5 reasons to own a dog daycare franchise

Many adventurous entrepreneurs know that owning their own business is the way they want their careers to go, but a surprising number haven’t settled on what form that business will take. They may be looking for a lucrative industry, fits their lifestyle, or really piques their passion.

Owning a dog daycare franchise can spark all three! With bark! bark!, potential franchisees get the perks of the pack in a business model that’s stood the test of time. Here are 5 reasons to consider owning a bark! bark! dog day care franchise.

Owning a bark!bark! dog daycare franchise means working with dogs for a living

For people who love dogs, working with them for a living could be considered living the dream. Believe it or not, science backs this theory up.

• According to the American Kennel Club, being around dogs has a significant pawsitive impact on a person’s health, and there are scientific studies to prove it.
• According to a study by Washington State University scientists, petting a dog that’s familiar for just 10 minutes can reduce heart rate and blood pressure, slow breathing, and relax muscle tension. The petter doesn’t even have to be the pup’s owner, because the study was conducted to show the benefits of an animal visitation program.
• A Japanese study in 2009 showed that simply looking into a dog’s eyes raises levels of oxytocin, which is also called the “love hormone.”

Many of these benefits assume the person is the owner of the pet, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Working with dogs every day in a dog daycare franchise can impart many of these same benefits.

The bark!bark! dog daycare franchise business model is almost bite-proof

Vivian Dominguez began bark!bark! as a dog walking business in the late 1990s in Southern California when her neighborhood dogs needed socialization, and their owners needed someone to walk them. Vivian got to indulge in her love of dogs, the dogs got to play, and the owners had help. Everybody won.

It was a unique time in California, right when the dotcom bubble had burst and the next few years would see only the strongest businesses survive. bark!bark! didn’t just survive. It thrived. 

By 2009, the dog walking business had grown beyond simply walking services into a full-fledged dog daycare and Vivian teamed up with co-founder Danielle Portillo to open the first bark!bark! location in Long Beach, California.

This was yet another unique time—the 2008 housing market had crashed, and people across the country felt the pinch of The Great Recession.

bark!bark! and its customers didn’t seem to notice, continuing to grow fast enough that 2 years after the opening of the Long Beach location, Vivian and Danielle opened their second daycare in Signal Hill. 

How does a dog daycare franchise grow so well amid two recessions the media had dubbed “once in a lifetime” events?

A well-considered business model that:

• Works for pups by socializing them by temperament, not size
• Trains employees the most professional handling of the pups so everyone remains calm, happy, and safe
• Provides an environment that’s thoughtfully designed so dogs don’t get stuck and are provided engaging stimulation to expend energy and find joy throughout their stay
• Provides overnight hotel services for dogs whose owners need somewhere safe and secure for their animals with 24/7 supervision
• Offers certified grooming services that keep the pups looking pretty and feeling great with trimmed nails, shiny coats, and other grooming needs
• Advanced bark!bark! dog daycare franchises may offer enhanced services like professional certified training, the bark bus which picks up the pups, and even dental clinics through a fully-vetted third party

With such care and consideration for our customer's needs and the pups we provide for, it’s no wonder our dog daycare business not only survived two major recessions, but grew during them.

The pet industry is a lucrative one

People love to indulge their pets, from the best foods, the most engaging toys, the most comforting pet beds and even pet clothing. In fact, if most dog owners could, they’d take their pups to work with them. 

Since they can’t, dog daycare is becoming more popular than ever. More than 19 million dogs attend daycares around the US each month.

The dog daycare industry by itself is responsible for around $4.5 billion in revenue, while the overall pet care industry brings in a whopping $123.6 billion.

The pet daycare market is expected to grow by $8.6 billion through 2026, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.34%.

This growth can be credited to a change in how dog daycare franchises conduct business, many of them going to a style where the dogs are not kept locked in cages but are supervised 24/7, given comfy pet beds and bedding, and are stimulated with human interaction and cuddles, much like the slumber-party style at bark!bark! 

The bark bark support for dog daycare franchise owners is unparalleled

Spots at our bark!bark! dog daycare franchise are in high demand, and we want to keep giving our customers uncompromising care for pups who wiggle through our doors. That means we’re seeking interested entrepreneurs who love pups as much as we do to become owners and operators of their own bark!bark! dog daycare franchise business.

It’s not just our pups we take good care of; we also provide our franchisees with unparalleled support so they can continue to achieve the heights of our bark bark brand’s standards for their pups and families.

When qualified potential franchisees become part of our pack, they receive: 

• Site Selection Advice – Based on our years of experience and professional demographics models, we can offer franchisees guidance on the best possible location for their dog daycare franchise.
• Construction and Design – To facilitate pup safety, engagement, and a happy environment, we help design each daycare to be comfortable, inviting, and functional with no toxic materials, sharp corners, or small spaces where small dogs can become stuck. The space also fits our cool, modern branding for the relaxed vibe our families love.
• Extensive Training – Every bark!bark! franchise owner trains for 5 days at our Long Beach, CA flagship location. This includes in-class instruction and hands-on training with our experienced staff. Online training before the trip ensures everyone starts on the right paw. Ongoing training is also provided to maintain the latest training techniques and behavioral advances for pups and everything else necessary to run the bark!bark! business.
• Best-in-Show Technology – Running a bark!bark! dog daycare franchise with cloud-based technology means the administrative side of the business—data reporting, scheduling, payroll, and more—are a walk in the park, so franchisees can concentrate on the pups. We also use technology to put our pup pawrents at ease with cool cams where they can observe their dogs at play and at rest. It’s peace of mind at bark!bark! which helps us maintain a strong customer base and grow our business.
• Marketing Support – We’ve created pawsitively fantastic marketing messaging that has helped us attract new business and grow bark!bark! to the brand it is today. Our franchisees receive customizable templates that help keep them on message and give them everything they need to get the word out about their dog daycare franchise.
• Business Development and Growth Support – This vital component of the bark!bark! dog daycare franchise has been developed for next-level marketing, sales, and operations, designed to let franchisees focus on the business rather than promotion, finding customer leads, and growing the business. Our methods have worked for years, and we’ll share them with our franchisees so they too can experience the benefits.

Caring for dogs is incredibly rewarding

Between the benefits of becoming a bark!bark! dog daycare franchise owner, the perks of working with pups, and the joy of owning your own business, there are few things as rewarding as running a dog daycare business. 

Download our industry outlook to learn how you can get started on your journey to owning a bark!bark! dog day care franchise today!