[Shandula]

Hey everyone!

I hope everyone's autumn is off to a better start than mine is. It was beautiful for two days, and now it's back to feeling like 42. Ew too hot.

Anyway, my husband and I have been talking about what we will eventually use for my training space. We have a couple of options, but I'd like to get some opinions from dog people, who fairly regularly take classes somewhere. So with that in mind, what do you look for in a facility?

Would it matter where it was? For example, we are planning on completely converting our basement to my personal training space (rubber floors etc.). Would it bother you to take a class in someone's house?

Thanks in advance everyone!

 

[jclark343]

I don't think it would bother me if it was in someone's basement (although I don't really know what being in a basement is really like...) as long as their family wasn't making it awkward (I'm kind of awkward.

Our facility is only outside. There is a lot of room to get away from each other so everyone has their own space. I also really like that there is a fenced in area for 1 dog to work while the other people will be on the outside.

Now I imagine you'll be doing obedience, rally, and basic agility classes in the basement? Not full agility though, right?

 

[TheAdventureK9]

I think it depends. Do they have to walk through your whole house to get to your basement, or is there a side access? I have to say personally I might be a little weirded out because personally, I always feel like I'm bothering people when I'm in their personal home. That might be entirely me though. Though honestly your basement looks perfect for a training facility, I wish I could train there.

Most places I have been to have outdoor play yards that they train in, but our weather is agreeable like 85% of the time. The other places have small warehouse buildings that they use in industrial areas.

 

[Sabina88]

I think id personally feel a little weird going to a trainers house to train but then again I have a bit of social anxiety /nerveous around strangers, so I think its a little more "weird" for me. But as long as it was a trainer I liked/was interested in working in I would go.
I think as long as your fine with having lots of people coming and going from your house (baring what you choose to do for class schedualing) then I think it might be worth a try, that way you wont have to worry about the cost of a facility/area/ect. for while unless you find its not working the way you want it.
The trainer I'm currently working with has her facility bellow a local pet store. Maybe you could see if you can find any other trainers that work out of their homes and ask them what their experiances have been with it.

 

[PoppyKenna]

With most of my dogs it wouldn't be a problem. With Chisum it would since we tend to need a lot of space

Basements don't bother me at all - much nicer than the cellar I have to crawl into during bad weather!

I do think that a side entrance would be convenient, as well as good communication on your end to tell clients what to do when they arrive at your house. Nothing more awkward than showing up at a training facility with no idea how to get in (which totally happened to me recently)!

EDIT: oh, and easy clean floors with lots of cleaning supplies! My Sophie can be a nervous peer (she's gotten much better but has a bit of a weak bladder) and Chisum can get....messy if he's scared enough and I always feel so bad if there's nothing to clean it up! At my training consult last week Chisum had an accident and it was fine, she helped me get it clean. Not so much at my old vet when Sophie became afraid of a large, off leash dog.

 

[Shandula]

Hey guys! Thanks for your input.

We want to completely finish the basement with durable rubber floors, good for puppy rough housing, accidents, and any jumping my guys do. There is a side entrance that goes from my driveway directly to the basement, so no interaction between my actual house and clients. There will also be a washroom downstairs that clients can use, and the side entrance also leads right into the backyard for bathroom breaks.

It isn't a huge space is the only issue, so class sizes would be quite small, no more than 4 people per class probably. I'm hoping to offer puppy socialization, obedience, rally, some basic flatwork stuff for agility, and potentially some other fun things like basic treiball, tricks, or maybe some easy canine fitness exercises.

This is all very up in the air at the moment. I'm hoping to open *"MY* training school around christmas of next year, which give me time to save some capital and acquire my CPDT certification.

 

[kelly528]

Some options for you are daycares, groomers, or pet stores. They will rent space to you, but sometimes they will want a ridiculous cut of what you are charging for classes. Anything over 40% I would consider nuts. Few businesses will "loan" you space for free, even if you are bringing customers to their business.

If you can at all have a training facility in your house (there is enough space, parking, you can keep the dogs quiet), this is by far your most economical option, even if you have to invest some money into preparing/equipping the space.

 

[Lucillle]

invest some money into preparing/equipping the space.

And you can get a capital allowance for those expenses if the space is to be used exclusively for the business rather than a 'sometimes' use, as well, you can deduct repairs and upkeep of the room and bathroom. The capital expense would be deducted over several years, while repairs and upkeep are deducted annually.
Personal use of property

You might consider incorporating, for small businesses Canada has pretty low taxes, and the corporate status would help protect you as an individual from judgments from lawsuits arising from mishaps including bites, falls, and so on which would otherwise (after insurance) apply to your personal assets.

And purchase business insurance, check the specifics but the premiums may be deductible and oh so worthwhile when the plumbing breaks, your training room is flooded, and your homeowner's declines to pay because the room and bathroom are not covered because they are a business.

Also before opening your checkbook and creating the room, check to see if there are subdivision or other rules prohibiting a business in your home.

 

[Thisisme19]

Hey guys! Thanks for your input.

We want to completely finish the basement with durable rubber floors, good for puppy rough housing, accidents, and any jumping my guys do. There is a side entrance that goes from my driveway directly to the basement, so no interaction between my actual house and clients. There will also be a washroom downstairs that clients can use, and the side entrance also leads right into the backyard for bathroom breaks.

It isn't a huge space is the only issue, so class sizes would be quite small, no more than 4 people per class probably. I'm hoping to offer puppy socialization, obedience, rally, some basic flatwork stuff for agility, and potentially some other fun things like basic treiball, tricks, or maybe some easy canine fitness exercises.

This is all very up in the air at the moment. I'm hoping to open *"MY* training school around christmas of next year, which give me time to save some capital and acquire my CPDT certification.

With the separate entrance I wouldn't have any problem with taking classes in your basement. As long as it's a nice space, who cares where it is. Also the small class sizes would definitely be a bonus. The place I took Tucker to did 4 dogs max per class (except puppy socialization - that was 6) and it seemed to work out really well.

 

[Aspen726]

From a customer standpoint, everything sounds fine to me. I wouldn't have any issues taking classes there.

From a homeowner standpoint, I'd be worried that my house would stink all the time. I'm a complete germ-a-phobe, neat freak and I would always think the smell is trickling upstairs. I've been in VERY clean facilities but they all always have a stench that I would not want in my house. Haha.