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Training Revenue Streams for Pet Care Facilities This is an overview of some of the basic training services a pet care facility can offer. These services are specifically geared toward basic family pet ownership (not behavior modification, competition, therapy work or advanced skills) and can help pet parents with the following:

• Providing basic manners for their dog • Helping to get their puppy started off on the right paw • Acclimating a newly adopted dog into the family • Providing fun activities for their dog that offer mental and/or physical stimulation • Educating owners on dog ownership

Select the option(s) that work for your facility based on your client’s needs, size of space available, and knowledge of your staff. Some of these are easy to implement, others require more time and dedication. Some of these can be done in a tiny space, others require a larger room. Some of these require no upfront costs, others require minimal equipment. But all of these can add additional revenue to your business. Basic Manners – for dogs of all ages

• Basic manners for family pets: come, sit, wait, down, walking on a loose leash which you can do while the dog is at your facility or with the owner in private or group classes.

o Several formats for these types of classes ! Private lessons with the owner ! Day boarding (dog comes to daycare and you do the training with the dog

alone and then show the owner what to do later) ! Board and train (Same as the day boarding but the dog is with you for

overnight lodging and not just daycare) ! Group classes

• Standard format – 4-8 week course offered once each week • Levels format – rotating schedule based on skill level. Owner

stays in a level until they accomplish the skills in that level, then they move up to the next level. Allows more flexibility for the owner than standard format of classes

• Refresher training – for dogs that already have training, but the owner is going to lodge them at your facility ask about doing some refresher training. Cover the basics of come, sit, wait, down, walking nicely on a loose leash and spend 15-20 minutes per session reinforcing those commands. Great way to keep the behaviors fresh while the owner is out of town!

• American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen Class (CGC) o Use the AKC CGC program to offer a class. If you have an evaluator you can also

offer the test for this program o https://www.akc.org/dogowner/training/canine_good_citizen/

• Association of Professional Dog Trainer’s Canine Life and Social Skills Class o Use the C.L.A.S.S. program to offer a class. If you have an evaluator you can also

offer the test for this program o https://www.mydoghasclass.com

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Puppy Classes – for puppies up to 16 weeks of age • Housetraining programs

o Put the puppy on a schedule while they attend daycare to help get them used to going to the bathroom outside

o Offer a one hour private or group session where you go over the housetraining process with a family to provide the steps they need to implement at their home

o Combination of the two mentioned above • Puppy HeadStart Program

o 90 minute informational class with a family to talk about how to raise their puppy (housetraining, chewing, choosing the right food, feeding schedule, crate training, etc)

o Start the puppy off with basic manners training (sit, down, come, wait) which you can do while the dog is at your facility or with the owner in private or group classes. Using treats makes this fun and easy and puppies learn quickly!

• Puppy Socialization Classes o Bring the puppy to daycare and offer an additional service for getting the puppy

socialized. You expose the puppy to a wide range of new experiences and environments.

o Puppy Kindergarten Class – offered as a series of group classes which provides information to the owner and exposes the puppy to new experiences and enviornments

o Scavenger Hunt Class – either you do this for the owner or have a class where owners bring the dogs and you find a wide range of socialization experiences for the puppy in the form of a scavenger hunt. This can be a fun game with lots of great photo ops for marketing

o Field trips – similar to the scavenger hunt idea but you offer field trips to take dogs to local pet friendly locations for socialization (either with a staff member or with the owner)

• AKC Star Puppy o Use the AKC Star Puppy program to offer a class. If you have an evaluator you

can also offer the test for this program o http://www.akc.org/starpuppy/about_the_program.cfm

Bringing A New Dog Home – for the new dog in the family (great for those who just adopted!)

• Headstart Program o 90 minute informational class with a family to talk about how to raise their new

dog (crate training, feeding schedule, changing the dog’s name, honeymoon period for rescue dogs, getting the new dog settled into the family, when to start daycare, when to start training etc)

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Educational Classes for Pet Parents • Understanding Canine Body Language

o 60-90 minute informational class to help pet parents understand basic canine body language that can keep their dog safe.

o This can be done as a dog park safety class as well with an emphasis on dog to dog communication and how to stay safe out in town (when they are out of the safe environment of your facility)

• Dogs and Storks o Setting the family up for success before the new baby arrives o Become a presenter or find a presenter to teach this o http://familypaws.com/our-programs/

• Dogs and Toddlers o Preparing families with dogs for life with a toddler o Become a presenter or find a presenter to teach this class o http://familypaws.com/our-programs/

Just for Fun Activities

• Simple Tricks o Offer a trick of the month activity – teach a specific trick to any dog enrolled

during the month they attend daycare. Great for parlor games! Owners love these: roll over, shake, go through, play dead, close the door, go to the mat, etc.

o 101 Tricks for Dogs is a great resource • Just for fun sports – offered as an add on to lodging or daycare, or offered as a class.

Great to build confidence and give the dog an energy outlet that uses their brain and body!

o Agility o Scentwork (good even for older dogs) https://www.nacsw.net o Rally O o Fetch o Trieball http://www.americantreibballassociation.org o Fitpaws (good even for older dogs) http://www.fitpawsusa.com

• K9 Fitness o K9 Fitness – become a certified trainer http://k9fitclub.com o Offer hikes with owners and dogs at local parks or other pet friendly destinations o Dog Scouts http://dogscouts.org/base/

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Scavenger Hunt for Puppies (and adult dogs too!) As you accomplish each item, check it off the scavenger hunt list by annotating whether your dog loved it ☺ or did not enjoy it ". For those things the dog did not enjoy, consider ways to help your dog get more comfortable with those items in the future. You may need to find a trainer who can help you! People – let your dog meet as many different people as possible. Initially, reward your dog for being near the person. If that goes well, then invite the person to give your dog a treat. If your dog is still comfortable, you can ask the person to say hello and pet the dog on the chest or back. • An infant under 6 months ☺ " • A child 1-2 years of age ☺ " • A group of 1-4 children age 2-5 ☺ " • Teenage boys ☺ " • Teenage girls ☺ " • Man with a mustache or beard ☺ " • Man/woman with glasses ☺ " • Man/woman with a hat ☺ " • Man with mustache or beard, hat and

glasses ☺ " • Santa Claus ☺ " • Fireman in uniform ☺ "

• Someone who is a different ethnicity from you ☺ "

• Police officer in uniform ☺ " • Veterinarian wearing lab coat ☺ " • Military personnel in uniform ☺ " • Delivery person in uniform ☺ " • Postal worker in uniform ☺ " • Person carrying large packages ☺ " • Someone with crutches or cane ☺ " • Someone in a wheelchair ☺ " • Someone walking with an unusual,

non-steady gait ☺ " Places – Take your dog to as many new locations as possible. Start when things are calm, but as your dog gets more comfortable try going when the activity level is higher. • Shopping center (near the doors) ☺ " • Parking lot (around parked cars) ☺ " • An elevator ☺ " • Neighborhood street ☺ " • Busy street/intersection ☺ " • Crosswalk at a busy intersection ☺ " • Playground with children ☺ " • Bus stop with people ☺ " • Drains on a sidewalk ☺ "

• Inside a pet friendly store ☺ " • Inside a pet friendly hotel ☺ " • Veterinarian’s office (when there is no

check up required) ☺ " • Open or grill type stairs ☺ " • Pool, lake or beach ☺ " • Crate ☺ " • Sports field with kids playing ☺ "

Things – Introduce your dog to as many novel objects as possible. If the object moves or makes noise add the noise and/or movement only as your dog gets more relaxed. • Shopping cart ☺ " • Umbrella ☺ " • Mirror ☺ " • Vacuum cleaner ☺ " • Hair dryer ☺ " • Bouncing ball ☺ " • Large recycle bins on the street ☺ " • Food mixer ☺ " • Washing machine ☺ "

• Dish washer ☺ " • Pan dropping on the ground ☺ " • Bicycle ☺ " • Scooter ☺ " • Baby stroller ☺ " • Motorcycle ☺ " • Other animals (cat, ferret, birds, dogs

etc) ☺ " • Lawn mower ☺ " • Garage door opening