Dog park

[ForeverTeach]

Following on from ‘that’ thread. I am considering with the help of lots of Aperol’s buying some land to create a dog park. The land price is very reasonable, so reasonable that I could buy it and walk my own dog. I would however like to provide land for other dog walkers. So, I have never done anything like this before and have no idea on how to frame a viable business. Anyone want to point me in the right way? For context I am in Kent.

Found you

Google dog parks near me, they will give you an idea what they do.

@vodkaredbullgirl That’s the thing, I’ve checked and there are none near me. My nearest are Essex!

Where i am a 3 acrea field is £11 55mins or £6 25 mins
Open 6am - 8pm every day and booked weeks in advance! Def viable business idea

You will be the 1st to open one in your area.

@PigeonMail oh my god, at 25 min I would only have to ‘rent’ it 2 hours a day!

I guess I would need fencing though.

There’s a plot near the river. Would you prefer empty field or field with river access?

Do I need a licence for this?

The blurb says development so I assume I could just buy this and do nothing except fences, especially if I get the first plot which is gate (would be mine?) then field. The other plots adjoin this.

What happens if I get a mid point plot? How does that work in terms of going through other plots? I am going to email the estate agents to ask for a viewing 😱

Not river access as you couldn't fence across the river and wilful fogs could escape

Fogs 😆😆😆 Okay, that scuppers plots 1 and 2 then. Now I am thinking this could be good for my horses. Looks like unblemished grass 😆

It's really depending on what you will market it as. There's a number near me and they all have different selling points. Some have additional equipment such as sensory gardens and pools. Some are very isolated (so great for reactive dogs) and some are just plain old fields.

You'll need to consider
fencing - it will need to be escape proof so high, secure and dug under to prevent diggers.
Waste disposal
Shelter for inclement weather
Water provision for filling dog bowls
Access - most of our local ones are double gated to prevent escaping
Insurance
Timings - again, most locally do 45-50 min slots so you can enter and exit without encountering another dog
Vaccine requirements and how you would police that. All our local ones require proof of vaccine to be shown before the first visit
Council requirements eg licenses

OMG, do I have to mow this?

@ThreeB Mmmm, you are the voice of reason to scupper my excitement!

So, look at plots and contact council asap.

No chance of any water facilities. I am assuming poop bins and pay council to dispose.

I hate dog parks because they stink, my dog won't play for sniffing piss. Even a field is the same so I wouldn't be your ideal customer, sorry. Good luck tho :)

@Redpriestandmozart All opinions welcome.

There is lots to think about and what you have to do.

@vodkaredbullgirl absolutely. After the Easter break I am going to contact the estate agent. Watch this space

We use one with river access. Other side of river has electric fencing and horses grazing. The dogs don't go over there at all.

It's amazing, an hour off lead with the only stress being how many tennis balls the numpty dog will lose floating off downstream in that time 😂 he's not brave enough to swim yet!!!

Oh and the owners use it for horses too, they have school letter markings for a dressage arena out.

I use our local dog park once a week and love it! One of my dogs is reactive so walking her can be stressful but it’s great to have somewhere guaranteed to be dog free for her to be off lead and run around. I pay £15 for 55mins.

One of my labs is not good off lead when in the local park or on other walks. Got a long lead for him which gives him more run around. At least in a big enclosed field he has the time of his life. Our other lab, she is pretty good on and off the lead.

£12 for half an hour near me (Berkshire) and the owner’s three fields are solidly booked - very viable business round these parts.

Thank you everyone, I am going to rest my head. I promise to keep you appraised of any developments and will be back in the morning to follow on!

@ForeverTeach

OMG, do I have to mow this?

Well yes, otherwise the grass will grow and grow and eventually it will become unkempt and people won't want to use it.

You also need to think about drainage and how muddy it will get in winter. If mud is likely to be a problem in winter (look at similar local fields and footpaths that see heavy use) it will be off-putting because the dogs will get very muddy so need cleaning and also unpleasant and potentially dangerous to the owners as they could fall over.

Fencing is likely to be £££s and don't forget you are likely to need planning permission for the change in use.

There's one near us and it is very popular, but I'd definitely do some calculations in terms of potential income vs return on investment and cost of fencing, security
to stop people using the field without paying.

I can’t believe people are paying to use a dog field! What a rip off!
our council has designated 2 in the city and are used mostly by people who have young dogs or are training puppies. They also have banned dogs from 2/3 of our beaches May to Oct and brought in animals to graze on some open areas used by walkers, and dogs previously, so I guess they thought they should provide some alternative.
every council should be doing this though. Not leaving it up to individuals looking to make a profit - who can afford those prices?…

Yes to the licence. So check with the local council first.

It is not a rip off: if you foster rescue dogs, or have a reactive dog, or have a dog recovering from an operation and who can't run off and play with other dogs, these areas are a god send because they guarantee that you will be the only person there. So please don't judge just because you are not aware of other dog owners' needs.

Our local one is £12 per hour for upto 4 dogs. I’m in it at the moment with my reactive collie. It’s bliss just to switch off and let him run without fear of joggers, cyclists or dogs he does like appearing. Anywhere else he has to be on a long lead so this is brilliant. This is one of the fields, it has another plus a small field the owners rent out for agility.