How to Choose the Dog Daycare Franchise That's Right for You

Lily Sweeney, writer

Published at 09/12/2021, Updated on 04/05/2022 , Reading time: 5 min

How to Choose the Dog Daycare Franchise That's Right for You — Photo © How-to-Choose-the-Dog-Daycare-Franchise-That's-Right-for-You.jpg

If your heart is set on running a dog daycare business and looking after man’s best friend each working day, you might be wondering where to start when it comes to narrowing down the best franchise opportunity for you. There’s so much scope in the world of pet boarding franchise opportunities and pet daycare franchise opportunities, after all. Read on, and Point Franchise will break down everything you need to know to make the right move.

The best way to make a career change with a dog daycare franchise effectively and efficiently is to do plenty of research before you take the leap. Yes, running your own business as the owner of a dog daycare franchise is less risky than going it alone - but that doesn’t mean a franchise investment comes without any level of risk. Here are the five main avenues of investment that you might go down (all of which you should know about before you make that final decision)...

A dog daycare franchise

If you’ve heard of a human daycare or nursery, you’ll probably already be able to guess at what a dog daycare business looks like. When you start a dog daycare, you’ll mostly be looking after pooches while their owners are off at work/busy in a non-dog-friendly place. Like a small child would be, the dogs are then collected at the end of the working day and head home with their owners. Some dog daycares operate out of a singular location like a traditional daycare would, while other dog daycare franchises also offer daytime sitting services at home.

Choosing a franchise that specialises in dog daycare

One of the best options in the dog daycare world is PetStay. PetStay is a daycare/dog sitting (find out more about dog sitting below) hybrid that considers itself an alternative to kennels, ready to care for dogs “whenever the clients cannot attend to them”. You can become a PetStay franchisee for a minimum initial investment of £9,995.

A dog boarding franchise/a dog sitting franchise

If you choose to start a dog boarding franchise, you’ll be responsible, literally or managerially, for caring for canines overnight, sometimes for a week or two. The same will be true of a dog sitting franchise (though both might also be used for shorter-term stays). The key difference between the two franchise types is that most dog boarders operate and maintain a central premises/kennels where the dogs are all kept together, while most dog sitters care for dogs in their own homes/in the home of the owner while they’re away.

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How to choose a dog boarding business/dog sitting business

There are many great investment options in the world of dog boarding, including Wagging Tails and Barking Mad. Wagging Tails is all about giving dogs their own holidays when clients head on theirs, and you can become a franchisee for a minimum initial investment of £4,995, with a total investment cost of £12,995. Barking Mad is a home boarding service that employs trained and trusted sitting professionals, and you can become a franchisee for a minimum initial investment of £10,000, with a total investment cost of £14,995.

A dog walking franchise

One arguable subset of dog daycare is dog walking. As a dog walker, you’ll be caring for a dog in the day - you’ll simply be doing it in an outdoor, active setting that’s healthy for yourself and the dog. Some of the best dog daycare franchises in the UK are, in fact, dog walking franchises. Some walkers take multiple dogs out at once, so anyone looking to invest in this area should be proficient in dog handling/willing to work solely on a more managerial basis.

Choosing a dog walking franchise in the dog daycare industry

Dogknows is one of many great dog walking franchises currently operating in the UK, and it’s actually one of the first professional walking businesses ever founded in London. You can become a Dogknows franchisee for a minimum initial investment of £7,500, with a total investment cost of £15,000.

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A multi-service dog care franchise

While some dog and pet focused franchises choose to narrow down on one niche (like daycare, or walking, or grooming), others choose to offer a comprehensive range of services. This means that from the customer perspective, pet care services can all be requested and booked from the same contact point. It doesn’t get more convenient than that. Multi-service franchise investments will usually be more managerial in nature due to the depth of pet care expertise required.

How to choose a franchise that’s all about dog care

A great example of a multi-service franchise doing an amazing job in the pet care market is Friends For Pets, a company that always puts animal welfare first. You can become a Friends For Pets franchisee for a minimum initial investment of £8,995, with a monthly operating fee charged at 10%.

A dog grooming franchise

Similarly to dog walkers, dog groomers spend time with dogs and care for them during the day, and might therefore be considered a type of dog daycare franchise. They just so happen to also be completing grooming services as they do, from trimming nails and washing fur to shaping coats and checking for common parasites.

Choosing the right dog grooming franchise

Dial A Dog Wash is one of the most successful, well-loved grooming providers in the UK today thanks to its offerings of “optimal convenience, less pet stress, one to one attention, no cage drying and all-natural products”. You can become a franchisee with Dial A Dog Wash for a minimum initial investment of £14,999.

Discover how to run a dog daycare franchise today

As you can now see clearly, there are many, many options in the dog daycare world. It’s up to you which appeals the most, but once you have your answer, stick around on Point Franchise to continue the research process. Discover the biggest advantages of running a dog daycare business, and find out, step-by-step, how to start your own dog daycare.