(Hopefully) buying a horse farm that comes with an existing commercial dog kennel. Initially we had NO interest in continuing that business but the seller is doing his best to persuade us. I’m skeptical. We know how to board horses, dogs not so much. The only pros I see are the money ($40-50k profit per year, so says the seller) and possibly increased exposure for the barn - but we are running a higher end dressage training facility not a lesson barn so not sure that’s worth much. Here are the cons I have come up with: steep learning curve with all the rules and regs, 24/7 job and responsibility, increased insurance cost, litigation exposure, noise from barking dogs, all kinds of people coming to the farm every day with kids, balloons, strollers, etc. (particularly since we will be building an indoor sometime in the next year or so). I’m thinking horse boarders are bad enough - why add crazy dog people too?:eek: What other horribles have I not thought of that I can use to dispel the lure of $$$$?
The dog crap… oh my all of the dog crap!
Oh and finding people to clean up all of the dog crap!
Sorry, I couldn’t stop myself
I have a friend who does this. She quit boarding horses because she makes a lot more money for less work with the dogs. Plus, people drop them off and go away which is a huge advantage over horse boarding. She also does pickups for a hefty additional fee. It’s been a very good business. She walks the dogs and gets them outside to play, which I would like as a dog owner.
Keep each family’s dogs separate, and follow good disinfection protocols. She goes through a lot of bleach.
If the kennel is set up correctly, it should be less work than horses. As someone else pointed out, dogs will be dropped off for a few days/weeks then will be gone so much less drama.
Most kennels also offer grooming. Maybe you could connect with a groomer who would run the place for a percentage.
The money from dog boarding is so much better and easier to make than the money from horse boarding that it is downright embarrassing.
Ok you’re all not helping!!! :lol: But good to know, I will have to think about finding a away to make it work.
Managing exposure to liability is not easy.
What is the proximity of the kennel to the barn turn out and riding areas?
True story, horse recovering from colic surgery on restricted exercise is being hand walked near property owners pool. Dog barks, spooks horse, knocks down kids non-horsey mom and she claims memory loss issues. Mom blames & sues property owner. PO leased the barn to a trainer and had nothing to do with the horse business. Dogs were routinely turned out between house and pool. Kid had been riding at the farm for at least 2 years. This family knows there are dogs on the property. Insurance company sides with Mom resulting in raised insurance rates. Life sucks.
Mom took no responsibility for her actions and ignorance that resulted in an accident. The property owner did nothing wrong. Dogs were in the same enclosure they had been in for many years. They also owned a dog kennel with barking dogs.
Second concern: how active is the kennel? Is it currently operating as a kennel? Same property fast forward to new younger owners, active business with runs and puppy play area. Neighbors start complaining and suing to limit activity because they wanted to sell their properties and felt an active kennel would reduce property values.
Would the extra insurance and possible liability be worth it? Can you hire and get reliable employees? You will have to pay employees taxes (workman’s comp, state and federal taxes, social security, etc), business taxes and fees, possibly also incorporate or form an LLC to limit your financial liability.
How far is kennel from barn? How many dog runs does it have? What rules and regs. will you have? Innoculations required, will you feed a specific brand of food, or do owners bring their own? How big are the kennel runs? Will you have size, and/or breed restrictions because of insurance? Will the zoning on the property allow you to take over the business? Is the road to the kennels good, and is there sufficient parking for drop offs and pick ups? Have you thought about long term or short term boarding, vs. doggie day care? Will you have a kennel vet available for emergencies? How will you handle payments? Occasionally you might get someone who drops off a dog, and the person disappears.
I would think the insurance would be cheaper for the dog kennel than for the horse business as there is less chance for personal injury. The proximity of kennel to horse facility would be a factor as would the set up of the kennel. Are there indoor outdoor runs where dogs can come and go at will or are the dogs kept inside and put out periodically for exercise?
I have a horse farm and run a dog boarding operation on the property. Dog boarding is much more lucrative. There are downfalls, but you deal with owners at drop iff and at pick up and thats it.
Biggest issue is people thinking they don’t need to stick to set hours to pick up dogs. Be strict about hours from the start. You will deal with a large volume of people during busy times and having people knock on your door at your home gets old.
Also, be careful with cheap teen labor.
I’d be happy to discuss privately if you decide to proceed. The horses come with far more work and liability, at least for me. I love my kennel.
I would say, dog kennel is a very good business, but like all else, you need to like to manage one, or it will be more of an annoyance to you.
A friend runs one that also offers grooming and dog training and does very, very well with it.
If you can get a good manager and preferably groomer too that would run it for you and don’t mind the business and dog traffic, kennels are a good business model, better than horse business tend to be.
I worked in salons and kennels and I would not do it.
A lot of the average dog owners are nuts. Most people do not train their dogs and will blame the person for any time their precious fluffykins bites someone. This is coming from a person who got sent to the hospital when a poodle mix bit me and it was not major but the next day after properly cleaning the injury my skin fell off from my finger half ways up the palm of my hand. I ended up in the emergency room 2 Saturdays in a row.
plus the cleaning, dog hair and noise is unimaginable.
Yes the money is great, but to me it is not worth it. If you do decide to do it, I wish you luck.
If the seller is trying to persuade you to continue, I suspect he not only has clients, but some good help whose jobs he is trying to save. It is much easier to continue a kennel that has those in place than to start on your own. I would evaluate how many dogs you might want to handle at a time and whether it would be too disruptive to your primary interest. If you decide not to continue the dog boarding you may want to consider keeping up with any licensing needed. That way it might be grandfathered in should you decide to start it again or if you want to sell.
Usually bites like this are considered hazards of the trade. I can’t imagine blaming owner if the dog bit me while in my care and custody. I’ve only been bit twice. Once was minor and my fault for not taking enough time with a nervous dog. The other was owner’s fault as he allowed dog to rush me in the office. That dog won’t come back. Yes, there are some nutty people but by and large my clients are great and the dogs are good. But this is why I stay away from cheap labor…the teens tend to get themselves in trouble with dogs. And the beauty of this business is that you don’t have to board dogs with issues you can’t handle. I board several known biters, but they are very easy to manage in my set up so I’ve never had a problem with them.
I also take cats on a limited basis. Now cats are a huge pain in the butt. HUGE. 
You don’t sound like you want this at all. So why consider it if it’s of no interest?
With that said, I do know a few people who run them and they can be lucrative. IF this particular kennel has an established clientele that is a huge bonus.
As others have mentioned, you need to have clear and strict hours. It is labour intensive, so good help is a bonus. You would have the added business logistics as well.
So, it comes down to how much work you want I think.
Sorry double post.
I agree with Bluey. While it may be a lucrative business, ask yourself if the money is worth it (time, energy, stress, noise, etc.).
Running a kennel requires a lot of biosecurity to protect the client dogs from disease
you will have to consider , very carefully, allowing your horse boarders to bring their dogs
this would be a potential break in your biosecurity ,
I can handle horse poop, but the Hunt Kennels make me gag when they clean up and hose it down.
I wouldn’t completely turn down the option for a boarding facility. Of course, you would need to meet all regulations, however, if the facility is currently running then they should be up to standards so all you would need to do is maintain that throughout the years. You can hire a staff to take care of the pets. I would also recommend having at least 1 person on site overnight. Client’s love this because it gives them a sense of security in case something happens overnight.
You can also soundproof the building to help with the barking. There are many kennel groups on Facebook that can give you great ideas on this at a reasonable price. If you use a client management software, such as https://www.pawfinity.com/kennel-software/ you can run the facility and pretty much be hands off but still know everything that is going on in your business. You could be making a little extra money on the side with pretty much no extra work. Especially if you hire a manager for the facility, then they can make all the big decisions and you would really just need to check in every now and then (or just sign into your software, that’s what I like to do 
)
As far as possible litigation is concerned, a decent insurance company can help with this. Check out Governors Insurance (the Hartford Group) - they are specific to pet business and offer fantastic insurance and a very reasonable rate. Also, you can limit your check in/out hours and stick strongly to these hours. It would help cut down the cost on staff and limit the time people come to your facility.
If that’s 45-50K profit after business expenses (including employees), I would definitely consider it. It could be extra revenue at little to no extra work with a staff!
