License for dog boarding / doggy day care

[ponyclub1234]

I am thinking about setting up a home boarding / doggy daycare business to make an extra income alongside my current job. My current job is only part time / flexible and I work from home so I will have the time to do it. I know I need insurance and a license to do so from the council, I just wondered if anyone else has applied for this license and what the pre-requisite checks are. I am confident in my home and garden being suitable but personally I am not trained to look after animals, I just have a great love for them! I am worried about paying out for the license only to get rejected…

If you go on your council website you can find the licensing conditions.
They are getting stricter generally. You may well need first aid training and also some dog care related further education.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/animal-activities-licensing-guidance-for-local-authorities/dog-day-care-licensing-statutory-guidance-for-local-authorities

Beware- I know at least two people exploring this at the moment. The market may end up saturated

I’d also look into some qualifications for yourself or go and work at a dog trainers as and assistant for a little while. You may get your license to find that pet owners don’t want to leave their pets with someone who isn’t qualified or that the dogs they leave need a bit more than just supervision.
If you are introducing new dogs to each other I’d say a good understanding of canine body language and pack dynamics is a prerequisite.

I’m looking into doing this at the moment.
Read your council licence info in detail, my council require you to have two separate living spaces, not open plan, so you can separate dogs if necessary. Dog first aid is also mentioned.
Think about what would happen if you were suddenly incapacitated. You need at least one, preferably two back-up people who could step in at a moment’s notice if you were suddenly hospitalised for example. The dog’s owners couldn’t necessarily get straight back from holiday and nor should they have to.
Security is also a thing, they like you to have at least two doors between the dogs and the front of the house, so just a back gate in your garden wouldn’t necessarily cut it.
Think about which breeds normally get on. I’m thinking of doing it only for my breed to start with as I already do it informally for people who have had one of my puppies and for friends with the breed. They are a bouncy, sociable breed that can be a bit full on and don’t tend to do well in kennels.
I’ve got two of my own and wouldn’t take on an elderly terrier for example, mine would try to play and the terrier would hate it. I’d also factor in the time you’d need to do a meet and greet walk before booking them in, to make sure they’d fit in with your existing household.
Your licence is for the total of the dogs in your house, so if you’ve got two and you get a licence for four dogs, that’s only two extra dogs you can have in.
Extra things like crash-safe crates for the inside of your car for taking them for walks or vet trips are important. Are you confident medicating a strange dog if need be? Have you got competent help available if a dog needs ear/eye drops and it’s a two person job?
I’m only considering it at the moment, there’s a lot to think about before I commit!

We are also in the process of having extensive building work done to make our house more practical for our own dogs, which is why I thought about doing home boarding as it will be already set up with loads of handy things integrated into the build.
Things like a tiled doggy entrance separate from the main entrance, with a dog shower and a drying room with underfloor heating for coming back from muddy walks. The whole back garden will be artificial turfed, the fence will be cat proofed so the neighbouring cats (and hopefully foxes) don’t come in. There’ll be a real turf section for one of mine to toilet on as she won’t toilet on artificial. All the raised borders round the edge will be planted with non-toxic, robust shrubs.
The big open plan kitchen/lounge/diner will be open to the south facing garden for most of the time, then there’s a separate snug that can be shut off from the rest. It’ll come in handy when feeding dogs from different households to be able to shut them separately.
There is also no direct access from the back garden to the front of the house, only through multiple doors. We’re also at the bottom of a close opposite a golf course, with no passing traffic and in fact no road up to our house, just a footpath so it’s super safe.
I’ve also worked with animals in various ways all my life, I’ve previously done a lot of house/dog sitting just not had the room and the time to do it at my own house.
I think a lot of people will try to start doing home boarding, I think many will give up when they realise it’s not always quite as easy as just having a nice quiet dog to stay over!

You will need qualifications and animal first aid as a minimum.

Otherwise, each council is different, but as a rule, things are getting much stricter. I looked into doggy daycare but I can make much more money walking - and it doesn't damage my house

You'll need to think about the following:

• all dogs need their own "room" where they can be separated from the others in case of a fight or illness.
• your garden must be secure - high fences and locked gates.
• you'll need systems in place to ensure dogs can't get out if, for example, a delivery driver leaves the gate open.
• you'll need a place to store things like special food and medication (some needs to be stored in the fridge).
• you generally can't leave the dogs alone, so what happens if you need to go out during the day?
• you'll need to fit in dog walks throughout the day too. Are you happy controlling multiple dogs in public?

You say you work from home but what happens if a fight breaks out while you're working? How will you keep all the dogs safe and prevent accidents or destructive behaviour while focusing on another job?

I would also say - it's not as easy as it sounds and you probably won't make huge amounts of money from it once you factor in the cost of insurance, a license, supplies for your house, damage from the dogs (what if they pee on your carpet/furniture, chew your doorframes etc.).

I also have to say that as a dog owner myself, there is no way I would use a doggy daycare provider who was doing it on the side of another job. I would want them to have 100% of their focus on the dogs. You'll need to be 100% honest with any prospective clients and expect them to turn you down if you're not doing it full-time.

I was a licensed dog boarder. I work in a secondary school so only boarded during the holidays.
LA License officer came to do garden inspection prior to issuing license.
I have a side gate which isn't lockable, she said it was advised to be lockable but couldn't enforce.
All owners provided me with a full written schedule and always had a 'sniffing out' session before they were happy to book me. I never took a dog without meeting it and the owners first.
I made it clear to owners that dogs weren't allowed upstairs or on my sofas.
I was inundated with bookings but after 2 years decided I'd had enough.
I have no animal first aid or other qualifications.

Just to add I only offered lead on exercise, regardless of how good their recall was.

Sorry but to be clear I would only take on 1 dog at a time since I am not doing it full time, 2 at an absolute most and only if they already lived together. It will not be a full on business, ideally I just want to provide care and a home from home for a few dogs who may have seperation anxiety whose owner can't be with them in the day or for holidays and make a bit of extra money in the process (not large amounts I know)

I have no back gate so no risk of escaping and plenty of doors in the house to keep the dog separated if needs be. I also have a field round the corner of my house so no need for it to be in the car. I have been a dog owner all my life so am confident with most breeds and of course I will be up front about me doing another job in the house 3 days of the week.

Will it be financially viable to only take one or two dogs a day, once you factor in all the other costs?

Depending on your area, a license can cost £600+, whereas daycare charges tend to only be around £25 per day.

I am lucky my council charge £125!

Most councils will not give you a lience if your are wfh when boarding the dogs.

Flooring is often an issue and can be expensive to rectify and also the "named person" who will step in if you are not able.

Courses level 3 day care and boarding course

The rules have changed got so strict even my previous home boarder who has done ot for 18 years and highly respected licensed etc is giving up home boarding now

This was people who so popular and respected that people booked stay with them before the holidays