Home Business

I am a mother of two (or is it three?)... a boy, a girl, and my wonderful little pekingese named "Squatter."

About a year ago I started my own doggie daycare center that I run out of my own home. Originally, I had just planned to offer a dog-walking service in my neighborhood since I had free time during the day. After a few months of doing the dog walking, some of my neighbors would just drop off their dogs at my house and pick them up a couple hours later.

Things were pretty disorganized at the time and I didn't really have a system for watching the visiting dogs aside from letting them run around in the backyard. So one day I decided to start a real doggie daycare center, complete with everything that I needed.

With the help of my husband, I took time to write a business plan. A business plan may sound like a lot of work, but it really clarifies your thinking process and logically outlines a set of steps you need to follow in order to establish your goal. But even after all the research and planning, it was still scary to officially launch my business. I was worried about aggressive dogs, or accidents, or little dogs escaping through a hole in the fence in the backyard. But I've always been a worry-wort...I always tend to think of worst-case scenarios (though that might not be a bad trait to have when starting a business).

But I'm happy to say, after almost a year of operation, i haven't had any serious mishaps. No dog has been lost or hurt. Although, a lot of that had to do with thinking ahead and providing the proper safe environment for the dogs to play. I kennel some of the dogs at certain times, and do things like stagger the dogs' eating schedule so there's no fights over food (some dogs are more protective of their food than others). I also keep my eye on the troublemaking rascals; there's always at least one!

I modified the recreation room of my house, installing tiles on the floor, as well as installed new fencing in my backyard. My husband, who is a home contractor, handled all our home renovations. He usually also works close by and can come at a moment's notice in case of emergency. Over the year I've only really had one case i couldn't handle, a huge dog that I actually think might have been a tamed wolf!

In any event, things turned out ok, but I don't take dogs bigger than 80 lbs anymore, as I feel I cannot handle them on my own. I even thought about offering services for little dogs only, which would make things somewhat easier, but I didn't want to reduce my pool of potential customers. For the most part, all the dogs are well behaved. I hold an "interview" with each potential new dog to make sure it is properly socialized before permanently letting it stay at my daycare center.

All in all, it's been a great experience. I get to stay home all day, playing with adorable doggies. I run mass training sessions, which is fun for both the dogs and me. I get to spend time with my kids as soon as they get home from school, and they love helping me out with the dogs. Of course, Squatter just loves his new canine pals.

When I wake up every morning, I grab my morning coffee and I'm excited to welcome my guests to my home. I get to chat with my customers when they drop off their babies and when they pick them up in the evening. Some of my customers drive out of their way 15 miles or more to use my service. We've become like next door neighbors almost.

At present I have 10 or so dogs that are "regulars" that I typically see on a daily basis, with other dogs coming in sporadically.

I don't offer overnight boarding, but I get that request all the time, so I'll see what I can do in the future. I do hire an assistant on a part-time basis, so I that I can take some breaks during the day. I'm also thinking of hiring a part-time groomer and learning grooming myself to offer that as an added service.

In the end, I'm so glad I launched my doggie daycare. The work can get challenging at times, but the rewards are well worth it. I try to give the doggies a lot of love, and they always return the favor!