Build a local business connecting dog owners with welcoming host families. You organise the service, nurture the relationships and help every holiday feel like a home away from home.
Your role is to run the local service and develop a network of host families. Those hosts welcome dogs into their homes; you coordinate the bookings, matching and customer care. These are the different parts of the role, rather than a fixed daily timetable.
Good matches. Reassured owners. Supported hosts.
Talk through dates, routines, temperament and care needs. Meet customers and their dogs, explain the service and keep the information you need for a thoughtful match.
Recruit and get to know prospective hosts through the business’s assessment process. Understand their households and availability, and build relationships that continue beyond a first stay.
Match dogs with suitable hosts, confirm the details and organise collection and return. Keep booking records and availability current, especially during busy holiday periods.
Keep in touch with owners and hosts, respond to questions and deal with changes. Between stays, make time for follow-up, local promotion and growing your host network.
This could suit you if you are a thoughtful organiser who enjoys meeting people, keeping track of details and solving problems calmly. You will build two kinds of relationship: with dog owners and with the host families who care for their dogs.
Some planning and administration can be organised around your other commitments. Dogs’ holidays continue through weekends and school holidays, and customers and hosts need support during stays. You will need to plan availability and time away carefully.
Growing this business means developing both customer demand and suitable host capacity. More enquiries only become more bookings when you have the right homes available. Repeat customers, host relationships and careful matching are central to sustainable growth.
A good holiday depends on what happens before, during and after the stay. We help you learn the business; you bring the local knowledge and relationships.
Training, including canine first aid, operational guidance and business systems help you prepare to gather dog information, assess host suitability and organise the service.
Get to know dogs and hosts properly, follow the procedures and keep care information accurate. Matching is a responsibility that deserves time and judgement.
The Digs for Dogs brand, vehicle livery, marketing materials, launch support and website enquiries help people discover the service.
Build awareness among both dog owners and prospective hosts. Follow up interest, explain the service and keep developing your local relationships.
Business systems help organise bookings and administration. Ongoing Head Office guidance and the wider franchise network give you people to turn to as questions arise.
Manage availability, transport and communication with both sides of each booking. Stay involved during stays and raise concerns promptly.
“Digs for Dogs offers the perfect blend of people and dogs”
Seana AlmondHome Boarding franchisee · from our franchisee stories
Seana knew Digs for Dogs as a customer before starting her Home Boarding business. In her 2015 story, she described how trust and reliability carried over from her previous work, and how much she valued helping owners feel confident about their dogs’ holidays.
Read Seana’s storyThe franchise fee is one part of the picture. Talk through the full costs and the time you can commit before deciding whether this business is right for you.
Your territory, training, branding, marketing materials and business systems form the foundation. We’ll explain the package and its terms in detail.
Plan for a suitable vehicle and safe transport equipment, insurance and the practical costs of setting up. Ask what is included and what you need to arrange separately.
Allow for ongoing franchise fees, travel, local promotion and working capital while bookings build. Consider your own living costs during that period too.
Request the current written breakdown, including VAT, ongoing charges and the assumptions behind any business figures. Income and bookings are not guaranteed.
A career change is a big decision. The first conversation is a chance to understand the opportunity, with no commitment to join.
Tell us about your area, your experience and what you would like your working life to look like. Bring your questions.
Talk through the role, territory availability and the practical commitments. Compare both models if you are still deciding.
Review the package, costs and agreement. Make time for your own checks and advice so you can decide with confidence.
If we both decide to go ahead, work through the training and launch preparations, then start building your local business.
Still have something on your mind? We’d like to hear it.
Ask us a questionNo. A Home Boarding franchisee runs the local business and coordinates a network of host families. The hosts welcome the dogs into their homes. If you simply want to care for dogs at home, our home boarder opportunity is the more relevant starting point.
You do not need previous franchising experience. Training introduces the business systems, customer service, operations and marketing. You will need to be comfortable taking responsibility, learning new skills and working consistently to build your business.
Marketing materials, launch support and the website help introduce Digs for Dogs. You need to build local awareness, follow up enquiries and develop your host network. Growing both sides matters: customer demand needs to be matched by suitable host availability.
Yes. Collection and return form part of the service. We will discuss the vehicle, safe transport equipment and practical arrangements before you decide to join.
Ask us to explain the requirements that apply to the proposed territory and host network, how the business procedures work and which responsibilities sit with you and your hosts. These practical details should be clear before you commit.
Running your own business gives you decisions to make about your availability and how you organise your work. Customers still need a dependable service. Walking rounds have agreed times; boarding involves supporting stays that may include weekends and holidays. Talk to us about your commitments so we can explore a realistic fit.
Your income will depend on demand in your territory, the bookings you build, your capacity and your costs. We can discuss the business figures and assumptions with you. Allow for a period of building the business, and remember that turnover is not the same as profit or take-home income.
Head Office provides ongoing operational guidance, and you become part of the wider franchise network. You can talk through questions as your business develops. We will explain the support arrangements in detail when we discuss the opportunity with you.
More time outdoors? A business to call your own? Work that feels worthwhile? Tell us what is prompting the change and where you would like to work.
We’ll talk through the opportunity, your questions and whether it could be a good fit for your life.
You can be curious without being certain.
Let’s start there.