Brick & Mortar Dog Franchises

Here we take a look at the four major types of pet franchises at the high end of dog franchising: the Dog Day Care Franchise, the Dog Training Franchise, the Pet Grooming Franchise, the Pet Supply Franchise, and the Dog Bakery Franchise. Every one of these options has a higher initial cost than the home-based pet businesses featured on our other major category page. But they also have some distinct advantages - the sort of visibility and community impact that only a brick and mortar establishment can engender. Although we have placed all four of these dog franchise categories on the same page, there are extreme differences among the four types, and some serious pros and cons you must consider before buying a franchise. The investment range is also enormously broad - the franchises on this page vary in initial cost from $85,000 to almost $800,000. So please read on for a more thorough analysis of these pet franchises...

Dog Day Care Franchise

This category also includes pet boarding franchises, dog kennels, pet resorts, pet spas and all other flavors of dog day care. It's important to note that many of these pet franchises try to cover the waterfront, especially the pet resorts, which may offer pet grooming and dog training in addition to boarding and dog day care.

The advantage of these businesses is a greater opportunity for revenue, for the most part, compared to the low-end franchised previously mentioned. Boarding is a fairly big-ticket item. Such facilities can also derive revenue from adjunct services like grooming or retail in some cases.

But these benefits are not without significant costs and risks that you should take into consideration. These franchises tend to be rather expensive to start, compared to other available options. Boarding is also a highly-seasonal business; you should expect long kennel stays during winter holidays, for example, but extremely sluggish business during other parts of the year. Managing and stretching your finances through diligent planning is absolutely essential.

Boarding facilities are never one-person operations. You must be prepared to employ staff - and often at relatively low wages, which means high turnover. You will be running a 24-hour-a-day, 7-days-a-week business that never closes. The biggest challenge, on top of these considerations, is liability issues. When clients place their beloved dogs in your care, you are faced with serious expectations and the assumption of full liability. Lastly, because kenneling is such a well-established field, competition tends to be high from other local businesses, many of which may already have dedicated clientele. You need to be certain that this niche isn't fully saturated in your area.

Owning a Dog Day Care Franchise

Myth vs. Reality

Myth: I'll get to play with dogs all day.
Reality: You'll spend most of your time managing your employees and dealing with customers. You'll rarely see the dogs, except when there are problems.

Myth: It will be fun.
Reality: You'll work incredibly long hours and be constantly putting out fires. Dogs will get sick, injured, or possibly even die in your care. Despite all your best efforts, every kennel owner has to deal with the bad stuff, and if you own a kennel for more than five years, chances are a dog will die in your facility. Want to call that owner and break the news?

Myth: I'll love owning a kennel.
Reality: Are you ready for 2 am phone calls when you have to take a dog with seizures off to the vet? Ready for threats of legal action against you for dog injuries or illnesses, worker's compensation claims, and unemployment suits? All this and more can be yours when you accept liability for someone's treasured family member.

Myth: Dogs will have a great time playing at my facility.
Reality: Some dogs will have a great time at your place, but what about those dogs that don't and unexpectedly fight? You'll be constantly monitoring for squabbles, and if your staff isn't on the ball 100% of the time, you'll be shuttling dogs off to the vet for stitches. Not fun when you have to pick up the tab and deal with angry clients.

Myth: People want to leave their dogs in a nice place, and are willing to pay for it, so I'll make lots of money.
Reality: Upscale kennels mean a lot of overhead, and a lot of staff. In this economy, the airline and travel industries have been hit especially hard, and pet boarding is a direct casualty of this decrease in travel. Finding good labor, attracting the right clientele, and building a successful boarding business will take a lot of skill to manage during these times. If you haven't run a kennel before, the learning curve can quickly sap your resources.

Myth: I can start a great kennel or daycare for not very much money.
Reality: Startup costs for an upscale kennel will range from a half million to over two million dollars. Banks have stopped funding these luxury kennels because the loan amounts are just too high. While pet care services are increasing, the startup capital needed to create and run a kennel for the first two years while the business is building is enormous.

Myth: I'll love having a community of great staff members working around me.
Reality: The labor pool you can afford will be uneducated, inexperienced, and lacking in basic job skills. You'll have to spend hours and hours training even the most junior staff members. Kennel owners all agree on one thing ? employees cause the most problems in the industry.

Myth: A kennel is easy to start.
Reality: Even franchised kennels, where you have the support of the franchise company, can be difficult and expensive to get off the ground. Finding an appropriate site or building can take literally years as you wade through zoning headaches.

Dog Training Franchise

Without a doubt, this is the fastest growing of all pet service franchises. Unlike the home-based or mobile dog training franchises you may read about on the other page, these dog training franchises take place at a dedicated dog training facility, creating an upscale, professional atmosphere not unlike a modern, trendy human gym. At the present time, only one national brand is offering this type of dog training franchise, and they have smartly placed an emphasis in their branding on dog agility, which happens to be the fastest growing dog sport in the country. As brick and mortar dog franchises go, it is also notable for weighing in at a fraction of the cost of the upscale pet resort and dog day care franchises.

The chief competition for a dog training franchise are not the in-home or mobile dog training services, nor the indidual freelance dog trainers, for those can never provide the socialization opportunities of a dedicated training facility with group classes. Instead, the only real competition are the Big Box pet stores, PetSmart and PetCo, some of which have launched dog training as a new aspect of their business. However, these big box stores hold little aesthetic appeal to choosy dog owners who would rather opt for a more inviting and exclusive ambience in which to play with their pets.

A dog training franchise, however, most distinguishes itself from the other pet franchises in this category by virtue of the fact that the dog's owner is always present. This is an enormous shift in liability. Whereas a dog day care franchise, pet resort, and even a pet groomer must contend with heavy liability for any real or perceived harm that the owner claims, a dog training franchise does not bear this onus. This even puts it ahead of the lower-end home-based or mobile dog training franchises, and even dog walking and pet sitting franchises, which may have a lower starting cost, but this doesn't take into consideration lawsuits and liability issues when pets are left in the franchisee's care.

Pet Grooming Franchise

A pet grooming franchise or dog wash franchise, unlike the mobile pet grooming franchises featured on our other category page, are all storefronts - often located in strip malls - where you either groom dogs yourself, or provide the space and equipment for dog owners to bathe their own dogs.

A pet grooming franchise, even when run as a brick-and-mortar business, still poses the same challenges as a mobile pet grooming franchise, so we'd encourage you to take a look at our examination of those pet franchises on our page about home-based pet businesses. You'll be faced with similar issues here, plus the increased start-up costs and overhead of running a place of business.

A dog wash franchise, on the other hand, eliminates many of those drawbacks. These are essentially self-service dog washing services in which you operate a storefront that caters to pet owners willing to bathe their own dogs, as long as you provide the right equipment - grooming bays, hoses, dryers, towels, etc. Like the dog training franchises listed above, this type of business has the benefit that the owners are with their own dogs at all times. While that creates a much rosier scenario for you - both in terms of legal issues and the backache of grooming dogs all day - the majority of the dog was franchises ask you to also offer drop-off full-service dog grooming to your customers. When this is the case, you become a dog groomer, rather than a business owner, and must contend with all of the challenges of dog grooming. Our advice is to ask your potential franchisor about how the business breaks down in terms of revenue from self-wash versus full-service dog grooming. It's an important consideration for you to weigh.

Pet Supply Franchise

This category includes traditional retail pet supply stores, pet food franchises, dog bakery franchises, and the occasional pet boutique, although these upscale retail shops are definitely on their way out. Pet boutiques are viewed as an unnecessary luxury by many dog owners, whereas service-oriented pet businesses are thriving. So if you're thinking about owning one of those adorable, super-chic pet boutiques, in today's economy, not a smart idea. The reality is that while services for pets remain in high demand, many upscale pet boutiques have been going out of business in the current economic climate. Producers of pricey luxury pet goods are finding scarce audiences at the big national trade shows. This high-end area of the pet industry, while once a great niche, is not remotely the opportunity it once was.

More traditional "box" pet supply retailers are in a better position, but they are for the most part extremely expensive franchises to start, as you must carry an enormous inventory. Even though this is a more effective model than a pet boutique, in almost every community in the U.S. you will still be in direct competition with the Big Box pet supply and pet food stores: PetCo and PetSmart, not to mention CostCo, WalMart and Target. And, regardless of your location, many smart and budget-conscious dog owners have realized that there are about forty great pet supply websites from which they can order any pet supply, supplement or pet food they prefer - without paying sales tax, and often with free shipping. That's an enormous amount of savings and convenience, and those online retailers aren't paying the kind of overhead you'll be faced with. Many of them are just drop-shippers, running a virtual not a real warehouse, so they're not even stocking inventory. If you consider a pet food franchise, or a pet supply franchise that carries pet food (which is 100% of the ones currently available), you must remember that you'll be carrying perishable stock. A Kong toy might last forever, but a bag of pet food won't. So inventory management is going to be an ongoing headache as you struggle to compete with the Big Boxes and the Online Pet Supply Retailers.

Dog Bakery Franchise

A dog bakery franchise does not face those same types of competition as the pet supply and pet food franchises, which is a definite plus. However, an entrepreneur or investor should always be especially wary when the success of a business rests on one single product. Not every community in America is sold on the idea of going to a bakery just for your dog. And the more upscale dog-friendly communities that are open to the concept most likely already have a dog bakery franchise (or two) enjoying that business. The one nationally recognized dog bakery franchise will set you back about a quarter of a million dollars to start, so that's also worth considering. In summary, with this type of pet franchise, take special care to know your territory before making a decision - really come to know the levels of disposable income and the attitudes toward such a single-note business concept.

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