OSoSwift Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 (edited) As Above. More market research :) What fee would you feel is reasonable to have a dog stay in a secure boarding facility for the day only. BEing dropped off in morning opening hours and picked up in the evening opening hours. This IS NOT doggy daycare and there won't be groups of dogs all running around together. Dogs will stay in a roomy run and have a good play in a large yard with us or any other family member dogs. I do not run dogs together that are not from the same family. The yard will be big and have tunnels etc for enrichment. What would you feel was a reasonable daily rate for such a service - any meds or food needed to be given would be given at no extra cost and we don't charge extra for play/exercise. Should it be one rate for all size dogs - due to generally not having to feed them, or should the price go up dependant on size? What about for more than one dog from the same family in the same run? Hit me with it! Edited October 13, 2014 by OSoSwift Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VizslaMomma Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Rates should be variable. Funnily enough, I have been looking at day care for Horrible Herbert. Have a bit of a snag since he is still entire. ( That's another story). All of these are Sydney & its 'burbs. Some places offer rates for 5 hours ir half a day care. Full day rates are higher. All offered discounts for more than one dog subject to negiotation. ( infamous Call Us on their ad's). The other varations are dog sizes. Some cater only for small to medium dogs. Majority preferred desexed dogs too. From your description, I get the feeling you ar offering a better style of care. Hence, look at being about to charge variable rates according to your clientele. The rates I saw started at $30 and more. Liking these questions too. Your venture sounds exciting. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted October 13, 2014 Author Share Posted October 13, 2014 (edited) I don't care if they are entire or the size of a small horse - in fact I have one of those in right about now :) I also accept bitches in season. I don't do half days. Currently I do charge dependant on size and the second(third) dog in the same run is at a discounted rate. That is for my long term boarding. The area is under large shady trees and we do have clam shells etc and toys, kongs, treatballs etc that we have for those that like them. Thanks for your feed back, keep it coming :) Edited October 13, 2014 by OSoSwift Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiecuddles Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 I guess I would just look at what reasons you currently charge by size, if those aren't applicable to day boarding(feeding from food you supply for example) then there should be less variation between the amount you charge for a small or larger dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yonjuro Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 I don't know really, but I would guess that around $60 - $70 for a day would be around the ball park and something that I could potentially manage on occasions . I would expect that a day care service like this to be more expensive than boarding kennels that probably have weekly rates. My figure comes basically from info that a friend was paying $25 per day at a kennel for 5 weeks that he will be on holiday, so my figures could be a bit skewed. Again, my thoughts are purely guess work as I have never needed to use doggy-care or a boarding kennel, but something like yours sounds appealing - even though a Husky might not be the breed many would like to look after for a day :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted October 13, 2014 Author Share Posted October 13, 2014 I regularly have Husky's, no worries at all :) I also regularly have a Dingo that does not like to be handled and will bite you hard if you push her, we have an understanding and have no issues :) The runs and yards are geared towards escapologists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VizslaMomma Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 I strongly think Horrible Herbert would be a candidate to meet you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebanne Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 I think the same as daily boarding as you still have to clean and disinfect the runs. The only thing you are not doing is feeding them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuralPug Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 The real question is what is it costing you to supply that service? How many secure runs will you have available for non-boarders? If you are going to advertise the new service widely, will that mean you need to keep some runs empty that would otherwise have boarding dogs? Is there a potential loss, or will you only accept day boarders if you are not booked out? Will people need to book in advance? If the day dogs are using the enrichment area(s) will that mean more shuttling of boarders and non-boarders from yards to enrichment area(s) and back? I would probably expect a flat rate for a daylight only stay, with an extra 70% for the second dog in the same family, 50% for the third dog - (assuming that these are small to medium dogs which will not be cramped in one run together). Large and giants and mixed sizes in the same family you are going to have to assess and quote depending on whatever is reasonable for run sharing. Compare the workload and overheads with that required for your boarding dogs - I honestly don't think you will find it that much less, in fact there may be more work - owners coming more often to collect/drop off etc all takes up time for kennel staff. As a rule of thumb, you flat rate for daylight stays might probably be pretty close to your daily boarding rate for a medium sized dog - whether less than that rate or more will depend on your assessment of the different workloads. Are you aiming at a market of travellers who might want to leaver their dog(s) for a day while they do State Forests, wineries etc where pets are not allowed? Or are you aiming at locals who might like to give their dog a bit of enrichment every so often? Or both? Not that that should make any difference to setting your rates, but it will make a difference in how you advertise and how far in advance (thinking of travellers) booking need to be made. Lots of luck!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddy Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 We only have one similar service in Launceston (a regular doggy day care) and that costs $45 per day. Compared to the average price of boarding around here (between $25 and $30 a day), that does seems quite high to me. I looked into day care for the Idiot Dog for next year (when I'll be out of the house most of the week) but an expense of $225 a week just for someone to keep an eye on him was something I couldn't justify- he doesn't need to be entertained, just checked on a few times during the day. For a service where the dog just sits in a run from 8am until 4pm (or whatever times), I don't think I'd be willing to pay much more $20 per day. Anything more than actual boarding and you might as well just board the dog overnight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted October 13, 2014 Author Share Posted October 13, 2014 I strongly think Horrible Herbert would be a candidate to meet you. HOw bad can he be? Will he pin me to the fence to give me kisses? or wack me in the stomach with his sharp nails just cause he's playing and wants my attention??? hehehehehe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlet Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 (edited) I think two dogs from the same family should be cheaper than two separate dogs if they are sharing a run and playtime together. Would you even put 3 or 4 dogs together? When I was renting I would put my dogs into a kennel overnight for house inspections as I told the agent I didn't really trust her not to accidentally let them out of the gate - which I usually had locked but they wanted access to. The same when I had carpet cleaners in etc. even though I could lock them in the back yard.But your service would have been great if I could collect after work - might be too late for you though. I think I would expect to pay $20/$25 for one dog and $35/$40 for two. I figure one night's accommodation would be more expensive per night than 5/7 nights so I would expect to get a discount if I was using more days. I assume that the play area is shared with all the dogs in the kennel so I would also pay additional if my dos spent more time there rather than in the runs. But again the dogs would survive one day in a run although I know they would enjoy smelling all the other smells that would be in the play area. I wouldn't expect a price variation in the size of the dogs as you aren't feeding them Edited October 13, 2014 by Scarlet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 I would probably just want my dogs to stay in the run if it wasn't something I did regularly. So maybe different prices for run only vs run with a play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miss2 Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 I currently pay $40 a day for my pup to be at a day care place. She gets training and socialization. A kennel I used to go to charged me $10.00 a day because we were regulars and that included doggy play time with other dogs that mine knew. We won’t be able to keep the $40.00 a day one up for long but we are doing it for our pups benefit so as long as I can afford it I will do it :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VizslaMomma Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 I strongly think Horrible Herbert would be a candidate to meet you. HOw bad can he be? Will he pin me to the fence to give me kisses? or wack me in the stomach with his sharp nails just cause he's playing and wants my attention??? hehehehehe The boy is a lover, not a figher. He collects girl-friends wherever he goes. To quote Effie, so embarrasement, to date he has kissed two judges & two stewards. Mind that was puppy class only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Podengo Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 I would be charging a little bit less than night boarding since you don't have to feed day boarders (unless they're puppies, in which, do you charge for the feeding?). Still gotta clean their kennels, pick up their poop, exercise them, fill their water bowls etc. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 $35 -30 a day or what you charge for overnight stays as they tie up a kennel and yard for essentially what could have been two nights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosetta Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 (edited) I pay $20 for a day stay at a boarding kennel - no food provided. Dogs are kennelled for a period during the day and put out in small groups for a run outside twice. I prefer it to daycare places because if you find a good kennel they tend to know what they are doing :) This kennel charges $25 for overnight with food provided. Edited October 13, 2014 by Rosetta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted October 14, 2014 Author Share Posted October 14, 2014 Thank you all very much for your feed back I am taking notes :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted October 14, 2014 Author Share Posted October 14, 2014 (edited) The runs are larger than those used for long term boarding. I could put three Lab sized dogs maxiumum in one run, but I would prefer two if they were young active dogs. The cleaning is possibly more as I clean each day, but when dogs go home all the walls and everything are scrubbed down, so a day stay would involve more cleaning time than a daily clean of a long term run - presuming nobody had poo painted over night etc. All bed bags are also changed every time a dog goes out, so that would be daily in the day yards. Play time is with people not a group of dogs as I don't mix dogs that are not from the same famiily. They would not have access to the big yard all day. If people wanted them in a run and not out running in the yard, then that would be fine also. Personally I prefer to try and streamline charges, opening hours etc so there are less things not only for me to remember but also for customers. I really don't like the idea of charging for what I deem basic things like exercise and playtime. DOgs should get that as standard - unless of course their owner has specific requests that they don't or if they are recovering from surgery etc. My current fees are charged by the day. THanks again, lots more info for me to gather :) Edited October 14, 2014 by OSoSwift Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now