If the services were available...would you use them?

[KShook]

Hello All,

So..I've been working on a business plan for myself..I'm working out the details of a "Doggy Day Care Facility" Indoor/Out Door for pups to run and play. We would of course need to do Evaluations of each pup that comes into the facility....I would offer Training Services, Grooming, Taxi Services, and possibly add on Pet Sitter "In Your Home" while your away for those pets that are to scared or nervious outside of there home. I was also thinking of doing "Kitty Boarding" I dont think it would be a good idea to have a BUNCH of kittys running around together..."I CAN ONLY PICTURE IT" haha...Anyways...So from there I was thinking of other pets..the kind You and I both like/love Herps...I was thinking about setting up a Reptile Room with in the Facility...I know some people might be a little uneasy about bringing there reptile any where when they leave for vacation or simply on a business trip...I would think people with very few would do it, if they dont have anyone around to help watch them? I would like your opinion if you had the option to use this service would you?? I would also include Herps with the "In Home" Pet Sitting if we decided to add that onto the business...And if you have any other suggestions or ideas I'm open to all of them!!

Thanks for Reading!
~Kayla

 

[ChameleonRave]

I think that is a great idea! I wish we had that where I live. we aren't ever able to leave for long periods of time because of my herps i feel bad when we can't do things like that just because of my animals lol

 

[Olimpia]

That would actually be excellent and probably not to hard to do. A room full of tanks wouldn't be a hard thing to do, and keeping snakes and other lizards wouldn't be a huge amount of work. I can see that people might be concerned about their animals catching diseases since you can't vaccinate an iguana against kennel cough like you can a puppy. I wouldn't be concerned much about animals in tanks, since they are fairly isolated and it wouldn't be difficult to keep things clean.

 

[KShook]

Yeah I dont see to much of an issue with keeping the tanks clean, and suggestions on substrait that could be used, and possibly re-used and cleaned?

That would actually be excellent and probably not to hard to do. A room full of tanks wouldn't be a hard thing to do, and keeping snakes and other lizards wouldn't be a huge amount of work. I can see that people might be concerned about their animals catching diseases since you can't vaccinate an iguana against kennel cough like you can a puppy. I wouldn't be concerned much about animals in tanks, since they are fairly isolated and it wouldn't be difficult to keep things clean.

 

[donnak0125]

I think it would be a great idea. I have been looking for such a service, for just in case. I know there will be times when I will need to or want to travel and I don't have a clue as to what I'd do with my cham. I don't know anyone who keeps chameleons around here that would be even qualified to keep him... Very scary!
I went out of town once but was able to take my cham, I know that will not always be possible. My vet doesn't board reptiles even though he's a specialist. What do you guys do when you have to go out of town?

 

[Hoj]

i think it is a great idea, i have thought about using such a service for my dog, but being that she is a fairly aggressive 130lb rottweiler i dnot want to leave her with just anyone so i have declined to do so. but it would def be usefull esspecally for my cham, i dont know anyone else around me to take care of my cham and my GF will only tolerate so much, ( not a big cricket fan ) LoL....

and i know that you know your stuff, even Camo would be safe in your hands!!!!! ( as u are prob the only other person ive found with the same issue )

as far as a substraite i use a indoor outdoor carpet that has a good texture, its made of all natural fibres, water holds a bit but mostly drains through, washable, and fairly cheap. i got it from homedepot for about $8/yrd, its a nice dark green color. prob work perfect for your aplication

 

[kaylie]

That would be awesome. I feel bad for dogs that are left in regular vet kennels for days or weeks, maybe you could create a better environment for them. And definitely the herps, I want to go to Panama for a little this summer, thank God I have a good friend with cham experience willing to babysit.

 

[pssh]

Holy crap your dog it huge! She weighs more than me!

I do see the very easy possibility and great likelihood of parasites and other animal diseases being given to all the animals unless you use gloves that were changed between animal areas THAT WILL NEVER TOUCH ANYTHING ELSE BUT THE TRASH CAN!! you wouldn't be able to touch counters, other containers, etc. And after every reptile you would need to do a full on 40 volume peroxide washing just in case one of them had coccidia (which is very hard to kill.) on the cage of course. Not you!

And then you have to be extra sure snakes are secured (especially if you plan on boarding small animals and/or small kittens/puppies.) you would also need to be aware of at least basic care for every species that you bring in and you would need to be able to provide the required tools and equipment (unless the owners bring in their own stuff, but that makes any spreading of parasites/diseases more likely.) And then some snakes are bound to not take F/T food so you may have to feed live if the owners are gone for a while.

 

[KShook]

Thank You all for your comments. As they are all very helpful to me. I will take all into consideration and see what I can do to perfect it when it comes time to run the business.

Hoj: I appreciate your response, I'm glad you would trust me with your cham

Pssh: I'm going to look into what materials and such that I can use for each individual enclosure for the herps, whats easy to clean and disinfect...I may also request owners to provide paperwork with the last fecals done on there animals...?! To try and keep control of the parasites issues...any other suggestions let me know..

Any other suggestions/Ideas are welcome!

~Kayla

 

[pssh]

Glass would be pretty easy. 40 volume hydrogen peroxide (developer to cosmetologists) pretty much wipes out any live stuff when you spray it onto the cage. It's one of the very few methods that is able to get rid of coccidia in an enclosure. Newspaper would be easy to clean but wouldn't provide a while lot for burrowing animals.

Maybe investing in a microscope (you can get a great one for under 150 shipped that many members here use) would be a good idea. Then at least you can do a quick fecal to see if you find anything before hand so you can either deny boarding to the animal or adequately prepare for it.

I think the idea is great, just that there are always things to consider. I would leave mine with you if I could see the conditions and safety practices. I don't trust a whole lot of people to take care of my lizards.

 

[KingJulien]

I traveled over the new year and left my dog at club k-9 (in Castro Valley, CA) and left my lizards with Eric Thompson (thanks Eric!!!).

Luckily I live close enough to drop off my animals with someone, I know some of you don't have breeders or experienced keepers nearby.

Look at Club k-9, they do a great job with dogs, it may give you some ideas. My pit plays all day with similar-sized dogs, and goes in a kennel in a heated/air conditioned barn to sleep and to eat. It's a well run operation, and my dog is always HAPPY to go there. They have outdoor carpeting and constantly pick up/ hose off the areas. Each section is monitored by someone to keep the play friendly.

Maybe get started with just a craigslist ad, and keeping animals at home.