Home-Based Pet Business

These low-end pet franchises tend to have much lower start-up costs, ranging from $10,000 to $100,000, with the majority of them falling around the $40K mark. That seems like a bargain for buying an entire business that's yours to own and run. But there are also significant drawbacks to consider. Let's take a closer look at some of the ramifications for each type of home-based pet business.

Pet Sitting Franchise

The very phrase "pet sitting" derives from that old standby source of income for teenagers, "babysitting." The downside of a pet sitting franchise is that no matter how the franchisor may pitch their business model, ultimately this is a business that requires no skills whatsoever. Not only does this make your new job less rewarding; it also means that you will be competing for business with area teenagers who would be happy to charge a small fraction of the fees you'll be required to levy. On the plus side, there's essentially no overhead whatsoever, but you'll be paying a franchise fee with the hope that the brand name will entice people more than a cheaper friend, neighbor or family member who is known by the pet's family.

But there's even more you need to consider. Even though you're not running a million dollar boarding kennel, you are setting yourself up to deal with the same kind of huge liability issues faced by the biggest kennels and pet resorts. Every time someone leaves an animal in your care, you are to some extent courting danger. Whether the franchisor advises you to do this or not, it's highly recommended that you get in the habit of photographing every dog in your charge when he's dropped off with you (or when you pick him up), and again when you return him to his owner. You'll certainly need business liability insurance, and an attorney to look over the paperwork and to handle any claims that may arise. Pet owners are not much different than protective parents. They have a sixth sense for noticing every little scratch or hair out of place.

Lastly, as far as income goes, there's not a lot of money in pet sitting. Because of the overwhelming competition, the rates you charge have to remain reasonable. And because you're running a home-based business, you don't have signage or a storefront with high visibility to attract customers. Plan on spending a significant amount of your budget and your time trying to publicizing your pet sitting franchise, and drumming up new business wherever you can find it. If structure or reliability of income is important, you will have to contend with a highly unpredictable workload and a schedule that varies from day to day.

Dog Walking Franchise

Word for word, every single thing we said about a pet sitting franchise is equally true about a dog walking franchise, so there's not much need to elaborate. In fact, the majority of pet sitting franchises double up as dog walking franchises. It's an expectation that when you're caring for a dog, you'll also be taking her on walks. Here you'll find the same unpredictability of income, a constant need to seek out clients, and competition from friends, neighbors, and area teenagers who have also mastered the fine art of putting their right foot in front of their left foot. And again you'll find the same liability issues, since animals are being left in your care.

Mobile Pet Grooming Franchise

The best way to begin discussing a mobile pet grooming franchise is with a question: have you ever worked as a professional dog groomer? If yes, read on. If not, no matter how much of a pain it seems, you absolutely need to apply for a job at a local dog grooming salon and work there for a few weeks. Bathing your own dogs is not the same. It's like the difference between baking cookies from time to time at home and being a professional baker. We're talking a lot of repetitive motions, a lot of time on your feet, a lot of bending over, and a lot of trips to the chiropractor. Trust us: this is a physically grueling profession, and since it may end up being your new full-time line of business, it's something you really need to experience first-hand before you buy a franchise and go through the training.

One thing you may be worried about is getting bitten. There's no need to worry. Why? Because you will get bitten. Guaranteed. It's not something that happens every day, but it's a reality of the life of a dog groomer. Your training and your cautiousness will minimize these occurrences, to be sure. But grooming is highly stressful for most dogs, and you're the one who will bear the brunt of it. Now, were you simply working as a dog groomer at a pet grooming salon or kennel, if you were to suffer an injury, at the very least you'd be able to collect workman's comp. The franchise model is different. You are not an employee of the franchisor. The franchisor/franchisee relationship is very specific. You are an independent business owner. The boss. That's incredibly cool in many ways. But you have no one to sue, no one to file workman's comp with when you're the owner of the business.

On the plus side, mobile pet grooming franchises are growing in popularity. Pet owners definitely enjoy the convenience of having you come to their home or workplace. Because you'll need to buy a properly outfitted vehicle and all of the equipment, the costs tend to be higher than the other home-based pet franchises. In fact, the most prevalent mobile pet grooming franchise requires an initial investment of $100,000. For that same level of investment, you could be running an actual brick and mortar dog business with a storefront, drive-by and foot traffic, and a true grounded presence in the community, as opposed to only being seen when your logo-wrapped van drives by. Speaking of driving, when you and your accountant run the numbers on a mobile pet grooming franchise, be sure to include the cost of gas. Vans don't get great mileage. And the price of gas is nothing to ignore when building a spreadsheet.

In-Home or Mobile Dog Training Franchise

Dog training in general is an enormous growth industry. But running this type of business out of your home poses some serious issues worth considering. Because it's a home-based pet business, you will be cobbling together your schedule on a daily or weekly basis. Because you have no brick and mortar business, there is never an option for foot traffic, or drive-by interest. You are for the most part being called in to fix a problem behavior; if you succeed, you've just lost a client (though hopefully he will refer you to a friend some day). Also remember to factor in your driving time and not-negligible gas costs; neither of these significant costs will be recoupable from your clients.

On thus plus side, you have next to no overhead. Your franchise fee will largely be going to the training you will receive; if you have your own ideas or previous experience with training dogs, you can forget about that, as you will need to teach the specific methods endorsed by the franchisor. Your fee is also going to the concept of name recognition of the trademark. Of the various home-based dog training franchises, only one has serious national name recognition. However, they also require a minimum initial investment of around $70,000 - which is not much less than the start-up cost for a brick and mortar dog training franchise. This $70K franchise also, however, compels you to offer a lifetime guarantee to all of your clients on the training you provide. That eliminates the very concept of repeat business. If you have ever worked as a dog trainer, this is something you will already know well: you can be the best dog trainer in the world, but once you deliver the dog to the owner, there's no guarantee that the owner will follow through on your instructions. Or perhaps she will, but her husband won't - or the kids, or the housekeeper, etc. Someone in the household, if not everyone, will go back to their old bad habits, and that means the dog will start repeating his bad habits, which means another call to you to come out and do the same training - only this time, you won't be paid. Ouch.

Unlike a brick-and-mortar dog training franchise in which owners bring their dogs in to take part in private training or group classes to enjoy the socialization aspects of training, you will not have the luxury of always having the dog's owner present. In fact, in almost every case you'll be left alone with the pet - which raises the same liability issues we discussed in more detail above with regard to a pet sitting franchise.

In summary, dog training is indeed one of the hottest areas in the pet services industry; but weighing the pros and cons of a home-based dog training franchise, and comparing that to everything you'd get with a proper pet business in town, with your own dedicated training facility in the heart of your community, a decision between the two types of dog training franchises should be a no-brainer.

Dog Waste Removal Service

Low overhead. Low starting costs. Low liability (since you're not dealing with dogs, but rather the dog's waste). These are all the benefits. And those are good benefits - nothing to sneeze at. But can you really predict demand in your area of dog-owners willing to pay for this service in today's economy? Ask yourself this question: would you pay for a dog waste removal service? And, honestly, to cut to the chase, is this what you want to do with your life?

Our advice: go to a party. Tell people this is what you do for a living. See how the night progresses. See how you feel when you get home. Is it a good feeling? Then a dog waste removal service franchise might be just the thing for you.

Currently Available Home-Based Pet Business Franchises

None of the following constitutes an endorsement or offering of any of these pet franchises.
You will need to fully investigate each pet franchise, along with the counsel of an attorney and/or an accountant.
No potential revenue statistics are cited, as claims of earnings by franchisors are strictly prohibited by Federal Law.
If any franchisor cites statistics of how much money you can make, treat such information with suspicion.
If you choose to report their violation of Franchise Law, you may report them to the FTC.

Name of Pet Franchise	Minimum Investment	Type of Pet Franchise	Additional Services Provided	Comments
Waggin' Tailz	$10,300	dog walking franchise - pet sitting franchise	pet taxi, cat care	Please note that you must be drug-screened to qualify for this franchise. This franchise is run in tandem with the Snaggle Foot business listed below. They have the same corporate owners. Snaggle Foot was formed as the new company after some trademark and name-related issues arose for Waggin' Tailz. You are required to purchase their proprietary brand of dog walking supplies.
Snaggle Foot Dog Walks & Pet Care	$10,300	dog walking franchise - pet sitting franchise	pet taxi	Same corporate owners as Waggin' Tailz, listed above. You will receive three days of training at their headquarters. Drug screening is mandatory. $40,000 in liquid capital is required to buy this franchise.
Fetch Pet Care	$20,300	dog walking franchise - pet sitting franchise		You will receive three days of training, plus a book and a video in order to be prepared to own and run this franchise. Their emphasis is on hiring employees to do the actual pet sitting and dog walking. Much of your time will be spent with recruiting new employees.
Canine Dimensions In-Home Dog Training	$35,000	in-home dog training franchise		You will be limited in the types of dog training you can offer: only puppy classes and obedience training. You offer your clients a Board and Train program in which a pet owner will leave his dog in your house with you for ten days for you to proceed with behavior modification techniques. However, your opportunities to capitalize on this service are likely limited by anti-kennel laws in your area as many cities restrict the number of dogs allowed at one property.
Zoomin Groomin	$40,000	mobile pet grooming franchise	pet spa, pet sitting, dog walking	Grooming is performed in the driveway of customers' homes. They assist with vehicle financing. Special custom vehicles and equipment are required.
DoodyCalls	$47,200	dog waste removal service	deck deodorizing, lawn brown spot treatment, pet waste station installation	Thirty hours of training are provided for franchisees to learn the business. In addition to paying 6% of sales to the franchisor, an additional 3% is tacked on for marketing, so the ongoing royalty fee is actually 9% of gross sales. The fees you collect are generally low, as you'll be charging about $15 to clean the yard. It's important to group your clients together geographically, if possible, to prevent gasoline costs from eating away your income.
Pets Are Inn	$49,500	in-home pet boarding		In this boarding franchise, you house people's pets in your own home. Or you hire employees to work for you - meaning they let you place pets into their homes. Requires a minimum of four employees. Whereas a boarding kennel can accommodate dozens or scores of animals at once, a private home is strictly limited by both available space and anti-kennel laws. So to make a reasonable income typically means finding a multitude of qualified homes in which to house people's pets.
Pet Butler	$49,900	dog waste removal service		Franchisor provides billing and collection services for all franchisees. Includes five days of training to teach you how to be a "Fecal Matter Removal Technician." Needless to say, no prior experience is necessary.
Interquest Detection Canines	$61,000	in-home dog training franchise		This is not conventional obedience training, but rather only detection training for sniffing out drugs and other contraband. Your clients are not the entire population of dog owners in your community, but rather only schools and other institutions that require detection services. Most high-profile institutions (airports, government offices, state-run institutions of higher learning) have existing contracts with security forces, so there is a serious barrier to entry. You need to do your homework and come up with a long enough list of viable clients, and confirm that they'd be open to using your dogs before investing in this franchise.
Bark Busters	$71,100	in-home dog training franchise		All training is conducted in client's home. Required to offer a "Life of the Dog Guarantee" to all clients, providing all re-training free of charge. If a dog is sold or given to a new family, this guarantee transfers to the new owner. To make this scenario work, clients are charged approximately $675 for training, which is out of the price range for many dog owners, in spite of the fact that it comes with the guarantee. If a client does not enjoy the experience, they can request another trainer. It is unclear whether you are required to service other franchise territories as an alternate trainer if this occurs. Training methodology employs devices such as muzzles and throw chains, as the franchisor's training philosophy is deeply rooted in a dominance-based behavior model.
Aussie Pet Mobile	$100,000	mobile pet grooming franchise	Flea & tick control, cat grooming	Required to purchase branded fully-equipped Mercedes van. 80 hour initial training program. Royalty fee is 8% plus 4% for marketing for a total royalty of 12% of gross sales. Note: the majority of franchises ask only 1% for national marketing contributions, so this is four times the industry average. Required to use client's electricity and water supply which may not always be possible. Although pricing for clients is on par with full-service grooming salons, not all services can be performed. For example, franchisees may not clean anal glands, which is a procedure many clients expect for a pricey full groom.