Wanting to open a dog walking field, does anyone use one?

[Swifey40]

Could I please pick your brains?? We have about 1/2 acre, which we would of course fence up to 6 foot high. What do we need amd how much do we charge?? I need to make our land profitable, so please help me!!
I am a dog owner, but have never used one of these fields, so am in the dark.
Thank you in advance ☺

All the ones I use you take poo home. One thing which would be great would be if you offered a 15 min rent option. We have a greyhounds - she loves to have a mad run for all of 5/10 mins and then that’s it! When you have to pay 7.50 for 10 mins it doesn’t feel like great value. £4 or £5 for 15 mins would be very appealing.

I wouldn’t want to have to take the poo home - I’d expect there to be a poo bin there. I’ve used a few in the area and there have been bins at each.

I use them most days. Half an acre isn't anywhere near big enough I'm afraid. The good ones we go to are at least 3.5 acres.

Our favourite one is over 5 acres across two sections. Has mown areas and other sections allowed to grow more wild with paths cut through them. It has a small pond for swimming in and plenty of benches for people to stop and sit. Agility/ outdoor climbing frames / tunnels etc are also useful.

Decent hard standing fenced area for cars to park is an essential. Needs to be big enough for at least two vehicles.

Wash down space (that's surfaced so doesn't get muddy) is good too.

Six foot fencing is essential.

But I'm afraid I don't think you have enough land.

There is one called Jump and Go in South Cheriton (comes up on my facebook all the time), which is presumably not too far from you. £8ph. Maybe you could talk to the owners of that and find out what the market is like in the SW.

I wouldn’t use one that was half an acre, it isn’t enough room.

You also need to consider that you’d have to apply for planning permission for change of use - presumably it is either residential or agricultural use at present. You’ll need to consider things like safe road access etc… for planning. If you are setting up catering you’d need planning permission as well.

I missed your post that says it’s the garden of a listed house, you’ve got almost no chance of achieving planning permission to change its use and sticking an out of place 6ft fence around the whole thing.

Why do people need dog walking fields? How is this a thing? Surely you just go for a walk with your dog in a field, as I do ? Like literally a field ! Why don't people do that?! I don't live in UK but this seems so weird to me!

Because a dog field is secure and hired which means you can let your dog off the lead and not worry about them getting into fights with other dogs or escaping.

www.muttsomuckhart.co.uk/

Loads of reasons!

-Some dogs are reactive and can't be walked around other dogs.
-Some dogs have no recall and can't be let off-lead in open spaces.
-Some people like to hold meet-ups with lots of dogs (breed meets are very common) and it's much safer to do that in a field where there are no other dogs or people around.
-Some dogs are blind/deaf/injured and need space away from other dogs to be walked safely.
-Dog walkers often use them so that their group can be safely off the lead without worrying about other dogs, other people or recall issues.

They're fantastic.

Do you have capacity for larger, the best ones we use are around 3 acres? however there is a lady near here that runs agility from one that size so something more specific might work on 1/2 acre.

Make sure your booking system is robust enough, most I use have codes to get in and there was one I booked the day I was using it and I never got the code. I ended up climbing on with dog which immediately highlights, fence not tall enough to keep dogs in and thank god my dog is only 20kg
make sure you have poo bins
water is useful.

There are 3 I use.

6.5 acres - agility equipment, a pub bench type table, a fresh water tap, lost toys box

6 acres - agility equipment, a covered seating area, fresh water tap, lost toys box

4 acres - a wooded area (which is priceless!!), agility equipment, a little climbing thing for kids/dogs, fresh water tap and a paddling pool in summer.

All 3 are £8 an hour.

I wouldn’t use one that was only half an acre, sorry

Because some dogs can’t be let off lead … and therefore can’t get a good run unless they’re in a private field.

Local one to me closed due to number of people leaving rubbish & not picking up dog poo.

owners got fed up with the mess & hassle.

You need a business plan. Most businesses don’t make any money for 1 to 2 years at least, it’s all costs for setting up and getting customers. It’s hard work running your own business and you need a pot of money to start as well. Where’s that capital coming from? How long can you cope with it not breaking even? What type of company are you going to use to protect your personal assets in the event it doesn’t make any money? Are you doing all the work or do you need employees, an accountant etc?

It does sound like a major issue is whether your land has any chance of getting planning for change of use. Start adding up key costs: setting up and maintenance (maintenance of IT, especially if you’re handling payments and personal data, will cost more than you think), advertising, consumables (toys won’t last 5 minutes), banking charges, insurance and more insurance, all the stuff you need to put into a business plan.

You need to think about your neighbours too, they might not be thrilled at the prospect of the traffic and noise and if you don’t have a car park then people leaving vehicles on the road or obstructing them. How will you handle that?

Another consideration is the economic situation. Will people still have spare money to pay for dog fields in a year? It’s a discretionary expense and the sort of thing that would get cut out if tightening the spending in many households.

Sorry to sound like a party pooper however going in with an over optimistic view and not planning and budgeting for it going badly is why so many small businesses don’t succeed.

If you only have half an acre then I would market it as a puppy training field.

We use them.

Need not just a high fence but a dig-proof fence. (Otherwise dogs may disappear under it.)

A poo bin is useful

A double gate - gate inside a gate, to make it especially secure. Dogs can't bolt outside the space.

Decent car parking.

yes they are amazing for not having your dog attacked when out!

1/2 an acre would be a little small for free runs but puppy parties would be a great idea?

ones we have used with our dogs are all 2 acres +

Land is privately owned, and there is no right to roam in England.

We looked into it and the costs vs projected returns didn’t stack up for us both working full time in other jobs.

Even standard stock fencing on a much larger job was coming back around £9/m, six foot was a bit more than double that, but such a small amount would likely add a higher cost. Half an acre will be about 240m at a complete guess at shape, so baseline 5k+ for fencing, add road access, parking, planning change and it seemed unlikely to get change from 25k. Fence life expectancy to be 5-8 years.

We reckoned a 30% booking rate from local fields would gross 14-15k a year, before maintenance and time. The returns just didn’t stack up, especially as we would then also have to live next to a dog walking field. Outsourcing booking arrangements would have eaten a large amount of the income.

If you were confident you could fully book and pull in 50-60k in revenue, and had no more efficient ways of making money with your time than running it yourself it would be more attractive.

I use a couple from time to time but they are much bigger- one 3 acres, the other 25!
We are fairly rural South of England so maybe if you are somewhere very built up half an acre would be enough?
The smaller paddock has agility equipment, paddling pools, a shelter and seating plus lots of toys and training equipment. The bigger one has woods, streams etc. Both provide poo bags and bins and easy to book with secure parking so you literally open the car door and let the dogs run free.
I have three dogs with varying exercise needs, one is reactive so great for us!
Both about £10 for 45/50 minutes

25 acres?? Christ I pity those who’s dogs have no recall! 😂

I’ve found 4-6 acres perfect for us as my dog never goes far from me anyway so anything bigger would be a waste

They're a godsend for my nervous dog who is terrified of all the off lead dogs around (with no recall and owners who don't give a shit).

Double gate is great but not essential although it does help some people so might increase bookings

No other dogs / people in sight from the field is important

Good booking system is essential

Poo bin

Bucket of earth and spade to fill in holes

They're obviously profitable as are loads opening around here and the bigger ones are fully booked and I need to book 6 weeks in advance. I most frequently use a small one as easier to book, and does half hour bookings whic suit my greyhound. He's happy with a short gallop and a lot of sniffing .

@Swifey40 how did you get on with your dog field?
Was your planning application approved? I am considering setting up dog field and was wondering how others got on?

A friend and I use one for our two very active dogs to run round together. We have used several and definitely prefer not to have to drive home with a bag full of poo in the car. As we both work, at this time of year the field we use is one with floodlights that is open till 8pm. About an acre, £12.50 per hour.