To wonder how much you’d pay for dog home boarding?

[Deargentlereader12]

Hello 👋🏻
Wondering how much you would expect to pay for this service
Cage free / kennel free home boarding
Council licensed
Insured
Large secure garden
24/7 cctv
2 acres private woodland suitable for dogs that can go off lead
2 walks a day 20 minutes each
first aid trained
CPD course in canine communication
8 years experience
USP - We only board one families dog at a time!
I just got my license yesterday now I’m trying to figure out a price per day. What are people’s thoughts?

Thank you. It surprises me you wouldn’t expect to pay more than you would for a kennel though as kennels they are locked away for 22 hours a day

In fairness, it depends on the kennel. Around here, they basically have "daycare" during the day where they're free to roam a totally secure space or go and spend time in the inside area which has beds, sofas etc.

They're only kennelled overnight and if an owner requests it during the day for some reason. They're also walked if the owner wants that.

Trusted house sitters is great if you have a show home somewhere desirable - not so great if you don’t, plus you don’t have the security of having paid someone for it.

Foe me it would depend on where the dog was kept. Our dog sitter just has the dog in the house with him, in the living room etc

If you are walking your own dogs for longer than 20 mins it seems silly to advertise on this basis.

I'd up the cost to £50 per night and offer 2 longer walks.

Given it's easy and a nice perk I'd also advertise daily picture/short video for piece of mind.

I'd also consider if you would take 2 dogs from the same home or you are restricting to people who only own one dog. Fine if that's not feasible for you but something to think about and you could charge an addition £15/20 for the additional dog.

But surely as a dog walker….you know this isn’t enough for most dogs? 🤔

Yes just in the house wherever they want to go no problems with them going on sofa or my bed they will be treated like my own dogs are and allowed to go where my own dogs are apart from my daughters bedroom

I totally agree but we have to follow the conditions of our license

That's just the minimum though? There's no requirement that you can only walk them for that length of time, or advertise as such.

Would you ever leave the dog alone in the house? If not then you are providing a 24/7 service and people should expect to pay accordingly. I don't think for that £75 is unreasonable.

Yes for a maximum of 3 hours in a 24 hour period

Your license states you can only do two twenty minute walks a day?

In order to gain a 5* license you need to do 2 20 minute walks a day but I agree with everyone this obviously is not enough so I will be changing this to 1 x 1 hour and 1 x 20 minutes

its a minimum though? You can use your apparent knowledge as a dog walker to know that isn’t enough and offer more 🙃

also there’s likely to be a condition in your license around how long you can leave a dog unattended in each 24hrs.

Not sure how that fits in with you walking the boarded dog separately to your dogs and your other dog walks.

id spend some time researching businesses in your local area, you could always ask on a local Facebook page what people are looking for.
Can’t you gauge interest with your current dog walking customers

I agree with a pp, you don’t have a usp at the moment that would justify a significant day rate

Yes 3 hours in 24 hours.

Do you not feel a private 2 acre woodland and no other boarding dogs in is a service that’s a bit extra than a lot of others offer? Talking to another dog boarder last night that has done it for years she says there is no one else she knows of that only boards one clients dog at a time

Surely it means a minimum of two twenty minute walks, surely if you told the person granting a license you do two forty minute walks it wouldn’t have made any difference? Does that make sense?

Where will your dogs go whilst you have boarding dogs over?

Yes exactly so I will be changing it to the above 😀

They will stay at home

So you'll have strange dogs in your house with regular dogs? No separation?

A colleague pays someone to pop into her house on a daily basis to feed/change the kitty litter tray/make a fuss of her cat when she goes on holiday. They also send her daily recordings of the cat as proof of life because she's an anxious cat momma.

No idea what it costs her though.

Yes they will be separated

Sorry do you mean when I’m home or when I go out? When I go out they will be separated when I’m home they will mix with my dogs

I also do this too but I think I’ll give it up now I am starting boarding