Starting a pet boarding business requires many considerations. K9Sky provides efficient boarding software to help pet boarding businesses become successful.
A pet boarding service is one of the fastest-growing businesses today. With the appropriate tools and boarding kennel system, this business can be maintained and improved in the long run. If you want to venture into pet boarding services, here are a few considerations you must know:
What is a Pet Boarding Business?
A pet boarding business caters to clients who need to leave their pets with professional supervision while they are away or out of town. Their pet dog stays in a boarding facility to sleep in a dog kennel until their owners return. Depending on their request, the pet boarding business staff will take the dog for a walk and sometimes allow it to run in a small space.
How is a Pet Boarding Important?
No matter how much dog lover a person is, there will always come a time when they have to leave their pets behind for a necessary appointment, a beach outing, or an out-of-town trip where they cannot bring along their furry friends. Boarding services will take care of your pets. Some people can be so busy they cannot care for their pets.
What are the Different Choices of Pet Boarding Amenities?
Pet boarding facilities have significantly improved throughout the years. If dogs are crate-trained, you may offer to place them in typical kennels to make them feel secure and comfortable. But for pets not used to staying in crates, your clients may opt to pay an extra fee so their pets can enjoy a small outdoor run. You may also offer boarding kennels that fit each dog’s size and make them move freely despite being inside a cage. Keeping dogs together in a large room is also an option, but this comes with a few health risks. In this case, the dog kennel manager must be familiar with different dog sizes and personalities, including their health status upon boarding.
How do Pets Adjust to Boarding?
Several factors affect how pets adjust to boarding. Some dogs may find it okay to spend some days in a boarding facility, while others long for home. To keep dogs’ overall health and happiness during boarding, be sure to take note of the following:
- The amount of exercise the pets get at home determines whether they can be kept in kennels and for how long. Some pets grew up with the freedom of running in garage spaces, so you’ll have to give them a run when boarding, too.
- The dog diet: ensure dogs eat their food without any additives. If they like to receive treats occasionally or after a grooming session, have their favorite treats or let the client bring what they have at home.
- Dogs may also have their favorite toy or blanket inside boarding kennels; this will help ease their home and owners’ longing.
What are the Health Concerns when Boarding Pets?
Inevitably, dogs will be exposed to other pets once they go to a boarding facility. Before accepting dogs for boarding, make sure that they are completely vaccinated. Some may not feel well during the boarding, so placing each in a separate dog kennel is essential. Preventing animals from acquiring fleas, ticks, and other diseases while accommodating many pets will make your boarding business known and well-performing.
How is the Preferred Boarding Facility?
Clients have different preferences when choosing a pet boarding facility. Making your boarding business the preferred boarding facility is possible. As a pet business owner, you need to consider some critical points to provide excellent pet boarding facility services:
- Ensure you have the proper kennels, considering the size and material for dogs’ comfort. Some dogs are used to soft and fluffy beds, and others feel relaxed in a large kennel because they don’t feel jailed.
- Secure cleaning schedules for boarding kennels. With a clean and sanitized place comes good health for dogs and the shop staff. Assign cleaning tasks during boarding and ensure proper sanitation whenever a pet checks out in a dog kennel.
- Register your boarding facility with the American Boarding Kennel Association (ABKA). ABKA promotes professional standards and proper handling of boarding facilities. Members must agree to its code of ethics and comply with its operating requirements.
- Please explain how you manage boarding pets in different kennels in your ad promotions, especially when animals become sick during their boarding period. Once your clients know that you can handle things right, they will keep coming back to sign that they trust their Furbabies’ lives in you.
- Explain how the billing is done, especially with add-on services such as pick-up and drop-off or extended days of stay. You can also indicate boarding kennels’ prices according to type and size so clients can decide where to put their pets without worrying about uncertain bills.
- Your pet boarding business must comply with the requirements for operating. Present complete papers and frame them in your establishments to add trust points to clients. Nobody wants to transact with an illegally built business, so obey the pet boarding business rules.
There’s so much more with the pet boarding business than you can imagine. Aside from having a profitable way of taking care of pets, you are also a big help to your clients; they can do whatever they need to accomplish without worrying about who will look after their dogs.
A Pet Boarding Business is Like Any Other Business
There are always downtimes in running a business, and yours is not an exemption. Especially when you are still new in the industry, clients will not notice you yet, and investments may not return as expected. However, you should not be discouraged. Instead, look for ways to improve your business by looking for excellent dog kennel management and being in the spotlight.
A Final Note for You
Doing what you love is good, but making money from your passion is even better. If you want to engage in a pet boarding business, be sure you are a pet lover. You need to know their needs and wants because, like humans, they have feelings, too.
Take this business as a ‘business,’ but NOT ONLY a ‘business.’ Once the pet boarding starts and the owner leaves, their lives lie in your hands. Think of them as your pets, and they might love you in return as their owner. When the owners come back and see that the pets had a wonderful time with you, they will remember you and most likely transact with you again. You must have logical thinking and a compassionate heart for dogs. Otherwise, a pet boarding business may not be suited for you.
