic and diabetic dogs? Will you take on dogs
that can't be walked off lead? Will you take dogs that don't
get on with other dogs?
Will you take dogs that are severely nervous AND in that case, do
you know how to build their confidence up rather
than turn them into fear aggressive dogs because they were
shoved in with a pack of other dogs (making them even more
scared than they originally were...)? You take on a lot of
responsibility when caring for someone elses dog and you
need to know what you are doing. If you are not sure, then
ask to shadow another dog sitter/walker for a few weeks or
assist in dog training classes and behaviour consultations
to boost your knowledge of dog behaviour.
WHAT SHOULD YOU OFFER THE DOGS?
Again, this is very personal choice and you'll have to work out
what you have time for in a day and what you would be willing
to do on a regular schedule. I give the dogs in my care at
least 3 hours walking per day, mainly off lead. They have
lots of time playing with each other in the background while
I sit here and work (it gets quite noisy at times!).
They also get a bit of training, such as recall, stay and search
exercises.
Some dogs might need special attention because they are shy/hyperactive/not
housetrained etc.
NUMBER OF DOGS
 This
is a very personal preference. I would prefer only to have 4 dogs here per
day (including my own Saluki cross), but that is difficult to survive on economically.
If I have the right dogs, ie dogs that I know and enjoy having around, then
I can cope with having up to 5 dogs per day, but if I have a dog that pulls
a lot, isn't house trained or is very hyper despite long walks and mental stimulation,
then 3 dogs in a day is more than enough. It is all depending on how much work
each dog needs.
QUESTIONS TO ASK THE DOG OWNER
The questions should concern the things that will be stressful
for you to handle, to make sure the dogs personality and
yours will gel. Personally I don't mind having puppies here
that aren't housebroken, but I want to know about it in advance.
I don't mind having dogs that are extremely energetic, but
they have to have some self control. I usually don't worry
too much if people say they have a little hurricane on 4
legs or that their dog is incredibly noisy, as a lot of those
behaviours are down to boredom and the dogs being under-stimulated.
After 3 hours walking and play with a lot of other dogs,
usually the 'problem' dog is as good as gold!
THE RIGHT DOG MEANS LESS STRESS FOR YOU
 For
the most harmonious work environment, try to target dog breeds and types that
you know you have a preference for, so that you wont' get stressed out by having
a type of breed in your home that you don't really like and therefor will get
extra frustrated with their behaviours.
I now have a greater number of Labradors and Spaniels than
anything else and that suits me perfectly. I do have a great
love for Boxers too, but my own dog doesn't like them, so I
sadly have to turn them away.
A scared dog will demand a lot of protection, which can be
very frustrating and stressful. Puppies demand constant attention,
so you have to have a pretty empty schedule to take care of
pups. It isn't fair on older dogs to be mixed with a lot of
young boisterous dogs, so try to also match the ages of the
dogs that come to stay with you.
HOW DO YOU CHOOSE THE DOGS TO TAKE INTO
YOUR HOME?
Personally I always ask that the dog owner come for a walk with
me and my dog and the regular day dogs, to start off with. First
of all this will show if my dog will accept the new dog, but
it will also give me a good idea of the level of training the
dog has had, how it interacts with other dogs (the owner might
have said that they are fine with other dogs, but I can sometimes
see worrying signals that they send out that the owners have
missed) and how easy it will be to get the dog to bond with me.
If the initial walk works out well, then we book the dog in for
at least 1 day and 1 nights trial boarding, to make sure that
the dog will settle in with us at night and won't have any unmentioned
issues. Once the trial has been done and has worked well, we
are ready to book the dog in for future boarding.
VACCINATIONS,
KENNEL COUGH AND MICRO CHIPPING...
 Personally
I won't take a dog into my home that isn't fully vaccinated.
If I didn't run dog training classes and take boarding dogs in
a professional capacity, then I would accept the homeopathic
alternatives, but because I have puppy classes in my garden and
I have a range of different dogs visiting me every week, I can't
take any risks, so I only accept the type of vaccinations that
you get at the vets.
I don't ask people to treat their dogs against kennel cough,
as the outbreaks of kennel cough that I've seen in a home environment
has never been worse that a bit of a cold, with a couple of days
coughing and the odd watery throw up. When I worked at Battersea
Dogs Home I saw what kennel cough can do to dogs, but then they
are stuck in an often damp and cold environment (we cleaned the
kennels at least once per day), stressed beyond reason (brings
the immune system down) and probably not on the best diet. I
would imagine it would be quite a similar environment in boarding
kennels. Kennel cough can cause pneumonia in deep chested dogs
and that can be lethal, so if I took on Great Danes or other
deep chested dogs into my care, then I would have to consider
asking people to have their dogs kennel cough vaccinated. The
kennel cough vaccination isn't a failsafe either... there are
so many strains of kennel cough, you can't be sure you've treated
your dog for the right one.
This is what one of our advertisers had to say about kennel cough
vaccinations: "we advise our Customers
to get their dog vaccinated and do not walk dogs (or one to one
only) that have been in kennels (vaccinated or not) for a period
of 2 weeks after their return from kennels as they can carry
the virus and not show any symptoms. The trick is to get the
Customers to remember to tell us...
We have found that having most of the dogs vaccinated for the
last 3 years has been a great help. In fact my own dog got
kennel cough twice in a year before I got her on the yearly
vaccin. Since then (touch wood!!!) she has not caught it...".
I advise my clients to get their dogs micro chipped, but I don't
require it. With the amount of dogs getting stolen today, I can't
imagine why any dog owner would NOT want to have their dog micro
chipped.
PLAUSIBLE INCOME?
Level of income is what you make it. Only you can decide how
many dogs you are willing and able to take into your home
each day and the prices depend on what your clients are prepared
to pay. It is a great side business or an extra income for
someone who works from home or is a house wife/husband and
mad about dogs, but not necessarily sufficient to give you
a full income.
INSURANCE
 You
must be covered by insurance. You will need Public Liability
insurance, should one of the dogs in your care cause an accident
or damage. You will also need Care Custody & Control
(liability to animals), should something happen to the dog
in your care. It is very hard to find insurance companies
that insure our type of business, so I would suggest you
turn to Cliverton Ltd,
who have insurance for just about anything animal related.
This is what one of our advertisers had to say about insurance: " I
contacted Cliverton to find out if they would have paid for vet
bills relating to a dog in my care if an accidental injury had
occurred. They will only pay vet bills (minus excess) if the
sitter is proved to have been negligent and they won’t
pay vet bills relating to previous or ongoing medical conditions. I
have 2 dogs of my own, a lab who rarely goes to the vet and a
working cocker spaniel who is very accident-prone. Because he
enjoys spends a lot of time in the undergrowth and is a scavenger,
he has often been to the vet for cuts/xrays etc., so I am acutely
aware of how easily accidents happen and how expensive they can
be to put right. That is why I could foresee potential problems
with this particular dog. Before I agree to look after a dog,
I now ask owners for the medical history on their dog. It might
be worth other sitters doing the same to avoid problems and to
check what their insurance coverage is. Cliverton suggested I
get owners of dogs with medical conditions to sign a disclaimer,
or just not take on such dogs at all. Were you also aware that
Cliverton require us to get written permission from owners to
allow dogs off lead?".
ADVERTISING
Advertising in the local papers might work for you, but hasn't
for me. You can also try putting up notices at your local
vet, groomer and pet shop.
I've
found that the best ways of advertising my business has been
through having a web site (I can help you with that. Have a
look at dogbasicsdesign.com)
and by advertising on Yell.com.
You
can also advertise on LocalPetPeople.com.
A lot of the people advertising here say they get main bulk
of their enquiries through my web site (I have over 6500 visitors
to my site each week).
To
advertise on LocalPetPeople.com, please
fill in the form.
My main reason for the page is that there is such a great need
for day care, home boarding and dog walking in this country,
but there isn't enough people offering this kind of service or
they are just too hard to find. I'm hoping to help on that account.
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