If you’re an entrepreneur trying to find the right business to start and love animals, why not open a dog daycare service? Dogs are America’s top pet, so if you offer boarding for a day, overnight, or extended period, expect to find customers. Running a dog daycare means upgrading your space so the animals are comfortable and dog parents are confident you can do a good job. Here are tips for making such an adjustment.
Upgrade Your Doors and Windows
When running a dog daycare business, you need to make certain adjustments to your entryways. For example, you should enlist the services of overhead door companies, as you’ll need to ensure you can operate your commercial dock door to bring in supplies, food, dog kennels, and crates. The services can ensure the cables, springs, and roller replacements are handled as needed. They can ensure your overhead door can match up and open and close on the tracks properly. Doing so can ensure your space remains safe all day and night. Plus, when your overhead doors can close properly, it ensures you don’t have energy loss.
You should also install various pet doors so the animals can come and go as needed for recreation outside. Having pet doors when running a dog daycare business allows you to get the same usage as in a residential place. They allow for self-entry and exit so dogs can go in and out to relieve themselves, get air, enjoy their free time, or get rest as needed. The best dog doors are insulated and waterproof, which is essential when you live in a certain climate. Having high-quality doors also prevents air or drafts from getting in. Programmable ones can close at night when you want the animals inside to sleep in designated spaces.
Inspect Your Plumbing
According to Kennel Connection, over 25,000 dog daycare facilities were operating in 2022 and have continued to expand. To ensure that your business operates in compliance, make sure you have reliable plumbing. Remember, dogs can get into a great deal of mischief. They love to bite things and they’re very curious. Therefore, you should be careful if there are any exposed pipes they may get stuck in or hurt themselves on. Ensure your structure doesn’t contain lead pipes. Lead pipes were outlawed in the early 1980s, but every structure in certain areas may not have had piping replaced. Lead pipes can lead to neurological problems that have been linked to mental delays in children. Don’t let your dog suffer from lead poisoning by giving them water from such pipes. Have professionals do a complete inspection and replace any outdated piping necessary. Copper pipes are a commonly used safe pipe. PVC pipes are cost-effective and safe enough for transporting drinking water. Running a dog daycare business means you have to keep puppies hydrated, and you should be able to use your existing piping system to do so.
Hydro excavation service is an eco-friendly way of removing soil by way of using water and a vacuum. You may need to do such work to clear out an area for building dog houses or playpens outside. The service may also be necessary to work on your existing plumbing.
Your dog daycare service will likely keep your dogs clean, especially if you’re keeping them for days on end. Therefore, you should install a reliable drain strainer in any interior tubs you wash the dogs in. After all, dogs are very hairy and shed all the time. Using a drain strainer to reduce the likelihood of clogs after bathing several dogs each week.
Invest in Water Treatments
All creatures need water, but did you know that dogs have a special receptor on their tongue that specifically craves H20? That’s why dogs are constantly searching for water and seem to sometimes be endlessly thirsty. When running a dog daycare business, you need to ensure dogs have fresh clean, or even purified water to drink at all times. Therefore, if you’re worried about your municipal whole water supply and don’t have a local well you maintain, you should have a water purification system for doggy water bowls. That way, you won’t take chances that a dog may get sick on your watch.
Proper water treatments also refers to the use of Hydrotherapy. After all, it’s no secret that dogs love swimming and are excellent natural-born swimmers. Swimming can be a great regular activity to keep dogs busy, particularly overweight ones. You can install a doggy pool outside for dogs to use as needed. Just like the buoyancy of water can benefit human muscles and ligaments, it has the same effect on dogs. The properties of water can help dogs treat injuries or remain as limber and healthy as possible for a long time.
Install Insulation
When running a doggy daycare business, you need to insulate your property as you do with any other business. Start calling local commercial insulation companies to see what options they have regarding insulating material. If your building is an older space, take precautions to ensure there’s no asbestos. Asbestos is a poisonous type of insulation outlawed in the early 1980s due to its connection to lung cancer. If your cute puppies and grown dogs bite into the walls filled with this material, they’ll be exposed to this poison. Make sure your building has had all the thorough inspections beforehand to ensure it’s asbestos-free.
Once you’re clear you don’t have asbestos, focus on more energy-efficient installation such as spray foam. Spray foam insulation can go on any surface from floors to walls to ceilings. It goes on wet but dries quickly and solidly. Fiberglass insulation is lightweight and easy to install. If you have a mini doghouse for the animals to rest in, you can insulate the walls of those dog houses with fiberglass. Reflective foil is also helpful insulation as it reflects heat away in summer but maintains heat in the winter. You may want to use that insulation in spaces outside where animals are running.
Of course, proper insulation isn’t just for your dogs. You need your human staff and visitors to feel comfortable as well. Whether it’s extreme weather in winter or summer, good insulation can always help provide a regulated temperature. Insulation also affects your energy bills as heat loss can cause your electrical bills to rise when you use your HVAC system more. Insulation can help with sound. When running a dog daycare with loads of barking dogs, you can avoid disturbing nearby homes or businesses with adequate sound insulation.
Renovate Your Bathrooms
While dogs use the bathroom outside, your human workers need functioning toilets and sinks. Therefore, running a dog daycare business means having employee or visitor bathrooms that have reliable plumbing. You can conserve water by installing dual-flush toilets. These toilets only waste one gallon of water per flush compared to five gallons in standard toilets, according to the EPA.
If you haven’t already done plumbing repair, schedule this service before you bring employees in. After all, plumbing isn’t just to protect the dogs, but it also protects people working there. Proper plumbing can ensure you avoid backups that can flood your space. You don’t want an overflowing toilet or a full septic tank that can make your professional bathrooms unsanitary. Plus, you must understand the appearance your company has when pet parents show up with their dogs. If you have smelly and unsanitary bathrooms that create lingering smells throughout the place, many pet parents may be hesitant to leave their animals with you. They may assume your business isn’t clean and efficient.
During bathtime, you’ll need to wash and dry your dogs properly. Install an air dryer meant for pets. That way, you can quickly dry dogs that have long hair. The temperature of the dryers is safe as they blow water out of the hair and won’t be too intense on the dog’s skin. A good air dryer for pets can also remove pet dander that may linger. You should have commercial-sized sinks that can fit dogs of all sizes when it’s time to bathe them.
Fix Your Roof
A quality roof is essential for any business, including when you’re running a dog daycare. After all, you need to protect those dogs 24/7. If you have a roof with cracks or holes, it’s vulnerable to weathering, leaks, and even a pest invasion. Plus, if your roof is unstable, it can cave in at any time and hurt people and animals below. Start looking into local roofing contractors who have experience working with commercial buildings. You can ask local businesses if they have a referral for a good roofer you can trust. If you plan on having this business for several years, you might as well invest in a quality roof that lasts decades.
A good choice is metal or slate, as they can last 40 to 50 years, according to Bob Vila. Plus, a metal roof has a Class-A fire rating, can resist wind up to 140 mph, and is energy efficient. So, if running a dog daycare in a place that has an arid climate, you can avoid high HVAC bills, as metal will keep your building cool during those hot months. Slate has the same properties as metal but may be more expensive. If on a budget, you can always go with asphalt shingles, the most popular roof in the United States. According to Bob Vila, an asphalt roof lasts 20 to 25 years. You can start your business with an asphalt roof and later install a more durable material like metal, slate, or ceramic tiles.
Install New Flooring
Make sure you have safe floors for your pups to run around. Dogs are active, and their nails can leave scuff marks on certain materials. Regardless of the hard floor surface you have, you can have protection with epoxy coating. Epoxy floors have gained popularity in businesses and homes because it preserves the main floor underneath. It resists heat, scratches, stains, chips, cracks, and scuff marks. Therefore, floors always look beautiful and presentable to customers. These floors are also slip-resistant, so workers and dogs are all safe. If a dog has an accident and can’t make it outside, the floors are easy to clean. A simple sweep is all you need to keep it clean. You don’t have to worry about stains from dog urine setting in. Plus, you don’t have to worry about big bulky cleaning materials, as a broom and a mop are all you need to keep your floor sanitary.
You can also install an artificial turf floor for your dogs to play around. The flooring is useful in winter when it’s too cold and snowy for dogs to play outside. Thanks to artificial turf, your pup always has at least some form of grass to play on. Dogs need exercise, and artificial turf can help regardless of the season. You can also install artificial turf on sections outside if you don’t want your dog boarders exposed to ticks and fleas. After all, ticks and fleas tend to congregate in natural grass. Therefore, fake grass may be more sanitary with so many dogs around.
Keep the Temperature Comfy
Enlist the services of your local air conditioning company to ensure there’s always a comfortable temperature for everyone. Remember dogs can suffer from heat or cold-related illnesses. So make sure you have a new HVAC system installed and keep up regular inspections. You can also add a boiler furnace service, so you have proper heat in winter. A good type of fuel to use is propane, as it’s reliable, cost-effective, and domestically produced. As much as 90% of propane used by Americans is produced in North America.
Now you understand how to upgrade your space when running a dog daycare service. Dogs are popular pets, so you have a built-in network as long as you follow this guide to ensure your business looks and feels professional. As 2024 lingers on, you can have a thriving business where you get to be around fun and playful dogs all day.