[k9mania]

I would like to see facility like the human/dog exercise facility mentioned with personal trainers for both dogs and people besides access to trainers, chiropractors, massage, and accupuncture. Too many of the athletic dogs owners do not treat them as athletes and they need professional care. Just as we do when we are active, have been injured, and age.


Everyone think out of the "box"

[k9mania]

What about facilities or living situations that include dogs and people?

[DeborahSprague]

I would have different segments for different sizes/ages/acitivity level of dogs

A section for agility
A section for basic training
A section for advanced training and therapy training

Doggie day care including over night availability in luxury rooms(to keep sound levels down) including bedding and music..

Full staff grooming for bathing, nails, ect...

A library available of books and videos that could be checked out on Dog related issues - food, training, care, ect...

Full service coffee shop with snacks for your human friends.

[k9mania]

Would you have a doggie bakery??? Everyone jump right in. Check out the prize for next drawing thread in drawing forum. If you respond to one of the three contest questions (product, service ro faclity) your name will be put into a drawing for a sculpture of your dog.

[schutzhund]

My facility would be a combination of training fields, grooming area and boarding kennel. I would have an office/home on premise. The kennel would consist of an area for my dogs, dogs in for training, boarding kennel and whelping area with puppy pens. Dont get me wrong, it isnt a puppy mill operation. Probably about 3 kennels, temperature controlled for the whelping mothers, then adjucant to this would be a couple of puppy pens outside, close to the office so the pups would get plenty of exposure to different stimulus. I would have appx 15 runs for boarding, 4 runs for my own and 5-8 runs for training/boarding dogs. I would also have an indoor arena for seminars, training and possible other uses. ( rent out during the winter)
As I am involved in schutzhund, the fields would be lighted..one for obedience and one for protection. Would be a large pond for fishing and allowing the dogs to go swimming. Would be a clubhouse/cabin for visiting guests. This operation would be surrounded with many trees, green grass, plus 10 acres for tracking.
The kennel would be situated close to a middle size city and airport, yet out in the country. Even though I am not involved in aglitity, frisbee or AKC obedience, I would try to incorporate these groups to use my grounds for their training. My job would be sit back and coordinate the many areas of this facility, as it wouldnt be a job, but a love. thanks for letting me dream

[dogsingreen]

Well, I guess I am the odd man out. I have plans drawnup and I am just waiting for my daughter to move out and the cash to come in. i have plans to add on to my existing home. i am going to cater to the geriatric set. The addition will accomodate 10 boarders. Each having their own kennel for sleeping/quiet time. an open area for playing and just hanging out. A bathing /grooming area. a sick room too , just in case something should arise. a kitchen set up for feeding and medicine dispensery. This way I can accomodate special diets and treatments that are needed.
Outside I have plans for a play yard with hanging toys, climbing toys, (for thse who are still up to it ! LOL), digging spaces, and whatever else strikes my fancy at the time.and kennels for enjoying the lovely weather. I will have time for each dog individualy as well. Wheather for training, grooming, or just a goos leisurely snuggle.
At night I will let those who get along come hang in the family part of the house. If the numbers are low they will have house privileges through out the day as possible. I want it to be more like visiting "Aunties" house than going to the kennel for our old ones.
If I were to go the conventioal route I want i kennel that caters to big dogs. I have those plans as well. They are much like most that are posted. i have a dome middle with kennels spoked around. A seperate play yard and trainng ares too. A sick room, kitchen, office, and a special isolation area for quarentine needs.
Could you imagine what a place we could have if we worked together? Talk about one stop shopping .I love the enthusiasim in this group!

[k9mania]

[quote=dogsingreen;26430]Well, I guess I am the odd man out. I have plans drawnup and I am just waiting for my daughter to move out and the cash to come in. i have plans to add on to my existing home. i am going to cater to the geriatric set. quote]

What a good idea. There are so many people afraid to leave their elderly dog at a kennel. Many need meds, geriatric beds, less stress, possible massage to keep joints moving. You could make a bundle of money. Good luck. Check out the other examples to see if you like some of those ideas.

Everyone we are almost done with the contest. It does not hurt to dream. Give us a look at your dream facility and you get a chance to win a true to life sculpture of your dog.

[k9mania]

Originally Posted by schutzhund

My facility would be a combination of training fields, grooming area and boarding kennel. I would also have an indoor arena for seminars, training and possible other uses. ( rent out during the winter)Would be a large pond for fishing and allowing the dogs to go swimming. Would be a clubhouse/cabin for visiting guests. This operation would be surrounded with many trees, green grass, plus 10 acres for tracking.

This is much like mine. A place that people can learn, stay on site, and bond with their dog.

Great ideas everyone! Answer one of the questions on products, services, or facilities in the drawing forum and you will be entered to win a life like sculpture of your dog. Dream and get out of the box.

[k9mania]

Here is an example of a great business idea based on needs of dogs.

Value Added: This Business Is For The Dogs

Here's Tom Heath's latest column on Washington's entrepreneurial set:


I have been dying to write about the Canine Fitness Center for a year. Why? Because it combines a couple of my passions: my Yellow Labrador Retriever named Babe and, secondly, cool little businesses.
If you don't like dogs, you may think what follows is nuts. But I love dogs, especially Babe, who is the best darned dog ever. Dog lovers will completely understand this blog/column.
Babe is 10-and-a-half years old and a bit arthritic. He ran a couple of miles every morning with me for years, but he has had operations on both back knees and on his left front elbow. Now he sleeps in every morning while I run, but he ambles about and can still manage a short sprint after a squirrel.

To keep him active, though, my wife Polly and I drive from our home in Chevy Chase, Md., every weekend to take Babe to an indoor heated dog pool at the Canine Fitness Center in Crownsville, an hour away. We pay around $29 for a half-hour's swim. It's worth every penny. He builds muscle in his arthritic legs and exercises his heart and lungs.
Babe loves it, and so do we.

Not Babe, but another happy fetcher
The first time Polly and I took Babe to the pool, we spent the entire drive back dissecting the business, trying to figure out how much the owners were making. We guessed at their monthly overhead. We nodded back and forth on what a gold mine the pet care business could be. Dog lovers like us will pay anything to make life better for their pets.
The Canine Fitness Center is the brainchild of Maury and Lynn Chaput. Maury is an architect by training but now has a senior administrative job at Anne Arundel Community College. Lynn is a certified public accountant. She keeps the Fitness Center's books.
The Chaputs' adventure in the pet business began in February of 2000, when they needed to take their beloved dog, Shadow, to swim therapy to help heal a tear in Shadow's leg muscle. Their vet suggested that Shadow swim twice a week, but the nearest pool was at a horse farm in Harford County, 50 miles from the Chaput's home in Anne Arundel. The pool was too deep, 14 feet, and was built more for big horses and not small dogs.
On their way back home after Shadow's first swim, the Chaputs started figuring out an alternative.

They came up with a business plan. Maury visited a dog pool in San Jose, Calif., asking questions about demand and how to build a dog swimming business. He contacted a veterinarian at the University of Tennessee to pick his brain to be sure there was a need for doggie rehab.

See rest of article at:

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/washb...een_dying.html