All businesses / Dog daycare

Fingerprint: capital · hours · speed to income · margin · ceiling. The dashed line is mid-scale.

Start a dog daycare: the real numbers

Day boarding with a fixed site. Below is what it actually costs, how long before money arrives, and the part most guides leave out.

Startup capital

€20,000–€80,000

Hours / week

35–60

First income

~16 wks

Net margin

45%

Saturation

medium

Realistic ceiling

€800–€5,500+

This ceiling is not a wall

The figure above is what this earns in the shape described — you, running it. Past that it keeps going, but by hiring people or adding units, not by you working more hours. That is a different job from the one you would be starting, and worth knowing before you start it.

What nobody usually tells you

Owners buy monthly packages and keep them for years, which makes the revenue unusually steady for a local business. Licensing, land and staff ratios are all fixed costs before a single dog arrives.

The route, in five steps

  1. Check the licensing and planning rules before anything else
  2. Monthly packages, not day rates — that is the recurring half
  3. Staff-to-dog ratios are regulated and they set your capacity
  4. Add pick-up and drop-off: it doubles your catchment
  5. Fill to 70% before taking on a second site

What you'll need to buy

These are the categories every dog daycare pays for in the first month. We break down what each one actually costs at this size on the tools page.

site and fencinglicenceinsurancevanstaff

Does it hold up for you?

These numbers are the average case. Whether this business clears your target depends on your capital, your hours and how long you can wait — put them in and see.

Run my numbers → See the tool stack